Jesse was born in rural Kenya. A class four pupil, he always looked forward to his school holidays because this was his chance to visit his uncle who owned a supermarket in the capital city, Nairobi. Jesse loved the many goodies his uncle allowed him to enjoy. He had free reign in the supermarket.
Having been brought up in strict discipline environment, Jesse knew what to do and what not to do. His parents had taught him the importance of working and to always avoid free things. He loved helping around in the supermarket even if it was just small chores and errands here and there. This endeared him to his uncle and the employees in the supermarket. One thing he loved was arranging products on the shelves. During these sessions, Jesse noticed something that intrigued him: on all the products, there were small stickers with numbers on them. When he could no longer contain his curiosity about them, Jesse decided to ask his uncle what they were and their role. The uncle loved his nephew’s curiosity and was always willing to teach him as much as he could. This was no exception. So he sat Jesse down and explained “These stickers are called price tags. They tell the customers how much each item costs. Jesse’s face beamed as his puzzle had been finally solved.
Most if not all of us are aware of the price tags as we always go shopping. We also know that this sticker represents the value of a particular product in the currency of the particular country. If that sticker is removed, the value of that product is unfixed and a buyer can request to but it at any price most often at a price far lower than the product’s true value. We may not be aware that we human beings are “products” but unlike the products in a supermarket, we decide our price(read our value) and people will always “buy” us at the price we place on ourselves. Our value is not determined by the clothes we wear, neighbourhoods we live in, the places we shop, holiday destinations or the people we know but rather, by the content of our character and our values. We might not be that advanced in our academic pursuits and though very important, if our character and values are good, then our value automatically shoots up. It’s therefore very important that we keep developing our character and improving our values for these come before anything else. Question is: What is your sticker price? To read more posts by Mwangi, click HERE
