6 Lessons from a Poor Childhood That Lead to a Rich Life

I grew up on a farm with my father who was employed and my mother who cared for the elderly.

I had six brothers and was the fifth in line. We had little money, but I always felt loved, not deprived. In many ways I was a rich man.

When I was four, I lived in a two-room house with two bedrooms built within a year.

We had no real kitchen (just a room), no running water or indoor toilet, no TV or telephone. (No, I didn't grow up with dinosaurs). We had electric lights.

What did I learn about growing up in such an environment?

1. I've learned to share.

We were four girls and we all slept in one bedroom - two in one bed and two in the other (both twin beds). He named it, and we shared it.

2. I learned to take good care of what I have and to be grateful.

Each of us had two shoes, very few clothes, and one toy for Christmas, so we took good care of what we had and did not take it lightly. For birthdays, there was a cake baked and our gift was to start licking a cake bowl with icing.

3. I learned to use my imagination.

With so few toys we had to make your own. We walked with long cans of tomatoes wrapped in rubber bands to hold on to our feet. We played with old tires and five-gallon barrels by rolling them on the side. And the timbers, we have made for ourselves.

4. I learned to eat until I was no longer hungry than when I was under pressure.

Food was limited, but limited. We all got our share because mom cut equally between us. (I never knew you could take the ice cream out of the box until I was older, because my mother always cut the ice cream in half equal to ten and that the 10th piece was cut into another ten pieces. Piece.)

I’ve never had a weight problem, and this is because of the good eating habits and appreciation for the food we had.

5. I learned that it is people who build a house, not the size of a house.

We probably didn’t have much, but we had each other. We talked to each other, played with him, and laughed with him. (Sometimes fighting it.)

6. I learned to cooperate.

If you live in a small area you should work as a team. You learn good working skills and what hard work is.

We made money by working for the farmers in the fields, helping to irrigate when it came to irrigating the crops, and keeping four rooms in our house occupied, so there was room to move.

As I look back on my childhood and the values ​​that nurtured it, I realize that I was a very lucky child. Yes, things are much better and easier now, but I know what I need to appreciate and what is important for us to be happy.

It’s the people you share your life with - the memories you build and the laughter you share.

Things do not make you happy. It lives in the moment and lives every day with love in your heart.

I only buy what I need, which is a mess. I have food, shelter, water, breath, and people who love me and those who love me.

I appreciate what I already have to add comfort to my life. I take good care of my furniture, my equipment, and the little things that make life comfortable and easy.

We can choose to change our lives if we want to. With hard work and a dream anything can happen. Obstacles can always be overcome. We learn from them and move on.

Real happiness does not come from price. Happiness is something we choose with our attitude and gratitude.

I look at people today and all the material things they find, I think they will find happiness, but happiness cannot be bought.

It is in our attitude. The love in our heart. People we know and love. Memories of life that they bring.

When death knocks at our door, what will matter is how much we love and remember the memories we leave behind. They will not remember the house you lived in or the beautiful things you may have.

People will remember the laughter they shared with you, the long conversations, the lessons they may have learned from you, and most importantly, the love that was shared.

In the end it was what we were, how it affected other people's lives, and the love we gave and found that will count and be remembered.

Did you build those kinds of memories? Will people smile and laugh when they think of how it affected their life one day?