The richest man in Babylon
Introduce
Where gold speaks, every tongue is silent. — Italian Proverb
How does a book that came out in 1920,
it help today’s business people
and their financial problems?
“The Richest Man in Babylon”
is a fascinating book,
introducing the ways of saving,
trading and getting rich
among the ancient people of Babylon.
These ways of getting rich are still useful
for the business world today.
By integrating into interesting stories,
the author has mentioned the basic,
profound
and useful content about finance.
This is a meaningful gift for those who have been
and are entering the business world,
or for many people who are confused
and hesitant in how to use money.
In addition,
this book
will also be interesting
and novel lessons for anyone,
even the most experienced financial investor in the world.
******************
Part 1: The man who loves gold
If you want to be financially-free,
you need to become a different person than you are today
and let go of whatever has held you back in the past. — Robert Kiyosaki
Bansir, the charioteer in Babylon,
was deeply depressed.
Sitting on the low wall surrounding his house,
Bansir looked sadly at the house
and his empty workshop,
in which stood only a few slats
and an unfinished carriage.
His wife would appear at the door from time to time,
her eyes hesitantly looking at him,
as if silently reminding
that the bag of flour in the house was empty,
he needed to finish the car,
make it well,
where to carve.
I went in there and then polished,
painted,
and covered the rims with leather to deliver to customers,
in order to earn some money to buy flour.
However, Bansir’s solid
and muscular body remained motionless.
His mind was struggling patiently
with a problem to which he had yet to find an answer.
The sun of the tropics in the valley
of the Euphrates radiated a fiery heat
as if pouring fire on his head mercilessly.
Beads of sweat beaded on his forehead
and calmly trickled down,
dissolving into his bare chest.
In the distance is the towering wall
surrounding the king’s castle.
Next to it is the massive Bell Temple tower covered
with white paint.
The clear blue sky of a sunny day seems
to highlight the two extremes of the landscape here.
On one side are the magnificent
and magnificent castles of the royal family,
and on the other side are the sloppy,
mediocre houses of the people.
Such was life in Babylon,
there was always a mixture of magnificence and ugliness;
between wealth and luxury
poverty and misery.
Amidst the wall of the city surrounded
for many generations,
these things coexist from year to year,
from generation to generation.
In the streets,
the carriages of the rich were busy strolling,
mingling with pedestrians in sandals
and beggars with bare feet covered in dirt.
Suddenly from a distance,
a large group of people appeared.
They lined up neatly,
five people in each row
and connected in a long line on the street
under the blazing sun.
Those were the king’s slaves.
They were on their way to collect water
to irrigate the king’s unique
and splendid hanging garden.
Not only the poor,
but even the rich had to stick to the sides of the road
to make way for this entourage of slaves.
Lost in his heavy thoughts,
Bansir barely noticed his surroundings
until the soothing sounds of the lyre sounded beside him.
He turned and saw the smiling face of Kobbi,
his best friend
and also a talented musician known
for his poverty.
– May the gods always bless you
with all their hearts,
dear friend.
– Kobbi opens with a very formal greeting – Yes!
May your bag always fill up
and you get more busy in the workshop.
Therefore,
you will not regret
if you extract two small silver coins to lend me.
And I promise
that after tonight’s party of noble people,
I will return it to you immediately.
You can rest assured of my promise!
“I don’t have two silver coins to lend you,
even though you’re my best friend.”
Bansir replied melancholy.
“You know,
if I had two silver coins,
that’s all my fortune all my family’s possessions.”
And surely no one can lend all their possessions,
even to their best friend.
– What? ‘ cried Kobbi in astonishment.
-You don’t have a penny in your pocket!
So you sit on the wall like a statue?
Why don’t you finish building that carriage?
Without money,
how can he feed his family?
This state of affairs cannot be sustained,
my dear friend.
Where did his abundant energy go?
What made him so depressed?
Had the gods messed up his mood?
– The gods must have harmed me.
Bansir admitted.
– It started with a dream.
A strange dream in which I thought I was rich.
At my belt hung a large bag,
heavy with gold coins.
I have spared the money of beggars;
go shopping for expensive jewelry for my wife
and buy things
that I have always dreamed of.
I feel that my future
and that of my family are very secure
because the house is full of gold coins stored in chests,
I am no longer your hard-working best friend.
And you can’t imagine my wife in that dream:
her face is no longer frowning all day like it has been
for a long time,
but on the contrary,
she is always smiling brightly,
full of happiness and well.
Just like when we first got married.
I am so happy with the life in that dream!
– What a wonderful dream.
– Kobbi commented.
– But why do such pleasant feelings make you
such a sad and depressed statue?
– Why else!
That’s because
when I woke up and remembered my bag was flattening,
when a feeling of dissatisfaction suddenly rushed over me.
Dear friend,
can you talk to me about this issue?
As children,
we used to go to the priests together to learn wisdom.
From the time we entered our youth until now,
we have shared the bitter
and sweet together
and have always kept our close friendship.
But looking back,
our bitterness is much more than sweet.
Oh my! Travelers often say
that we live in the richest kingdom in the world,
but unfortunately,
neither of us are among the rich.
After more than half of his life of hard work and hardship,
he himself,
my dearest friend,
still had only an empty bag
and asked to borrow two small silver coins
from me.
As for me,
how did I answer you?
I confess to you that my bag is as flat as yours!
What is the cause of this dire situation?
Why don’t we know how to make a lot of gold and silver,
or at least enough for us to eat and wear?
– How about letting our children live?
Bansir continued.
“Do they also follow in the footsteps
of their father’s poverty?”
They need more money to live better.
And then our grandchildren
All of them have to endure a life
of poverty in the midst of the gold vaults
of Babylon?
Are we willing to let our children
and grandchildren live on meals
of sour goat’s milk and shabby foods?
– Never! But I’m surprised that
with all these years of friendship,
have you ever told me about these things, Bansir?
Kobbi asked in surprise.
“In all these years,
I have never thought about this.
From early morning until late at night,
I only know how to build luxurious carriages for the rich
and patiently wait,
waiting for heaven
and earth to look at my hard work
so that one day
I am as rich as them.
But God has never satisfied me.
I want to be a rich person!
I want land, livestock,
luxury clothes,
and a lot of money in my pocket.
I have striven to achieve these things
with all the strength of my hands
as well as all the wise powers of my mind.
But until now,
neither you nor
I have escaped poverty,
our pockets are always empty.
What must we do now?
Why can’t we share our luck
and wealth with those who own a lot of gold and silver?
– I wish I could answer your question! Kobi replied.
– My life is better than yours.
The money
I earned from this lyre also quickly flew away.
I often have to calculate expenses
so that my family does not go hungry.
I don’t know when
I will achieve my dream of having a bigger lyre
so that I can strum the music I desire.
With such an instrument,
my music will be much more refined,
than when I strummed in the service of the king.
“A lyre like that you’ll soon have.”
No one in this Babylonian city has a talent
for making melodies sweeter than he is.
Bansir said.
“But how can you be sure
that I will have such a violin,
since the two of us are now
as poor as the king’s slaves?”
– Kobi asked.
Just then,
a bell rang in the air.
Bansir smiled and said to you:
– Listen to the bell! They come there.
Bansir pointed to the stream of water-carriers,
naked and sweaty
as they trudged heavily
from the far river up the narrow path.
On each person’s back was a goatskin bag filled with water.
– Does that person have a good figure?
The leader of that group!
– Kobbi pointed to the person who did not carry anything,
with a bell in his hand,
walking ahead of the procession,
occasionally sounding a warning to pedestrians to clear the way
for the slaves to pass.
Almost everyone in the group is like that
– Bansir spoke thoughtfully.
They are as beautiful and healthy as we are.
Behold! Those with blond hair come from the North;
laughing blacks from the South;
and brown people too.
They all carried water to water the king’s gardens.
They do the same thing over and over again,
day after day,
year after year.
For them, life has no hope.
They only have straws to sleep on
and stone-hard rice grains to eat.
How pitiful for those damned people, Kobbi!
I also find them pitiful.
You reminded me that our situation is
still much better than theirs.
We are free people!
– Kobbi responded.
– It’s true, Kobbi!
Even if our lives have not been as expected,
we do not want to live year after year as slaves.
Let’s work,
work and work!
Let’s start working now.
– But we don’t know how other people make gold
so we can imitate itwaist?
Kobbi asked curiously.
Maybe they have a secret that we don’t know yet.
We should ask talented people about it.
Bansir replied.
– Right on today?
– Kobbi suggested.
“I have just seen our old friend Arkad riding in a gilded carriage
and still waving his arms in a friendly manner
to those he knows.
– He is said to be the richest man in Babylon!
Bansir blurted out.
– So rich that the king had to turn to him
for help with the treasury.
Kobi added.
– How rich is that! Bansir was taken aback.
– If I meet him in the dark,
I am afraid that I cannot control my curiosity
to touch his pocket,
see how big it is…
– Crap! – Kobbi interrupted.
A rich person is not in his pocket.
A bag laden with gold coins can
still quickly empty
if no other coins are replenished.
Arkad had an abundant source of income,
so his pocket was always full,
even though he was free to spend.
– Income is the deciding issue!
– Bansir showed enthusiasm.
– I just want to have a good source of income
so that the money always flows into my pocket.
A rich person like Arkad must know
how to create a rich source of income for himself.
Perhaps he would be willing to guide
that to clear my sluggish,
groggy head!
“I think Arkad certainly has the secret.”
Kobi replied.
– I heard people say
that his son Nomasir went to Nineveh himself to settle down.
And after only a short time,
Nomasir also became rich and returned to Babylon
to reunite with his family.
– Kobbi, you have surprised me with your knowledge!
– Bansir was delighted.
“As far as I know,
Arkad is always willing to give wise advice
when someone comes to him.
Any! Let’s visit Arkad
and ask him to show us the ways to get rich.
“Yes, you say it very well, Bansir.
– Let’s go to Arkad today.
Bansir continued.
-I think I should also invite our close childhood friends
to come along.
They are not much better off than we are,
if we can share Arkad’s wisdom to make them all rich,
that would be great.
-You have always been kind to your friends, Bansir.
And that’s why he has so many friends around him.
I totally agree with you,
today we’re going to invite them along!
“When I had money everyone called me brother.” – Polish proverb
