14/02/2025
RANDOM 270.
I overheard a gentleman regaling some young men with the exploits of a particular wealthy individual. He told them he had discovered that successful people don't work long hours, citing this successful man who closes at 1pm every day. He resolved to follow suit.
But, the story the young men heard was missing critical details. I know the wealthy individual. He lives on an island accessible by a tortuous road. He closes at 1pm to get ahead of the maddening traffic. But he has a home office and relies on good telecommunications to conduct his business from home. And he does close late sometimes. There are sometimes business exigencies. Sometimes, he has to attend evening functions.
I don't know any successful person who is not continuously working hard. Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Samuel Adedoyin, Bernard Arnault, Aliko Dangote, Cristiano Ronaldo, Enoch Adeboye... None of these people work less despite being successful. They work long hours, and they have an incredible work ethic. They are incredibly disciplined, even in old age. It seems the more successful you are, the harder you have to work. And it does make sense. Your responsibilities are more. "The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it." (Ecclesiastes 5:11 NLT)
There's no "retirement" for these fellows. At almost 90, Prince Adedoyin is at his desk by 7am. Warren Buffet is 94 and still working. He's worth $143.3bn. (Please don't attempt to convert that to Naira) He can afford to live on a million dollars a day for the rest of his life, but he's still working. To solve engineering problems in his factories, Elon Musk has been known to pull brutal all-nighters for weeks.
Neither the Bible nor life support the notion the successful work less. Stop listening to myths. It's all faffing.
Solomon made an interesting statement: "If you work hard at what you do, great abundance will come to you. But merely talking about getting rich while living to only pursue your pleasures brings you face-to-face with poverty." (Proverbs 14:23 TPT)
Work hard, especially when you're young. Abo oro...
Written by Leke Alder