ATTITUDE
They say a bad attitude is like a flat tyre, unless you remove it you cant go far in life.
I have observed 2 people over a period of about 10 years who in my own opinion were at the same level 10yrs ago and only difference was age. 10 years ago, one had worked for many years as a builder and another had finished University.
I will not write real name for one but will call him Wambuzi for discussion purpose and another Mukasa Peter Lwembawo
Wambuzi lived and still leaves around Kabalagala an area i also lived for so many years because i had an office at Susie House and nsambya estates is where i rented until 5 years ago.
Wambuzi( much younger than me) and i our paths crossed often. I loved walking to work and now i try to run to work as much as possible including this morning.
Wambuzi asked me for an appointment to discuss something( somehow some one told him i was running Great Lakes safaris ltd much as i often walked) according to him then to which i said yes.
When he came to office, a job was what he was looking for and since we didnt have one at the time, i told him, i would ask someone to allow him drive tourists as gets tour guiding experience.
Even before i could finish my explaination on how tour guiding is such an important job and in fact a honourable one. Chap stopped me and told me he had finished university and gotten a social science degree and he wasnt looking for a driving job. He wanted a management job and if i wanted to look for a job for him, it had to be an office management one.
He says now listen, i come from a well to do background, his family had a name to protect and he wouldnt entertain anyone seeing him as a driver. He was actually living in his fathers house at the time and yes, he still lives in his fathers house upto now.
During the discussion i asked him if he knew who he was asking for a job from. I told him, i had swept, office messengered, tour guided but you didnt go to school, he responds, i went to school he emphazises. I told i actually went to school just not university but decided to start from rock bottom. I realized i was wasting time, i asked him to leave my office.
Same period, i meet Peter Mukasa in kabalagala who was doing construction after having studied a diploma in civil works i think but i could tell life wasnt good. He was my class mate in Wairaka college for 4 years. He had very likeable character( very important in tourism). He played football a long side being a ladies man. He was loved.
He told me about challenges he faced in the construction area. People would make them work hard and not pay them. That happened over 70% of the time.
I suggested same idea to him as i had suggested to Wambuzi. I will find you somewhere to drive tourists and while in it make sure you excel. Be punctual, be honest, be respectful, work hard, be one of the best in guiding. He was a likeable naturally so he didnt have struggle in that area.
Peter Mukasa has actually excelled, done lots of things for himself and his family. He is the head guide at Great Lakes Safaris and no one can hold him captive because he can do a lot with his life. He is a great birder now and continues to learn daily.
Meanwhile, i meet Wambuzi often and looks worse off now than 10 years ago. Wambuzi had potential and still has potential, only poor attitude stands in his way. One cant bank potential neither can it be exchanged for food.
The writer is the proprietor of Great Lakes Safaris
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