I remember taking an algebra class in high school and sitting next to someone whom I thought was dumb, not because he didn’t know the answers but because he admitted he didn’t know the answers.
The class remembered him as the “dumb” kid who didn’t know anything. But the teacher appreciated his questions. Every class period, he always asked the same question: “I don’t understand what you’re saying. Can you explain it again in a different way?”
We joked around every time he asked a question because we thought we knew the answer. We didn’t take him seriously.
One day, I saw him on his phone looking at used cars and I asked him about it. He told me he buys and fixes them, then sells them at a price higher than what he paid for. I thought that was interesting and asked him how he started.
Throughout the school year, we naturally became friends and he often told me about how much he made from his side hustle. I realized he was a lot smarter than I thought.
The school year ended and we stopped talking to each other. Later, I found out he didn’t go to college and instead started his own construction company.
I was dumbfounded.
He was never dumb; he was simply unafraid of asking about things he didn’t understand. He’s thriving now because of it.
Here’s my inspiration for the day.