Femi Otedola is a Nigerian billionaire and philanthropist.
Read time: about a min.
When the radio presenter asked him, “Sir, what can you remember made you the happiest man in life?”
Femi said: “I have gone through three stages in life, and finally, I understood the meaning of true happiness.”
The first stage was to accumulate wealth and means. But at this stage, I did not get the happiness I wanted.
Then came the second stage of getting big projects. That was when I was holding 95% of the diesel supply in Nigeria and Africa. I was also the largest vessel owner in Africa and Asia. But even here, I did not get the happiness I had imagined.
The third stage was when a friend of mine asked me to buy a wheelchair for disabled children—just about 200 kids.
At the friend’s request, I immediately bought the wheelchairs. But the friend insisted that I go with him and hand over the wheelchairs to the children. So I got ready and went with him.
There I gave these wheelchairs to these children with my own hands. I saw the strange glow of happiness on the faces of these children. I saw them all sitting on the wheelchairs, moving around and having fun.
It was as if they were sharing a jackpot winning.
I felt REAL joy inside me. Then, when I decided to leave, one of the kids grabbed my legs. I tried to free my legs gently, but the child stared at my face and held my legs tightly. I bent down and asked the child: Do you need something else?
The answer this child gave me made me happy and changed my attitude to life completely. This child said:
“I want to remember your face so that when I meet you in heaven, I will be able to recognize you.”
The spirit of the Holy month of Ramadan is self-restraint and giving. It doesn’t need to end after 30 days of fasting. The 30-day is designed to instill the practice to form a habit.
Let the spirit of Ramadan continue.
Thank you for reading!
Until next week.
Razak
CommonInterest
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