Articles by
Dr. Anthony F. Cicone
The Rush to Prosperity May Be Ill-Advised
by
Dr. Anthony F. Cicone,
CFS 7/1/2003
When I was around six
years old, someone read me the fable about the Tortoise
and Hare. It was explained to me that a tortoise was a
turtle and a hare was a rabbit. As a child, I could
relate to the race in which they were engaged. I don’t
believe that I was surprised by the turtle’s victory.
Somehow, even as a child, I expected the turtle to win.
I can’t remember what all happened to the rabbit, except
that he got off to a very fast start. The turtle just
plodded along. I can remember some of the pretty
pictures in my book. At the end of the story, I believe
there was a cute drawing of the rabbit off to the side
of the road, either eating grass or sleeping as the
turtle crossed the finish line.
I recently heard someone explaining how to become
wealthy. The point was made that considerable wealth
could be attained quickly. There was an impressive
example given of a person who had acquired great wealth
in less than a year. I didn’t even have to ask myself
the question about whether it was a good idea to make a
lot of money really quickly. I think I could have
figured that out as a six-year-old.
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You may be discouraged by how long it is taking you to
become successful in what you are doing. You may wish to
become successful more quickly or wonder if you will
ever succeed.
There was a man who, in addition to leading the nation
of Israel, was once probably one of the wealthiest and
unquestionably wisest men ever to have lived. He
believed that wealth, which was hastily gotten, would
dwindle. Conversely, he believed that the way to make
money grow was to gather it little by little.
I have heard many stories about people who have achieved
great success quickly and/or early in life and then
either directly or indirectly in relation to their
success developed some type of destructive habit,
life-style, or addiction, which was hurtful to them
and/or their family.
I am not saying that it is better to fail than to
succeed. We all know that is absurd. What we all may not
know is that it is also absurd to desire to succeed
relatively quickly. Think of a gourmet meal and how long
it took to prepare it; now think of a cold sandwich at a
fast food place. You get the idea.
It may not appear to be so, but the most enduring road
to prosperity is a slow one.
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