01/10/2026
WEALTH IN THE SHADOW OF TIME
How many of you remember this radio? The Palito radio.
And what about this cassette winder?
There was a time when owning these things was a sign that you had arrived. They were valuable. They were symbols of comfort, class, and wealth. If you had one, people noticed.
Back then, these were the things people desired.
But look at them today.
Technology moved forward.
The world evolved.
What was once expensive became ordinary.
And what was once a symbol of wealth became a memory.
Today, you can hardly find some of these things not even in a museum.
And that should teach us something about wealth.
Material things have an expiration date.
The car that makes you proud today will eventually become outdated.
The phone you cannot live without today will one day be forgotten.
The clothes you spend so much money buying will eventually go out of fashion.
The house you built may one day belong to someone else.
Even money itself can lose its value.
So why do we sometimes allow temporary possessions to give us permanent pride?
Why do we measure the worth of a person by the car they drive, the house they live in, the clothes they wear, or the amount of money in their bank account?
Wealth is not wrong.
Success is not wrong.
There is nothing wrong with enjoying the rewards of your hard work.
The problem begins when possessions become the measurement of your identity.
Because if your worth depends on what you own, what happens when what you own becomes outdated?
The Palito radio was once valuable.
Today, most people would probably choose a smartphone that can do a thousand things that radio could never do.
That is the nature of material wealth.
It evolves.
What is considered luxury today may become ordinary tomorrow.
What makes you the envy of everyone today may become something nobody remembers tomorrow.
But there are things that do not lose their value with time.
Character.
Integrity.
Wisdom.
Knowledge.
Kindness.
Loyalty.
Peace.
Good relationships.
These are forms of wealth that cannot be measured by a bank statement.
You can lose your money and still rebuild if you have wisdom.
You can lose your business and start again if you have knowledge.
You can lose your possessions and still be rich if you have people who genuinely love and respect you.
But if you have everything money can buy and lose your character, your peace, your integrity, and your relationships, what have you really gained?
Perhaps the greatest wealth is not what you can show people.
It is what remains when there is nothing left to show.
So build your wealth.
Make money.
Build businesses.
Buy the beautiful things you can afford.
Enjoy the fruits of your labour.
But never allow material possessions to become the foundation of your pride.
Because one day, just like the Palito radio and the cassette winder, the things we celebrate today will become memories of another generation.
And when that day comes, people may not remember the car you drove.
They may not remember the brand of clothes you wore.
They may not remember how expensive your house was.
But they will remember how you treated people.
They will remember your generosity.
They will remember your wisdom.
They will remember your character.
They will remember the lives you touched.
That is wealth.
Not merely what you accumulated,
but what you contributed.
Not what you owned,
but what you became.
Because material wealth lives under the shadow of time.
But values that are truly priceless can outlive generations.
The Palito radio may disappear.
The cassette winder may disappear.
Technology will continue to change.
Material possessions will come and go.
But a good name, a good heart, wisdom, integrity, and the positive impact you leave on others
those are forms of wealth that time cannot easily erase.
