The richest man in Babylon

Chapter 2: Meet the richest man in Babylon

The single most powerful asset we all have is our mind.

If it is trained well,

it can create enormous wealth in what seems to be an instant. —Robert Kiyosaki

Arkad was not only known

as the richest man in Babylon,

but also admired by everyone

for his generosity and openness.

To the relatives

and even the slaves in the house,

Arkad often gave a lot of money,

so they lived quite affluent and comfortable.

Even so,

each year his wealth continued to increase,

making Arkad richer and richer.

For the same reasons,

some of Arkad’s childhood friends approached and said:

– Arkad! Why are you always luckier than us?

He became the richest man in Babylon,

and we still struggled daily with poverty.

He often wears all beautiful and luxurious clothes

and eats delicious food and strange things,

while we have to content ourselves

with thin clothes,

eating only soy sauce and tomato sauce every day.

– Yes! Arkad replied.

– We were all the same before.

We studied with the same teacher,

played together the games of our youth.

Then we grow up

and become independent to support ourselves

and our families.

But you guys didn’t try to work wholeheartedly.

You also refuse to learn the rules governing getting rich,

or refuse to obey those rules,

so hunger and poverty still cling.

So is that the reason why you guys don’t get what I have,

even though our starting point is the same?

Pausing for a moment, Arkad continued:

– Even as an adult,

I used to think about rich people.

What do they do to become rich?

Wealth comes by itself

or do I have to look for it?

In my life,

I have seen many people squander all their possessions,

and then end up holding a grudge

and regretting their lost property;

or there are people

who always live in fear of spending all their savings,

because they are not able to earn money.

Therefore, they are often sparing in spending,

and become needy on the money they have.

In addition,

they are also obsessed with thieves and even more withdrawn

in the guise of poverty.

In fact, they live no different from the poor.

However, through observation,

I have seen some other people have more

and more money,

even though they always spend generously.

I don’t know how they always have so much gold,

but their wealth is always maintained,

their lives are still rich,

full and they are still respected by everyone.

Because of that thought,

I told myself that I must work hard

and try my best to make life better.

Because, wealth will bring happiness,

respect and a prosperous life.

As you know,

if we are rich,

we can buy houses,

luxurious and comfortable things;

we can also go to many places

and eat many delicious foods,

buy precious or rare jewels,

or we can build many magnificent temples for the gods.

The power of wealth is we can do all the things we want.

When I realized these things,

I decided to achieve all the good things in life.

I can’t settle for a life of poverty,

I can only look forward to seeing others enjoying life.

I also can’t content myself,

allowing myself to dress modestly

and eat food that’s just to get through the day.

On the contrary,

I wanted to be a guest of honor at the banquet

of the rich families of Babylon.

We come from poor families with many brothers,

with no inheritance,

and no hope of marrying a dowry wife.

So, with a bit of wisdom,

I decided that,

if I want to achieve success,

I need to take time

to learn more life experiences.

In terms of time,

everyone got the same,

but some people let it go to waste.

Because with that amount of time,

you can work and get rich.

About learning and gaining experience,

do you remember what our wise teacher once taught?

He said that there are 2 ways of learning:

Frist is the things we learn from being taught by others,

usually these are not many;

The other way is that through learning by yourself,

we will be equipped

with ability to search for the unknown,

to discover the endless experiences

and knowledge in this world.

So I decided to find a way to get rich,

and once I found it,

I had to do it,

I had to do it well.

We are very wise

when we look to the sunlight for warmth,

so why not look to the wisdom to learn!

As you probably know,

when I was young,

I worked as an engraver on clay cards.

One day, Algamish,

the moneylender,

came and asked me to engrave a copy of the ninth law.

He said he needed the copy

within the next two days and that if

I finished the work on time he would reward me.

I tried my best,

but the rule was

so long that when Mr. Algamish returned,

the work was still not done.

He got angry and even wanted to hit me,

because I don’t get the job done,

and I’m just a mediocre employee.

But I quickly suggested to him:

– Mr. Algamish! He is a very rich man.

If you can show me how to become as rich as you are,

I’ll finish carving this rule all night long on the card.

Tomorrow when the sun comes out,

you will get what you want.

Mr. Algamish was surprised,

then smiled and replied:

“You’re a know it yourself hire!”

But hey, we accept,

see this as a mutually beneficial negotiation.

I stayed up all night to engrave,

even though my back was aching,

the smell of oil lamp soot made my head ache

and my eyes were blurred with words.

But in the end,

I’m glad I got the job done at dawn.

“Now tell me what you promised,

” I said to Mr. Algamish

when he came to get the clay tablets.

“You have done your duty well,

young man!

– He told me cordially.

As for me,

I am also ready to keep my promise.

I will tell you what you want to know.

I am old,

and old people are not usually narrow-minded in passing

on their knowledge to others,

especially young men who have reached the age of wisdom,

mature like you.

Thinking for a moment, Mr. Algamish continued:

– The thoughts of youth are very strong rays

of light and spread far away!

It will help you navigate

and make your life journey.

You should keep in mind what I say,

for if you ignore the truth

I am about to teach you,

your all night effort in completing the inscription will be in vain.

Mr. Algamish looked at me

with gentle and calm eyes,

then he lowered his voice

and emphasized each word:

-I found my way to riches

when I decided to set aside a portion

of my total earnings

to set aside

for myself.

Later, you should learn to do the same.

Because, this is the secret to creating wealth.

After saying that,

Mr. Algamish looked me straight in the eye again

and said nothing more.

I feel like I’m being looked at by those eyes.

– Just that? – I was extremely surprised

and couldn’t help

but ask the question of disappointment.

– Right. But it’s enough to turn a hired shepherd

into a moneylender!

– He replied.

“But all you earn is yours, isn’t it?”

– I asked again.

– It’s not like that!

Mr. Algamish answered slowly.

“Just think,

how can I live in Babylon without spending anything?”

Surely you have to pay the tailor,

the shoemaker for you.

Then money to buy food

and household items too!

So is the money you earned in the last month still yours or not?

And the amount of income throughout the year,

do you keep any money?

If all the money you make has to be paid off like that,

it means you don’t have any money left for you.

Then how can you be rich!

Therefore, even though I am a poor worker,

I have to work as a hired worker

for my employer to have food and clothing,

but I should also save it.

If you only save a ten of your monthly income,

how much will it be in ten years’ time?

With my quick calculation ability,

I answered immediately:

– That’s almost as much as you make in a year.

“You’re only telling half the truth.”

“I didn’t know that every gold coin

I saved was a slave working for me,” said Mr. Algamish.

Every penny that the gold coin generates will also earn money

to bring back to you.

If you want to become a rich person,

then you have to make sure

that whatever money you have is profitable,

make you rich,

rich forever as you want.

“You think I’m deceiving you?”

“But I am actually paying you a thousand times more than you put in,

if you are smart enough to grasp the truth I have just said,”

continued Mr. Algamish.

One-tenth percent of the money you earn should be kept

for you,

no matter how much or how little you earn.

Pay yourself first.

Then, make a reasonable spending plan

and do not exceed the remaining amount.

Wealth is like a tree that grows from a tiny seed.

The money you save will be the seed of a rich tree.

The sooner you plant the seed,

the faster you will reap.

In the same way,

if you fertilize and water it regularly,

you will soon be content to stand under its shade.

After saying that,

Mr. Algamish took the clay cards and left.

I thought a lot about what Mr. Algamish said.

It seems to make a lot of sense!

So I decided to give it a try.

Since then, every time I receive a salary,

I leave a twenty and keep it in a separate place.

Strangely enough,

I am no longer short of money as I used to be.

Watching the accumulated amount keep increasing,

sometimes I was about to spend a little like buying certain favorites,

but I wisely restrained myself.

Exactly a year later,

Mr. Algamish came back and asked me:

– Friend! in the past year,

have you paid yourself monthly?

I replied proudly:

– Yes! Sir, yes.

– That’s good. Algamish replied with a smile.

So what did you do with that money?

“I lent that money to the owner of the brick kiln Azmur.

He said he would go to Phoenici,

which is far away,

to buy rare jewels,

then bring them back and sell them at a higher price.

He promised to share the profits with me.

– What? “The ancients were right,

all fools need to learn! “

exclaimed Mr. Algamish.

– Why do you trust the knowledge

of the brick kiln owner in choosing

to buy jewelry?

Can I ask the baker where the stars are?

No! Surely you should only ask astrologers,

if you are a reasonable person.

When I let the owner of the brick kiln go buy jewelry,

the money I saved may have gone with the smoke!

So, young man,

you have cut off the roots of your rich tree.

You have to replant another tree

and this time

if you want advice on jewelry go to the jewelers.

If you want the correct answer about sheep,

then go find a shepherd.

It won’t cost you money to ask for advice,

but you must pay attention

to get the most valuable advice.

Otherwise,

you will pay for their mistakes

with your own accumulated money.

Just as Mr. Algamish predicted.

The Phoenicians tricked Azmur into selling beads

that looked very much like precious stones

but were actually made of worthless glass.

Thanks to Algamish’s prior recommendation,

I continued to save money.

Now, this has become a daily habit,

so I do not find it as difficult as before.

A year later, Mr. Algamish came to me again and said:

– How has your work progressed since I met you?

– I still keep the money for myself regularly! – I replied.

“And that money I sent to Mr. Aggar,

the shield-maker,

so that he could buy copper.

Every four months, Mr. Aggar pays me interest.

– That’s good!

So what did you do with that money?

– I organized a large party

and invited many people to attend.

I also bought myself a purple velvet vestment.

One day,

I will buy a donkey to ride.

Hearing this, Mr. Algamish laughed and said:

– You invited people to eat and drink with your savings!

So what do you expect them to do for you?

I assure you they can’t help you at all.

So first you must create an army of gold coins

as slaves to make a lot of money for you.

After that,

you were free to organize many such parties

without affecting your assets.

Two years later,

I met Mr. Algamish again.

This time,

I noticed that his face was more wrinkled

and his eyes were droopy.

Perhaps he was too old.

Mr. Algamish saw me and said:

– Arkad! Have you been

as rich as you’ve always dreamed of?

I answer:

“It’s still not quite what I wanted,

but I already have a decent amount of money,

and now I’m earning more.”

My money is increasing day by day.

– Arkad! – He told.

– I have learned the lessons of getting rich very well.

I have learned to spend less than I earn.

I also learned to seek the most valuable advice

from experienced people

and learned how to make gold more

and more profitable for me.

So, now I know how to make money,

know how to keep money

and know how to use money to make the most profit.

Therefore,

you are qualified to accept a certain responsibility.

Now that I am old,

my sons only know how to spend,

but have no intention of making money.

My fortune is very large,

but I am afraid that I cannot continue to look after it.

If you wish to come to Nippur

to do the work there for me,

then I will consider you as a business partner

and will share

with you a portion of my estate in the future.

So I went to Nippur

and took the job of managing Mr. Algamish’s plantations there.

His wealth was indeed very large

and I constantly applied the three laws of getting rich,

so the amount of wealth was increasing day by day.

When Mr. Algamish passed away,

I received part of his estate exactly as agreed before.

When Arkad finished telling the story,

one of his friends spoke up:

-You are a lucky person to be seen

by Mr. Algamish as his heir.

– The only good thing is

that I had the ambition to get rich

before I met Mr. Algamish.

During the four years before working

as manager for Mr. Algamish,

I was determined to save two-tenth of my total earnings,

and after one failure

I have learned and become much wiser.

– He maintained his strong will

after losing all his savings in the first year.

Not everyone can do it like you!

Another person spoke up.

– Strong will! Arkad replied with a gentle smile.

“Do you think that strong will can help us lift a weight

that even a camel can’t carry?”

In my opinion,

willpower is nothing more than pursuing

to the end your work goals

But to do that,

as soon as I set myself a task,

I have to see

if I can fully perform that task or not.

For example,

when I set out for myself a plan to go

to three different cities to find sales in a year,

I absolutely have to do it.

If I can only find customers in two places,

I have to try to make the third place do the same,

but I can’t tell myself

that I will make up for it next year.

Nor will I allow myself to replace the number

of customers in the third city

by expanding more customers in the first two cities.

No! You cannot say one way and do another.

When I have set a goal for myself,

I am determined to achieve it.

Therefore,

I am very careful when setting goals for myself,

but once I have a goal,

I am determined to complete it.

Another friend commented:

– Maybe what you say is true,

but if everyone does it right,

will wealth be enough for everyone?

– It is possible to get rich anywhere

and there is always enough wealth for people

who are constantly working hard.

Arkad replied.

– If a rich man builds a house,

his gold does not disappear,

but is shared with brick makers,

house builders,

furniture sellers.

Wealth develops along very strange paths,

mysterious,

and no one can predict its limits.

So the more people do,

the more avenues for gold to flow into their pockets.

-Time goes by very fast

and we are not young anymore,

but we have not built anything for our lives.

Can you give us some advice to make us rich like you ?

– A friend sincerely recommended.

– I advise you to take the wisdom of Algamish

as a lesson for you,

always tell yourself:

“You must set aside for yourself two-tenth

of the total amount that you have earned”.

Think about it every morning when you wake up,

every afternoon before you eat

and even before you go to bed at night. – Aysa Angel

The portion set aside

for yourself should not be less than two-tenth

of the total earnings

and must arrange other expenses properly

so as not to exceed the remaining amount.

Soon you will feel the satisfaction,

the pleasure of a person

who has owned a property that is entirely his own.

This will also stimulate you to make more money,

and then make your fortune more and more prolific.

You must create a rich source of income

to secure your future life.

Look at old people and don’t forget

that one day you will be as old as them.

You must be careful when investing your wealth,

taking care not to blindly rush into investments

that bring unusually large returns.

Because of that,

you can lose all your money and regret it later.

To be rich,

you must choose wisely

and not miss an opportunity to make money.

You must enlist the advice

of experienced wise people,

specifically seek the advice of people

who still manage money every day.

Ask them to guide you,

help you avoid the same mistake I made

when entrusting money to Azmur

to buy jewelry and gems.

Small and sure profits are still much better

than an investment that offers large returns

but no guarantees.

Also, enjoy life as much as you can,

don’t be too stingy

or frugal to the point of stinginess.

Even if you have the ability

to save more than two-tenth of your earnings,

you should be content with this ratio.

You deserve to enjoy a standard of living commensurate

with your income,

don’t be frugal in spending

and forget about the interesting things

that are worth letting us enjoy in life.

Arkad’s friends listened attentively,

then thanked each other and left,

but not everyone was in the same mood.

Some people were silent,

because they did not understand the meaning of Mr. Arkad’s story.

Others are bitter,

because they think that with such wealth,

Arkad should share some of his wealth

with friends who are not as fortunate as him.

However, there are also some people

who have begun to realize many new things

from the above conversation.

They realized that Mr. Algamish returned

to the inscription shop many times,

because he wanted to watch a man

– the young Arkad – from the poverty,

the misery of life, find a way to rise.

And when Arkad finds that path,

there will be a worthy place waiting for that boy ahead.

For this matter,

no one can replace Arkadokay.

It is each person who must act on their own

to understand everything

and be ready to seize the opportunities that come their way.

People with such thoughts often visited Mr. Arkad later on

and were warmly received by him.

Mr. Arkad is also available

for wise advice and guidance on

how to invest their money

for the safest return.

The turning point in these people’s lives came

when they realized that valuable business advice

and lessons went from Algamish to Arkady,

and now, from Arkad to them.

“Wealth has nothing to do with intelligence

but with encouragement and inspiration.”– Jim Rohn

***********************

6th WAY: Secure a long-term source of income

Normally, every person’s life has to go through stages

from childhood to gray hair.

– Arkad said in class on Friday.

– Therefore, I can say:

“It is the responsibility of each person

to know how to prepare a necessary fortune

when you are old.

This is not only to support yourself

when you enjoy your old age,

but also to provide for family members

when you are no longer able to work.”

This is the next lesson,

to ensure a long-term source of income

when time and energy do not allow you to continue working.

Anyone who understands the laws of getting rich

and already owns some property should think about this.

You must plan to invest or perform jobs

that can ensure long-term for your future.

There are different ways to secure your future.

For example,

hiding assets in an inconspicuous place.

This is the way people do it most often,

but it easily becomes a target for thieves.

Therefore, I do not emphasize this plan.

Another way is to buy houses and land.

Because, these things can last for a long time

and later if needed,

you can sell or rent them for a profit.

This is a good way if you know

how to choose valuable houses and lands in the future.

Or there is another way that you can easily do,

which is to lend small amounts of money.

Over time, it will generate profits.

The amount of money increases with time

– the longer you lend,

the greater the return later.

Depending on your future needs and current availability,

you should set aside a small amount of money

for this plan now.

This way has an additional advantage

that with your calculation ability,

you can know in advance 10 years, 20 years … later,

how much money you will receive.

I once knew a sandal maker named Ansan.

Ansan said that every week he lends money

to borrowers with two silver coins.

During 8 years like that, until one day,

the borrower calculated

and told Ansan that

the total amount of principal

and interest calculated

at the normal interest rate at that time,

had reached about VND 1,040.

I very much welcomed and encouraged him

that if he continued to send money regularly like this in

Twelve years from now,

the proceeds will amount to 4,000 silver coins.

With such a sum of money,

he could secure a comfortable life in his old years.

In my opinion,

this is the best way in your current ability

to secure each person’s future life.

In this way,

you do not need to use a lot of money at once,

but only a small part of your tight

total salary to do it gradually.

I highly recommend this approach,

because anyone can do it

and can do it at any time.

Here is the sixth remedy for an empty pocket,

which I think you should start doing now:

“Prepare your life for the future

by making small monthly loans.

This amount will increase a lot over time,

ensuring that you will later have the money

you need to support yourself and your family

when you are no longer able to work.”

Rule No. 1: Never lose money.

Rule No. 2: Never Forget rule No. 1. ― Warren Buffett

******************

7th WAY: Boost your earning potential

On the last day of class,

Arkad said solemnly:

– Today I will tell you about one of the most decisive methods

to cure your light pocket.

I will not talk about gold anymore,

but about yourself,

who have experienced successes

or suffered failures in life.

Not long ago,

a young man came to me to borrow money.

When I asked him

why he needed the money,

he complained

that the money he earned was not enough to spend.

Hearing that,

I replied to him

that he was the most pitiful borrower.

Because, no matter how much he borrows,

it is not enough for him to spend,

and of course he will never pay off the debt.

– Now, the most necessary thing is

that you have to work hard to earn more money to spend

as much as you like.

So what did you do to increase your earning potential?

I asked that guy.

– In two months,

I went to my boss six times to ask for a raise,

but to no avail. ‘

replied the young man dejectedly.

I was very amused at the young man’s rather simple way of thinking.

Because, he has no effort at work.

He just wants to have a lot of money to spend.

Of course,

his boss couldn’t accommodate

that unreasonable request.

So how do you make your dreams come true?

In my opinion, first of all,

you need to understand what you really want,

and whether it is a valid thing or not.

We often wish to be rich,

but we don’t know that,

being in poverty,

wanting to be rich right away is just unthinkable.

But if you wish to have five gold coins,

it is a wish that has a clear,

specific purpose

and is within your power.

This is a strong motivation to push you to do it.

And then there’s nothing to stop you in the same ways

as you did to get the first five gold coins

– from going on to have ten more gold coins…

twenty gold coins… one thousand gold coins. …

Sobviously you have become a rich person.

Learning how to achieve a small desire means

that you have trained and equipped yourself

with the abilities to achieve larger goals.

This is a process

by which wealth will gradually accumulate:

first small sums of money,

then larger sums of money.

This also means

that you have gradually understood

how to make money

and have the ability to become the person

who makes the most money.

To become reality,

your wishes need to be specific,

and at the same time not too high

or too low compared to your inherent abilities.

If you set a lot of ambitions beyond your ability,

you will certainly not be able to achieve it,

but sometimes even bring about depression

and negative thoughts.

On the contrary, things that are too simple,

within reach and easily done,

will not create the motivation to encourage you to strive.

You probably remember the time

when I was an engraver on clay cards

with a salary of three silver coins a day.

At that time,

I observed that other workers worked better

than me and were paid more.

Seeing that,

I was determined not to lose to them.

Soon I was successful.

This makes me more interested

and focused on working.

In the end,

I became the fastest and best engraver.

With my skilled skills

and enthusiasm to work,

I was paid more without having to go to the boss

to ask for a raise.

No matter what you do,

you need to always find ways to hone

and improve your professional skills.

If you are a craftsman,

you must learn new methods

and ways of using tools to become more skilled.

If you work in the legal

or hospital industry,

consult or consult

with colleagues to improve your skills,

knowledge pond.

Or if you are a merchant,

you have to regularly travel to many places

to find the best goods

at the cheapest prices,

in order to get more profit

while your customers are still satisfied.

Over the course of seven days,

I have presented to you seven cures

for an empty pocket of money,

filling it up and making you rich.

With the experience of a successful

and experienced life,

I encourage you to apply these methods to financial success.

You should know

that there is more gold in Babylon now

than you think

and it is enough for everyone.

Please rise up

and boldly practice the above methods

of getting rich,

or choose the one that best suits your situation.

First of all,

please apply and enrich yourself,

and then teach everyone,

so that they can share

and enrich not only themselves

but also contribute to the enrichment

of others our beloved kingdom.

The key to financial freedom and great wealth

is a person’s ability or skill to convert earned income into passive income

and/or portfolio income. ― Robert Kiyosaki