Why the first association when thinking of Jews is business success & money? Well, the Jews always lived in the minority in the diaspora and were forced to survive. Therefore, they have invested efforts in the academic field as well as in the business field.
In this post I have summarized the ten mindsets for business success according to Judaism.
Mindset #1- Believe in the Dignity and Morality of Business
You must believe in the dignity and morality of business. You have to understand deep down, that what you do for a living is actually an act of service for the world. When you do work and you do it well you’re being a benefit to yourself and you’re helping other people as well.
It’s a win-win for everybody, whether you haul trash or the CEO of a major company, when you make yourself available to other people, you’re more likely to succeed at whatever business you’re engaged in.
Mindset #2- Extend the Network of Your Connectedness to Many People
This mindset is all about networking. When you actively in joyfully interact with other people, it sets the stage for wealth creation to take place. People want to do business with people they know.
When you’re genuinely interested in other people and cultivate a genuine relationship with them, eventually some kind of transaction may result from that friendship, but it’s not about seeking a transaction, it’s about building genuine friendship with others.
Mindset #3- Get to Know Yourself
All of us are in business and one form or another, and the better you know yourself, the better you’re going to be at serving others well. You should take the time to develop the good things within yourself that make you worthy of doing business with others, and eliminate the bad things that stand in your way.
That means finding ways that you can build your character. When you become a person of character, you become someone that people want to admire, get to know, and do business with.
Mindset #4- Don’t Pursue Perfection
Don’t blame imperfection for your problems. The government business, the socio-economic system, and life are not fair. You can’t expect perfection from any enterprise that’s run by human beings, so because of that you have to realize there are always going to be crooked business, people, and politicians.
There will always be poverty and strife, and there will always be any number of problems that can hinder you in life, but it’s up to you not to use those as an excuse to succeed in life and business.
Mindset #5- Lead Consistently and Constantly
The Jewish tradition teaches that we’re all leaders in one way or another. According to Jewish tradition, a leader is simply someone who has followers and you can’t be a leader, if you don’t have followers.
So that leads to the obvious question of how do you become a leader? You become a leader by getting people to follow you, and that’s pretty obvious, so that leads to the next question: how do you get people to follow you? The answer is you develop the character traits of a leader within yourself, and then you step up when the opportunity arises.
An opportunity to lead could be becoming a pest spouse or a parent, or it could be becoming a boss or a business owner, or even a cool head in the crowd during a time of crisis the point is you should always be developing skills that will help you be a leader with to others and be a person that others will naturally want to follow.
Mindset #6- Constantly Change the Changeable
Constantly change the changeable, while steadfastly clinging to the unchangeable. What does that mean? It means that you to strike a balance between what is steadfast and unchanging, and those things which are always changing and moving forward.
In other words, always be willing to change and progress but you should also remember that there are basic unchanging principles, such as moral truths that should not be violated in the name of change. Innovation and change are necessary and make for a prosperous world, but change that violates basic moral principles set forth by God, will never bring the prosperity you’re looking for.
Mindset #7-Learn to Foretell the Future
This one is not becoming some kind of fortune-teller, it’s more about becoming a person who can make a reasonable prediction about the future, by learning from the past. It’s about seeing what’s going on now, and spotting trends that will help you predict the future. Developing this skill helps you succeed in business and in life, because the more you can build a future income off the trends you’re seeing now, the better you’re able to stay ahead of the curve compared to people and businesses that are satisfied with the status quo.
You won’t always be able to predict the future with 100% accuracy, but the more you do it the better you’ll get, and over time that will translate to more money in your pocket.
Mindset #8- Know Your Money
Obviously, to be successful in business and life, you have to know how to use money well. The more you know how to make money work for you so you don’t have to kill yourself working for money, the more success you’re going to have.
This means doing things like staying out of debt, doing a budget investing your money, and knowing how to understand financial statement. The more you know how to speak the language of money on a macro level, as well as a personal level, the better decisions you’re going to make that will propel you to even greater wealth and success.
Mindset #9 – Act Rich
You would assume, that when you give money away it’s gone forever, but Jewish and Christian traditions, both teach you that when you give money away, more of it will return back to you.
This is because giving money away opens up a direct channel for YHVH, to bestow his blessings upon you. We were made in the image of God, so when we give we receive the blessings God intended for givers like him. In the end, giving always increases the wealth of the giver, so he can give again with an even greater capacity.
Conclusion
Everybody wants to retire one day but think about it, retirement is really a very modern concept that’s really only taken hold over the last 60 years or so, before that most people aspired to work as long as they possibly could.
According to biblical concepts, we were made for work, and when we work we partner with the Creator himself in the act of creation. Because of that, you should view your professional work as an ongoing process with no expiration date.
When you no longer contribute to the world through work, you deteriorate because the human psyche has a need to do useful work. The more you stay in the game and stay engaged, the more valuable you feel and the more valuable you are to others.
Of course you probably don’t want to be working 40 hours a week in some soul-sucking corporate job, when you’re 80 years old, but when it comes down to it, staying in the game in some way is valuable to you and others, and it helps you live a longer happier more productive life.
