Don’t Forget The Future
“Live in the present. Don’t forget the past. Let the future be manifested by your creativity”. (Jagannath Majhi).
It could have been easier for me to say; “Save for the future”, but that statement is already popular so I decided to use another sentence “Don’t forget the future”. Maybe popular too. We have become accustomed to the quote “live in the moment” there by making most forget their past, worst still not planning for the future.
I have a friend, back then in 2021, he acquired a job that paid him so well that he bought an expensive phone just after receiving his first salary. After then, the second salary came, it was now from one hotel to the other. He spent heavily on drinks and carried one woman after another. He no longer slept in his house, Hotels became his living room.
I tried talking some sense into him, I advised him and even pleaded with him to at least start up a business of his own. But he accused me of being jealous of him and that I didn’t want him to enjoy his money, his life. Mehn, what an accusation, I decided to leave him and mind my business.
Today, being the year 2024, this guy is not only jobless and broke, he is living under the roof of his girlfriend i.e.he doesn’t have a house.
I wouldn’t forget so easily, he always used the caption “Live in the moment, enjoy your life now, you might die tonight”. Unfortunately, he is still alive and paying for his mistakes the hard way. Don’t forget the future.
Life can be a high wire tight rope especially for those of us who came from poor backgrounds. But the ability to control and discipline ourselves when this money starts coming will ultimately determine if we are destined to live a successful life.
No matter what anyone tells you about the present or how you suffered in your past, and that you should enjoy your life while you have the money or when you start getting the money; or that life is short and you can die anytime and your wife or your relatives will enjoy your money when you’re gone, please, do not be deceived.
Save for your future, for your unborn children, for your family and for your own sake.
You might live long enough to regret all the money you squandered while you were a youth and definitely, you will learn the hard way. Don’t forget the future.
We all have dreams of making it big, but living a lavish life when you eventually make it big will sink you faster than Titanic.
I know some actors who were once very wealthy and powerful, they had everything you could only wish for: cars, mansions, private jets etc, but it amazes me that after 10–15 years, these same rich and famous stars were now begging for money to at least solve their declining health issues.
They became extremely poor that made me realize that this life is nothing. Even the smallest ant can kill you.
These men(stars) were like the Iroko that resisted the wind every time it(wind) blew at it but when they fell, great was their fall. They sank faster than Titanic. But sincerely speaking, I felt an enormous pity for them. Do you know why? They forgot the future.
They lived in the present, they didn’t learn from their past, they never budgeted for the future and when they fell, great was their fall. Don’t forget the future.
Truth be told, there are stiff challenges we face that can sweep away all our savings, all we’ve ever worked for but at least we do have an inspirational story to tell, that we lived a moderate and decent life and that even if fate was against us; decency pays.
Tomorrow is pregnant and what the future holds is known to none. Apply wisdom in matters concerning money. Money is like a child, train him well. Invest in your future, save for your future. Suffer now enjoy later.
Before you start lavishing that money, before you throw the next party, before you buy the most expensive car on planet earth, sit down and reason, think, if not for anything, for the love of your struggle.
It is you and only you alone who knows what you’ve been through, what you passed through before becoming successful. He who wears the shoe knows where it pinches him.
Think of how you will feel if you reach the top and fall. Think of how it feels to become rich and then suddenly become poor again just because you want to live in the moment.
Think of your children, who will pay their fees, who will take care of them if you live only in the moment and forget your future. Your children, your family, are part of your future. Think about them before you buy the next Jet. Don’t forget the future.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not asking you to be a frugal person neither am I telling you not to enjoy your life, am just advising you to be matured and disciplined enough to live a moderate and decent life.
I will never stop reaching the top because I still remember how the bottom felt. And when I reach the top I won’t be so foolish to do things that will put me back to the ground. Be wise.
An intelligent man learns from his mistakes but a wise man learns from others’mistakes. Be wise enough to learn from people’s mistakes and be intelligent enough to avoid those mistakes.
Like I said before, don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely a good virtue to live in the moment, to forget your past, to enjoy your life but when we totally forget to plant seeds for the future, we might live long enough to regret it one day.
The past is an experience. The present is your experiment. The future holds your expectations. So use your experience in your experiment to make your expectations come true.
