The Least Likely To Succeed

**Motu** · 19th October 2005, 14:52

I have a customer who I went to primary school with,and knew him until we were late teenagers,he keeps up with some of the kids from the neighbourhood,kinda funny how we all turned out...

In our school we had one Maori family of 5 brothers and one girl,all about a year apart.I was looking last night at a 1958 school photo of the Tiny Tots,our first year in school,and I am sitting next to the middle brother,my best mate,we were in the same class until the 5th form.The older brother was a bit of a rat bag and by the time he was 21 had spent 4 yrs 9 mths inside.In one of his spells of freedom we came under his influence - and although I didn't go out with them much,they drove around in a 58 Ford getting drunk,beating people up at random,trashing and stealing from cars.When I left school at 16 and started work I decided I didn't want to go to jail just for sitting in their car,just because of the company I kept,so drifted away from my peer group and found new friends.

My classmate was obviously intelligent,although just dumb technical boys,we were always in the A class and he never appeared to put any effort into passing exams,but none of us did either.But he was beligerent and surly,the teachers never tried hard to repremand him,he just ignored them.Definatly would of gone down in their books as a least likely to succeed.

So I found out today that he went back to school after many years on tuna boats,got an engineering degree and became a ships engineer - now he is a millionare and semi retired in Dawin,just playing the money markets to keep occupied.Two of his younger brothers are also millionares,both property developers...the older brother?...um,yes,he is also a millionare,he's some sort of plantation owner in Australia....

Nice to know some of this family surpased all that was expected of them,got there by their own efforts after a few years of no direction.

**duckman** · 19th October 2005, 15:41

Awww isn't that nice, the "unlikley to succeed" maori boys who got kicks outta stealing other peoples shit and beating people up have made good and now live a life of luxury... Well hoo fuckin Ra.

**froggyfrenchman** · 19th October 2005, 17:17

The only way im gonna get $1m is to win LOTTO. Oh well, off to buy my ticket

**Coyote** · 19th October 2005, 17:27

Originally Posted by duckman

Awww isn't that nice, the "unlikley to succeed" maori boys who got kicks outta stealing other peoples shit and beating people up have made good and now live a life of luxury... Well hoo fuckin Ra.

And then the people who listen to the teacher, do their work, get good grades, treat others as they wish to be treated then get trodden on by others as always, don't get the girl, get the dead end job, owe their soul to the bank and all they can hope for is to never wake up the next morning

Yeah, can't wait

**SARGE** · 19th October 2005, 17:38

Originally Posted by alarumba

And then the people who listen to the teacher, do their work, get good grades, treat others as they wish to be treated then get trodden on by others as always, don't get the girl, get the dead end job, owe their soul to the bank and all they can hope for is to never wake up the next morning

Yeah, can't wait

i had an old friend from school.. studied hard.. straight A student..gave up weekends to study..best university.. PHd in English and Masters in Economics

OD'd on sleeping pills a few years back after he got fired from Wal-Mart as a cashier.

the moral of the story?

live life now.. it aint fair

**SPORK** · 19th October 2005, 17:45

Originally Posted by alarumba

And then the people who listen to the teacher, do their work, get good grades, treat others as they wish to be treated then get trodden on by others as always, don't get the girl, get the dead end job, owe their soul to the bank and all they can hope for is to never wake up the next morning

Yeah, can't wait

Good day, I take it?

**cowboyz** · 19th October 2005, 17:48

My life was half over before I discovered it was a do-it-yourself project.

**Coyote** · 19th October 2005, 17:55

Originally Posted by OMGWTFBBQ

Good day, I take it?

Oh yes! It was like prancing through tulips

**Storm** · 19th October 2005, 18:36

with buttercups and happy music playing too?
Dont worry, you;re on KB now, you can vent it all

**NordieBoy** · 19th October 2005, 20:28

Originally Posted by Motu

the older brother?...um,yes,he is also a millionare,he's some sort of plantation owner in Australia....

Wonder what sort of plantation or is that a bit 'hush-hush'.

**Motu** · 19th October 2005, 20:50

Originally Posted by NordieBoy

Wonder what sort of plantation or is that a bit 'hush-hush'.

Two months work - $20,000,airfares and accomodation paid,walk a 2 km fence line...gun supplied.

We could ask why didn't I,a privaliged pakeha given the same education and opportunaties didn't succeed in life? Well,I got heavily involved in riding motorcycles,this was my downfall into a life of poverty.

**Sniper** · 20th October 2005, 06:34

Well done to him, if he had the drive and the motivation to go ahead and succeed, it is something he should be praised for after all the bad shit he did.

**_Gina_** · 20th October 2005, 07:27

I can relate to this story Motu, although I am not Maori.

I was the pre teen/teen child from hell, at 12 I hooked up with a group who thought that drinking, taking drugs, doing crime and generally being antisocial was where it was at. Must have broken my parents big time because I was destined to become something in their eyes, straight A's without effort etc...Mum worked two jobs so I could go to private school.

To make a really long story short, I ended up in Bollard, then a ward of the state by the time I was 13. I was told by many people that I was a waste of space and that I was destined for a life in and out of Arohata, to which I would always reply, not @#$%en likely. Funny that, always had a bit of an attitude??!!

I was given a special dispensation (read, too bloody disruptive) in third form to leave school, so basically made it through the first two terms only. At 15 I was told that I had to go back to school or get a job, went back to school for 3 weeks then decided to get a job.

Life between 15 and 18 was interesting, I sorted myself out a little, still got up to mischief here and there, but always had a job, prided myself on being self sufficient.

Between 18 and now, I have built a boat and lived on it for 6 months, started and run my own business for 9 years, and now am employed in the corporate sector in middle management. Have 2 bikes

, loving partner, children, a home, basically a good life.

The thing I find the strangest is that if I meet people who I went to school with and who knew me when I was growing up, they just can't understand how I got here, I mean litterally the jaw drops and they are lost for words.
Somehow I think that I always knew that I would do whatever I wanted to do with my life and believed in myself always.

Well, enough of that.

**Colapop** · 20th October 2005, 07:36

Yeah aint it funny how life turns out. I've worked my arse of but I'm no angel (i've been fired enough to prove that) You are what you make you, and if you are happy with that then it doesn't matter how much you have or don't have - success is how you judge yourself.