ENTITLEMENT CREATES RESENTMENTS
“To leave behind great fortunes for one’s children(s),” Andrew Carnegie said, “Is the same thing as leaving behind a curse.”
The above saying brings forth the following story:
….. Like many rich kids, Marquise has always been into sneakers. Because he’s my son, he couldn’t just rock anyhow sneakers. If a new pair of jordans come out, he had to have them right away. If Marquise asked for a pair of jordans on a Monday, his mother would make sure they were on his feet come Tuesday.
Unfortunately, it still didn’t make him happy nor satisfy him. Instead of being excited to rock his new pair of jordans, all Marquise could think about was the retro jordans that he didn’t have. All the different flyways and colors that weren’t in his closet. Instead of feeling grateful for what he has, he felt disappointed. The kid didn’t have a job, but somehow wanted to collect $300 sneakers? And still, felt unhappy when he actually got them?
One day, I was driving through Harlem when I noticed that a sneaker store was going out of business. Immediately I remember my son…”. Marquise loves sneakers,” so I pulled down to buy him a couple of pairs. I suddenly ask the owner why he was going out of business? He explained that he picked the wrong location and never got enough traffic.
“What are you gonna do with all this Air Force now?” I asked.
“I dunno,” he replied.
You know what? I will buy the rest of your shoes.
The gentleman jumped to my offer. Suddenly, I was the new owner of a couple of hundred pairs of Nike’s.
My plan all along was to ship it down to Marquise, in Atlanta.
As soon as I left the shop, I called up my son. “Yo, Marquise. Do you know how you have always been fascinated with shoes? I asked.
Well, I just figure a way out how you can afford them for yourself and also get to earn little money. I broke the whole plan to him.
Marquise said all the right things on phone, and I had the shoes shipped to him down to Atlanta.
Unfortunately, a day, a week, and months passed by I never heard anything from him. Months later, her mother called me to inform me about a new business idea to open a clothing boutique in Atlanta. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It was a great disappointment for me.
Years later, I realized the online store I suggested to Marquise could have ended up being a great deal. We had the conversation years ago. Since then, online sneakers sites have become incredibly lucrative. Goat.com is valued at $550 million, while stock.com had a billion-dollar valuation. If Marquise has followed through on what we’d talked about, he could have been included in that conversation. He could have been fabulously rich.
I’m sure when Marquise read about GOAT or STOCKX, he probably realized I was right. Why did I not listen to my father and start that online business.
Are you there?
This story belongs to Curtis Jackson, AKA 50 Cent, and his son Marquise Jackson.
In his book titled, “Hustle harder, Hustle Smarter,” he illustrated his childhood stories and his sturdiness in the musical world.
