Segment:- From Dropout to Millionaire: The Street Hustle you accept will never upset you.

A first million earned by 28. Everything lost by 32. Not a parable—an honest account of how seasonal timing, storage arbitrage, and scrappy logistics turned maize into momentum, then how one unhedged bet on coffee and a missing insurance policy let a storm erase years of gains. We walk through each decision point: why warehouses mattered more than cars, how owning a truck doubled margin, and where “patience” slipped into speculation. The story doesn’t stop at loss; it pivots to the discipline that kept the builder steady—“Don’t use feelings”—and the leadership principle behind it: what you accept will never upset you.

We also dive into a philosophy of parenting that cuts against the grain. Comfort without context breeds fragility. Starting kids at the bottom of the ladder—security, messenger, hands-on roles—teaches the value of money, time, and service. The goal isn’t to replicate struggle; it’s to transmit standards. Poverty is a curse to escape, but entitlement can be just as corrosive. True legacy is measured by whether your children surpass you, not whether you outshine them.

To tie it all together, we lay out a simple framework for money: work hard when you’re young and fill your hours; work smart in middle age by analyzing better and leveraging your network; and build systems that protect gains so they can grow—insurance, diversification within competence, and pace control. If you’ve ever wondered how to turn hustle into durable wealth without letting one bad season undo the rest, this conversation gives you the map and the mindset. If it resonates, share it with a friend, subscribe for more grounded stories like this, and leave a review with the one lesson you’re taking into your next decision.

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Host: https://www.instagram.com/derrick.abaitey/

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
This question they've asked me so many times.
When you do sit in this chair, Ihave to ask you because we know
that you were a messenger, thenyou worked uh in the
construction site, you were adriver's mate as well, you were
a people teacher at some at apoint as well.
Yeah, but how did you make thatfirst million?

SPEAKER_00 (00:16):
Okay, let me let me let me let me let me tell you.
At that point, I was workingbetween airport and tamaport,
and I started selling maize.
So Fridays, I leave for Techimanto buy maize during bumper
harvest.
I bring it all the way toInsawam.
I had some warehouses thereduring bumper harvest.

(00:37):
I can store maze, core qualitycontrol to come and show me, get
the whole place from it.
Leave it there and go back towork.
I was making some small, smallmoney also around my packpack
movement.
During late season, I could sellthe same maze four times the
same price.
Whenever it's sold, I add aprofit and I'll increase my

(00:58):
quantity.
I'll add a profit, increase myquantity.
Add a profit, increase myquantity.
I'll make so much money.
During those days and my journeyof buying maize, I noticed that
robusta coffee.
There's a lot of coffee in theinterland.
So I started buying coffee, theraw coffee.
So I was buying coffee andmaize.
So I started exporting thecoffee.
I have a client in Europe calledEuro Commodities.

(01:21):
At the same time, also mylogistics business.
So I had to buy, instead ofhiring trucks, I have to buy my
first truck out of the profit tobe able to make more profit.
Okay, so at this level, what wasyour education level?
At that level, I was uh Istruggling to go to university.
I was a school dropout.

(01:42):
Right.

SPEAKER_01 (01:43):
So everything you knew was from the streets.
From the streets.
So you apply the principles onthe streets.
On the streets.
With a little bit of discipline.
To make your first million.
To make my first million.

SPEAKER_00 (01:54):
Did you see the money in cash?
Oh yeah.
I was collecting cash, but yeah.
And how did you feel?
You know, you go and lie down,you feel like God.
But you step out of the room,you feel humble.
At a boy coming this way, butyou cannot notice what I was
making.
I was driving fiat ritual.

(02:15):
You can go go fiat rhythm.

SPEAKER_01 (02:17):
Wow.

SPEAKER_00 (02:17):
You you bet your first million dollars, the car I
was driving was fiat ritual.
A diesel engine.
What was your plan that time?

SPEAKER_01 (02:26):
That's that if we take you back to that first
million, what was your plan togrow that money?

SPEAKER_00 (02:33):
It wasn't enough for me, honestly speaking.
I knew I could do more becauseit was like an opening.
I said, oh, just keep going,just keep going, just keep
going.
And eventually I lost all.

SPEAKER_01 (02:45):
How did you lose it?

SPEAKER_00 (02:47):
I lost everything.
I have to sell my car to pay mythree, four workers' salary.
You know, greed.
You know, greed.
Can when you are too much hungryand uh greed setting, it's okay.
But so the path and theexperience that you have to.

(03:07):
I I lost all I bought a whole uhwarehouse of coffee.
And the price of coffee wentdown, and I decided to keep it
for another season for the priceto rise again.
Little did I know that I have toinsure the whole stuff.
So I didn't insure it.

(03:29):
I left for school.
I was doing my diploma course inLehigh University.
So I dashed to school.
I was there when I got a heavyrain and washed away the whole
warehouse.
And wash away the wholewarehouse in the western region.
That was the end of that.

(03:50):
But it wasn't the end of me.
When the phone call came?
Yeah.
How did you sound after theytold you?
I was calm.
I've never reacted to problems.
Why?
I don't react to problems.
Why do you react?
Don't use feelings.
When God wants something tohappen, it happens.
So at times you you need toleave the space for God to let

(04:14):
it play out.
Don't use feelings.
Don't use feelings.
Please, you have to get deepinto this one.
I really want to learn.
At times we react, we usefeelings to deal with issues.
Don't use feelings.
You see, what you accept willnever upset you.
What you accept in your lifewill never frustrate you.

(04:35):
What you accept would neverdepress you.
So you need to be a master ofyour own feelings.
The world is a wonderful place.
If you want to be a very goodleader, be in charge of yourself
first.

SPEAKER_01 (04:49):
You made your first million at what age?
28, yes.
28.
And then you lost it at whatage?
32.
These times you had family, yourown family?
Yes, yes.
And they were in good schools, Iguess.
From the million.
You probably put them in goodschools.
I'm just trying to do that.

SPEAKER_00 (05:08):
Normally, my children, my children are like
modest schools.
Because I'm talking to you, oneof my sons is in Saito.
Yeah.

unknown (05:18):
Okay.

SPEAKER_00 (05:19):
My last but one son is in Saito.
Okay, please.
Why?
I want him to be tough a little.
I want a school that use a rod.
I want a school that uh walk inand out and understand that
look, you can't take a lunchboxto school.
Take money and go and buy somewatch it by the street and sit
in the classroom and like thatis my life.

(05:41):
So I want to give him that kindof training to see.
And I've not regretted doing.

SPEAKER_01 (05:48):
Is this coming from a father who has worked so hard
for what he has?
So he's trying to installcertain values in the kids.
So now what is happening is doyou think you can really, really
see yourself in any of yourchildren?

SPEAKER_00 (06:04):
Oh yeah.
Okay.
I I I I don't I cannot be moresuccessful than my children.
Immediately I become moresuccessful than my children, I'm
a fellow.
As a father, how do you becomemore successful than your
children?
Your children have to be moresuccessful than you.

SPEAKER_01 (06:21):
Even though your time was different, the type of
struggle you have seen to breakout to this level.

SPEAKER_00 (06:28):
You know, in our quest, nowadays, in our quest,
trying to give the best to ourchildren, we'll rather destroy
them.
That is what is going on rightnow in the world.
In our quest to give the best toour children.
We give back to them, go toAmerica, go and have your
education, do this, and allthat, we'd rather destroy them.

(06:50):
We feel we are we are givingthem the best of life, but we
are rather destroying them.
Let them keep the simple life.
Let them be normal.
And to you, what is normal?
I mean, my son started workingwith my company as a security
guard, uh messenger, also.

(07:11):
It went through the mail.

SPEAKER_01 (07:13):
So you see, let's say that's that's normal, right?

SPEAKER_00 (07:18):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (07:19):
Must we always come from poverty?

SPEAKER_00 (07:22):
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Poverty is really a curse.
It mustn't be.
Do you understand?
That's why you have to fight outof it.
The mindset, you see, I look atmy son's face and I said, Do you
understand the value for money?
You understand?
Be normal.
Do you understand the value ofmoney?
You have to work for something,you have to understand the

(07:44):
environment.
Wow.
I think this that session wasfor me.

SPEAKER_01 (07:50):
Exactly for the year.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Thank you.
Thank you.
So there is a stage in our liveswhere we make money, then we
learn to keep money, yeah, thenwe learn to grow money.
Yeah.
How do we keep money?

SPEAKER_00 (08:04):
You see, there's three stages of life.

unknown (08:07):
Okay.

SPEAKER_00 (08:07):
When you are young, you work hard, very hard.
Relatively, somebody will askyou, what is hard?
But I don't want to miss words.
When you are what you are young,you work hard.
The number of hours you work.
I remember one time I wasselling books.
I was a canvaser, going fromoffice to office to sell books.
By two o'clock, I'm done.

(08:29):
One day I sat down and said,Coming home at 2 o'clock, what
do I use the rest of the timefor?
Though I was teaching thechildren around my area, and I
was making some packages,something small from the
parents.
At the time, the parents in thearea, I teach their children,
they give me food, some give memoney.
So I used from after schoolhours, I gather the children and

(08:52):
I teach them.
One day I said, no, I can domore hours.
So I changed the concept.
I started selling the books inthe Mokola market.
So I was going from, that waswhen I was going from one shop
to another shop.
That's where I got to know thatwomen are so passionate about
their children.

(09:12):
They bought every book for theirchild, though they can't read
and write.
So when you're young, you workvery hard.
When you read middle age, youwork smart.

SPEAKER_01 (09:22):
Okay, what does working smart mean?

SPEAKER_00 (09:25):
Working smart is you have to evaluate yourself well,
you have to analyze things well,you have to work with a
different level of mindset whileyou are using your network.
Your network becomes your networth at that level.
You take a gentle giant steps,that is, you're working smart.

(09:48):
How to turn the little you havearound, you're working smart.
Your investments, how you chooseyour investments, you have to
work smart.
Connected Minds Podcast.