Over the weekend, I called an old friend to congratulate him on his son’s graduation.
Time and distance may age friendships, but seeing his Instagram photo, standing beside his much taller son, made me smile. I picked up the phone.
Before hanging up, he asked: “Would you mind speaking to my son?”
“Of course,” I said.
His son’s voice reminded me of his father. After a few laughs, he asked:
“Auntie Jamal, what should I study in university next year?”
I replied, “What kind of life do you want to live?”
Without skipping a beat: “I want to be rich.”
“Great,” I said. “Then here’s some good news. It doesn’t matter what you study. If your goal is wealth, you need one mindset shift and three key skills.”
Mindset Shift: You’re already rich.
Money isn’t rare it’s everywhere. You just haven’t been trained to see it.
Opportunities are in unmet needs, frustrations, avoided tasks, and passing remarks like: “I wish someone would…”
Money hides inside everyday friction look for it there.
Mark Cuban started selling garbage bags door to door at age 12 not because it was glamorous, but because people needed them.
Skill 1: Learn to Sell.
You don’t need to want a sales job but you must know how to influence, connect, and create value.
Sell something daily. Hear the “no.” Keep going until you find the “yes.”
Whether you’re pitching, applying, or dating you’re selling. Great sellers listen, solve, and build trust.
Selling is how you pull opportunity into your hands.
Skill 2: Study People.
Money flows through people. Learn how they think.
Even today, when I go to restaurants or hotels, I observe: What’s nice vs. what’s exceptional? Why did I spend?
Whether it’s a street vendor or spa, I take note. Just this weekend, a massage therapist gently led me to buy a moisturizer. She didn’t pitch she understood me.
Understand people and you understand money.
Skill 3: Learn Your Own Brain.
Most people live like pilots in a cockpit with no idea what the buttons do.
To build wealth, you need self-awareness, on your discipline, triggers, focus, and habits.
I carve out 50% of my evenings and weekends for reflecting, reading, meditating, and painting and spending time alone.
Not to escape the world but to move through it with clarity.
External wealth begins with internal mastery. And these skills compound over time.
That was our chat. Not a lecture just a conversation with someone about to board life.
And I reminded him:
Life rewards those who see opportunity, connect with people, and know themselves. The rest is just details.
