You miss all the shots you don’t take. Don't cry because it’s over; smile
because it happened
Money is Plentiful For those Who Understand the Simple Rules
of its Acquisition
Seven Cures for a Lean Purse—Cures for an empty wallet
1.
Start thy purse to fattening--- start stacking
2.
Control thy expenditures--- control expenses/spending
3.
Make thy gold multiply- make money multiply
4.
Guard thy treasures from loss--- guard what you
got/ your possessions
5.
Make thy dwelling a profitable investment—make my
home profitable investment
6.
Insure future income
7.
Increase thy ability to earn
_The
Richest Man in Babylon
A part of all you earn is yours to keep pg 28
Bansir talking to Kobbi
We have been contented subjects of our kind. We have been satisfied
to work long hours and spend our earnings freely. We have earned much coin in
the years that have passed, yet to know the joys that come from wealth, we just
dream about them. Bah! Are we more dumb than sheep? We live in the richest city
in all the world. Pg 5
I wish to be a man of means. I wish to own lands and cattle
to have fine robes and coins in my purse. I am willing to work for these things
with all the strength in my back, with all the skill in my hands, with all the cunning in my mind, but I
wish my labors be fairly rewarded. What is the matter with us? Again I ask you!
Why cannot we have our just share of the good things so plentiful for those who
have the gold with which to buy them? Pg. 6
He is claimed to be the richest man in all Babylon,”bansir
mused.
“So rich the king is said to seek his golden aid in affairs of treasury,”
Kobbi replied.
“So rich,” Bansir interrupted, “ I fear if I should meet him in the
darkness of the night, I should lay my hands upon his fat wallet.”
Nonsense,”
reproved Kobbi, “ a man’s wealth is not in the purse he carries. A fat purse
quickly empties if there be no golden stream to refill it. Arkad has an income
that constantly keeps his purse full, no matter how liberally he spends.”
Income, that is the thing, ejaculated Bansir. “ I wish an income
that will keep flowing into my purse whether I sit upon the wall or travel to
far lands. Arkad must know how a man can make an income for himself. Dost
suppose it is something he could make clear to a mind as slow as mine?’
“Methinks he did teach his knowledge to his son, Nomasir,”
Kobbi respond,
“ Did he not go to Nineveh and so it is told at the inn, become
, without aid from his father, one of the richest men in that city?”
It costs nothing to ask wise advice from a good friend and
Arkad was always that Pages 8-10
I found the road to wealth when I decided that a part of all
I earned was mine to keep.pg 17
Fool! You pay to everyone but yourself. Dullard you labor
for others. As well be a slave and work for what your master gives you to eat
and wear. Pg 18
A part of all you earn is yours to keep. It should be no
less than a tenth no matter how little you earn. Pg 18
“Wealth, is like a tree, grows from a tiny seed. The first
copper you save is the seed from which your tree of wealth shall grow. The
sooner you plant that seed the sooner the tree shall grow. And the more
faithfully you nourish and water that tree with consistent savings, the sooner
may you bask in contentment beneath its shade. ‘Pg. 19
Every fool must learn,’ he growled, but why trust the
knowledge of a brickmaker about jewels? Would you go to the breadmaker to
inquire about the stars? No, you would go to the astrologer, if you had power
to think. Your savings are gone, youth you have jerked your wealth-tree up by
the roots. But plant another. Try again pg 20
Advice is one thing that is freely given away, but watch
that you take only what is worth having. He who takes advice about his savings
from one who is inexperienced in such matters, shall pay with his savings for
proving the falsity of their opinions.’ Pg 20
It is my deep desire that thou begin the building of a valuable
estate for thyself that that thou mayest become respected among men . I desire
to see thou profit from a knowledge of the thoughtless mistakes of thy father…Do
what I should have done at thy age. From thy earnings keep out 1/10to put to
favorable investments. With this one-tenth of thy earnings and what it will
also earn, thou canst, before thou art my age, accumulate for thyself a
valuable estate.’ “’ Thy words are
words of wisdom my father pg 67
The youth found success at first and then was overzealous to
gain great wealth. His knowledge was immature. His enterprise collapsed. Pg 110
“Youth is ambitious. Youth would take short cuts to wealth
and the desirable things for which it stands. To secure wealth quickly youth
often borrows unwisely. Youth, never having had experience, cannot realize that
hopeless debt is like a deep pit into which one may descend quickly and where
one may struggle vainly for many days. It is a pit of sorrow and regrets where
the brightness of the sun is overcast and night is made unhappy by restless
sleeping. Pg 111
Better a little caution than great regret pg. 118
We cannot afford to be without adequate protection pg 124
How can you call yourself a free man when your weakness has
brought you to this ?... If a man has within him the soul of a free man, will
he not become respected and honored in his own city in spite of his misfortune?’
pg 132 Have I the soul of a man or have I the soul of a slave?” … no man can
respect himself who does not repay honest debts.’ pg. 133
Thy debts are thine enemies who have run thee out of Babylon’,
Sira had said.pg 137
We found the trail to
Babylon because the soul of a free man looks at life as a series of problems to
be solved and solves them, while the soul of a slave whines, “What can I do who
am but a slave?’ pg 138-139.
Where the determination is, the way can be found. Pg140
I like to work and I like to do good work, for work is the
best friend I’ve evr known. It has brought me all the good things I’ve had, my
farm and cows and crops , everything.’ Pg 164
Babylon possessed just two natural resources—fertile soil
and water in the river
