richest man in babylon 
by george clason 

Introduction
The Richest Man in Babylon, written by George S. Clason, is an insightful guide which provides readers with invaluable financial advice which is applicable today. The advice is given in the form of stories and parables of ancient Babylon. Despite being published in 1926, the advice which Clason provides throughout this book is still as effective and applicable today as it was when it was first published.

The Mediocrity Cycle
Clason begins the first part of the book exploring the story of two friends who were reflecting upon where they were in their lives. Despite working hard, these two friends still found themselves struggling just to get by, and bemoaning the fact that no matter how hard they seemed to work, it was never enough. They could never quite achieve a level where they could accumulate wealth and riches to show for their hard work.

After much discussion, the two friends then start discussing another childhood friend that they know of, who was considered as the richest man in Babylon. This childhood friend was named Arkad, and after much discussion, the two friends decided to seek out Arkad in the hopes of gaining insight into his financial wisdom. When they finally met with Arkad and asked what he did to enable fate to bring him this wealth he had accumulated, Arkad immediately rebukes their assumption that it was because of fate that he was rich.

Arkad told his friends that they continued to remain poor “because you have either failed to learn the laws that govern the building of wealth, or else you do not observe them.” As a young boy, Arkad was quick to notice that wealth played a huge role in enhancing a person’s quality of life. Anything was possible when you had wealth on your side, and it was from that moment that Arkad as determined he would not live his life as a poor man.

On a quest to make his desire for wealth a reality, Arkad dedicated his time and effort into studying how a person could accumulate wealth. He worked as a scribe in the beginning, and spent many hours toiling over clay tablets writing down laws. One day, he asked a particular client who happened to be a money lender if he would be willing to teach him some of the secrets about money. The man agreed to take Arkad under his wing, and he began by teaching Arkad that a part of what you earn must be yours to keep.

You Must Begin by Paying Yourself First
The cost of everyday living can quickly eat away at your income, and when this happens, the money lender pointed out that you become a slave to your job. He encouraged Arkad to simply start by saving 10% of his income. The money that he ends up saving will eventually become money that you can use to start investing (which is when your money starts working for you). He taught Arkad that is was not how much you managed to save that matters, but the act of paying yourself from every income that was earned. That was how Arkad witnessed his savings grow into a satisfying amount over time.

The money lender in turn, was pleased with what he observed and he asked him to help manage part of his real estate. He would later go on to share his profits with Arkad. The moneylender’s wise lesson to Arkad was not to save to a point that he was penny-pinching, but to continue to enjoy life as long as his savings continued to grow steadily.

In this book, readers are also encouraged to pay themselves first while they are working to pay off their debts. Arkad learned to live with less money when he steadily set aside 10% of his income, and he shared his story with his two friends in the hopes that they might learn from it too.

The Seven Secrets of Wealth
King Sargon, in Chapter 3 of this book, is worried that his city is getting poorer and he seeks out Arkad to ask him for his advice. Arkad reveals to the King what the seven secrets are to help increase wealth and “cure a lean purse”. Saving 10% of income was one of those secrets. The second secret was that a budget must be made, and it must be based on 9/10s of the income garnered so as to control spending. The third secret was to take measures to ensure that your money started working for you.

The fourth secret was to protect your wealth from loss, the fifth secret was to turn your home into an investment, the sixth secret was to insure a future income, and the seventh secret was to increase earning potential.

The subsequent and final chapters of the book reveal how these ancient Babylonian principles are still applicable today.

Conclusion
Accumulating wealth is something that everyone can do, and it is with knowledge of how wealth and money works that will help you attain the financial freedom you desire.