“As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor” – Ecclesiastes 10:1
For those of you who have read my posts in the past, you’ve heard me often say that the road to success is paved with hard work, discipline, patience, and diligence. Anyone who started from nothing and became successful undoubtedly took those steps. While the road to success involves those elements, there is one thing that can destroy all your success…your vices. A business or career may take years of blood, sweat, and tears to finally become a success. But one moment in which a vice gets the best of you can destroy everything you built.
King Solomon, in this passage from Ecclesiastes, is warning us of this very truth. It doesn’t matter how great the ingredients are in a bottle of expensive perfume. One dead fly in that bottle ruins the entire bottle. A bottle of water can be 99% pure from the cleanest springs on planet Earth, but if that other 1% is cyanide, no one in their right mind would drink that water.
Your talents, if properly cultivated, can take you far; but your vices, if unchecked, can take you down. Don’t allow your vices to ruin everything you worked hard to build. I have seen very talented people lose everything due to their vices getting the best of them. Whether it was infidelity destroying their reputation and career, too much alcohol leading to a DUI and arrest, or illicit drug use leading to their death, some of the most talented people have seen their lives completely upended due to their vices.
Back in 1986, there was an outstanding college basketball player from the University of Maryland named Len Bias who was drafted second overall by the Boston Celtics. Len Bias had all the talent to become an NBA superstar, if not, future hall of famer. Sadly, we never got the opportunity to see whether this star college player would succeed in the NBA. Two days after he was drafted, Len Bias died from cardiac arrest. What was the cause of his cardiac arrest? It wasn’t an undiscovered genetic condition; rather, it was cocaine use. One bad decision cost him his life.
There will be many of you who will be fortunate enough to be able to cultivate your talents into something that becomes very successful and prosperous. When you have finally achieved success and are now enjoying the fruits of your hard work, don’t let one moment of weakness destroy it all. If you want to rise to the top: work hard, be disciplined, be patient, and be diligent. If you want to avoid having everything come crashing down, don’t let your vices get the best of you.