The legendary American entertainer Eddie Cantor once said that it “takes twenty years to become an overnight success.” That observation has been swimming in my thoughts since the news recently broke of the spectacular downfall of FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange firm. Founded in 2019 by the now 30 year old Sam Bankman-Fried, the firm skyrocketed to success. At its peak, the firm had over a million customers, was the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, and was valued at 32 billion dollars. Mr. Bankman Fried graced the cover of Fortune Magazine, met with high ranking government and business leaders in jeans and T-Shirts, owned a complex of waterfront estates in the Bahamas, and was hailed as a business wunderkind. All in three years.

Earlier this year I wrote about the emergence of the cryptocurrency phenomenon and my suspicions of it. That blog was entitled “From Fads To Fundamentals,” and you can read it here. The whole idea didn’t make sense to me then, and I am always suspicious when the media too quickly anoints the next superstar in any field of endeavor. Very rarely do any of these people live up to the hype.

Now that I think about it, Lebron James may be one of the only people that I can recall who have achieved the success that the cognoscenti thought he would. And although Mr. James is a phenomenal athlete who graced the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine when he was only 17 years old, it still took him almost ten years to win his first championship in the National Basketball Association (NBA). But unlike Mr. James, Mr. Bankman Fried has now joined the long list of premature success stories. A few weeks ago the firm he founded filed for bankruptcy. Millions of dollars are missing and hundreds of investors have been swindled. When his world collapsed, Mr. Bankman-Fried’s reaction was priceless. He said “I’m sorry.”

Even sorrier is the idea that success comes easily, or immediately. We tenaciously cling to the erroneous idea that we can achieve success or distinction without a considerable investment of time, effort, and resources. Eddie Cantor was right. It takes twenty years to become an overnight success. There are no shortcuts.

There is a great example of this truth tucked in the book Exodus, which tells the incredible story of how God used a man named Moses to deliver the children of Israel from 400 years of slavery. On the first night of their freedom, God made a strategic decision. Although there were many paths out of Egypt, God instructed Moses to lead his children in a particular path. According to Exodus 13:17-18

It so happened that after Pharaoh released the people, God didn’t lead them by the road through the land of the Philistines, which was the shortest route, for God thought, “If the people encounter war, they’ll change their minds and go back to Egypt.”

So God led the people on the wilderness road, looping around to the Red Sea. The Israelites left Egypt in military formation.

The road through the Philistines was the shortest path. But the shortest way is rarely the best way. God understood that even though the path through the wilderness was the harder route, it was the best route. We tend to be only interested in our destination. But God is interested in our journey. The journey builds strength. The journey builds character. The journey builds conviction. And yes, the journey takes time. If you take a shortcut to the promised land, you will short-circuit your success.

There are no shortcuts to creating wealth.

There are no shortcuts to losing weight

There are no shortcuts to raising children.

There are no shortcuts to rebuilding your credit.

There are no shortcuts to a great relationship.

There are no shortcuts to getting in shape.

There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going.