SOLOMON, THE MILLIONAIRE

LESSON ONE

1. Wealth is created through self-sacrifice and taking risks- the fisherman undertook
the risk to create a spear and spend the day hungry while practising formation of a
spear to use in fishing, other than using his own hands. The fisherman’s under
consumption is called savings.

Though after formation of the spear, the fisherman caught two fish, he still
consumed his daily one fish and could save the second for the next day. The other
day, he would have enough time to focus on more creative fishing and personal life
improvements.

The savings were used to make a spear, what is termed as a capital good.

2. Two friends have a well-paying job in a certain company. One enjoys partying, cars,
and popularity achieved from loans. The other friend rents a cheap apartment on
realisation the high costs of rentals. The costs for entertainment and outings is
reduced and this person reduces luxury in his life, makes what is called self-sacrifice.

The savings from his salary and sacrifices are used to open up shop, after some
while, a restaurant. These add income and profits to his monthly savings which he
later uses to develop rental office space for companies. His luxurious friend teases
him about a lack of car and boring life, he gets annoyed but keeps focus. Surprisingly
due to economic recession, their company trims staff, and both of them are relieved
of their services, the luxurious friend starts a hustle life but his friend is not bothered
due to loss of job, rather he later hires his friend as his own worker.

APPLICATION OF LESSON ONE IN MY LIFE

 SOLOMON, THE MILLIONAIRE

I had an average well-paying job at a young age of 27 but all salary would be consumed in
transport, food, rent, clothing, medical services for my young family of three; my wife and
two daughters, and my paternal families.

Assured of my efficiency at work, and level of effort, I requested for salary increment twice
but never got any positive reaction from my boss. In fact, I was the least paid Engineer in the
company, at a net of Ug.shs 1,800,000/= which had raised from Ug.shs 1,500,000/= in a
space of three years. Other Engineers in the company were being paid Ug.shs 3,000,000/=
net. This caused concern, and not jealous, in my heart. I always asked myself why me.

When I got a part-time opportunity; weekly consultancy services over the weekends, I
would travel from Kampala to Mbarara on Friday night and back to Kampala on Sunday
night. This allowed me to have a second job where I also earned Ug.shs 1,800,000/=
monthly. After a period of five months, my boss learnt of this and it didn’t go well with him,
after persistency, he forced me to either leave the company and undertake this part-time
assignment, or stay and drop this second income generator. I felt a sense of bond in the
company and never wanted to disappoint my boss, so I requested for three months to allow
me finish my services in Mbarara. The leave was granted, but ‘none-paid leave’ though in
my head, I had resolved never to get back to my company.

After concentrating fully on my job in Mbarara, now full-time, it is when my mind started to
open up to new ideas, to learn things not in the field of civil engineering, to like my job and
have passion in what I was doing. This job didn’t pay higher than my previous job, but my
new boss trusted in me, I do not know why. He believed in my concepts, management
approaches and my designs and implementations, and because he was an investor, I learnt
many things related to lesson 1 on wealth, things I am going to share below. The things
which made me who I am today, to become a millionaire.

1. Do not work to earn more money, just work to serve and enjoy work.

I did not ask for any salary increment since now I was full-time on site, managing this
construction project. I even never felt any need why I would ask for increment, but I enjoyed
my work. I did not inform my boss that I had left my former job, to be engaged fully after
my boss had put constraint on me, I told my new boss I had been given leave for three
months to enable me complete his work, to which he was very pleased.

When I got to work, I had to pay basic needs twice since my young family remained in
Kampala and I relocated to Mbarara. This did not bother me, I had taken sacrifice and risk.
My motivations were producing quality work and appreciation from my boss. It gave me a
sense of self satisfaction, I really enjoyed my work, I was happy whenever I saw the end
products of my commitments.

I call it a sacrifice because now I missed my young family, I really missed my children and their mom.
I call it sacrifice because my expenses doubled but my incomes remained the same.

I was always happy to remain trust worthy and manage weekly project funds while I wiped
out any persons that lacked professional ethics, anybody that looked to misuse my boss’
project funds, anyone that dared to cheat my boss. This created my enemies around the
project, and others lost their jobs but I knew I did not come to create friends, I came to work.

In my mind, I knew I was investing heavily since people would always see my work and
probably would be my future clients from where I would start to get going as a self-
 SOLOMON, THE MILLIONAIRE

employed civil engineer. I took a strong resolve to never work for construction companies
again in my life.