The Richest Man in Babylon By George Clason

This is one of the most widely read books on earth regarding rules to attaining financial freedom. Its author, George S. Clason, devised a rare but very useful way of sending this powerful information on attaining financial freedom using captivating fictions that keeps the reader entertained while he or she is learning powerful financial life rules. The diction of the characters, though more attuned to the kind of English language spoken in the ancient times, yet so clear and easy to understand. For everyone aspiring to achieve the understanding and total control over their finances, this book is a must read. Trust me, it will positively transform your understanding of money and you will learn to grow your wealth as you apply the simple yet profound rules stated in this book. Please find time to read this book.

I wouldn't want to dive too deep into summarizing the book; however I'll be outlining the seven (7) cures to becoming wealthy taught by Arkad, one of the characters, to a group of young men aspiring to become wealthy. 

Arkad was the richest man in Babylon so he was appointed by the King to pass the knowledge of how he amassed so much wealth to these young aspiring men. To the king's request he humbly accepted and taught these men sound financial doctrines (if I may call them that) that - and I must add - are universal and still applicable today. I'll share the first in this post and the rest in subsequent posts.
  
FIRST CURE; START THY PURSE TO FATTENING

This statement seems as difficult as deciphering an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph, yet reading through the passage explaining this cure, I totally understand the message being passed across. The rule yet is simple; now you are on the journey to wealth and complete financial freedom. So prepare yourself for it by first utilizing your source of wealth; that job, business, service, etcetera that fetches you income in whatever timed basis. You absolutely don't need a change of job to become wealthy, what you need is a change of understanding, a change of mindset. See the gold in that job that pays little and is about to get you discouraged. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying don't go for a better offer. I'm simply establishing that wealth can be achieved with whatever and I mean whatever one is doing. But here lies the actual cure;

                 "For every ten coins thou places within thy purse, take out for use but nine."

This is an absolutely shrewd advise and has yielded results for those who adhered to it. This cure simply means, when you are paid your salary or allowance or income generally, don't go spending every dime of it on whatever for whatever reason. Keep out a percentage of it (in this case 10%) and put in your savings account. The percentage to put away is totally up to you (you are your own boss now!). And discipline yourself never to touch it at least for now (cause we will soon see how to make savings yield profit). The ability to save is one very important skill (I call it that cause you must learn it) the rich have and utilize. Always develop the habit of paying yourself (saving some money) out of all you earn and you'll never regret it. Gradually, your savings will begin to accumulate and your purse increasing in size. This, my friends, is a sure way to begin your journey to amassing great wealth.

We shall talk about the next cure in my next post. For now, ponder on this and make sure to apply it in your financial life. God bless you.

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