Impressions

Off late I have turned into a devotee of the works by Robin Sharma. The obsession would perhaps be due to the fact that there are very few self-help literature works to which I can relate to. It takes more than just reading philosophy and deciding to tweak a makeover.

So while listening to one of his audio features, there was a mention of an African – American woman named Oziola McCarthy. She passed away at the age of 91 after spending her entire life washing other people’s dirty laundry. This woman grew up in wretched poverty and faced one tragedy after another during the course of her life. She never left home except to buy groceries and to visit the church. She remained a spinster all her life, although when she was 87 she did tell her best friend that she was still looking out for a good man. And yet when this woman passed away, she had been honored by world leaders and even received an honorary doctorate from Harvard University.

So what was so special about her? Here’s her story. 

As a young woman, she used to deposit every dime and nickel that she received on washing other people’s clothes at a local bank. This went on for days, weeks, months, years and decades until one day when she was 87 and paid a visit to the bank. 

The man behind the counter greeted her and asked her, “Oziola, do you have any idea how much money you have accumulated into your account?” She said, “No, I don’t. Why don’t you tell me?” 

He replied, “You have accumulated over one quarter of a million dollars. What do you want me to do with it?” Now Oziola was a simple woman and didn’t understand how much money that was, so here is what the man behind the counter did. He put across ten coins on the counter and said, “These ten coins represent your money. Tell me what I should do with it.” She pointed at the first coin and said, “I would like to give that to the church” and pointed at the next three coins and said, “I would like to give these to my nieces, nephews and cousins because I love them so much. As for the other six coins, I have something very special in mind.”         

One month later a local university received a cheque from her for a hundred and fifty thousand dollars with a handwritten note attached to it which read: I would like you to set up a scholarship for poor African-American students who still know how to dream.

This act of humanity turned around heads all around the world. Later when she was asked what her dream was, she replied, “I so dearly wish to see the first recipient of my scholarship on the graduation stage before I pass away. But that probably is not going to happen because of my advanced age.” And yet one month before she died, the first recipient of her scholarship did walk across the platform. After she passed away, the student was tracked down for his comments. He said, “Heaven couldn’t have gotten a better angel. She was an inspiration, a blessing and a treasure to the world.”   

Courtesy: Sharma Leadership International