CANNAINVESTOR Magazine May / June 2017 | Page 122

Green Leaf Investment Fund: An Opportunity With Strong Roots

PUTTING IN THE HOURS FROM A YOUNG AGE

One of the earliest memories I have from my childhood was working in my grandfather’s restaurant. I remember him putting in 15-hour shifts every day and putting all of the money he had saved up during his lifetime since moving to the United States into a family restaurant. He organized a few private investors who provided the financing to help him launch his small corner eatery. When I was younger, I would go into his restaurant and clean tables, take out the trash and serve in any capacity that I could to help him run the small business. Most of the time, I didn’t receive any pay for my work, because I realized that the money that would have been paid to me was needed more to keep the restaurant supplied and operating at peak performance.

Most of my friends never understood why I would put in all those hours of work and received no pay. They would be gathering, having fun and many times asked if I could join, but I often had to tell them that my grandfather needed my help at the restaurant and I could not hang out with them.

What they didn’t realize was that my relationship with my grandfather

was something very unique and one that they could never fully

understand. My grandfather had a major influence on my life and he was

the person who raised me. I understood how many sacrifices he had

so that one day I could realize the life he had hoped he could give me.

Looking back on my time working at the restaurant, I realize now, as I

grow older, that it was a major influence on the man I have become today.

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