On a certain bright day, a small boy walked up to his father and asked, “Dad, tell me the value of my life”. His father was not taken aback but rather enthused over the question posed to him by his son.

He told the son, I will tell you how much your life is worth but first, do me one favour.

He took a stone and gave it to him to go out to sell it. The son asked, how much do I sell it for?

The dad told him, if you are asked the price, don’t quote any sum figure but raise your two fingers, thus, the index and the middle fingers.

He first asked him to take it to the grocer around their corner. When he was asked the price for the stone by the grocer, he raised his fingers as directed by his dad. The grocer then said, “I will pay you Two pounds sterling (£2.00)”.

The boy ran back to tell his dad the grocer had offered him £2.00.

The dad asked him to take the stone to a museum not far from their home to sell it. The boy took it to the museum. They asked what he was doing with it. He said he had come to sell it. The person in charge took the stone, observed it, and said, “This is antique. I will pay you Two hundred pounds (200.00)”

The boy ran back to tell his dad the museum had offered him £200.00.

The father said, to take it to the jeweler about half a mile from their house. When he went, he told the jeweler he had come to sell his stone. The jeweler took it and exclaimed; “This is a rare precious stone. I will pay you Two hundred thousand pounds (£200,000.00) for it”.

The boy ran back to tell his dad how much the jeweler had offered him.

The dad then said, “Have you now seen your life value”? Your value is without limit. It depends on the people you mingle with, the environment you find yourself in, and how hard you push yourself. You must have a vision, set a target, and be well-focused. Doing as told, you can reach any height you want in life with the sky only becoming your limit.

The price, or the value, of the stone, kept increasing depending on where the boy took it.

Let us aspire in life and keep to the means we devise for achieving such aspirations, the value of our life.

What have you learned from this story, o, ye fellow Ghanaian?