Why Smarts Alone Won’t Make You Rich: Lessons From Two Poor, Wise Men
Once, there was a publishing legend, one of the craziest entrepreneurs of his time. He once built a business that turned over $2.5M while on high on cocaine. His fortune would later amount to the tune of $600M.
His name…Felix Dennis.
Most famous for the book How To Get Rich, Felix shared one of the scariest secrets to managing talent (smart people) in business:
What talent wants, most times is the chance to prove himself and the opportunity to excel. You must identify talent.
Then you must move heaven and earth to hire it. You must nurture it, reward it properly, and protect it from being poached. If necessary, dream up a new project. Or better still, have the talent dream it up. Youth is a further factor, so try to get talent in his youth.
…and when the time comes, when talent becomes expensive to manage, you must FIRE IT!
This looks callous and insane. How do you build someone up, give them the illusion of control, only to pull the rug from under them? The world really is a dangerous place to be.
So how do you escape this? How do you get rewarded for your solutions so that you won’t look back in regret? How do you leverage your smarts to be rich?
Having considered different options, I will be telling a story to clarify this. A Christian story.
If you have a different faith, simply allude this to a powerful life fable.
Follow along.
In Ecclesiastes 9:14–18, Solomon wrote:
“There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it. Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by HIS wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
What do you think this means?
A little city was on the verge of a sure defeat. Not only is their population small, a GREAT king threatened death outside applying one of the greatest strategies of war: a siege — to watch your enemy quiver in fear as they exhaust their supplies. A pure, psychological attack.
Yet in the midst of this, one poor, wise man gave a solution which saved the city. Who better to remember than someone who rescues in the day of trouble? Yet this man was forgotten. Totally forgotten.
What could be wrong? Was it because he was poor? Because history definitely remembers the rich, wise man?
This is the easiest thing to say.
But let’s learn from two poor, wise men who did things differently: one, almost forgotten and the other engineered his victory.
The Two Poor, Wise Men
In Esther 6, a king could not sleep and ordered his book of records to be read to him. There, he heard that a poor man (a slave) had foiled a plan to assassinate him.
“And what did I do for him?” He asked, smiling.
“Nothing, sir!” The reader replied.
“In fact, he still lives in servitude watching your gates.”
“What!” He boomed. “This is a man who deserves to be honored. A model citizen.”
Later, a TOP official came in and the king sought his counsel:
“What do we do for the man who the king delights to honor?”
Thinking it was him, the TOP official replied;
“Adorn him in royal robes and put him in one of the king’s best rides. Then have one of the king’s most noble PRINCES proclaim him through town, saying:
“This is what is done to the man that the king delights to honor.”
(All the while thinking it was him. What conceit!)
Then the king ordered this official (Haman) to do this for the man (Mordecai). Now here’s where it gets REALLY interesting:
Why HAMAN specifically?
Surely he was a senior official who shouldn’t be reduced to an announcer. He very much was the right hand of the king.
Who knows what happened between them?
Perhaps Haman prevented Mordecai from being rewarded for his wisdom and loyalty. For it is not easy to foil an assassination plan on a king as there are protocols. Perhaps Haman trivialized Mordecai’s effort…like the conceited being that he was…and wanted those benefits for himself, thinking:
“How can a dirty slave rise to be an official and consult the king?”
Both of them are sworn enemies.
And Mordecai, the slave, blatantly refused to bow to Haman, who in turn plotted his impalement in revenge.
This brings us to our first lesson:
POOR MEN, TOO OFTEN, LACK ACCESS.
EVEN WHEN THEY’RE WISE, THEY’RE EASILY SHUT UP.
THIS ROBS THEM OF THEIR REWARD AND TRIVIALIZES THEIR EFFORT.
So as you grow in your journey as a smart, solution provider, think access and visibility. Constantly ask yourself: do I have access? Is my work visible?
Smart people who are invisible risk oblivion. They stay in the dark, embittered and frustrated, as they are robbed of their reward.
So what is the solution?
This leads us to another poor, wise man. A shepherd boy who rescued a city. His name…David.
A wise, man once wrote about the wits and the wisdom of David…
How he knew the best way to attack Goliath was by a sling,
How a sling isn’t just child’s play but a choice weapon used by elite soldiers in Israel,
How David NEVER DISCLOSED his approach in combating Goliath even when he was before the king,
Knowing fully well that a more experienced soldier may be sent to replace him.
And most importantly, how, after shooting Goliath in the head, he rushed towards him, cut off his head, and KEPT THIS IN HIS BAG,
…holding it all the while till he presented this to the king for his reward.
Before another Haman will obstruct that chance.
This poor, wise man knew something for sure:
HOW TO CLAIM CREDIT FOR HIS WISDOM AND ACTIONS!!!
He knew the odds against poor, wise men; he knew his WORDS MUST BE HEARD, and he knew ONE SINNER DESTROYETH MUCH GOOD.
Think again on the passage:
Then said I, wisdom is better than strength: yet the poor man’s wisdom is DESPISED, and HIS WORDS ARE NOT HEARD…Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but ONE SINNER destroyeth much good.”
To bring this to a close today, smarts alone is not enough. Having the solution may not give you the break you need.
The poor, wise man must understand how the world works:
how wisdom and talent are trivialized or sabotaged…
how he must recognize his chance,
And CLAIM due credit for his wisdom and actions.
Ownership isn’t the important thing for getting rich; it is the only thing.
Whoever takes the credit wins.
And if wisdom is the principal thing, my friend,
Get wisdom!!!
…but with all thy getting, add strength and understanding.
An old boss once warned:
You’ll never be rich since you’re obviously smart, and someone will always offer you a job that’s just good enough.— Naval
This write-up serves informational purposes only. It should not be considered explicit financial or legal advice. Not all information will be accurate. Before making any serious financial decisions, consult a professional.
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