Teach A Man To Fish

If you follow me on beBee you might have realized a pattern where I will spontaneously leave one city for the next. Just a few months ago I was in America. Hell, just a few months ago I was in the Navy. It didn’t work out of course being in America or the Navy. I am too colorful and adventurous for America, and I was too rebellious to take orders and stand on the toe-line all day in the Navy.

My name is Lyon Brave and I am my own person. My passport is my proudest possession. Honestly, my passport and enough money for a plane ticket, or a bus ticket is all I need to make it in this world. I have learned through my journeys, I have got what it takes to not only survive, but thrive all over the world. 

I don’t belong to a city, job or another person and I certainly don’t belong to the United States government. I have never had the desire to climb the corporate leader at work, which means I have never given five years of my life hoping to get a promotion, which was denied. I need freedom above all else, more than love and walls and offices are counterproductive towards my freedom, so is only having one passport. If you have a European passport let’s get married?

I have knocked down so many walls, that I have found myself in Cambodia. I have been living in Phnom Penh, with a family from Pakistan for the last week. Phnom Penh is the capital and most populous city of the Southeast Asian country of Cambodia. Considering that is true, Cambodia is a dump. It is not a lovely place overall. The thing I dislike the most besides the piles of trash and the shitty info structure is the way the locals do business. They are just bad at doing business, which I will talk about in a future post titled Shopping in Cambodia Vs Shopping In China.

Now, you might know from my articles that early in my travels I got deported from Thailand. This situation caused me to go to an immigration detention center in Bangkok Thailand, were I spoke with families, foolish travelers, criminals and victims from all over the world. I have listened to their stories about how they fled religious persecution in their own country.

I have listened to the blessings that good people have bestowed upon them. I have listened to many stories, horrific and frightening things, beautiful and wonderful things, but the one thing I keep thinking about is in spite the tragedies, everyone is still responsible for the outcome of their lives and too many people are looking for a handout.

They ask me for money. I do what I can here and there, like I thought this kid could use a comfort item so I bought her these stuffed pigs. 

I bought two girls very nice dresses who have very little. I give when I can. I give a little money and a little food here and there, but ultimately, I am a lone ranger and I have nobody to help me when I am down, so I have learned to be self-reliant and keep my nest egg, which is not very big yet, but I refuse to spend it no matter what the circumstances.

If you have been following me on beBee you know I have been struggling with poverty myself, though that is changing. In fact, I just had literally 40 serious job offers in my email. My fate is changing, but that is because I educated myself, worked towards a better life, took risks, and am willing to move to other countries, and never give up. There are so many companies that want me to work for them, that I am able to challenge their offers. They used to make me pay for my own flights and I would, but now the companies pay for me or I won’t go.

So I caught a fish and I am moving to Nanning China. They call it the green city. I don’t know much about it yet, but I am happy for the opportunity. I am mostly happy they are paying for my flight and apartment up front. I have too little money to spend on situations that are not secure and working abroad is never secure.

The message I have been preaching in Cambodia is IF YOU GIVE A MAN A FISH YOU FEED HIM FOR A DAY. IF YOU TEAACH A MAN TO FISH YOU FEED HIM FOR LIFE. I have learned to become a prodigious fisher because people never gave me handouts and I didn’t have a good family to ask for help in times of need. I had to remind people I was in Immigration Detention Center too, I also got sent back with nothing and only the clothes on my back. I walked almost three miles to catch a bus, that still didn’t stop at my work and I had to walk another mile to get to my destination. I wore my soccer cleats to work for over a month because those were all I had.

I was depressed, I was discouraged, my heart was very heavy, but I kept moving forward. Because my poverty was so great I did what a lot of poor people do, I joined the military for money, shelter and security. It didn’t work out. Actually, people on beBee knew it wouldn’t work out just because of the type of articles I post, but my point is I worked towards a better life instead of begging for it. I met too many beggars. I have been down. I know what it is like to have nothing and I got back up.