Old Words for Success
Ours is the day of many, many business consultants, CEO’s, and business leaders. Well, today’s words from 3,000 years ago could easily have come from a Warren Buffet or Elon Musk type of business man. They are words of how to build a successful business, bu more than that, they tell you how to build a successful life.
Let’s read Proverbs 21:5
“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”
These 14 words cover the question of how to build a successful business. Of course it means whether that business is running a commercial enterprise or a private home. These words tell you three vital truths.
First, Make a Plan.
Don’t just jump into a project and figure it out later. You can do that, but you will make things a lot harder, slower, and more apt to fail. “The plans of the diligent lead to profit.”
Second, Be Diligent.
Every major translation use that same word, “Diligent.” To understand what is mean by this word, we need to look at the dictionary definition. To be diligent means to be “Marked by persevering, painstaking effort.” In other words, A diligent person sticks to the job, even when things are hard. So make your plans and be diligent to stick to the task. This leads to profit and success.
Third, Haste makes waste.
Don’t lose this old lesson – haste leads to poverty. It is advice against the get rich quick scheme. Just today I saw advertisements for how to become a millionaire in 5 short years. That assurance seems quick. There are too many of get rich quick schemes to warn us about all of them, so just take Solomon’s advice (the wisest man ever) and remember slow down, because haste makes waste.
This proverbs is 3,000 years old, yet completely modern.
“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”
Lonnie Davis