Digging the Foundation

I had a dear friend and mentor (sadly, now passed away) who was the first to expand my perspective on the world beyond what is commonly taught by the big companies that have for decades defined the common perspective of success. This man, named Mark, was at once a savvy businessman and multi-millionaire, and a very spiritually-minded man who donated much of his time to the religious instruction of young people. His business supported his twin passions of his family of 11(!) children, and the development of well-rooted young people that could think critically.

His background was one of an ordinary person, who in his 30’s was tutored by persons of… rare productivity. I may be slow at times, and a tough nut to crack, but he was patient, gracious, and insisted that if I wanted to learn, that he’s point out the path, but I’d have to move my own feet.

Frequently when I had questions he would have me buy a book, read it, and not until then would we talk. Some people — usually those who despised Mark’s financial success — told me that was a sure sign he was mean spirited (or just evil) because “a good person would just tell you”.

I admit, at times I wanted to scream my agreement with those folk to his face. I was never so rude, but I did question his method at first. He would drive me batty with “go, do, and then we’ll talk”. One reason he gave me made no sense at the time, and made me as mad as a rattled hornet’s nest. He would say that the worst thing he could do was to just answer my questions outright. That made me question his sincerity or honesty for a some time.

I learned that his way was quite wise. He wanted me to wrestle with the mind of another human first, people he had learned from. If had just told me, he would have robbed me of precious experiences. I gained knowledge beyond what he could have given me, for he could only give me what was right for him. He could never have given me the rich mixture of ideas that spoke to me in the place I was at the time. This method also helped me to increase my own ability to discern between ideas, what was useful, what was not.

The First Book

This is the first book Mark ever suggested that I read.

George Clason wrote his classic work The Richest Man in Babylon as a series of pamphlets; I believe starting in 1926. The all presents a story, akin to a parable, set in ancient Babylon. Each pamphlet becomes a chapter in the book. Each story is designed to teach one or more basic ideas of personal finance.

I would recommend that people not be fooled by the easy style. It’s full of precious ideas. One will find some overlap with Dave Ramsey’s preaching, but I’d caution about reading with Ramsey’s assumptions in mind.

Click on the picture to see the book on Amazon.