Wed 10 May 2006
“The success secrets of the Ancients.”
“The most inspring book on wealth ever written.”
These are some of the accolades this book by George Clason received, so what is it about, and is it worth reading?
I bought this book over 2 years ago, and i still pick it up several times a year to re-read it. I always feel I get something new from it each time too. The book is a self-help book about money - how to increase the amount of money you have available. However where this book stands out is its unique approach to this popular subject. This is the reason why you should read this book.
Rather than giving a step-by-step ‘do this, then do that’ methodology to the process, it teaches the concepts through seven short stories. These are centered around the life of a simple tradesman in ancient Babylon, and describe his journey from having next to no money, to achieving great wealth.
At first i didn’t like the short-story format of the book, but after a few chapters i had got used to the idea and really found it made the book more readable overall, and definately more memorable.
The stories themselves are short, maybe 15-20 pages each, which makes them very easy to read before bed or during the lunch break. Each of the seven lessons are almost hidden in the stories - more something you realise after putting the book down and whilst thinking over what happened.
Again i see this as a good thing. So many self-help books preach about right and wrong, and telling you why you should do it this way not that way, and so on. It is a pleasant change to learn these lessons in a more subtle manner.
Will you be reading The Richest Man in Babylon?