Life in this world is like a wheel balancing on six spokes.  If anyone of them gets out of line, your life will get out of balance.

These are the six spokes of a balanced life as written by Khera Shiv in his book “YOU CAN WIN”

1 FAMILY

 Our beloved ones are the reason to live and make a living.

They are people who are heavily involved in their professions and businesses that they neglect their family, health and social responsibilities. If asked why they do this, they say they were doing it for their family.

Our kids are sleeping when we live home and sleeping when we come back. 

Twenty years later we turn back and all kids are gone, we have no family left and it is sad.

  Our families need both quantity and quality time to be with them.

2 FINANCE

Represents our career and the things that money can buy. Money provides food for the hungry, medicine for the sick, and clothes for the needy.

3  PHYSICAL

Is about our physical health, without which nothing makes sense. We lose our health in the process of earning money and we lose money in trying to regain health.

4.  MENTAL

 Represents knowledge and wisdom

5  SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Every individual and organization has social responsibility without which society starts dying.

In the process of making money, we neglect our social responsibilities and let the system deteriorate till we become victims ourselves.

6  SPIRITUAL

Our value and belief system represents ethics and character

Examples of eight richest men whose total wealth was estimated to be more than the USA government in 1923 and followed 25 years later, their fate was shocking:

1              President of the largest steel company, Charles Schwab, lived on borrowed capital for five years before he died bankrupt

2              President of the largest gas company, Howard Hubson, went insane.

3              One of the greatest commodity traders, Arthur Cutton, died insolvent

4              President of the New York stock exchange, Richard Whitney, was sent to jail

5              A member of the president’s cabinet, Albert Fall, was pardoned from jail to go home and die in peace

6              The greatest “ bear” on Wall street, Jessie Livermore, committed suicide

7              President of the world’s greatest monopoly, Ivar Krueger, committed suicide

8              President of the bank of international settlement, Leon Fraser, committed suicide.

Lessons to learn from these scenarios

1.            Learn how to make a living and also learn how to live in society because most of our traditional schools teach us how to make a living but fail to teach how to live or how to make a life!

2.            Scrutinise your goals:   our goals should be evaluated in light of the following ( similar to Rotary’s 4-way test:

•             Is it the truth?

• Is it fair to all concerned?
• Will it get me goodwill?
• Will it get me health, wealth and peace of mind?
• Is it consistent with my other goals?

•             Can I commit myself to it?

3.            Goals should be consistent with our values because they lead to purpose in life and a starting point of success.

4.            A person could make all the money in the world, yet if he loses his family and health, it is not worth it.

5.            A person could make a million dollars per day by selling illicit drugs but for the rest of his life, he would be running away from the police. This takes away his peace of mind and is not fair to all concerned nor will it give him goodwill.

Compiled by DR BUSINGYE WARUGABA AMOS