Oh Money! Oh Money! Why Do You Make Me Look So Bad!

'Oh Money! Oh Money! Why Do You Make Me Look So Bad?', groaned Kim as we drove home at the end of the wedding party.


Our friend James was the bridegroom and his wedding was attended by dignitaries and covered by some of the top TV Stations in the country.


3 years ago we were the only graduates in sales & marketing and the future looked promising. We all left our own ways but James had better plans.


James teamed up with his long term girlfriend and started a marketing company. Who would have ever guessed that their union would be a recipe for success!


Their success attracted not only local businesses but international as well. It was ranked the best company that year and this meant a smile all the way to the bank.


Kim on the other hand was the procrastinating type. His uncle had waited till he graduated to offer him a top position in his company.


Kim thought it was not the right time to start working as he wanted to travel and breath some fresh air. After all, he had just completed his studies and needed time to reflect.


Three years passed and James invited me to his wedding. It was more like a reunion as we had long gone our ways and we hardly kept in touch. Kim was in attendance as well.


I noticed Kim wasn't the talkative friend I knew in our school days. He also seemed to be drowned into deep thoughts every time I called on him.


Kim would later open up to me and pour out what had become of him over the past three years. He never made it to work in his uncles firm and neither did he get a job elsewhere.


Kim had attempted to start his company overseas, a venture that did not see the light of the day.


He lamented that despite James been successful and me having a family and a posh car he was the unlucky one. Kim was the kind that spoke before a crowd and left tongues wagging.


He was the motivational guy in our school days.


Life had ravaged him and with no financial muscle behind his efforts to rebuild his ideas, he was trapped in his own thoughts and was more drowned by the fact he was worth nothing compared to his friends.


I offered to drive him home after the wedding. He sure did have quite some wine and I could see how he leaned back with watery eyes uttering these words "Oh money! Oh money! Why Do You Make Me Look So Bad!"


I could not stop thinking of Kim later that evening. What went wrong and how could I get him loose from the web that held him down?


Despite all looking normal, money has become a measure of success. The same success that has been a mirage to many. Why should it be that way?


I called James three months later and we came up with a way to help Kim get on his feet.


A midst all that, I came to learn that in both worlds of the haves and have not, money is neither the source of happiness nor a source of predicaments.


If only we could work out the puzzle in our minds right, we stand a better chance to succeeded in whatever we strive to achieve.


Kim is now happily married and working as manager in one of his uncle's firms.