Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind. So said the American novelist, Henry James.
Rings true? Ask Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder who was once the richest man in the world.
But why him? Because a newspaper vendor in one of New York’s airports is said to have been ‘kind’ to him on two occasions when he was neither rich nor famous. And quietly taught him a lesson on kindness when he returned 19 years later to repay the favour!
According to unverified reports available online, Gates himself recounted the story when an interviewer asked him if there was anyone in the world richer than him. ‘Yes, there is someone richer than me,” Gates apparently said. At the time of the interview, Gates had not yet relinquished the crown of the ‘world’s richest man’.
Vendor’s gesture
The story goes that Gates, after landing at the airport in New York, picked up a copy of a newspaper from a newsstand but discovered that he did not have small change to pay for it. So, he put the newspaper back and told the vendor he would not be buying it. The vendor, however, said, “You can take the newspaper. I am giving it to you for free.” Gates initially refused but agreed to take it on the vendor’s insistence.
Two-three months later, the same drama played out between Gates and the same vendor at the same airport. Gates did not have small change to pay for a newspaper, so the vendor offered it to him for free. When he refused, the vendor said, “Please take the newspaper. I’m offering it to you out of my profits. I won’t run up a loss if I give it to you.” So, Gates gracefully accepted it.
Payback time
Nineteen years later, Gates was passing through the same airport when he remembered the newspaper vendor. By then, he had become the richest man in the world. But he could not find the man anywhere. It took Gates more than a month to locate him.
When they came face to face, Gates asked the vendor, “Do you know who I am?”
“Yes, I do. You are Bill Gates, the richest man in the world,” said the vendor.
“Do you remember that you once gave me a newspaper for free?” asked Gates.
The vendor appeared a little uneasy. “Yes, I remember. I gave you two newspapers for free,” he mumbled, after a while.
“Well, I now want to repay you for your kindness. Ask me for whatever you want, and I will fulfil it,” Gates said.
Not a match
The vendor hesitated. Slowly, he began to speak. “But Sir, can whatever you do now match my kindness and help?” he asked, softly.
Gates appeared confused. “Why not?” he asked.
The vendor replied, “Sir, I helped you when I was a poor newspaper vendor. And you are trying to help me now when you have become the richest man in the world. How can your help match mine?”
Moral of the story
Winding up his story, Gates is reported to have said, “That day I realized that the newspaper vendor was richer than I was. Because he didn’t wait to become rich to help someone. People need to understand that the truly rich are those who possess a rich heart than lots of money.”
Disclaimer
Soul Chocolate is retelling the story attributed to Bill Gates only for its parable-like quality. Since it has been sourced from reports available online and on social media, we are unable to confirm who interviewed him and whether the story is authentic. Several details appear dodgy, especially the truisms mouthed by the vendor and the fact that he could identify Bill Gates and recall doing him a favour nearly two decades later. But the details snap nicely into place and, like a parable, teach a moral lesson that is relevant for all time.
Why we must be kind
We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness – Charlie Chaplin
How do we change the world? One random act of kindness at a time – Morgan Freeman
I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore there can be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again – William Penn