“The bordello’s guard”A story that shows us how crisis can become an opportunity…

(part 2, to read part 1, please press here)

More assignments…

- “Aren’t you the expert with tools?” someone asked him after 2 days.

- “Am I?”

- “I think you are, my friend told me that you brought him the best hummer and you also didn’t try to steal him, overcharging your expenses”.

- “I never overcharge, why to steal someone?”

- “Could you please go to the city for me too? I need 3 tools, which I don’t find here”.

- “Sure, when I will be free I will go there”.

In just few weeks time, he had been to the city for more than 10 people, buying all sorts of tools. Then he started having requests by people from the neighboring villages too. In less than 3 months, he stopped working at that guy’s house and he was traveling from the village to the city and back, carrying tools for the people…

The first shop
During one of his long trips to the city, our hero sat down on a rock, in order to eat his bread and cheese. “Why should I travel non stop? Wouldn’t it be better for me to collect money and buy more things once per month? I would save money and time”. When he came back, he organized his orders, plus he tried to guess what orders he would get during the following month. He invested all his money in order to buy everything, so he also received a discount.

In less than 3 months time, he decided to open his first shop, making happy all the people from his village and the villages around. They would not need to wait anymore, everything would be at their disposal, in the shop.

Chain of shops – back to the big city
It took him just 2 more years in order to create a chain of small shops, covering all the area around his village. He remained a low profile person, who didn’t spend his money in stupidities and he worked only with cash.

After the 3^rd good year, he decided to try his luck in the big city. He went there, studied the market for about 1 month, chose a small shop and opened a branch as well. Meanwhile, he had traveled to the capital, searching for wholesalers and importers of tools and not only…

Millionaire…
The small shop in the city was soon followed by another one and then another one. Then this became a chain of shops, to which he added some bigger shops as well. In less than a decade, he was a millionaire. But it was not easy for someone to guess it. He did not change his attitude or lifestyle…

“I became rich because I was analphabet and they didn’t keep me as the bordello’s guard”
After many years, he was one of the country’s most serious businessmen. At the day of his official retirement, he was invited by the capital’s university, to be awarded for his achievements. After the ceremony, he was asked to discuss with the students, in order to share with them his experience and his secrets.

One of the students asked him: “How come did you succeed to become rich? What was the motivation you had? How did you reach this level?” His answer surprised them: “I became rich because I was analphabet. For this reason I lost my job, being the guard of a bordello. If they would have kept me, I would never start my own business, back to my village. I saw the world collapsing around me, noone helped me, so I had to find a solution. I worked hard, searched for what people need and offered them quality, seriousness and excellent service. But still, I am lucky that I was fired by the bordello”.

“Did you get it, Ilia?”
My friend finished his story and then asked me: “Did you get it, Ilia?” I thought about this story for several days (actually nights).

I can not say that I have reached my targets in life so far. I am sure that the best is yet to come. But this story marked my mind forever. And I always remember it when I hear people telling me that “I can not do anything at all, I am desperate” etc.