He who has a slack hand becomes poor; but the hand of the diligent makes rich (Proverbs 10: 4)
Over the next few weeks, we are going to be talking about King Solomon and his business principles.
The real reason is that I have been geeking out on them and can’t believe that we don’t teach them every year.
So, guess what?
Now you get to learn them from me.
If you’re not interested in business…
Oh well!
Just kidding. If you’re not interested in business these are still great principals to put into place in your life for everything you do. From managing your finances to deciding where to work, what you do, and how you do it.
Maybe you are saying Dan I’m retired, or I’m a stay-at-home mom or dad.
That’s awesome, you can still use these principles in your everyday life.
Soo……
Let’s start out with a few simple FACTS about Solomon
First off he was known for his Wisdom.
In 1 Kings he sacrificed to God, and God later appeared to him in a dream, asking what Solomon wanted from him. Solomon had the chance to ask for anything, money, power, land, or riches.
But…..
Instead of any of those things he asked for WISDOM.
Pleased, God personally answered Solomon’s prayer. Promising him great wisdom because he did not ask for self-serving rewards like long life or the death of his enemies
Perhaps the best-known story of his wisdom is the Judgment of Solomon (1 Kings 3: 16-28); two women each lay claim to be the mother of the same child.
Solomon easily resolved the dispute by commanding the child to be cut in half and shared between the two.
One woman promptly renounced her claim, proving that she would rather give the child up than see it killed. Solomon declared the woman who showed compassion to be the true mother, entitled to the whole child.
Solomon was traditionally considered the author of several biblical books, including not only the collections of Proverbs but also of Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon and the later apocryphal book the Wisdom of Solomon (not found in the bible)
Anyways that’s enough about his credentials. Let’s dive deep into his teachings!
Are you stoked? Because I am!!!
There are 10 basic principles that he lived by.
The first one is: Be Diligent And Work Hard.
He who has a slack hand becomes poor; but the hand of the diligent makes rich (Proverbs 10: 4).
Nothing can substitute for work ethic.
Many people see a business owner after they have achieved success and think that advancement in business or life is easy.
Those in it know that creating and running a successful business requires harder work than any other way to earn a living.
Not to mention the amount of fear that you deal with if you are responsible for supporting a family.
What if this doesn’t work out? What if I fail? What if….
It is no place for those without a superior commitment to work. As Solomon wrote in Proverbs 20:4, The lazy man will not plow because of winter; he will beg during harvest and have nothing
Hard work is not everything though.
Too many people think that all you have to do is work HARDER to truly be successful.
The truth is that you don’t have to work HARD, you need to work SMART.
This takes some getting used to.
Personally, I was brought up in a hardworking house.
Dad was out the door before any of us kids were up, and there were some nights (not very many) that he got back to the house well after dark.
Then he would go up and milk cows and do other chores before he really came home and got to enjoy the family.
While I appreciate the fact that Dad worked hard, and mom worked even harder making sure that us kids didn’t kill each other before he got home. Lol
It doesn’t mean that it is the only way to make a living or provide for your family.
As a business owner I know all about that. Working way too many hours and never knowing when to quit.
It seems that when we submerge ourselves into a subject it no longer feels like work.
Take Nathen, our son for example.
Nathen Loves TV. That might not sound good, and you might be judging us as parents.
But…..
I don’t really care what you think because you don’t know the whole situation.
Anyway….
Nathen is a great kid and there was a time when he really wanted to be a ventriloquist. Naturally, he immersed himself into that while he learned more about it.
He watched countless videos on how to do it.
Then he practiced, and practiced, and practiced more. Improving his technique constantly.
My point is that when Nathen gets interested in something he spends TONS of time learning about, doing it, and then performing it.
He eventually figured out that he didn’t love ventriloquism but did discover that he LOVES making people laugh.
My point with this whole story is that when we start something new we get excited, work hard and learn TONS about the subject.
It’s a good thing, at least that’s what Solomon said.
Take Action
Today I want to encourage you to take action on your work ethic.
Think back to a project that you started, did you finish that project? (If you’re me, probably not. Lol I have a tendency to start a project, get it to its working stage then allow it to work instead of perfecting it.)
Awesome, if not why? If so, what caused you to keep going until it was finished?
What did you learn from that project? Was there anything that you could do differently to make it easier?
What will you do next time you start a project to ensure that you finish it, or at least get it to the “its working” stage?
