A very hungry guy comes back home and meets his twin brother preparing a meal. He asks his brother to help him with the meal to quench his hunger. What happened next changed the world and is still changing the world today.
The story of Esau and Jacob is a classical story of the kind of people we have in the world today. Every one of us is either an Esau or a Jacob. What transpired that day is still going on today. It is what separates the great from the ordinary and the truly rich from the poor. By the time you are done reading this article it will be clear to you where you belong.
Esau comes back home famished and asks for food from his twin brother. Rather than Jacob just offering Esau part of the dish he was preparing he asks for a trade. That is business. Jacob understood that in life we are all buying and selling something. What are you buying? What are you selling?
Beyond just trading, Jacob was careful about what he was selling and what he was buying. If you take a closer look at the transaction you will find that there is a big difference between what Jacob was going to sell to his brother and what he was going to buy from his brother. While he was going to sell food to his brother he was asking for his brother’s birthright in return.
Food is tangible. You can see, feel and smell it. It is a visible commodity. Birthright, on the other hand, is an invisible commodity. You cannot see it, feel it, or smell it. Why would Jacob trade a tangible commodity – food – for an intangible commodity – birthright? Why would he trade something that can be seen for something that cannot be seen?
Firstly, Jacob knew that just because you cannot see or touch a thing does not make it any less real than something you can see and touch. In fact, that which you cannot see and touch is more real than that which you can see and touch.
Secondly, Jacob knew that the intangible was greater than the tangible. He knows that if you can see it and touch it then it has an expiry date. It will never last forever. But that which you can neither see nor touch does not have an expiry date.
Thirdly, he knew that those who can delay immediate gratification for future prosperity lead better lives than those who sacrifice future prosperity for immediate gratification just like his brother, Esau, did. Tell me, whoever died from one day of hunger?
It is no wonder that thousands of years later, God is still being referred to as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They all delayed immediate gratification for future prosperity.
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The question for you, dear reader, is, on which side of the camp are you? The Jacob’s camp or the Esau’s camp? It’s simple to know, really. Where is your value system? Where are you more likely to spend your money? The tangible or the intangible?
As a youth, do you value a new pair of shoes, a new shirt, a new car, something that you can show off and be admired by everyone over something intangible that will secure a future for you? Do you value knowledge, information, investment? Since you graduated from school how many books have you bought and read? How many training classes have you registered for just for your personal development?
I am going to be frank about it. Especially in this generation, I know how hard it is to ignore the fad. I also want to be in designer suits, wear designer perfumes, drive sleek cars, use the latest phones. I understand all that. But truly successful people are those who are willing to do, today, what most people are not willing to do so that they can have, tomorrow, what most people cannot have.
Wisdom told me more than ten years ago that there was a better path. That if I chose the path of delaying immediate gratification for future prosperity then the time will come when I won’t have to struggle to get those things that most people are dying to have. And I have been on that path ever since.
What’s more? Those same things that others are struggling to have are beginning to come to me almost without stress. Oh no! I am not where I need to be yet, but the journey just keeps getting beautiful by the day. The nights of waking up and crying are over. Life is beautiful.
How did I get here? By taking the road less traveled. And if all of these cannot be termed as success then I wonder what is. I may not be flying in a private jet, yet, but I am so grateful for this journey. It pays to take the road less traveled.
Are you still in Esau’s camp, valuing trivial things over things of true substance? You may want to have a rethink. Remember the rule of thumb, if you can see it, touch it, taste it, wear it, drive it, then it has an expiry date. It won’t last forever.
Invest in intangible things that last forever and the intangible will help you acquire the tangible, tomorrow. Get an education. Learn a new software. Learn a new skill. Read books. Attend training classes. Invest in your capacity to be creative. Learn to PAY for books, classes, seminars, workshops, skill acquisitions, professional courses, etc. Get rid of the freebie mentality.
Study the lives of others that have become highly successful in their fields and you will find this common trait. They invested in themselves at the early part of their lives. They invested in self development. While their mates were buying shoes they were buying books and attending classes.
Today, they are way ahead of their peers because they chose the right path. They did it. You can, also. Intangible things are enduring. Take responsibility for your life. Learn how to lead yourself. Welcome to Jacob’s camp.
I hope I have been able to add value to you today. If I have, please leave a comment and also share the article for others to also read it.
