Tyler Jorgenson

“Tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are.”

The words hit me like a bag full of Idaho potatoes falling off of a pick up truck.  I was in High School and was sitting at a leadership conference with a couple of hundred ‘future leaders of America’ or whatever the tag line was for the conference that day.  I was lucky enough to have been in the Associated Student Body (ASB, Student Government… whatever they call it where you are from) and one of the perks was getting out of class to go and socialize with teens from other schools.  I remember a lot of these pep rally type motivational speakers that ran the school circuit.  There was ‘Mr. Chocolate’ the gangster that turned his life around and morphed in front of our eyes from a saggy pants, head band and big shirt wearing gang banger to a yuppie.  There was the guy that could rip through a phone book, who even taught one of our classmates to rip through a small white pages too.  Mr. Belding from Saved by the Bell even made an appearance at my school.

I remember a lot of the people that came and spoke.  So, why talk about this guy?  I don’t remember his name or what his shtick was.  I remember a few other bits of his speech about stereotypes and such but this is the quote that hit me.  So what?  Why am I sharing it with you now?

I’ve read it a few times, and you can google for some sources if you’d like, that your income will be very close the the average of the 5 people who you are the closest with. Is it an exact science, no.  But I’ll bet it’s a pretty fair assessment unless you’re an outlier.

“It costs nothing to ask wise advise from a good friend…” – Bansir from The Richest Man of Babylon

You wouldn’t go to your Dentist for advise about a curious mole and you wouldn’t go to your CPA for advice on the proper way to raise  orchids.  You shouldn’t seek advice on how to succeed from those whom you don’t view as successful.  Success is a lose term because it all depends on your paradigm but if you make $30,000 and want to make $90,000 it doesn’t make much sense to take the advise of the guy making $45,000.  Find a mentor, or 5, and glean, glean, glean.

In High School I didn’t have bad friends but the main group of guys I was hanging out with weren’t guys I wanted to be like.  I didn’t drink or party and they did.  I sought out friends that had interests more in line with mine and who were more like what I wanted to be.

I’m not telling you to call up your 5 closest family members and friends and drop a Trump style ‘You’re Fired’ on them.  What I am saying is that although Bansir is right that it costs nothing up front to ask the advice of a friend, bad advice can end up costing you a lot of time and money.

Chose your mentors wisely.

Originally posted at http://blog.tylerjorgenson.com/2011/01/tell-me-who-your-friends-are/

Read 31 DoBA – Day 1

Chapter two is the story of Arkad. Arkad was the average young man, born with no inherent physical advantage or silver spoon, who learned the secrets to becoming rich. Bansir and Kobbi from the inquire of Arkad as to his unsurpassed wealth.

“Wealth is a power. With wealth many things are possible… And, when I realized all this, I decided to myself that I would claim my share of the good things of life.” – Arkad

I enjoyed the preceding quote because Arkad did not sound pretentious or arrogant. He talked about how with wealth one could build temples for the Gods and how it takes hard work to become wealthy.

Aha! moment #1

“I found the road to wealth when I decided that a part of all I earned was mine to keep. And so will you” – Algamish (Arkad’s mentor)

This is where the saying that you hear at financial workshops comes from, “Pay yourself first.”
“Wealth, like a tree, grows from a tiny seed.” – Algamish

Algamish was a rich man whom Arkad struck a deal with to be mentored by. Algamish mentored Arkad slowly with one principle at a time.

The three laws of successfully handling wealth:

1. Pay yourself first (save a minimum of 1/10th your income) and live on less than you earn
2. Seek advice from those who were competent through their own experience to give it
3. Make your gold work for you. Invest your savings wisely.

Aha moment #2

“Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared.” – Arkad

“Enjoy life while you are here. Do not overstrain or try to save too much.” – Arkad

Arkad understood the importance of moderation. Living in Southern California there seem to be more people to the extreme of not saving enough than the contrary but Arkad reminds us that ‘Life is good and rich with things worthwhile and things to enjoy.’

Many summaries and reviews have been written on this timeless classic. I will not be doing an exhaustive book report, but more sharing of my favorite quotes and perhaps my thoughts on the principles taught.

The first chapter of The Richest Man In Babylon is entitled The Man Who Desired Gold. The characters in the chapter are:

Bansir – a chariot builder who finds himself unhappy, poor and longing for a better life.
Kobbi – a musician and Basir’s good friend. Also broke and wishing for better circumstances.
Arkad – The richest man in Babylon. A childhood friend of Bansir and Kobbi who had no more than them in their youth.

Bansir and Kobbi reflect upon their financial misery and decide to ask advice from their friend Arkad who was wealthy beyond all else.

Favorite quotes:

“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.” – Kobbi

“It costs nothing to ask wise advice from a good friend…” – Bansir

“Thou makest me to realize the reason why we have never found any measure of wealth. We never sought it… In thos things toward which we exerted our best endeavors we succeeded.” – Kobbi

I am in the middle of reading The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. I have heard this book spoken of and recommended for years and recently came across a copy. I am deeply enjoying the simple yet sound principles of financial success.

The following two paragraphs are from freewld.

The Richest Man in Babylon is a book by George Samuel Clason which dispenses financial advice through a collection of parables set in ancient Babylon. Through their experiences in business and managing household finance, the characters in the parables learn simple lessons in financial wisdom. By basing these parables in ancient times, but involving situations that modern people can understand and identify with, the author presents these lessons as timeless wisdom that is as relevant today as it was back then.

The book began in 1926 as a series of informational pamphlets. Banks and insurance companies began to distribute these pamphlets, and the most famous ones were eventually compiled into this book.

Over the next few days I will share my notes and thoughts from each chapter. I am hoping that by writing out my thoughts and sharing the principles the book teaches that not only will I become more committed to the tenants but that others may learn of them also.