The “Midas touch” refers to the ability to make anything profitable. It comes from a Greek king who was granted the ability to turn things into gold, but it became a curse. The term is used to describe success in challenging fields like the stock market, but caution is advised as wealth doesn’t always bring happiness.
The term “Midas touch” is used to refer to the ability to make anything potentially profitable by enabling people to make and manage large amounts of money. People often use it with envy, declaring that someone has an almost magical ability that allows them to succeed where others fail. In fact, most people with such skills work very hard for them, and may have suffered their fair share of failures before developing their keen business acumen.
The name of this term comes from a legendary Greek king. Midas did indeed exist, as ample historical evidence shows, although it’s unlikely that he was actually able to turn things into gold by simply touching them. The desire to be able to turn things into gold is ancient; the entire discipline of alchemy was founded around the idea that it was theoretically possible to “transmute” various base metals into gold, for example, and the desire for gold in one form or another persists in many human societies modern.
According to legend, when Dionysus approached Midas and offered him any boon, the king asked for the ability to turn things into gold. Dionysus duly did so, and at first the king was delighted that everything he touched turned to gold. The blessing soon turned out to be a curse, however, as he found himself starving to death because even the food and drink he touched turned to gold and, in some versions of the story, it turned his daughter into a statue as well.
Midas returned to Dionysus and begged him to revoke the gift. The king was informed that he could bathe in a particular river to get rid of his magical touch, which he duly did. In many stories, he continues to abhor wealth, living a life of extreme asceticism. The original Midas Touch fable was likely a cautionary tale about greed, pointing out that greed can swallow up everything you love, leaving you without happiness.
In the modern world, anyone who does very well, especially in a challenging field like the stock market, can be said to have a Midas touch. While there is a touch of envy involved, the term is also used with a note of caution; when someone has this ability, people may wonder how he got there and if happiness came with wealth.
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