Mistakes hurt, especially if they hit you in the pocket and put a dent on the bank balance. Yours truly made one recently after rushing to Southwark Crown Court.
But firstly, while in Kampala with the rest of the guys for our destination reunion in October, I was very excited with the activities lined up on that last Wednesday of the month.
Having not been to a zoo in over two decades, our planned trip to Entebbe to see the animal kingdom was worth looking forward to. As our guide took us round, we got to the Apes apartment and there was this write up about them having as much as over eighty percent of human DNA. Wonderment, you may say.
Though the jury may be out forever on that scientific fact, however, it didn’t take long for these creatures to validate part of that shared genetics. After our guide gave us heads up, he advised us to buy bananas and throw them across the small river separating us from them. This, he said, is how to motivate the apes to treat us to a jaw dropping show.
They actually put up a performance. But we wanted more; and some of the guys bought bananas to motivate them further. Unfortunately, some of the bananas didn’t make it across and fell into the river.
Guess what? The apes got close to the bank of the river but never jumped in to retrieve any bananas. When asked why they didn’t follow the bananas into the water, our guide told us that they had been there early in their lives and they didn’t fancy being wet. This lesson, according to him, has been passed down successive generations of apes by the animals themselves. That sunk into one’s medulla oblongata.
When, as earlier mentioned, yours truly recently made the mistake of dashing to Southwark Crown Court, only to realise after passing through the annoying, but understandable security checks, that I’d left my power bank at home; it hurt. I made a U-turn immediately and was thinking of where I could get an emergency one. Even if it meant paying top money, I was ready to not let the mistake ruin my day.
Thank goodness, a ‘Boots the Chemist’ store was near the Court. I even fancied the higher priced one and parted with £20. Next time, I’ll need to double check that I have my power bank with me before leaving home. Sometimes, too, there may be no money available to even correct the mistake.Â
Juxtaposing one’s own lesson learnt with the takeaway from the apes in far away Kampala, I’m definitely taking a cue from them and won’t be making the same money mistake twice. Folks, try to not repeat the same money mistakes. Even apes hate for lightning to strike them twice.
- business a.m. commits to publishing a diversity of views, opinions and comments. It, therefore, welcomes your reaction to this and any of our articles via email: comment@businessamlive.comÂ
Tunde Oyedoyin is a London-based personal finance coach and founder of Money Intelligence Coaching Academy, a specialist academy of personal finance. He can be reached as follows: +447846089587 (WhatsApp only); E-mail: tu5oyed@gmail.com
An unforgettable lesson from Entebbe Zoo