Ancient Jewish Wisdom and the Truth About Money and Success

Comedian Daniel Tosh jokes that money buys happiness because it buys a wave runner, and no one ever frowns while riding one. With similar wit Earl Wilson famously said, "If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments."

Author John E. Welshons, in his highly acclaimed book When Prayers Aren't Answered, shares that studies have consistently shown there is virtually no correlation between money and happiness except in the case of lifting someone out of abject poverty.

Most people seem to understand that money does not buy happiness, it is what they believe money can provide that they are really after which is usually tied to a sense of freedom and contribution, values we can live day to day regardless of our bank account.

Being a former Marine, it is interesting to understand the difference between defense and offense in combat. The defender has an advantage in conflict of five to one. This is because they have more to fight for because they are protecting their families and homeland, whereas the attacker is often not fully committed to his cause.

What we learn from this is that when we have a deep conviction we will stand against the tides more readily than those without a sense of duty. When you have a dream it is you alone who can face the critics because you believe in your goal. Halfhearted conviction will never be enough to keep you on track when challenges arise.

Some of the best advice I have ever read on prayer is that if you find prayer boring it is because you are praying about something you don't really care about, so stop praying about it and instead focus on something you are passionate about.

Goals and dreams are really the same way. If you are pursuing something that doesn't bring you energy and fuel your passion then perhaps it is time to head in another direction and find what will give you that enthusiasm.

Where do you begin? Countless success coaches will tell you that you need to find something that you would do for free because you love it so much, and then find a way to make a living doing that very thing.

Additionally Rabbi Daniel Lapin, drawing on several thousand years of Jewish history shares, "Deep within Jewish culture lies the conviction that the only real way to achieve wealth is to attend diligently to the needs of others and to conduct oneself in an honorable and trustworthy fashion."

And Zig Ziglar has shared for decades that you can have anything you want in life if you help enough other people reach their dreams.

In the end it is really about adding value to other people's lives and to culture. And the best way to begin capturing your dream is to write it down because it helps clarify your thoughts.

So what do you love enough that you would do it for free? How can you make a living doing this very thing? Who can you contribute and add value to?
Answer these questions and you will be well on your way to being able to afford that wave runner.

A former pastor, Tobin holds both a B.A. and an M.A. in theology. Having traveled widely in the Marine Corps and as a graduate student, Tobin has spent the past 15 years gathering some of the world's most powerful life-changing truths. He's the author of The Life That Is Really Life: How Biblical Truth Can Transform Your Spiritual, Emotional, Physical and Relational Health, available at Amazon and at http://www.twominutesermon.com.