"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." - Sir George S. Clason, rightly explain this, in his book, "The Richest Man in Babylon".
Babylon. It was a capital city of the ancient Babylonian empire, whose ruins are located in present day Iraq. This book is all about how a richest man in Babylon becomes rich, how he helped his fellow Babylonian to gain the financial wisdom by sharing the laws of gold & the secret behind, how he attracted the good luck.
Note : All thoughts mentioned below is a bird eye view of the book. If you are a person, who likes or okay to know the crux of the book in a short summary like this, you are reading a right blog 🙂
The Author says, The Wealth is like a tree. It grows from a tiny seed. The first penny you save is that seed from which your tree of wealth grows. The sooner you plant the seed the sooner shall the tree grow. More faithfully you nourish & water it with consistent savings, the sooner you enjoy the contentment beneath its shade.
We get such thoughts, advises from many. Our friends, colleagues, family... some might younger, some might older. Describing this age factor & associated advises, author says,
The thoughts of youth are bright light that shines forth like the meteors which often make the sky brilliant 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. I must say, this book is like that fixed star of oldage wisdom.
Everyone faces anxiety sometimes in life. Specially a pandemic situation like this makes many of us jobless, nervous & fearfulness for the future. But we have to sail through this. We need to convert this crises into opportunities. Very importantly, instead of blaming the surrounding & misfortune, we need to be prepared. Because, 'Opportunity is haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared'. Whatever portion we earn, A part of that, we must keep to ourselves. Because this is our tiny seed which will grow & gives us contentment.
Do you know how? Simply follow... 7 cures for your lean purse :
1. Keep something - If you are earning 10 coins, spend just 9.
2. Control expenditure - Budget your expenses such that you have coins to pay for the necessities/enjoyments and to gratify worthwhile desire without spending more than nine tenth (9/10) of earnings.
3. Make the money multiply - Instead of enhancing the beauty of your purse by putting pennies inside it, labor them and help bring to your income.
4. Guard the treasure from loss - By investing only where the principal is safe , where it may reclaim when desirable. Consult with wise men only. Let their wisdom protect your treasure from unsafe investment.
5. Make of the dwelling a profitable investment - own the own house. Be a boss of your treasure. Don't give it to someone else to manage.
6. Insure a future income - Identify the needs of growing age & family in advance and start working on it now.
7. Increase the ability to earn - Cultivate the own powers to study and become wiser , to become more skillful, actful & respectful.
Many people always complain that they owe misfortune. Good luck is not for them. But this is not true. The goddess of good luck always favor the one who is in action. we always care our loved ones. But remember to help in such a way that it will not bring the friend's burden upon ourselves. Better a little caution than a great regret.
Everyone is hungry. Few are for food few are for peace and few are for wealth. Its not bad though. Because, the hungrier one becomes, the clearer one's mind works. And that pushes us to work more harder to suppress that appetite. Don't work like a slave to live like a millionaire. Ask one important question to you... 'Have I the soul of the slave or the soul of a free man?'
If I had the soul of slave I should give up, lie down in the desert and die, a fitting end of a runaway slave.... But if I had the soul of a free man, I would force my way back to my destiny, regain the trust of the people, bring happiness to those who truly loved me and bring peace and contentment to my life.
At last, everyone of us wants to grow, wants to live a healthy & wealthy life, wants to shine bright. We do have all those necessary things surrounding us. The only thing we need to carry by ourselves is the determination. Because, 'Where the determination is the way can be found.'
© Aaradhana Khot