Sometimes Life Just Ain't Fair

This story will go in my book.

So read it and forget it. I'm only sharing this with you because you're in my community.

I want to remind you that sometimes bad things happen to good people.

If you ever find yourself in such a situation, don't lose faith completely.

Feel sorry for yourself for two minutes, and then pick yourself up and keep moving. Here we go.

 Being young and stupid, you try a lot of shortcuts to make quick money. I remember back in 2005 or 2006 when I did something that almost put me in jail.

The idea itself was brilliant, but the execution was lacking.

I had the brilliant idea that I would flip phones. At this point, I didn't even that flipping was a thing. I just knew that I needed quick cash. I had a fairly decent phone for that era. I'd just ended a 6 month employment stint at the local mall that was being built.

So now my brilliant idea was to take the phone I had, sell it to some Nigerians in Hilbrow. Take the profit from the first sale and buy two more phones, and repeat this process until kingdom come.

What I didn't take into account was that these Nigerian dudes selling illegitimate merch on the streets were scoundrels, cold blooded and looking to maximize their own profit.

Bear in mind, I was a skinny 18-year old trying to outwit veteran hustlers whose daily work was scamming, conning or bamboozling weak minded, desperate fools like myself. I stood no chance at all.

What I didn't understand at that was that these guys deal in stolen phones, and so they buy them quite cheaply because the seller had just robbed somebody so they wanted to quickly rid themselves of the merchandise so they can buy booze or drugs or whatever.

These guys were not in the business of buying legitimate phones at a competitive price.

They didn't tell me this. I guess they saw the my youthful foolishness and simply couldnt pass up the opportunity to teach me the lesson of a lifetime.

They tookmy phone, tried to negotiate a little, but I didn't budge, since I thought we were doing a legitimate deal.

When they saw my stubbornresolve, they switched and started speaking in their native language. I had no idea what they were saying. But nowI know they were plotting how they would fleece me and teach me a lesson.

When I started getting suspicious and skirmish, it was already too late. They had the phone with them and were reluctant to give it back.

Eventually we went to a cellphone repair shop owned by a fellow Nigerian. They sold him my phone for an amount below my asking price, which was surprising to me. I wondered how they would give me the money I had asked for and still make a profit for themeselves.

Anyway, I let things unfold. I was powerless at this point since I had just seen them sell my phone.

They did pay me immediately. We went to a club called The Base in Hilbrow, where we would conclude the deal like proper street hustlers. Little did I know I was being hustled. The club was decent, it had loud music and strobing lights. I thought these lights were for ambience, little did I know that they were the perfect cover for paying someone in fake currency and not have them suspect a thing.

The masterful thingthey did was to tellto hide my money because this place was filled with unsavory characters who wouldn't hesitate to rob me even in the day light in front of all these people.

With my inexperience, it didn't even occur to me that the notes could be fake. I only counted to check that they had given me the amount I asked for. And then I did as I was told. I hid my money and walked away hurriedly.

When I got to JHB CBD, I tried to buy my next phone so I could repeat the process, and did I have a surprise waiting for me.

I was so proud of myself and was already thinking about how successful I would be with my new phone flipping business. I mean, I had made 200 more on the deal than I had originally paid for the phone. So I thought it was a good deal.

But when I tried to buy my other phone to sell, the store owner went crazy. He separated all the fake notes from the real notes, accused me of being a criminal, and slapped me real hard across the face. He tried to jump over the counter so he could snatch me, while instructing his assistant to close the door so they could manhandle me. when I saw the anger in his eyes, I quickly snatched my money and made my get away.

I went back to Hilbrow to hunt those guys who had ripped me off, but I obviously I couldn't find them. But I was thankful that I hadn't been arrested. Imagine being arrested for being a victim of a crime?

The same rules apply in business. You could be doing everything right based on your limited (even abundant) knowledge, and yet things don't work out. You could be dealing honestly, and someone comes along to swindle you.

How will you react to these unfair occurrences?

Will you quit and give up or will you rise up to fight another day?