So spake Arkad, and when he had finished his tale, one of his friends said, "You were indeed fortunate that Algamish made of you an heir."
"Fortunate only in that I had the desire to prosper before I first met him. For four years did I not prove my definiteness of purpose by keeping one-tenth of all earned? Would you call a lucky fisherman who for years so studied the habits of the fish that with each changing wind he could cast his nets about them? Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared."
"You had strong will power to keep on after you lost your first year's savings. You are unusual in that way," spoke up another.
“Will power!” retorted Arkad. "What nonsense. Do you think will power gives a man the strength to lift a burden the camel cannot carry, or to draw a load the oxen cannot budget? Will power is but the unflinching purpose to carry a task you set for yourself to fulfillment If I set for myself a task, be it ever so trifling, I shall see it through. How else shall I have confidence in myself to do important things?
Should I say to myself, 'For a hundred days as I walk across the bridge into the city, I will pick from the road a pebble and cast it into the stream,' I would do it. If on the seventh day I passed by without remembering, I would not say to myself, Tomorrow I will cast two pebbles which will do as well.' Instead, I would retrace my steps and cast the pebble. Nor on the twentieth day would I say to myself, 'Arkad, this is useless. What does it avail you to cast a pebble every day? Throw in a handful and be done with it.' No, I wouldn't say that nor do it. When I set a task for myself, I complete it. Therefore, I am careful not to start difficult and impractical tasks, because I love leisure."
And then another friend spoke up and said, "If what you tell is true, and it does seem as you have said, reasonable, then being so simple, if all men did it, there would not be enough wealth to go around."
“Wealth grows wherever men exert energy,” Arkad replied. "If a rich man builds him a new palace, is the gold he pays out gone? No, the brickmaker has part of it and the laborer has part of it, and the artist has part of it. And everyone who labors upon the house has part of it. Yet when the palace is completed, is it not worth all it cost?
And is the ground upon which it stands not worth more because it is there? And is the ground that adjoins it not worth more because it is there? Wealth grows in magic ways. No man can prophesy the limit of it. Have not the Phoenicians built great cities on barren coasts with the wealth that comes from their ships of commerce on the seas?"
“What then do you advise us to do that we also can become rich?” asked still another of his friends. "The years have passed and we are no longer young men and we have nothing put by."
"I advise that you take the wisdom of Algamish and say to yourselves, 'A part of all I earn is mine to keep.' Say it in the morning when you first arise. Say it at night. Say it to yourself until the words stand out like letters of fire across the sky.
“Impress yourself with the idea. Fill yourself with the thought. Then take whatever portion seems wise. Let it be not less than one-tenth and lay it by. Arrange your other expenditures to do this if necessary. But lay by that portion first.
Soon you will realize what a rich feeling it is to own a treasure upon which you alone have claim. As it grows it will stimulate you. A new joy of life will thrill you. Greater efforts will come to you to earn more. For of your increased earnings, will not the same percentage be also yours to keep?
"Then learn to make your treasure work for you. Make it your slave. Make its children and its children's children work for you.
“Insure an income for the future. Look thou at the aged and forget not that in the days to come thou also will be numbered among them. Therefore invest this treasure with greatest caution that it be not lost. Usurious rates of return are deceitful sirens that sing but to lure the unwary upon the rocks of loss and remorse.
"Provide also that thy family may not want should the Gods call thee to their realms. For such protection it is always possible to make provision with small payments at regular intervals. Therefore the provident man delays not in expectation of a large sum becoming available for such a wise purpose.
"Counsel with wise men. Seek the advice of men whose daily work is handling money. Let them save you from such an error as I myself made in entrusting my money to the judgment of Azmur, the brickmaker. A small return and a safe one is far more desirable than risk.
"Enjoy life while you are here. Do not overstrain or try to save too much. If one-tenth of all you earn is as much as you can comfortably keep, be content to keep this portion. Live otherwise according to your income and let not yourself get niggardly and afraid to spend. Life is good and life is rich with things worthwhile and things to enjoy.
His friends thanked him and went away. Some were silent because they had no imagination and could not understand. Some were sarcastic because they thought that one so rich should divide with old friends not so fortunate.
But some had in their eyes a new light. They realized that Algamish had come back each time to the room of the scribes darkness because he was watching a man work his way out of into light. When that man had found the light, a place awaited him. No one could fill that place until he had for himself worked out his own understanding, until he was ready for opportunity.
These latter were the ones, who, in the following years, frequently revisited Arkad, who received them gladly. He counseled with them and gave them freely of his wisdom as men of broad experience are always glad to do.
And he assisted them in so investing their savings that it would bring in a good interest with safety and would neither be lost nor entangled in investments that paid no dividends.
The turning point in these men's lives came upon that day when they realized the truth that had come from Algamish to Arkad and from Arkad to them.
A PART OF ALL YOU EARN IS YOURS TO KEEP.
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Indeed we see where Seban's source of inspiration comes from
Yes, that's what Seban took up with his slogan "pay yourself first".
For those who don't understand the English version, I found a summary on the net:
The Richest Man in Babylon
In ancient Babylon there lived a very rich man named Arkad. His immense wealth forced admiration. He gave to the poor, to his family, spent a lot on himself.
And his fortune grew faster than he could spend it each year.
One day some friends came to see him and asked him:
“You, Arkad, wear the finest clothes and feast on the finest foods, while we must content ourselves with clothing and feeding our families.
Why does fate choose you to enjoy the good things in life and ignore us, who are also deserving?
"It is that you have not acquired more than enough to live on. It is that you have not learned the rules that allow access to wealth, or that you have not applied them," replied Arkad.
In my youth, I realized that wealth is power. It allows:
to acquire the most beautiful objects,
to sail the distant seas,
to enjoy the finest meals,
to buy gold and precious stone jewelry,
to build temples for the gods.
All those things which give pleasure to the senses and satisfaction to the soul.
So I promised myself that I would have all the good things in life, that I would not settle for ordinary, cheaper things, and that I would not stand aside, envying the rich.
Being the son of humble parents, and being no more gifted than others, I decided that, to obtain everything I wanted, I had to take time and devote myself to study.
When it comes to time, everyone has plenty of it, so do you.
As for study, I had to find a way to accumulate wealth, and once I found it, I had to apply it and apply it well.
I was at first a simple scribe in the master of the city, and one day Algamish, the very rich moneylender, came to order a copy of the ninth law. He wanted the work finished in two days.
But when he came back, I had not finished and he became very angry. I then dared to ask him:
“Tell me how I can get rich, and I will work all night to engrave the rest of the text.”
Algamish smiled and accepted my deal.
At sunrise the work was finished and he said to me:
“You have fulfilled your part of the bargain, and I am ready to fulfill mine. I found the path to wealth, when I decided that a portion of everything I earned should be mine. So it shall be with you.”
“Is that all?” I asked. “But whatever I earn, I get to keep.”
"Far from it," he said, "don't you pay the tailor, the sandal maker, your food, your lodging? You fool! You pay everyone except yourself.
If you keep a tenth of what you earn, you will have in ten years the equivalent of what you earn in one year. Plus everything that your savings will have brought you working for you.
I pay you today for your night's work a thousand times more than you think. Have the intelligence to grasp the truth that I present to you."
So I decided to apply this principle. Every time I was paid, I hid one copper coin out of ten. And strangely enough, I was no more short of money than before.
After some mistakes in managing the accumulated sums, Algamish came back to see me and checked that I had followed his advice correctly.
“Arkad, you have learned your lesson well. First, you learned to live on less than you could earn. Then, you learned to seek the advice of those who have experience and are willing to share it. Finally, you learned to make gold work for you.”
Acquire the money,
keep it,
use it.
So you are competent, and I offer you a position of responsibility. I am growing old. My sons think of spending and never think of earning. You will go to Nippur to take care of my lands, you will be my partner, and you will share my goods.
“Because I had learned the three rules of wealth management, I was able to greatly increase the value of his assets.”
So spoke Arkad.
One of his friends said to him: "You were lucky to inherit Algamish."
"Lucky only in that I had the desire to prosper before I met him," Arkad said.
“You had the will to continue after losing all your savings in the first year.”
"Will! What nonsense!" said Arkad, "it was only the inflexible determination to carry out the work I had set myself."
Another friend said: "If what you say is true and reasonable, then all men could do it, and there would not be enough wealth for everyone."
"Wealth increases whenever men expend their energy, and this in magical ways. No man can predict its limit," Arkad replied.
Apply Algamish's principles of wisdom and say to yourself: part of what I earn comes back to me, and I must keep it.
Take for yourself the portion that seems wise to you, not less than a tenth. This share will grow and you will have the pleasant feeling of possessing a treasure after a while.
Profits increase, percentages increase, your profits increase. Learn to make your treasure work for you. Make it your slave.
Consult the advice of wise men, who manage money every day and will help you avoid mistakes.
A PORTION OF EVERYTHING YOU EARN COMES TO YOU, KEEP IT.
Now that's much easier!