Rags to riches

James was a little boy, who was born into a house of poverty. His parents loved him, but couldn't give him the things the material things he desired in his young life. While all of James' friends had new clothes, James had to wear old, out of style, hand-me-downs from his older cousins. He shared a bedroom with his younger sister in a two bedroom house. The house wasn't really a house but it was what James' parents could afford to make sure the children had a roof over their heads.

James wanted to be rich. His parents taught him that money wasn't everything. He knew they were right but he decided that money could definitely help get him out of his poor situation.

James was a good student. He studied people. He listened in class. And he could memorize entire paragraphs in any book.  He was such a good student, that wealthy people invited him to study with their children. At his new school, he learned that rich people's definition of hard work was much different than his parent's definition.

His parents worked hard with their bodies. Rich people worked hard with their brains. James' desire for riches continued through his education. Then one day, with his schooling complete, he was forced back into the working world. His parents told him to work hard with his hands. His childhood friends told him to play hard. His rich friends from school no longer had time for him as they went off to work with their rich parents. James felt alone.

But he made a decision. He was not going to give up until he achieved what he wanted. From his rich friends, he had learned that the best way to make money was by using other people's money. That was good news because James didn't have any.  He then convinced a couple of bankers that he was capable to run a business of his own. With money in hand, he opened his business.

He had a dream. Nothing was going to get in his way. For the next 10 years, James worked 7 days a week. When his poor friends drank on the weekends, James worked. When his rich friends vacationed in sunny warmer climates, James worked. When family got together to celebrate weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, James worked. When employees took time off and enjoyed their life, James worked. He worked and worked and worked. Some started calling him a workaholic. Some thought he was crazy.

There were days James thought he was crazy. He was doing exactly what his parents told him to do. He was working with his body, not his brain. He had a goal so he continued.

After 10 years, James didn't have much of a lifestyle. His style of life was work. And work is all he did. On his tenth anniversary, he sold his businesses and bought a huge house in the country. He stopped working with his hands and started working with his brilliant brain.  From the outside, James was retired. If you knew him, he was knew he had shifted to working with his brain. His poor friends who were drinking every weekend, told him he was lucky coming from such a poor background. His family informed him he was now rich.

James simply answered, "In my mind I was always rich".