The Prosperity & Wealth Bible. Kahlil Gibran

IS YOUR BIRTHRIGHT Then when you feel the light of this great Truth flooding your consciousness — open the floodgates of your soul in Heartfelt Praise that you have the understanding that... THE CREATOR AND HIS CREATION ARE ONE.

      Also that the Creator is continually creating through his creation.

      Close your treatment in the happy assurance that the Prayer which is fulfilled is not a form of supplication but a steady habitual affirming that The Creator of all Creation is operating Specifically through you, therefore

      THE WORK MUST BE PERFECTLY DONE — YOUR MIND IS A CENTER OF DIVINE OPERATION.

      Hints for Application and Practice

      For every five minutes given to reading and study of the theories of Mental Science, spend fifteen minutes in the use and application of the knowledge acquired.

      1. Spend one minute in every twenty-four hours in conscientiously thinking over the specification that must be observed in order to have your prayers answered.

      2. Practice the steady recognition of desirable thought possession for two periods of fifteen minutes each every day. Not only time yourself each period to see how long you can keep a given conception before your mental vision, but also keep a written record of the vividness with which you experience your mental image. Remember that your mental senses are just as varied and trainable as your physical ones.

      3. Spend five minutes every day between 12 noon and 1 o’clock with a mental search for new sources of wealth.

      Chapter 17 — Things to Remember

      Remember that the greatest Mental Scientist the world has ever known (Jesus Christ, the Man) said all things are possible unto you.

      Also the “things I do you can do.” Did he tell the truth?

      Jesus did not claim to be more divine than you are. He declared the whole human race children of God. By birth he was no ‘exception to this rule. The power he possessed was developed through His personal effort. He said you could do the same if you would only believe in yourself. A great idea is valueless unless accompanied by physical action. God gives the idea; man works it out upon the physical plane.

      All that is really worthwhile is contentment. Self-command alone can produce it. The soul and body are one. Contentment of mind is contentment of soul, and contentment of soul means contentment of body.

      If you wish health, watch your thoughts, not only of your physical being, but your thoughts about everything and everybody. With your will keep them in line with your desire, and outwardly act in accordance with your thoughts, and you will soon realize that all power both over thoughts and conditions has been given to you. You believe in God. Believe in yourself as the physical instrument through which God operates. Absolute dominion is yours when you have sufficient self-mastery to conquer the negative tendency of thoughts and actions.

      Ask yourself daily: “What is the purpose of the power which put me here?” “How can I work with the purpose for life and liberty in me?”

      Upon having decided these questions, endeavor hourly to fulfill them. You are a law unto yourself.

      If you have a tendency to overdo anything, eat, drink or blame circumstances for your misfortunes, conquer that tendency with the inward conviction that all power is yours outwardly. Eat less, drink less, blame circumstances less, and the best there is will gradually grow in the place where the worst seemed to be.

      Always remember that all is yours to use, as you will. You can if you will: if you will you do.

      God the Father blesses you with all He has to give.

      Make good Godly use of it.

      The reason for greater success when you first began your studies and demonstrations in Mental Science is that your joy and enthusiasm at the simple discovery of the power within was greater than you have been able to put into your understanding later.

      With increased understanding put increasing joy and enthusiasm, and the results will correspond.

THE RICHEST MAN IN BABYLON, by George S. Clason

      Foreword

      Our prosperity as a nation depends upon the personal financial prosperity of each of us as individuals.

      This book deals with the personal successes of each of us. 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.

      This book of cures for lean purses has been termed a guide to financial understanding. That, indeed, is its purpose: to offer those who are ambitious for financial success an insight which will aid them to acquire money, to keep money and to make their surpluses earn more money.

      In the pages which follow, we are taken back to Babylon, the cradle in which was nurtured the basic principles of finance now recognized and used the world over.

      To new readers the author is happy to extend the wish that its pages may contain for them the same inspiration for growing bank accounts, greater financial successes and the solution of difficult personal financial problems so enthusiastically reported by readers from coast to coast.

      To the business executives who have distributed these tales in such generous quantities to friends, relatives, employees and associates, the author takes this opportunity to express his gratitude. No endorsement could be higher than that of practical men who appreciate its teachings because they, themselves, have worked up to important successes by applying the very principles it advocates.

      Babylon became the wealthiest city of the ancient world because its citizens were the richest people of their time. They appreciated the value of money. They practiced sound financial principles in acquiring money, keeping money and making their money earn more money. They provided for themselves what we all desire . . . incomes for the future.

      An Historical Sketch of Babylon

      In the pages of history there lives no city more glamorous than Babylon. Its very name conjures visions of wealth and splendor. Its treasures of gold and jewels were fabulous. One naturally pictures such a wealthy city as located in a suitable setting of tropical luxury, surrounded by rich natural resources of forests, and mines. Such was not the case. It was located beside the Euphrates River, in a flat, arid valley. It had no forests, no mines — not even stone for building. It was not even located upon a natural trade-route. The rainfall was insufficient to raise crops.

      Babylon is an outstanding example of man’s ability to achieve great objectives, using whatever means are at his disposal. All of the resources supporting this large city were man-developed. All of its riches were man-made.

      Babylon possessed just two natural resources — a fertile soil and water in the river. With one of the greatest engineering accomplishments of this or any other day, Babylonian engineers diverted the waters from the river by means of dams and immense irrigation canals. Far out across that arid valley went these canals to pour the life-giving waters over the fertile soil. This ranks among the first engineering feats known to history. Such abundant crops as were the reward of this irrigation system the world had never seen before.

      Fortunately, during its long existence, Babylon was ruled by successive lines of kings to whom conquest and plunder were but incidental. While it engaged in many wars, most of these were local or defensive against ambitious conquerors from other countries who coveted the fabulous treasures of Babylon. The outstanding rulers of Babylon live in history because of their wisdom, enterprise and justice. Babylon produced no strutting monarchs who sought to conquer the known world that all nations might pay homage to their egotism.

      As a city, Babylon exists no more. When those energizing human forces that built and maintained the city for thousands of years were withdrawn, it soon became a deserted ruin. The site of the city is in Asia