George Samuel Clason Quotes
That which one man knows can be taught to others.
George Samuel Clason
(The Richest Man in Babylon - Seven Cures for a Lean Purse, 1926)
A part of all I earn is mine to keep.
Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared.
Counsel with wise men.
Our prosperity as a nation depends upon the personal financial prosperity of each of us as individuals.
Advice is one thing that is freely given away, but watch that you take only what is worth having.
No man may climb who cannot plant his feet firmly upon the first step.
It costs nothing to ask wise advice from a good friend.
No one lends his entire fortune, not even to his best friend.
A small return and a safe one is far more desirable than risk.
As for time, all men have it in abundance. You, each of you, have let slip by sufficient time to have made yourselves wealthy.
A man's wealth is not in the purse he carries. A fat purse quickly empties if there be no golden stream to refill it.
Thou makest me to realize the reason why we have never found any measure of wealth. We never sought it.
Money is the medium by which earthly success is measured.
Wealth grows wherever men exert energy.
Money makes possible the enjoyment of the best the earth affords.
Wealth grows in magic ways. No man can prophesy the limit of it.
Money is plentiful for those who understand the simple laws which govern its acquisition.
"Fickle Fate" is a vicious goddess who brings no permanent good to anyone. On the contrary, she brings ruin to almost every man upon whom she shows unearned gold.
George Samuel Clason
(The Richest Man in Babylon)
Money is governed today by the same laws which controlled it when prosperous men thronged the streets of Babylon, six thousand years ago.
Every gold piece you save is a slave to work for you. Every copper it earns is its child that also can earn for you. If you would become wealthy, then what you save must earn, and its children must earn.
One may not condemn a man for succeding because he knows how. Neither may one with justice take away from a man what he has fairly earned, to give to men of less ability.
Success means accomplishments as the result of our own efforts and abilities. Proper preparation is the key to our success. Our acts can be no wiser than our thoughts. Our thinking can be no wiser than our understanding.
As for study, did not our wise teacher teach us that learning was of two kinds: the one kind being the things we learned and knew, and the other being the training that taught us how to find out what we did not know?
Being, as you know, the son of a humble merchant, one of a large family with no nope of an inheritance... I decided that if I was to achieve what I desired, time and study would be required.
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?
For, is it not wise that we should enjoy while we dwell in the brightness of the sunshine, for sorrows enough shall descend upon us when we depart for the darkness of the world of spirit?
Insure an income for thy future. Look thou at the aged and forget not that in days to come thou also will be numbered among them. Therefore invest thy 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.
Consider, also, our sonds," Bashir continued, "are they not following in the footsteps of their fathers? Need they and their families and their sons and their sons' families live all their lives in the midst of such treasures of gold, and yet, like us be content to banquet upon sour goat's milk and porridge?
A part of all you earn is yours to keep. It should be not less than a tenth no matter how little you earn. It can be as much more as you can afford. Pay yourself first. Do not buy from the clothes-maker and the sandal-maker more than you can pay out of the rest and still have enough for food and charity and penance to the gods.
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. The sooner you plant that seed the sooner shall the tree grow. And the more faithfully you nourish and water that tree with consistent savings, the sooner may you bask in contentment beneath its shade.
If you have not acquired more than a bare existence in the years since we were youths, it is because you either have failed to learn the laws that govern the building of wealth, or else you do not observe them.
In those things toward which we exerted our best endeavors we succeded. The Gods were content to let us continue thus. Now, at last, we see a light, bright like that from the rising sun. It biddeth us to learn more that we may prosper more. With a new understanding we shall find honorable ways to accomplish our desires.
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.
When youth comes to age for advice he receives the wisdom of years. But too often does youth think that age knows only the wisdom of days that are gone, and therefore profits not. But remember this, the sun that shines today is the sun that shone when thy father was born, and will still be shining when thy last grandchild shall pass into the darkness.
"The thoughts of youth" he continued, "are bright lights that shine forth like the meteors that oft make brilliant the sky, but the wisdom of age is like the fixed stars that shine so unchanged that the sailor may depend upon them to steer his course.
"Fickle Fate" is a vicious goddess who brings no permanent good to anyone. On the contrary, she brings ruin to almost every man upon whom she shows unearned gold. She makes wanton spenders, who soon dissipate all they receive and are left beset by overwhelming appetites and desires they have not the ability to gratify. Yet others whom she favors become misers and hoard their wealth, fearing to spend what they have, knowing they do not possess the ability to replace it. They further are beset by fear of robbers and doom themselves to lives of emptiness and secret misery.
'Every fool must learn,' he growled, 'but why trust the knowledge of a brickmaker about jewels? Would you go to the breadmaker to inquire about the stars? No, by my tunic, you would go to the astrologer, if you had power to think. Your savings are gone, youth, you have jerked your wealth-tree up by the roots. But plant another. Try again. And next time if you would have advice about jewels, go the the jewel merchant. If you would know the truth about sheep, go to the herdsman. Advice is one thing that is freely given away, but watch that you take only what is worth having. He who takes advice about his savings from one who is inexperienced in such matters, shall pay with his savings for proving the falsity of their opinions.
Wealth is a power. With wealth many things are possible.
One may ornament the home with the richest of furnishings.
One may sail the distant seas.
One may feast on the delicacies of far lands.
One may buy the ornaments of the gold worker and the stone polisher.
One may even build mighty temples for the Gods.
One may do all these things and many others in which there is delight for the senses and gratification for the soul.
And then I learned all this, I decided to myself that I would claim my share of the good things of life. I would not be one of those who stand afar off, enviously watching others enjoy.
