12 December 2009 I meet a man with great wisdom. The man had no education, no certifications and he claimed no status,yet he spoke of things only the wisest in the world would speak of. If Mr Rohn and Mr Les Brown are the motivational / life experts of the rich and middle class, this man is certainly the speaker for all classes. He is no religious figure nor is he a political figure. He is but a simple man who has seen life from all angles. He started his life in extreme poverty, extreme to the degree that today's poorest in the west wouldn't be able to relate to.

He started his life in a small run down house with two rooms. He has four brothers and three sisters, they all grew in the same house along with their two parents, two parrots and several chickens.

I first met this man when I was still a teenager. He didn't have much then, other than a burning desire to become a tradesman, possibly eventually to go to Dubai to make a decent living.

When I met him today, he was a transformed person, a man who has a purpose, who understands mindset.

He told me how business should be done and how mindset plays a major role in our lives. He told me his life’s lessons and how his life was transformed trying to ponder over why he does, what he does.

He started with telling me about the lesson in business. He said "an employee should not do his work for himself but for the business", the distinction he explained was that when an employee does his work on the basis of "minimum work", he is confirming for himself a job which he will never be able to excel in. He further explained that a business cannot and will not grow until every employee in the business understands that he does not work for a wage; he is working for the business. The two are not the same and that the mindset has to be for the growth of the business in order to claim his/her growth.

He then went on to explain that the most significant variant in our lives is our tongue. "it is the tongue that gets you the money, it is the tongue that get you heaven, it is the tongue that makes you friends". So whatever happens use your tongue carefully.

He explained that every person’s personality needs to be recorded in our minds. So never rush and take time to know who you are communicating with. This will help you make friends, even if you don't agree with the other persons philosophy. Furthermore he added that you should meet people from all walks of life, even if you don't have anything in common or have anything to trade on. Be friends with crooks (eek), saints, poor and rich. In the end he said the most significant assets you will gain is people’s knowledge.

He also told me how money should be handled. He explained that the person who desires gaining money is a person who is lost. Although this doesn't sound significant, listen to this. He said the person who desires wealth has to have desire for spending it too. He did not refer to buying things for yourself. He explained, he lives in a house with warm and clean water, his house is clean and he has life’s basics for his wife and two kids. This is as much as he desires, so with all the extra cash he makes, he looks around to find people who don't have basics of life and tries to fulfil their desires by spending. His wealth is what he does for others. People who are truly not able and deserve help.

Finally he talked about the values of trust. No trust and not knowing people prohibits charity to get to the needy. He explained that honour is in ten folds among the poor, so when the cash reaches the needy, they simply refuse if and because they don't trust you and don't want to risk their honour. The honour is the greatest wealth for them and for a matter of fact the only wealth. He then explained that this wealth is not to be undermined in any circumstance, cause many would lay down their lives to protect this honour. So when a stranger comes to help, often it is seen as a threat.

He explained that to distribute charity, trustworthy people are required who know the needy intimately, and who understand the donors offer and character. Once the contact knows and accepts that the donor isn't trying to influence the poor for his/her gain, the donor can safely let this trust iterate through him/her to the poor person. Key criteria of safe handling of this business of trust is to make sure there is no commission on the middleman’s part. Once you have achieved this pattern of trust you can continue to help the poor until they are self sufficient. The most delicate object in this systematised transition is trust. It cannot and must not be broken.

All of above is interesting but here is more about this man. He did not go to college or school. He taught himself how to read, to fix electrical appliances, fix HGV engines, bore holes in ground to extract water and a comprehensive understanding of plumbing and electrical systems. He now employs staff of three. The more his wealth increases the more he helps others and the cycle just keeps on going. In the last ten years, his face has hardly aged. He is still as strong as he was when I met him over ten years ago (he’s middle aged now). He is as positive as any motivational speaker I have watched on YouTube or other mediums.

In the end I asked him how he collected the countless examples he told me about. He replied that he use to let life experiences go by, until he realised that there is a reason behind it all and that if he understood the reasons he would understand how to improve his life. He said every experience in life has a purpose, be it good or bad.

This man is a person who helped our family with his services when my family couldn't afford a lot. Money was tight and life was a struggle. Basic needs were challenging and this is the time where this man helped my family with his services; he too was poor then.

The trade paid off and he has a very positive attitude today and many know him for his services. He started his life in great struggle and was called "black" as his name. He didn't let this be negative for him and accepted that it was just a name. Now the same name is what people call him with respect and remember for his services.

So Bahijaan Kala or ("Black") is my friend and teacher as he was almost 11 years ago.