Wealthy & Wise

 I believe that success leaves clues behind, and if we want to be successful, we only need to find people who have been where we want to go and follow their example.  If we were to list all the traits that anyone might want to exhibit in their life, I believe that two of the most powerful traits would be to be smart and successful.  Or, to put it another way, to become wise and wealthy.

 Recently, I undertook an independent study regarding the history of wealth and wisdom.  Through my various searches and research methods, I sought out the people throughout history who had accumulated the most wealth and demonstrated the most wisdom.  I created a list of the wealthiest people throughout history and a second list of those who were considered to be the wisest people of their time.  Ironically, I discovered that many people were on both lists and, at the top of both lists, was the name King Solomon.  Solomon lived about 3,000 years ago, and was, arguably, both the wealthiest and the wisest person of all time. 

 The more you research wealth and wisdom, the more it becomes clear that these are not two separate traits, but they are interdependent.  Wisdom is the main trait or the cause, and wealth is a result of being wise.  I believe if you took all the money in the world and divided it up equally, within a few short years in a free enterprise system, the wealthiest people would be wealthy again, and the poorest people would be poor again.

 As strange as it may seem, having assets is not the key to wealth as they can be lost or squandered through unwise practices.  Wise people know that the only true way to create lasting wealth is to create value in the lives of other people.  I’ve had countless people tell me that their goal is to make more money.  The only people who make money work at the government mint and print currency.  Everyone else has to earn money, and this only happens when we put other people’s interests first and meet their needs.

 My late, great friend and colleague, Zig Ziglar, was fond of saying, “You can have everything you want if you’ll help enough other people get what they want.”  If you are ever forced to choose between wealth and wisdom, choose wisdom and you will have both.

 As you go through your day today, follow the leaders and you will be wealthy and wise.

 Today’s the day!