Money is Honey & Handcuffs

We speak many truths in aphorisms. ‘Aphorism’ isn’t a word commonly used, but what it describes are words and phrases commonly used.

The Cambridge dictionary defines aphorisms as:

“A short clever saying that is intended to express a general truth:”

“Oscar Wilde was famous for such aphorisms as “Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes”.

Source: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/aphorism

I remember some pretty profound aphorisms growing up.

Like, ‘money makes the world go round.’ Or ‘follow the money,’ or ‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.’ Which then morphed into ‘It’s not what you know or who you know, it’s what you know, about who you know.’

Isn’t that last one a sign of the times?

Those sayings are how I learnt about the morals of the world, and those sayings have so often rung true in my experience, and from what occurs in worldwide events.

Money makes the world go round

Money is a means to an end, a way to get on with life and remuneration for your time and labour. Money is an essential part of our lives, and it is an entity that makes things happen. Resulting in good and in bad outcomes depending on how we use it and what we use it for.

Follow the money

Every corrupt politician and most of them are corrupt, or at least become corrupted by the big money that sways their decisions. When you follow the money, you can see who really is running the place.

The saying became popular after a movie in the 1970’s.

“Follow the money.” A line popularized by the 1976 film “All the president’s men” about the Watergate scandal. Mark Felt aka “deep-throat” told reporter Bob Woodward to “follow the money” to find the scandal. It remains a popular saying in business and government.”

Source: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/submission/4508/Follow+the+money

It’s not what you know, but who you know

Nepotism and elitist country clubs and societies and being part of the ruling class.

“The meaning of “it’s not what you know, but who you know” is:

Having connections is more important than your skills or abilities

Source: https://www.idiomeanings.com/its-not-what-you-know-but-who-you-know/

It’s not what you know or who you know, it’s what you know about who you know.

Now the above saying was popular while I was growing up in one of the most corrupt countries and cities in the world, namely Johannesburg, South Africa.

I have not found a source for such a saying other than it is something that was well known by us in that city.

It is as if Jeffrey Epstein understood and applied all the above into a life philosophy, and literally lived them out.

Epstein somehow knew it wasn’t what you know or who you know, but what you know about who you know. The epitome of the honey trap. It didn’t end well for Jeffrey when the truth followed his actions, as it always does. Slowly revealing itself and convicting him.

Little did I know as I was going about life, and hearing these rather simple but profound statements, that each of these would describe a reality of the way things are at a much deeper level. These slogans are common knowledge, but they are deep in that they have application and are being applied in the world and have been since the greed and power lust of humankind has existed.

What a poor reflection on humankind, but there is an upside, in the striving for greed and money, many successful entrepreneurs grow their businesses into corporations. They all start out small but end up becoming large corporations that support many thousands of families.

Think about Apple and Microsoft and the products they make that assist other entrepreneurs to start their own businesses and employ others. These indeed are blessings.

Medium itself has technology and entrepreneurial spirit to thank and I have to thank Medium, as do all who write on this platform, and we need to thank the entrepreneurial spirit of Ev Williams.

But money also entraps us in certain respects, think of what we call the ‘golden handcuffs,’ when a corporation pays someone a lot of money to keep them loyal.

Investopedia defines the theory as:

“Golden handcuffs are a collection of financial incentives that are intended to encourage employees to remain with a company for a stipulated period of time. Golden handcuffs are offered by employers to existing key employees as a means of holding onto them as well as to increase employee retention rates. Golden handcuffs are common in industries where highly-compensated employees are likely to move from one company to another.”

Source:https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/goldenhandcuffs.asp

Earnings can be as sweet as honey as long as they are legitimate and ethical. Because if there is one thing that seems to ring true in life, is that truth has a lag effect.

Truth follows the event. Truth seems to be unhindered by time. Think of any dirty politician that entered political office in the last 60 years, and how the truth followed.

Think of the hero to zero status of the likes of Lance Armstrong. This got me thinking whether money or truth has more value. It seems temporarily money has more value but longer term truth has more value and does often rule over money. Think of how the money stopped for the likes of Harvey Weinstein.

What have I learn’t about money and life?

Money is like a weapon. In the wrong hands, it can wreak havoc and in the right hands, it can be a lifesaver.

Truth always follows unsavoury deeds, and truth has the power to stop and destroy the power and flow of money.

Use your money wisely and invest in ethical projects, with honourable and uplifting effects. This way, your investments will not be at risk.

Connections are more important than skills, unless you are extremely skilled in an area that no one else can master to your level of expertise, for instance, computer hacking. Imagine the tech giants falling over themselves for the skills of the number one hacker.