The Richest Man in Babylon: Seven Cures for a Lean Purse Part 7, Increase Thy Ability to Earn

In the third chapter of The Richest Man in Babylon the book lists and details "seven cures for a lean purse." Today, we'll cover cure #7 which is:

Increase thy ability to earn.

Here's what the book has to say on this last cure:

As a man perfecteth himself in his calling even so doth his ability to earn increase.

Yes, it said "perfecteth" and "doth." ;-)

The book continues a bit later on:

The more wisdom we know, the more we may earn. That man who seeks to learn more of his craft shall be richly rewarded.

The cure ends with this:

Thus the seventh and last remedy for a lean purse is to cultivate thy own powers, to study and become wiser, to become more skillful, to so act as to respect thyself.

Here at Free Money Finance, we've already established that your career is your #1 financial asset -- and managing it appropriately can make you millions throughout your working years. The best way to jumpstart your career is to get a good (or additional) education. There is a big, big difference in starting salaries and earning power over a lifetime with a college degree versus not having one. And for those wanting to earn even more, getting an MBA is an option. Couple this with spending less than you earn and it's impossible not to become wealthy.

For those of you who are saving for college to give your kids a leg up in earning power, here are some posts from Free Money Finance that can help you  pay for it:

• 4 Ways to Save Big on College Costs


• A Great College Money Saving Tip


• Big Money Blunders to Avoid: Saving for College


• Four Basic Ways to Save for College, Part 1

Comments

[erik]

I completely agree about focusing on your career and becoming an expert at whatever you do. I have struggled with wanting to dabble in various areas of life, which is not a bad thing, but to become successful you must love what you do and be an expert about it. It is absolutely true that your income and career is your greatest wealthy building tool.

Education is important, but how you apply that education is essential to it being effective. You can have an MBA, but if you are not great at working with people, motivated, and passionate about what you do, you will never use that education to its fullest extent.

Great Post FMF

[Anonymous]

Being an expert in a particular area generally involves excellent skills at a very small number of things. However, it also involves a minimum level of skill at various peripheral things. For example, no matter how technical your area of expertise is, being able to communicate effectively about it is a skill worth cultivating. I personally find little need to speak to large audiences, but I can't ingore the need to communicate in writing and speaking to small groups.

Furthermore, it is never a mistake to understand how your employer and/or customers make money. Know what they make a profit at and what is costing them. Your value to them lies in how you can improve that bottom line, either by increasing profits or decreasing costs.

[John Poonyane]

We are a family of five and we had a difficulty in saving because my wife is presently unemployed.I started putting 10% of my salary in a (secret) savings account without my wife's knowledge.After a few deposits I decided to tell her how we can save money and showed her how I have been saving.She was amazed.She asked me to continue with the idea which will ultimately lead to bigger investments.This is an excellent book for any one who wants to know about financial freedom.I am very happy to have read this book.

John Poonyane

[Mark]

I agree. Steven Covey talks about "sharpening the saw" as Harv Eker and Tony Robbins says "you have to grow and your money will too."