SOMETIME during the final two years of the 16th century (1599 and 1600) and the first year of the 17th (1601), William Shakespeare wrote his longest play, utilising 29,551 perfectly crafted words. It was The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.
In Act 1 Scene 3, one of the Bard's characters, Polonius, advises his son Laertes:
"Neither a borrower nor a lender be,
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry."
Let's focus on husbandry — for two different reasons:
1. It is unfamiliar to most of us in the 21st century; and
2. Its core meaning is relevant to all who have a burning desire to succeed.
In Shakespeare's day, husbandry meant the general management of both personal affairs and resources. So, someone good at husbandry would manage money and business well. Nowadays, the word is almost always only used within the context of animal husbandry, which pertains to raising livestock. And that, as you can imagine, is hard work.
Whether we are male or female, young or old, highly or lowly educated, we should understand the value of intense and persistent diligence. To succeed in life, we should work hard. And, yes, we must increasingly work smart; but that merely means we should diligently also work (and study) to grow smarter.
LAW OF ECONOMIC HUSBANDRY
I've recently been reading a book by the late Lee Kuan Yew, modern Singapore's founding father, entitled One Man's View of the World.
In it, more than a decade ago, Lee penned his compelling thoughts, observations and opinions on China, America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, the entire world, Earth's skyrocketing energy needs, and our worrisome climate change.
The book was published in 2013, two years before LKY, as he's often referred to, passed away in March 2015 at 91½.
One paragraph in his long chapter on China stopped me in my tracks. It pertains to the key difference between the mental makeup of officials running China's SOEs (state-owned enterprises) and that of business owners in the capitalist free world.
Here it is: "An even more pressing issue China faces is what to do with its state-owned enterprises that are less efficient. Here, China faces a fundamental problem of personal motivation. They are trying to get officials to be more like private entrepreneurs. That will not work because, unless you are holding on to 20 per cent of the shares, and you live with the fear that the stock market could crash on you, you won't wake up and do something about it. Your salary goes on. Whether the business goes up or goes down, you just get your salary. But when you have your own wealth involved, your whole livelihood, all your stocks in a company, you worry about it 24 hours a day."
When I first read that segment, and then reread it several times more, what struck me was this large-scale application of what we might call the Law of Economic Husbandry (LoEH).
Having just made up that term for your benefit, I choose to define the LoEH this way: "Work hard; then toil harder and smarter still, until you grasp success and make it wholly yours."
Note: My professional work as a licensed financial planner involves — as its primary emphasis — creating and structuring lifelong retirement funding solutions for clients.
What I've come to realise is that LoEH applies (1) to them, and it applies (2) to me. Therefore, it almost certainly applies (3) to you…
1. My clients need to work hard and smart for decades to establish planning frameworks for either capital preservation or capital liquidation funding programmes;
2. I need to work both hard and smart to implement and manage those programmes for them. Doing so, in essence, involves creating personalised private pension plans. (For elaboration on the importance of all of us doing so, read this earlier Money Thoughts column: www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/sunday-vibes/2024/02/1009503/money-thoughts-pur...); and
3. The wisest thing you can do to boost your likelihood of long-term family economic uplift is to also heed the crux of LoEH: Work hard; then toil harder and smarter still, until you grasp success and make it wholly yours.
OUTWORK AND OUTLEARN
I lived, studied and worked in England during most of the 1980s. Throughout that time the prime minister was the indomitable Margaret Thatcher. If you know anything about her, it shouldn't surprise you to learn the iron-willed Thatcher and Singapore's unbending Lee were kindred spirits. Although born a world apart, they were cut from the same bulletproof fabric.
Thatcher died the year Lee's One Man's View of the World was published. She once admitted, "I do not know anyone who has got to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but should get you pretty near."
American billionaire Mark Cuban puts a fascinating spin on that all-important work ethic, which all of us may derive hope from: "It's not about money or connections — it's the willingness to outwork and outlearn everyone." So, might this apply to you?
Do you truly wish it to?
© 2024 Rajen Devadason
Rajen Devadason, CFP, is a securities commission-licensed Financial Planner, professional speaker and author. Read his free articles at www.FreeCoolArticles.com; he may be connected with on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/rajendevadason, or via rajen@RajenDevadason.com. You may also follow him on X@Rajen Devadason and on YouTube (Rajen Devadason).