Two important management lessons I
learnt
from a 500 Naira note.
1. It happened some time ago but . I was
in
an audience listening to a motivational
speaker. The speaker got out his wallet &
pulled out a 500 Naira note. Holding it up,
he
asked, "Who wants this 500 naira note?"
Lots of hands went up. Including mine. A
slow chorus began to build as people
began
to shout "Me!" "Me!" I began to wonder
who
the lucky one would be who the speaker
would choose. And I also secretly
wondered
(and I am sure others did too ) why he
would simply give away 500 naira. Even
as
the shouts of "I want it" grew louder, I
noticed a young woman running down the
aisle. She ran up onto the stage, went up
to
the speaker, and grabbed the five 500
naira
note from his hand. "Well done, young
lady,"
said the speaker into the microphone. The
speaker simply say "Most of us just sit
and
wait for good things to happen. That's of
no
use. You've got to make things happen.
Make a move" 'Simply thinking about
doing
something is of no use and not gud
enough'. Our lives are like that. We all see
opportunities around us. We all want the
good things. But the problem is we don't
take action. We all want the 500 naira
notes
on offer. But we don't make the move. We
look at it longingly. Get up, and do
something about it. Don't worry about
what
other people might think.
Take action.
2. later, the speaker got another 500 naira
note and held it up for all to see, I thought
I
knew what's up. But he just asked a
simple
question. "How much is this worth?" "Five
Hundred naira!" the crowd yelled in
unison.
"Right," said the speaker. He then took the
note and crumpled it into a ball and asked
"How much is it worth now?" "Five
Hundred
naira!" screamed the audience. He then
threw the note on the ground, stamped all
over it and picked up the note and asked
one more time: "And how much is it worth
now?" "Five Hundred naira!" was the
response. "I want you to remember this,"
said the speaker. "Just because someone
crumples it, or stamps on it, the value of
the
note does not diminish. We should all be
like
the 500 naira note. In our lives, there will
be
times when we feel crushed, stamped
over,
beaten. But never let your self-worth
diminish. Just because someone chooses
to
crush you, that doesn't change your worth
one bit!
Don't allow your self-worth to diminish
because someone says something nasty
or
does something dirty to you."
Never let your self-worth diminish.
