Proverbs for Business (Part 10)

Hard Work

Proverb 10:4 – Being lazy will make you poor, but hard work will make you rich. 

Not many of King Solomon’s proverbs are this plain. Remember, Solomon wasn’t just making stuff up or making predictions, he was basing these proverbs on real-life examples that he observed. If nothing else, Solomon was one of the most observant men in history. His observations of how life really works ring true most of the time. This one is especially true.

Think about the wealthy people of our day and consider their lives and how they achieved their great wealth.

• Mark Cuban didn’t take a vacation for seven years while starting his first business. Today he is worth $4 billion.
• Jeff Bezos regularly worked 12-hour days, seven days a week, and stayed up until 3 a.m. to get books shipped when he first launched Amazon. Today he is worth $122 billion.
• Venus and Serena Williams were up hitting tennis balls at 6 a.m. from the time they were 7 and 8 years old. Today, Venus is worth $75 million and Serena is worth $200 million.
• NBA legend Michael Jordan spent his summers taking hundreds of jump shots a day. He is arguably the best basketball player of all time and is worth $1.9 billion.
• Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer routinely pulled all-nighters and reportedly worked 130-hour weeks while at Google. She is worth an estimated $600 million today.

It is understandable (and undeniable) that King Solomon’s observation of wealthy people led him to assert that hard work will make you rich. But is it also true that being lazy will make you poor? Is this corollary true?

Think about a lazy person you know. Now imagine what they drive. Their clothing. The home they live in. The vacations they take. See a pattern?

If you want to be successful–whether or not your aspiration is to be “rich”–you must work hard. Nothing worth having comes easily. You have the ability to make riches and live the lifestyle you desire. You may or may not achieve the millions (and billions) that the aforementioned people have, but you can be rich if you work hard. (“Rich” of course, is a relative term. After all, the definition of a rich person is someone with more than you.)

You may not buy into the “hard work makes you rich” concept, but I can assure you that the corollary is indeed true. No one who is lazy will ever be rich. (Unless he wins the lottery or gets an inheritance from his rich uncle. And we all know how that story ends, right?) Let’s work hard so we have the lifestyle we want. Never tolerate lazy people.  

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Jason Duncan is President & CEO of Energy Lighting Services. When he is not working with his team to help produce some of the most amazingly efficient LED retrofit projects on planet earth, he coaches entrepreneurs and small business owners on how to get results through integrity. You can reach Jason through LinkedIn, Instagram, or through his company's website. Subscribe to his YouTube channel for weekly videos.