RICHEST MAN IN BABYLON

Introduction

The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason is a must-read for anyone interested in building wealth. Littered across its pages are real-time wealth principles that have transformed men and generations. This review is a highlight of the lessons in the book, however, you should take time to read it yourself. The good thing is the book is just 144 pages. 114 pages of ageless wisdom!

Here are 8 amazing lessons from the book.

1 Always spend less than you earn.

This should be as common as air- everywhere, however, many people like to live a life of show off. People. It is sad to see people appearing “made” at the expense of what they earn. In life you don’t have to impress anybody. You might not be where you intend to be but in time you would get there. Just keep moving. Keep taking affirmative steps.and never forget to spend less than you earn.

2. A part of what you earn is yours to keep

A part of all you earn is yours to keep. It should be not less than TEN PERCENT no matter how little you earn. It can be as much more as you can afford. Always pay yourself first. 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. If you start with 10% tucked away, you will not even notice the difference. Your quality of life will have no noticeable difference. You surprisingly will learn to live without it.

3. Make your saved money work for you

“Make thy gold multiply.”

One thing every wealthy person does that you don’t know is; they save towards something that will earn them more money. Warren Buffett has been doing this since he was a child. He bought soda in a store and sold it to others for a profit during the summer. He eventually progressed to purchasing pinball machines and installing them in eateries. He and the restaurant owners split the money 50/50. He then progressed to larger and larger businesses till he became one of the world’s richest men. The philosophy is simple; Save then Invest your savings.

4. Don’t take advice from someone without experience.

The lesson here is pretty simple; only take advice from people with a wealth of experience.

The truth is that you will lose money if you invest with people who tell you what you want to hear but know very little about the sector. If you make a bad investment, your money is almost gone.
Only follow the advice of the most knowledgeable experts in your profession. Any other advice you get should be taken with caution. Look around, everyone enjoys offering advice. In the book, the main character Invested his money with overseas jewel sellers who claimed to bring back rare jewels for ridiculously low price. Yes! he was duped – tinder swindling comes in different shades.

Like every hustler on the streets of Lagos, he did not give up. He made another attempt to invest his money in the shield industry with a man who worked as a textile maker. Think about it, what relationship ties Shields and Textile? And yes, he lost his money again.

Only take advice from people who have proof they made a lot of money in whatever you want to invest in. Sounds simple, right? However you’ll be shocked how many people listen to anyone’s advice. A lot of successful people do listen to advice, but it’s not as stringent as it should. They will listen to anyone who sounds successful or looks rich or is on a fairly famous podcast or has made at least 6 figures.

5. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

It’s amazing how people wish they would magically hit a jackpot and transform their lives. The truth is, there is a high chance to go back to stage zero if you win a jackpot. In fact, statistics has it that many lottery winners go through their whole winnings within a year.

Instead of thinking of hitting a $1 million jackpot, cruising in luxurious cars, shopping everywhere- eating the life of your head, You should work towards having a consistent and growing system that constantly makes you more money. The truth is, It’s never about how much you have earned or won, it’s how much you keep and how much you keep making in the future.

6. You cannot be wealthy if you spend foolishly.

“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 his own inexperience and romantic desires in investment”

What this basically means is that if you invest or use money in businesses you aren’t familiar or people who aren’t good at a task, you will lose it. If you push it too hard to earn money in a near-impossible way, you will lose it. If you buy into scammers, you will lose the money. If you spend or use money based on your own inexperience or emotional urges, you will lose it.

7. Invest in your ability to earn more.

Simply put, It means you should allocate a portion of your time, energy and money to improve your skills, ability to earn more money. This is one golden rule of building wealth.

Some people think learning ends after school, this is totally wrong. Learning never ends. You can be 10x ahead in life by developing yourself a little each day. The average person spends time on frivolous activities such as aimless chatting, watching movies, and unnecessary outings. Don’t be like the average person. Improve yourself!

8. Greedy people always lose money.

Have you ever heard of a 50% ROI per month? If you have, hopefully you did not involve yourself in it. Realistically, there’s no business/investment that can guarantee you 50% returns per month. The risk involved is just too high, don’t fall into the trap.

To build wealth, you must tame the greed in you. Although this is quite impossible, however, you can manage it and make intelligent decisions. Always ask yourself, what is driving me to invest in this opportunity/business/venture? If it is greed, that’s a red light. It’s not valentine redness, but an emergency. Stay away from it!

A part of all I earn is mine to keep.’ Say it in the morning when you first arise. Say it at noon. Say it at night. Say it each hour of every day. Say it to yourself until the words stand out like letters of fire across the sky.”

The next time you visit a bookstore, make sure you buy this book- so much wisdom scripted in a few pages. You too can be the richest man in your community.

Cheers!