The Richest Man In Babylon, by George S. Clason

The man who wrote the most useful personal finance book, George Samuel Clason, was born in Louisiana, Missouri.   He was a soldier, businessman and writer.  He attended the University of Nebraska and also served in the United States Army during the Spanish-American War.

Clason started two companies, the Clason Publishing Company

and the Clason Map Company (which was the first to publish

a road atlas of the United States and Canada).

Look around you… how much wealth and abundance do you see?

How much claim do you have over the wealth and abundance

you see all around you?

Did you answer not nearly enough?

Do you wish to be a man of means?

Then pay attention!

"A man’s wealth is not in the purse he carries. A fat purse quickly empties if there be no money stream to refill it."  Kobbi tells his troubled friend in the opening pages of the book.

Bansir was troubled because he had no money. He had been

working hard all his life but he still had nothing to show for it.

Their discussion leads both Kobbi and Bansir to realize why they've never had wealth - they never sought it.  They decide to start their journey to financial freedom by seeking counsel from the richest man in Babylon.  We are reminded here that desire is the starting point

of all achievement.

The first lesson they learn from Arkad, the richest man in Babylon,

is that wealth is power because it opens up many opportunities

for joy and contentment.

Arkad reminds his friends that time and opportunity wait for no man. You need to be prepared for it when it comes. “Opportunity waits for no man,” writes the author, "good luck comes to the man who accepts opportunity - the man who hesitates not - the man who delays not - the man who takes advantage of opportunities."

Wealth creation is simple, according to George S. Clason,

if you learn the discipline and stick to it.  

He says "Money is reserved for those who know

its laws and abide by them".

First keep your money safe, secondly make your money grow. 

Do not gamble. The odds are always stacked against you.

You must learn these laws, practice the disciplines and you will surely have a growing bank balance.

Keep a tight lid on your expenses, warns Clason.

"He who spends more than he earns is sowing the winds of needless self-indulgence from which he is sure to reap the whirlwinds of trouble and humiliation."

Clason says that the hungrier one becomes, the clearer one's

mind works - the more sensitive one becomes to the odors of food. This applies to your desire for success - the more you want to succeed, the more focused you will be, and the more vigilant you will be

in identifying and utilizing opportunities that come your way.

 “If a man has in himself the soul of a slave will he not become one

no matter what his birth? If a man has within him the soul of a free man, will he not become respected and honorable in spite of his misfortune?”

That’s the question you must ask yourself.  Do you have the soul

of a slave or the soul of a free man?  Debt will enslave you;

it will strip you of your pride and your dignity. 

"Debt is like a deep pit into which one may descend quickly

and where one may struggle vainly for many years. It is a pit of sorrow and regret where the brightness of the sun is overcast, and night is made unhappy by restless sleeping."

"We cannot afford to be without adequate protection,"

writes the author. This statement holds especially true in these

modern times. We all need adequate protection for our assets

to protect us against loss in the same way the walls of Babylon protected its citizens against encroaching enemies.

Remember that where there’s a will there's a way. Make hard work your best friend. Everybody loves a good, hardworking fellow who

is productive and enthusiastic about his vocation.

Nobody cares for a whiner who complains all the time

without producing the required results.