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- #62: G is for Generous
#62: G is for Generous
Shem Opolot
March 08, 2024
Hi! Welcome to The Friday Fix! You’re reading this because you probably stumbled upon this post somewhere on the internet instead of where it should be—in your inbox. But no worries; we can fix that.
Who am I? I’m Shem Opolot, a health professional turned content creator, passionate about helping people be their best selves in life and work.
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I have over ten years of work experience in healthcare, program management, and data analytics on two continents. So, I know a little about helping you work smarter
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I’ll occasionally make you laugh
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Happy Friday 🎉 I had an interview this morning. When I logged on, there were five white faces on the crowded Zoom screen. You’ll never guess what the moderator led with:
“We’re so happy to speak to Shem, the YouTube star. We’ve been watching (yes, he said “watching”) The Friday Fix…”
It was down to the wire there for a while, but I’m glad I picked YouTube and the newsletter over OnlyFans.
LIFE.
G is for generosity.
“I never want to live within my means.”
Jane has worked for us for over two years. If you have a house-help in Uganda, depending on your relationship with them, at some point, they’ll either ask for leave to visit an ill relative in the village and never return OR ask to borrow money.
We consider ourselves Grade-A employers. For example, we give them Christmas gifts and time off when they need it, but when I buy Hajjat’s delicious samosas (sumbusas, who am I kidding?), which cost 5000/- each, they know to ask before indulging.
Jane had a family emergency and asked to borrow upwards of Shs. 1 million. For my non-Ugandans, this can buy you a nice perfume, not a house. We were down bad then, but we collected coins and helped Jane because she’s great at her job; the house-help market is brutal, and it’s good to help.
Almost instantly, the wrinkle on Jane’s forehead that was threatening to plunge into the gap between her eyes disappeared.
When it was payback time, Jane, shining with a patently African post-shower Petroleum jelly glow, adopted a servile stance on the guest chair in the living room; an envelope in hand.
“Sir, here’s the money you gave me,” she said timidly.
Sometimes, one of the best things about lending money is you forget you loaned it out. What? You can’t relate?
Well, the thing is, I tend to lend money I don’t expect back.
But it’s always a good time to get money, so when I saw that envelope, pregnant with 20s and 50s, I immediately thought of all the cracks and creaks in the house that required correction.
But instead, I held the envelope briefly, thanked Jane for paying the money back, and gave it back to her.
At this point, her former wrinkle was botoxed, and she was beaming.
I can’t explain it, which is ironic because one of my criteria for talking about things here is my capacity to understand them, dissect them, and relay them to you like you’re 5.
But generosity is one of the secrets to accumulating wealth.
Some people will tell you money is spiritual and should be respected as such. Some people will guard it jealously and watch it slip through their fingers.
And some people were born into immense wealth and try to sell you a course on making money.
But all I know is the world of the generous grows larger and larger, and when you give of your money, time, forgiveness, or anything of value at any given time, you’re pouring into others and yourself.
My wife once told me she never wanted to live within her means, and after contemplating divorce, it took me a long time to understand this.
We live in abundance, so give freely, and you’ll receive freely.
THINGS.
A quote
You don't become a master because you're able to retain knowledge. You become a master when you're able to release it.
A picture
A few minutes before I typed this, I visited a friend at the International Finance Corporation (part of The World Bank) in D.C., and it was an inspirational experience. I’m keeping my visitor badge; let’s see in what capacity I return to this building in the future 😁.
WORK.
I have PDF solutions for you.
Sometimes, you have to review a massive PDF, and you don’t have time to peruse (let’s remember what peruse means, please) it.
With AI, you can chat with PDFs and ask them questions about their content.
Here are some tools you can use:
ChatPDF. For free, you can upload a PDF with up to 120 pages and ask 50 questions daily. Usually, this is more than enough.
Perplexity. A powerful AI-powered search engine you should be using if you aren’t already. For free, you can upload up to 3 PDF files a day of <= 10MB size.
Arc browser. This one’s only for iOS and Mac users right now. Arc is the antidote to clickbait. Hover over a link, and it’ll give you a summary of what’s inside. ⌘ + F lets you chat with any webpage for specific answers. The mobile app is fantastic, too. Unfortunately, the Windows desktop version is still in beta with a waitlist, but probably worth the wait.
Coral AI. Stingy. Only lets you chat with one file you upload.
Humata. For free, you can chat with a PDF of up to 60 pages.
FUN.
The Friday Fix Playlist
Brain teaser
From Braingle.
In each group below, the three words end in the same three letters, so they look like they should rhyme, but they don't. See if you can figure out the missing letters in each group.
Example: plo___, tho___, to___ would be plough, though, tough.
1. alb___, conc___, counterf___
2. dr___, gl___, pr___
3. b___, c___, t___
Answer below
Shem’s picks
✔️ Dread it? Run from it? Same. Here’s how to improve your small talk.
✔️ The best way to hang pictures in your house.
✔️ Improve the way you use ChatGPT
Brain teaser answer
Answer:
1. albeit, conceit, counterfeit
2. drove, glove, prove
3. bomb, comb, tomb
Have a great weekend,
— Shem
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