The Hovot HaLevavot quotes from Kohelet to further prove the point that we have to rely on Hashem, even as we do our hishtadlut.
Shlomo HaMelech, the wisest of men, writes:
(קהלת ט יא):שבתי וראה תחת השמש כי לא לקלים המרוץ ולא לגבורים המלחמה וגם לא לחכמים לחם,
I sat and saw under the sun,That light-footed don’t win the race, and the strong people don’t win the war,and not always do the wise people have bread
This is Shlomo HaMelech’s observation. Things don’t always turn out the way we expect them to.
Commentaries explain that Hashem does this on purpose. We can’t always predict the outcome. Sometimes it’s the drop-outs that become successful. Why is it that circumstances don’t always follow nature? Why does G-d sometimes break the rules? Because Hashem wants us to see that He’s in charge and know that ultimately it’s Hashem that makes things happen. As Shlomo HaMelech observed, sometimes Hashem provides us with examples- so the one that’s not so strong will win the fight, and one that’s not so smart will be successful.
Shlomo HaMelech is teaching us that this is one of the ways G-d works.
An article recently written by Anna Vital, entitled Learning Without School, highlights this concept. Vital complied a list of the world’s 10 most successful entrepreneurs that dropped out of college including their companies and the ages they dropped out.
Michael Dell - Dell Founder, 19
SteveJobs Apple Founder ,19
Julian Assange, Wikileaks founder,19
Bill Gates - Microsoft Founder, 20
Larry Ellis - Oracle Founder,20
Evan Williams, Twitter co-founder,20
Marc Zuckerberg- Facebook Founder,20
Jan Khoum, Whatsapp founder ,21
Travis Kalanick, Uber founder, 21
John Mackey, Whole-Foods founder,22
She points out that while we can’t say that a college education is not more likely to produce successful careers and better wages, it’s notable that so many successful entrepreneurs bucked the system and succeeded. Many billionaires were drop- outs. There is even one entrepreneur and philanthropist, Peter Thiel, who will award scholarships of $100,000 to 20 promising young men and women to quit college.
Of course, the author stresses that all of this isn’t meant to suggest that all billionaires are drop-outs, or that going to college won’t make you a billionaire. She is merely pointing out these notable exceptions.
What we have to realize is that it’s Hashem telling us- Rely on Me. Ultimately I make it happen no matter what steps you take. Do your hishtadlut, but I make it happen.
My father, Dr. Joseph D. Sutton attended Yeshiva of Flatbush and was accepted to Columbia University. He eventually went on to become a doctor. He graduated in the top 10% of his class but he jokes sometimes that the guys that had cheated off his tests back in elementary school now make ten times more money than he does.
It’s all Hashem’s doing. Hashem decides who makes the money.
An educator once said in jest, “Be nice to your A and B students - they may come back and teach in your schools, but be very nice to your C students, because they will be building your buildings.”
As Shlomo HaMelech says, “ It’s not always the smartest that are the most successful or the fastest that win the race ...” it’s all up to Hashem.
Go back and look through your yearbook. See which people were the ones everyone expected to succeed, and which were the the ones that actually did succeed
And you will understand Shlomo HaMelech’s dictum.