There's plenty of books on Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, to discover how they made their fortunes. All you have to do is create the next critical component of everyone's lives, or invest in absolutely the right thing at exactly the right time. The track records and phenomenal success of these businessmen are inspiring, yet how can we apply this to our own lives? Yet, there's another whose wealth utterly dwarfs that of today's richest people, if the accounts of his wealth are accurate. King Solomon's wealth would today top 1 trillion dollars!
King Solomon's secret? At just 12 years old, he ascended the thrown of Israel when God appeared to him and granted him one wish. Solomon did not ask for riches and honour, he asked for wisdom. Concerned that he was young and inexperienced, Solomon asked God for something that would help him rule effectively and judiciously lead the people. Because Solomon asked for wisdom (or a 'Hearing Heart) and did not ask for riches and honour, God blessed him with wealth also.
Solomon was bestowed with riches and honour far greater than any king before or after him. His sage advice was sought by rulers of nations. His success and wealth increased beyond even your vivid imagination. His gold reserves are the subject of legend, his palace immense. He wrote the book of Proverbs in the Bible which not only survives but his writing on being diligent and understanding have influenced the world for 3 thousand years.
So what can we learn from Solomon about diligence and understanding?
He who cultivates his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless people and pursuits will have poverty enough. (Proverbs 28:19 - Amplified)
Surf around the Internet and you soon find people guaranteeing you instant riches with little or no work. Follow such get-rich-quick schemes and you show your naivety and ignorance. Solomon cautions against following worthless people as leading to poverty - those who work hard will reap the rewards of their efforts.
The appetite of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the appetite of the diligent is abundantly supplied. (Proverbs 13:4 - Amplified)
Those whose desire is high yet their diligence to work is slight remain unfulfilled. Having a great dream is one thing, now to put in the effort required to achieve it.
The hand of the diligent will rule, but the slothful will be put to forced labor. (Proverbs 12:24 - Amplified)
Lazy or slothful people have their time and effort dictated by others. Banks and credit card companies, most frequently these days, are the rulers of those lazy with their money. Instead of choosing how to enjoy our disposable income, we are forced to sue it to repay debts from living beyond ourselves earlier.
But I've worked hard, very hard! I put in more hours than anyone else. I just haven't had the breaks I need. It's not my lack of diligence, it's the economy, the government, the system, the market, the competition... (choose one or many). Yes, but what is it all for?
Define your dream
Where there is no vision, the people perish (Proverbs 29:18 - KJV).
Without a vision or a dream, we are directionless. We lose motivation to do much at all, we're not committed to anything. Our joy disappears and our energy wasted. But bring your dream forward into a clear vision and the opposite is true. You'll find the spark that ignites the fuel to send you rocketing towards your dream.
Wake up and smell the coffee.
How long will you sleep, O sluggard? When will you arise out of your sleep?... poverty come like a robber or one who travels [with slowly but surely approaching steps] and your want like an armed man [making you helpless] (Proverbs 9,11 - Amplified).
The real enemies of procratination and excuses cause the wasteful hours that lead to empty days, inactive weeks, months without meaning and years of unproductive toil. Pointless activities that yield no fruit and a life of regret and unfulfilled dreams.
What I need is time management! Time is relative, but it simply isn't within your powers to manage it. Get off the sofa and give your dream a chance.
Partner with others
A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgement (Proverbs 18:1 - NKJV)
A wise leader develops a team of talented people around them and a network of friends and partners who support so that they become rich in social capital. When we isolate ourselves, we cut off that all important support. Have you ever met a wealthy, successful and fulfilled person who was completely isolated and did it entirely alone? I didn't think so.
Solomon was the richest man who ever lived, yet his true wealth was in his godly wisdom. We can all learn from this - and whilst we may not like the advice, you know that living a life of purpose and godly diligence will satisfy.
Copyright (c) 2008 John Kenworthy
For years people have been researching on what it takes to be successful. Entrepreneurs, Businessmen, Politicians, Actors and even a common man.. all of us just want to know the guaranteed formula which can make us successful. But how many of us really become successful? What is the winning streak which differentiates between the "unsuccessful" and the "successful" people. Well, to tell you the truth, there's no assured way of becoming successful. But there are few factors which play a major role in the lives of successful people who've created a niche for themselves in this world. These factors collectively help you in the achievement of your dreams. I've listed them here so that you can understand how they govern your success.
"Meaning of success: To achieve success, you must know what is success. Don't get baffled by the numerous definitions and ideologies on success you get as a result of typing "Meaning of success" on Google. What counts is: What you think about success? What's the meaning of success in your eyes? Who according to you are successful people?
"Passion: Passion is a desire, a strong feeling or emotion you feel for someone or something. It is the force which drives you to achieve something. Unless and until you have passion for what you are doing, you can never reach your goal. Passion can make a person work day and night towards the achievement of his aspirations. So, its really crucial to have passion for what you do, no matter how small or insignificant the work.
"Goal Setting: There's a very famous saying which goes: "The tragedy of life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.". To be successful, its very important to understand what do u want to achieve. For this you have to be very sure what the true meaning of success for you is. Once you know what success implies to you, you can decide on your goals. Be very careful while setting your goals. You should clearly state what you want to do. What are your short and long-term goals. Once you are done with your goal setting, you can chalk out a plan on how to reach your goals.
"Hard work: Success comes before work only at one place: The Dictionary. Merely outlining your goals and planning to achieve them does not ensure that you'll taste success. If you just plan and keep waiting for success to happen to you, you'll have to be ready for a lot of disappointment. You have to work hard to achieve what you want to. You have to put loads of hard work and sincerely in order to reap the golden fruit of success. Hard work is the price you pay for success.
"Perseverance: The word perseverance means Persistent determination. Perseverance is doing something again and again without letting the result affect you. If you put in a lot of effort to do something and it doesn't work, what would you do? You would either get disheartened and quit or you would try and understand what went wrong with your plan and with the experience and rejuvenated zeal, start working again. The second approach, my friend is the key to success. Don't let failures affect you. Learn from them and continue working. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
"A positive attitude: The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible. A positive attitude appeases your inner self, improves your relationships with others and makes you happier. Trust me, it is your attitude which decides your altitude. So, be super positive in everything you do! Don't even let negative thoughts creep in your mind.
Success is not a matter of chance. A little bit of innovation, combined with the above mentioned factors will guide you to success. Success won't come to you till you understand the meaning of success. So, gear up, comprehend your meaning of success, develop passion for your work, work on your goal setting, put in all your efforts sincerely, don't get scared by the pitfalls and always have a positive outlook. In no time, you'll discover that success is standing at your doorsteps to hug u!
Both John Kenworthy & Stephen Campbell are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Stephen Campbell has sinced written about articles on various topics from Psychology, Email Advertising and Personal Development Plan. Stephen C Campbell (Business Consultant, Master NLP Practitioner) has published more information on discovering the secrets to living a truly prosperous life at