The Richest Man in Babylon
Updated: Feb 3, 2021
Is it not fascinating that the basic strategies for a successful and wealthy life has not changed over the past century. The richest man in Babylon was first published in 1926 and the main messages are still being preached by several people that give money saving tips.
The story is simple and short. It tells stories of different shepherds, their coincidences and how they were taught the messages that are being told in the book. Stories as saving the 10% of your earnings to yourself and spend the rest to give back, or do good, which are serving your family, help someone and invest part of it. However, always pay yourself first to add up to your savings, or gold sack that it is called in the book. In these men they all had something in common that we also see in many of the successful and wealthy people in today’s world. They had desire!
A quotation straight from the book will give you an idea of this desire:
“ 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 labours to be fairly rewarded”.
“In those things towards which we exerted our best endeavours we succeeded”.
They highlight the ambitions of these shepherds and how they strived to first accumulate knowledge to be able to handle the gold that comes their way.
“Through my misfortunes, my trials and my success, I have tested time and again the wisdom of the five laws of gold, my father, and have proven them true in every test. To him who is without knowledge of the five laws, gold comes not often, and goeth away quickly”.
All messages were craved into stones. When archeologist arrived to the area of where Babylon used to be they found a whole city being hidden and covered with sand. There they found all the tablets that are summarized in this book. One of the tablets, that they linked to wealth, were the 5 laws of gold. Several money saving coaches or preachers use these as hints to people they consult.
The 5 laws of gold quoted from the book are (the English language is a little old):
I – Gold cometh gladly and in increasing quantity to any man who will put by not less than one-tenth of his earnings to create an estate for his future and that of his family.
II – Gold laboreth diligently and contentedly for the wise owner who finds for it profitable employment, multiplying even as the flocks of the field.
III – Gold clingeth to the protection of the cautious owner who invests it under the advice of men wise in its handling.
IV – Gold slippeth away from the man who incests it in business or purposes with which he is not familiar or which are not approved by those skilled in its keep.
V – Gold flees the man who would force it to impossible earnings or who followeth the alluring advice of tricksters and schemers or who trusts it to this own inexperience and romantic desires in investment.
Inspiring and fascinating book. Easily read and you gain perspectives on how history in this aspect has not changed. Strategies are still the same.
In Swedish: Adlibris
Peace!