4: Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.
5: He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.
When you live in an agrarian society, these Proverbs are literally true.
You don’t work; you don’t eat. You don’t work; you have nothing.
But when you live in a welfare state, when you have an industrial (or post-industrial) society, the lines are more blurry. You can not work, but still eat. You can not work, but still have clothes, a place to live, transportation, etc.
- Some do it via welfare.
- Some do it via unemployment.
- Some do it via disability.
- Some do it via prison.
There are situations where welfare, unemployment, or disability are legitimately helping those who can’t work. But there are some who are on it and don’t need it. Some who are wealthier living off the system than contributing to the system. It’s kind of crazy honestly.
But there are other people who have found ways to not work, and they are some of the wealthiest of all. The 4-hour workweek folks. The patent owners. The land developers and real estate investors.
Work once to close the deal on that property, then leverage that work for decades. Work for a short burst, reap the benefits for years to come. License something so you’re paid every time other people use it. Super smart.
Back to the harvest idea, here’s our current reality…you can sleep during harvest season and still reap the benefits of it. In fact, its popular to treat fall, aka harvest, as warm and cozy, settle in for s’mores, campfires, and pumpkin spice lattes. Chill out and watch football time. Very few people in our society actually work their hardest during literal harvest time.
But I know some farmers. It is truly the busiest time. Work past midnight, up at 4am. Run hard for 4-6 weeks. Get all the crops in before the first snowfall.
Metaphorically, there are many seasons of harvest. It could be
- Your company’s biggest conference.
- Your business’s busy season.
- Your launch time of a new product.
The truth is, if you really apply yourself, if you really do your best, if you really give it your all, your diligent hands will bring wealth.
Be prudent. Be diligent. Reap the benefits.
Omer Redden 