The Richest Man in Babylon (Illustrated) the Original Classic Edition: Timeless Principles of Wealth Management
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Our acts can be no wiser than our thoughts. Our thinking can be no wiser than our understanding.
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Money is the medium by which earthly success is measured.     Money makes possible the enjoyment of the best the earth affords.     Money is plentiful for those who understand the simple laws, which govern its acquisition.
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'The thoughts of youth,' he continued, 'are bright lights that shine forth like the meteors that oft make brilliant the sky, but the wisdom of age is like the fixed stars that shine so unchanged that the sailor may depend upon them to steer his course.
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If you would become wealthy, then what you save must earn, and its children must earn, that all may help to give to you the abundance you crave.
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'Wealth, 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 shall the tree grow. And the more faithfully you nourish and water that tree with consistent savings, the sooner may you bask in contentment beneath its shade.'
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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.'
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You first learned to live upon less than you could earn. Next you learned to seek advice from those who were competent through their own experiences to give it. And, lastly, you have learned to make gold work for you.
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Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared."
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This is the first step leading to the temple of wealth, and no man may climb who cannot plant his feet firmly upon the first step.
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"Which desirest thou the most? Is it the gratification of thy desires of each day, a jewel, a bit of finery, better raiment, more food; things quickly gone and forgotten? Or is it substantial belongings, gold, lands, herds, merchandise, income-bringing investments? The coins thou takest from thy purse bring the first. The coins thou leavest within it will bring the latter.
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"This, my students, was the first cure I did discover for my lean purse: 'For each ten coins I put in, to spend but nine.'
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our 'necessary expenses' will always grow to equal our incomes unless we protest to the contrary.
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"All men are burdened with more desires than they can gratify.
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"This, then, is the second cure for a lean purse. Budget thy expenses that thou mayest have coins to pay for thy necessities, to pay for thy enjoyments and to gratify thy worthwhile desires without spending more than nine-tenths of thy earnings."
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"I tell you, my students, a man's wealth is not in the coins he carries in his purse; it is the income he buildeth, the golden stream that continually floweth into his purse and keepeth it always bulging.
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"This, then, is the third cure for a lean purse: to put each coin to laboring that it may reproduce its kind even as the flocks of the field and help bring to thee income, a stream of wealth that shall flow constantly into thy purse."
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"Before thou entrust it as an investment in any field acquaint thyself with the dangers which may beset it.
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"This, then, is the fourth cure for a lean purse, and of great importance if it prevent thy purse from being emptied once it has become well filled. Guard thy treasure from loss by investing only where thy principal is safe, where it may be reclaimed if desirable, and where thou will not fail to collect a fair rental. Consult with wise men. Secure the advice of those experienced in the profitable handling of gold. Let their wisdom protect thy treasure from unsafe investments."
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"Thus come many blessings to the man who owneth his own house. And greatly will it reduce his cost of living, making available more of his earnings for pleasures and the gratification of his desires. This, then, is the fifth cure for a lean purse: Own thy own home"
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"This, then, is the sixth cure for a lean purse. Provide in advance for the needs of thy growing age and the protection of thy family."
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"Desires must be simple and definite. They defeat their own purpose should they be too many, too confusing, or beyond a man's training to accomplish. "
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"He must pay his debts with all the promptness within his power, not purchasing that for which he is unable to pay.     "He must take care of his family that they may think and speak well of him.     "He must make a will of record that, in case the Gods call him, proper and honorable division of his property be accomplished.
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"Thus the seventh and last remedy for a lean purse is to cultivate thy own powers, to study and become wiser, to become more skillful, to so act as to respect thyself. Thereby shalt thou acquire confidence in thy self to achieve thy carefully considered desires.
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The truth is this: Good luck can be enticed by accepting opportunity.
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"Those eager to grasp opportunities for their betterment do attract the interest of the good goddess. She is ever anxious to aid those who please her. Men of action please her best.
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"Action will lead thee forward to the successes thou dost desire."
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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 invests it in businesses or purposes with which he is not familiar or which are not approved by those skilled in ...more
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Without wisdom, gold is quickly lost by those who have it, but with wisdom, gold can be secured by those who have it not, as these three bags of gold do prove.
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If you desire to help thy friend, do so in a way that will not bring thy friend's burdens upon thyself."
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humans in the throes of great emotions are not safe risks for the gold lender.
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"If they borrow for purposes that bring money back to them, I find it so. But if they borrow because of their indiscretions, I warn thee to be cautious if thou wouldst ever have thy gold back in hand again."
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The wise lender wishes not the risk of the undertaking but the guarantee of safe repayment.
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BETTER A LITTLE CAUTION THAN A GREAT REGRET
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In this day, behind the impregnable walls of insurance, savings accounts and dependable investments, we can guard ourselves against the unexpected tragedies that may enter any door and seat themselves before any fireside.     WE CANNOT AFFORD TO BE WITHOUT ADEQUATE PROTECTION
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The hungrier one becomes, the clearer one's mind works— also the more sensitive one becomes to the odors of food.
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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?'