Being Honest and Poor is better than being Dishonest and Rich?

Well, this has been one of the most evergreen topics for any debate. Is it better to be poor while being honest or just get rich by dishonesty? Although the perception towards this might be different from various people depending on their nationality, demographics, education and moreover personal upbringing; an honest opinion on this can be a very decisive factor to gauge the character of any person.

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There is a popular notion that people who have got rich have done so by grabbing out the shares of other people or by exploiting them. Honest people generally do not get many opportunities and hence they remain poor while dishonest people try to grab every other opportunity by unfair means leading them to prosperity. There have been many scams where a handful of greedy people have earned fortunes by cheating several other people, but in such cases, the argument ends since it is clearly evident that outcome of such people sooner or later lands them in jail. Now would you want to earn money which always leaves a fear in your mind that someday you might behind bars?  The money which cannot guarantee you a sound sleep at night does not make sense to me at least.

Well, I always support people who are honest and hard-working. But also, I do see a lack of competitiveness in such people majority of times. The easiest thing to do is to blame some external factors for your failure and many people adhere to this tactic trying to hide their own personal incapabilities. People usually say that others who have got rich were dishonest, I certainly do not agree to this. There are so many examples where people have earned huge fortunes by their talent, smart work and excellent dedication and if you want to check out the examples, just google the top 100 richest people in the world. If you take into account, some minor tax claims and all, then let me ascertain that no Businessman can sustain in this world if he obeys the taxation structure completely.

It’s not about which path takes you to prosperity and which doesn’t, it about the time taken to reach your destination depending on the path you choose. Going by the dishonest means certainly may make you rich faster but that is very short-lived, if you want to become rich following the path of honesty then it may a long time but once when you reach there you would definitely find all your efforts worth it. It is in the basic nature of human beings to enjoy respect and recognition on a societal level and going by the unfair means would never help you get this.

Well, these were the points from the analysis and justification point of view. But for people like me who believe in Karma, getting reach by unfair means is never an option at all. Being a very competitive person, I would try till the end to get rich by honesty and dedication. But if given the option to choose any between being honest and poor or dishonest and rich, I would always prefer being honest no matter whether I become Rich or not.



Article by Rohit Jha
He can be reached at contact@reviewmantra.com