There is a legendary story of an ancient king of Lydia named Croesus. He was famous for his exceptional wealth and he was very forward in showing you just how wealthy he was.
Croesus met a wise Greek man named Solon who seemed not to be dazzled in the least by his wealth.
Somewhat annoyed, Croesus asked Solon who was the happiest man on earth. Solon replied that the happiest men on earth were two brothers who had died peacefully in their sleep after their mother had prayed absolute happiness for them because they had displayed a flawless balance of respect and love in pulling her to a festival in an oxcart by themselves.
Solon gave some other examples but this only agitated king Croesus more and caused him to flatly ask if Solon thought him to be the happiest man on earth.
Solon’s response is something of a masterpiece. He explained that we can see many calamities befalling people everywhere and that these ought to teach us not to become arrogant in our present pleasures. A man’s happiness may, in the course of time, change a great deal. The future holds great variety and is unknown to all and only the man to whom the divinity has guaranteed happiness to the end can we consider truly happy.
Essentially, Solon showed that the happiness of a man cannot be judged until after his death.
This legendary story concludes as Croesus is vanquished in battle by the even more prominent King Cyrus of Persia and is sentenced to death.
And while waiting to be burned, he yelled out “Solon, you were correct!” which prompted Cyrus to inquire about the curious statement. Croesus explained the story and the wisdom of Solon. This impressed king Cyrus so greatly that he allegedly spared the life of Croesus as he pondered what could be his own fate one day.
So do we concern ourselves with fickle fortunes and fads that pass in a day, or should we focus on the long game and be secure in the knowledge that we are operating with pure intentions?