It pays to be nice and humble.

So Barack Obama went to Jamaica and spoke Jamaican Patois, saying: “Wa guan Jamaica”, stopped at the Bob Marley museum, did power-five and pound handshakes. His take on the decriminalisation of the herb was asked, and he humbly answered even though he said it’s not a “silver bullet.” He posed with the legend Usain Bolt and did Bolt’s signature pose, et cetera.

Now with the exception of few never-happy-about-anything-Babylon Jamaicans, Mr. President’s coolness really earned him admiration over there.

See how you can be worthy of goodwill and positive reception even in Jamaica and it won’t cost you anything except your friendly attitude and humility - and do you know that goodwill is a quantifiable asset? Yes it is, ask the accountants.

I once wrote a piece about this man that used to stop by our hangout to give us a piece of his stack of Nana/Spearmint and respectfully talk to us like he was one of us, and how that gesture earned him our loyalty, how we used to brew green tea for him, washed his livestock and ran most of his errands.

Even now that we’re all grown, we still pay homage. The last I saw him, no brags and not that he cannot afford it, I offered and paid a certain bill he needed to pay because I believe he earned it. It pays to be nice and humble.