The secret of prosperity

I've run out of text from the book that I once tried to write; it's time to move on to do some real blogging (not the copy-and-paste variety).

Recently I have been perusing a 2007 edition of a 400-year-old translation of a 13th century copy of a 2000-year-old document, and in doing so, I stumbled across the secret of wealth. It is something that anyone can do, but few want to.

Everyone wants money, and everyone who has it wants more of it. Most of us feel that we don't have enough money, so we fall victim to this scam and that program. We send money in response to various advertisements that promise to reveal the secret of wealth. And we do so with the suspicion that the secret might start out "First, take out an ad that starts with How to get rich..." No, that's not the secret.

But in these ancient writings, I have found the awful secret. The secret to prosperity is something that we've been conditioned to avoid. I know people who shun the very appearance of this secret thing that can, in fact, make you rich.

One of the reasons that the United States of America is in serious trouble today is because so many people make it their life's mission to avoid doing the one thing that could make them wealthy. The government for years has rewarded millions of people for not doing this one thing that could make them wealthy.

It started in the 1930s, when a few farmers were paid cash bonuses for not doing this secret thing. In the 1960s this program was expanded to include people in the cities, and has since increased to the point where the government spent $577,000,000,000 dollars just in 2009 to keep people from taking advantage of the one thing that could make them truly wealthy.

$577 billion dollars was about 4% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product for 2009. That means that out of every dollar's worth of goods that you produced, four cents went into a program that helps people to avoid wealth! How incredibly stupid is that?

You've read far enough. It's time to reveal the age-old secret to wealth that people have been trying to avoid. I'm not asking you to send me money, I'm going to tell you the secret for free. Be advised, however, that the secret to wealth is a four-letter word. This is not for the faint of heart - but for the few who have studied and perfected it's techniques, the rewards have been stunning.

Bill Gates does it. Warren Buffet does it. The CEO of IBM got there by doing it. And you can do it too - if you are willing to put aside your very natural aversion to it. Most people who do it freely admit that they will only do it as long as they absolutely have to, and they look forward to the day when they won't have to do it any more. We pity the poor fools who become addicted to it, and vow never to become one of them. It really is that bad.

Ready?

Here it is.

The secret to prosperity is . . .

Work.

That's right; I said it. Right out loud (as I was typing). I'm not ashamed of it. I enjoy it. And I look forward to doing it for as long as I can.

In the New Living Translation, Proverbs 13:4 says "Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper"

There you have it - from God's word to your eyes - the secret to prosperity is work. There are no shortcuts. Now, close the browser and go do some of it. That's what I'm about to do.