The Way to Wealth

By Dr Benjamin Franklin

250th Anniversary Edition

Commentary by Dr Agon Fly Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved Poor Richard Publishing Company

2 | P a g e

Table of Contents Foreword by R. Nelson Nash 4 Introduction by Jeffrey Reeves, MA 7 Introduction by Benjamin Franklin 9 The Way to Wealth by Benjamin Franklin 16 Setting The Stage 17 Introducing Father Abraham 19 Father Abraham Begins 21 The Tax We Impose on Ourselves by Our Idleness 23 The Tax We Impose on Ourselves by Our Pride 24 The Tax We Impose on Ourselves by Our Folly 26 Did Father Abraham Foresee 2008 28 The 21st Century Way to Wealth Part I Industriousness 30 A Ten Percent Tax 31 The Tax We Impose on Ourselves by Our Sloth 33 The Tax We Impose on Ourselves by Our Failure to Manage Our Time 35 Time Lost Can Never Be Regained 37 Time Enough; Or Not 38 “Do or Do Not…There Is No Try 41 Diligence and Industry 43 Sleep and Energy 45 Just Plain Old Hard Work 47 A Balanced Life 49

3 | P a g e As True Today as Ever 52 Leisure Earned 54 Useful Leisure 56 Earned Leisure 58 Why Crooks and Con Artists Fail 59 Pleasure Seekers 61 The 21st Century Way to Wealth Part II Take Care 63 Settle Down 64 A Homestead 66 The American Worker 69 Stay in Charge of Your Money 71 Want of Care About Your Money 73 Control of Your Livelihood 75 The 21st Century Way to Wealth Part III Frugality 78 Success Certain 79 The American Example 82 Expensive Follies 84 Never Say “Only” 86 “To Thine Own Self Be True” 89 Pride’s Failing; Self 92 Pride’s Failing; Stuff 95 Pride’s Failing; Debt 98 Conclusion 102 Poor Richard’s Afterthought 104 Afterword 107

4 | P a g e

Foreword by R. Nelson Nash

What wonderful work Jeffrey Reeves has done updating Ben Franklin’s The Way to Wealth, the preface to the 25th edition of Poor Richard’s Almanac! Dr Agon Fly’s Commentary ranks right alongside George Clason’s The Richest Man in Babylon as the complete answer to the problems created by the arrogance of the financial community during our times (2008 ----).

The truths that Benjamin Franklin isolated are eternal. They work! They made America prosper and blessed all her people because enough of them read and obeyed these truths. But they were too simple for the sophisticated and super-educated financial geniuses that we have today!

And, now, you can see what a mess these experts have made! Huge business and banking failures, Ponzi schemes of unbelievable proportions, consumer debt that defies description and government debt that

5 | P a g e makes all of the aforementioned pale in comparison! How could all of this have happened?

Because mankind has a marked tendency to believe stupid ideas and thus behave on the basis of them.

A return to the basics is a must for your survival and future prosperity. It is not necessary for everyone to practice these basics. The whole idea of macro-economics is absurd. All that really matters is your behavior in this crazy financial environment.

You can insulate yourself from this nonsense by freely connecting with like-minded people who obey these eternal principles.

The best device that mankind ever invented to support these principles is dividend-paying whole life insurance. Tragically, not many people understand this fact. That doesn’t have to be your limitation. Study financial history and see the repeated folly of man’s attempts to build and conserve wealth. Study dividend-paying whole life insurance and see how it really works. You will be amazed!

6 | P a g e Benjamin Franklin isolated financial principles that are eternal. Dr Agon Fly clarifies them. Now, you have got to make a decision -- do you obey them -- or the failed “ways of the world?” R. Nelson Nash Author, Becoming Your Own Banker Creator of The Infinite Banking Concept On the 304th Anniversary of Benjamin Franklin’s birth, January 17, 2009

7 | P a g e

Introduction by Jeffrey Reeves, MA In 1758, Benjamin Franklin published the 25th and final issue of Poor Richard’s Almanac. As a preface to this final edition, he wrote The Way to Wealth and introduced Father Abraham as the main character in the tale. Father Abraham embodied the financial wisdom that “Poor” Richard Saunders – one of Benjamin Franklin’s many pen names – incorporated in the 25 years during which the almanac was a staple on mantels above fireplaces, in personal libraries and on the tables of colonial America. In 2008, on the 250th anniversary year of that event, Dr Agon Fly is adding a unique and timely perspective to this classic book about money and life. The money wisdom that Dr. Benjamin Franklin captured in The Way to Wealth is timeless. However, the vernacular of 1758 sometimes obscures the meaning for today’s economy and for the personal economies of 21st Century Americans.

8 | P a g e Moreover, the archaic language, unfamiliar references, and skeletal commentary by Father Abraham sometimes hide the deeper meanings of the pithy sayings that form the bulk of the essay. Dr Agon Fly’s commentary adds sinew, muscle, and personality to the skeleton as it explains and clarifies the meaning of these pithy sayings. Dr Agon Fly’s commentary also helps the reader move easily through proverbs captured by the tale to realize the essence of the messages about money, saving, investing, debt, taxes, and a variety of the other fundamental principles upon which Father Abraham suggests one build a solid personal economy. In addition, Dr Agon Fly provides commentary in 21st Century English on Father Abraham’s insights. That commentary reflects knowledge of currently available financial products and services that were not available to Americans in 1758. Dr Agon Fly’s comments are indented and italicized to set them apart from the original text of The Way to Wealth. It is our earnest hope that you be inspired and motivated by both the original work of Dr Benjamin Franklin and the thoughtful commentary of Dr Agon Fly.

9 | P a g e

Introduction by Benjamin Franklin

Commentary by Dr Agon Fly

A Brief History of the Almanac…

In 1732 I first published my Almanac under the name of Richard Saunders; it was continued by me about twenty-five years, and commonly called Poor Richard's Almanac. I endeavoredi

Think about that! That’s about ½ of 1% of the total population as subscribers and about 4% of the total population based on the size

to make it both entertaining and useful, and it accordingly came to be in such demand, that I reaped considerable profit from it, vending annually near ten thousand.

10 | P a g e

of the nuclear families of that time. In today’s terms, that would be over 12 million regular readers. Any publisher or writer would be pleased with that even today.

Imagine the influence this simple publication had on the thinking and behavior of early America. Recognize as you peruse this brief work that the ideas, which lay as the foundation of the greatest economy in the history of the world, reach out to us today as much as they did when Benjamin Franklin published them in the early to mid 1700’s. It takes only the willingness of the reader to capture these ideas and use them to build a solid financial foundation.

Think about it...

11 | P a g e

A Brief History of the Almanac… Continued

And observing that it was generally read, (scarce any neighborhoodii

Not so in Benjamin Franklin’s day; his simple almanac touched almost everyone in America and the profound wisdom it conveyed led to the amazing social and economic accomplishments of individuals and America as a whole.

in the province being without it,) I considered it as a proper vehicle for conveying instruction among the common people, who bought scarcely any other books.

In today’s world of mass communication – TV, satellite radio, cell phones that are more powerful than the computers of just a few years ago, print on demand publishing and – more than anything else – the internet, is it any wonder that Americans are going in dozens of different financial directions.

12 | P a g e

In the past thirty years America has been tricked into thinking that the simple ideas found in The Way to Wealth are somehow flawed. Americans have been misled and misinformed about how to create wealth and manage money by greedy Wall Street Wonks and the Dolts in DC [that would mainly be the US Congress].

BUNK!

The Way to Wealth is still ‘a proper vehicle for conveying instruction’ to Americans.

Think about it...

13 | P a g e

A Brief History of the Almanac… Concluded

I therefore filled all the little spaces, that occurred between the remarkable daysiii in the Calendar, with proverbial sentences, chiefly such as inculcated industry and frugality, as the means of procuring wealth, and thereby securing virtue; it being more difficult for a man in want to act always honestly, as (to use here one of those proverbs)

“It is hard for an empty sack to stand upright."

Benjamin Franklin wrote and quoted pithy sayings that motivated early Americans to work hard and save money so they could amass wealth and secure “virtue.” What a novel idea!

14 | P a g e

It’s especially worth noting that there is no suggestion that the solution to the problem of poverty or economic failure is a function of government. Early Americans were wary of any government intervention in their private lives. Government’s incursion into the daily lives of everyday citizens was, in fact, what motivated the American Revolution.

What amazes most is that the principles laid out in Poor Richard’s Almanac and summarized in ‘The Way to Wealth’ worked for the founding fathers and for many generations after them. It’s hard to be virtuous – have peace of mind and the freedom to serve our family, church, and country – when living in poverty.

It’s equally hard to do so when living under the crushing weight of a government that has the power to give you everything you need – and therefore – the power to take it away.

The role of government in today’s more complex society is not the same, however, as it was at the time of the Revolution. The principles are the same, though. Keeping the government from becoming the dictator –

15 | P a g e

even the benevolent dictator – that keeps the individual “in want,” is still a worthy goal.

Think about it...

16 | P a g e

The Way to Wealth by Benjamin Franklin

With Commentary by Dr Agon Fly

COURTEOUS Reader,

I have heard that nothing gives an author so great pleasure as to find his works respectfully quoted by others. Judge, then, how much I must have been gratified by an incident I am going to relate to you.

Dr Agon Fly agrees. Kind words about one’s writing are greatly appreciated.

It is with the hope that the commentary he provides is in some small proportion as helpful to today’s 21st Century reader as Dr. Franklin’s words were to early America. It is with equal hope that this work will receive some measure of attention and endure beyond a few moments in time.

Thank you…

17 | P a g e

Setting the Stage…

I stopped my horse lately, where a great number of people were collected at an auction of merchants' goods.

Today we park our cars in multilevel parking facilities at multilevel malls where a great number of people gather for “sales.” The times have changed, but merchants still sell their goods and human nature remains the same.

The hour of the sale not being come, they were conversing on the badness of the times;

Just like last week, or month, or year, times and topics remain consistent. Some see the world as full of shadows and others see it as full of light. Those who live on the dark side tend to engage in negative talk and behavior while those on the side of light focus on more positive thoughts and activities – as you will discover was the case in 1758 as it is today.

18 | P a g e

The most interesting aspect of this behavior is that, in my experience, those who live on the dark side accomplish less than those who live on the light side. Is it a wonder? Not at all. Your results reflect your attention.

Think about it...

19 | P a g e

Introducing Father Abraham…

…and one of the company called to a plain, clean old man, with white locks,

Plain, clean, old…A picture of wisdom then, but how about now?

Today we tend to discount the same qualities that in times past we honored and revered. We praise complexity as progress, denigrate clean simplicity as unsophisticated, and deride inevitable advanced age as if it were a disease to avoid.

Today, as in 1758, people look to those with experience and wisdom for advice and counsel. The difference between 1758 and 2008 is that current America has mistakenly clothed the Behemoths of big government – including its most incompetent branch, the US Congress – large corporations, oversized labor unions, and bloated bureaucracies with the mantel of both knowledge and wisdom.

20 | P a g e

Worse, we allow their wet-behind-the-ears minions with little or no life experience to delude us with their recital of shibboleths that are meaningless but persuasive.

"Pray, Father Abraham, what think you of the times? Will not these heavy taxes quite ruin the country? How shall we ever be able to pay them? What would you advise us to do?"

Are you amazed that the questions of 1758 are so similar to the questions Americans ask in 2008? When you ask today’s Father Abraham’s [that would be “we the people”] these questions, you’ll hear individual thoughts and judgments that contravene the conventional wisdom incessantly spewed by the Behemoths.

Think about it...

21 | P a g e

Father Abraham Begins…

Father Abraham stood, up and replied, "If you would have my advice, I will give it you in short; for A word to the wise is enough, as Poor Richard says.”

Ah! The first words of Poor Richard and how profound are they. There’s more to come and, if Dr Agon Fly were as wise as Father Abraham, there would be fewer words and deeper meaning.

"[The crowd at the auction] joined in desiring him to speak his mind, and gathering round him he proceeded as follows.

"Friends," said he, "the taxes are indeed very heavy, and, if those laid on by the government were the only ones we had to pay, we might more easily discharge them;

22 | P a g e but we have many others, and much more grievous to some of us.

Father Abraham’s comment reflects one of the most fundamental characteristics of Americans: the indomitable spirit that sees the insanity of governments and their attempts to manipulate the people and the economy with taxes, as a mere pot hole on the road of life. His closing comment points to the next several topics, which show that we create our own money problems.

Think about it...

23 | P a g e

The Tax We Impose on Ourselves by Our Idleness…

…We are taxed twice as much by our idleness,

Dr Franklin’s math might be a bit obscure but one thing is certain; individually and collectively, we lose both income and assets by failing to act when action is appropriate or required.

Money comes from work. Success comes from handling that money well. That’s more work. Americans are the masters when it comes to making money from their work, but we have given in to idleness when it comes to the management of our money. We have allowed the Behemoths to convince us that they know better than we do what is best for us. We have relinquished our power, and that is a greater burden than taxes ever could be.

Think about it...

24 | P a g e

The Tax We Impose on Ourselves by Our Pride…

…three times as much by our pride, When Father Abraham talks about ‘pride’ as a treble-tax he’s reminding America of one of its longest standing foibles: keeping up with the Jones’s.

Perhaps it’s just human. It’s been a recognized human frailty since Cain whacked Able.

Regardless, spending our money in an attempt to appear affluent, sophisticated, educated, informed, well-connected, etc. is real money that you trade for imagined gains that are no more substantial than smoke.

Many Americans believe wrongly that investments over which they have no control measures wealth, and possessions that they do not own, which they purchased with a loan, measures well-being.

25 | P a g e

Darn Jones’s…literally more trouble than they’re worth.

Think about it...

26 | P a g e

The Tax We Impose on Ourselves by Our Folly…

…and four times as much by our folly; “Folly – a lack of good sense or normal prudence and foresight; an excessively costly or unprofitable undertaking” Merriam-Webster Online.

Have you ever followed a whim and found it to be a folly? Or just entered into a folly, eyes wide open?

Father Abraham identifies the greatest ‘tax’ that we impose on ourselves as ‘folly.’ The Behemoths have convinced us that folly is wisdom. They want us to believe it’s OK to lose real money today in order to make maybe-money at some undetermined future date. That’s folly – a lack of good sense, normal prudence and foresight; an excessively costly and unprofitable undertaking for you, but not for the Behemoths – that’s how they have become

27 | P a g e

wealthy as we find less and less in our accounts.

Think about it...

28 | P a g e

Did Father Abraham Foresee 2008 ? …and from these taxes the commissioners cannot ease or deliver us by allowing an abatement.

Today a few Americans clamor for the government to take over everything from health care to energy, the banking system to the auto industry.

Father Abraham reminds us that government can’t bail us out of our individual and collective idleness, pride and follies, although the Congress and the President and the President Elect seem to think the government can do just that.

“However, let us hearken to good advice, and something maybe done for us; ‘God helps them that help themselves,’ as Poor Richard says.”

29 | P a g e

Poor Richard, the Founding Fathers and Mothers, presidents, statesmen and women, and their families recognized that God created a universe where we are personally responsible for our actions and inactions, our decisions about our lives and our lifestyles, and what we do with the abundance that we have been given to steward.

Even those who do not believe in God rank personal responsibility highest on the stewardship scale. We all recognize that we create government to be the servant of “we the people” and that we the people are the servants of a higher power.

Think about it...

30 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth

Part I – Industriousness

31 | P a g e

A Ten Percent Tax…

“It would be thought a hard government that should tax its people one-tenth part of their time, to be employed in its service;

Benjamin Franklin and the other Founding Fathers didn’t have to deal with the IRS, state, county, township, city and tax-district income taxes, property taxes, school taxes, taxes on gas, electricity, telephone service, internet access, cable and satellite service, water, sewer, gasoline, heating fuel, beer, wine, whiskey, tobacco, and sales tax on almost everything else thrown in just for good measure. Add to that the taxes on corporations that bury in the price of their goods so you end up paying tax on that hidden tax when you buy those goods.

Today’s governments in America take a lot more than ten percent of your time. They don’t require actual time. They take so much of the typical American’s work product – money for short – in the form of taxes that

32 | P a g e

you really work for the government up to 50% of the time.

It can get even worse when you add in estate and inheritance taxes, probate fees and final expense costs if you are financially successful, even when you have well informed and qualified advisors.

Is ours, therefore, a “hard government?” Hard indeed and getting out of hand, but recall the taxes we impose on ourselves by idleness, pride and folly. We control these taxes entirely.

Think about it...

33 | P a g e

The Tax We Impose on Ourselves by Our Sloth…

“…but idleness taxes many of us much more; sloth, by bringing on diseases, absolutely shortens life. ‘Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labor wears; while the used key is always bright,’ as Poor Richard says.”

One thing hasn’t changed. No matter how much of your money the government takes, you are still responsible for your health and your own financial success or failure. That means you have to rely on your own work to produce enough income to care for yourself and your family, if you have one.

Benjamin Franklin obviously refers to manual labor when he talks about ‘sloth bringing on disease’, rust consuming faster than wear and tear, and saying the ‘used key is always bright.’ Many Americans don’t do manual labor. Finding a way to keep your key always bright is intrinsically your job, too.

34 | P a g e

A corollary to what Father Abraham teaches is that relying on government for health care or financial support is not a good idea. The more a government gives you personally the more it can take away.

Think about it…

35 | P a g e

The Tax We Impose on Ourselves by Our Failure to Manage Our Time…

Father Abraham continues: "If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must be, as Poor Richard says, the greatest prodigality;”

Like most seekers of wealth and wisdom, Albert devoured books, articles, and training programs that could help him grow and prosper. In 1975 – or thereabouts – he discovered a timeless treasure in Alan Lakein’s book ‘How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life.’ He adopted the principles and practices the book advised, and adapted them to his life and lifestyle. He created a training program for employees and clients based on the ideas in the book. He was convinced that Alan Lakein had discovered eternal truths.

36 | P a g e

A few years later Albert discovered ‘The Way to Wealth.’ Surprise! 225 years earlier Dr. Benjamin Franklin had not only known of these ideas but had also written about them. When Father Abraham begins the discussion of time management it is with the premise that the ineffective use of time is a failing so great that it is the greatest failing a person can have.

Think about it...

37 | P a g e

Time Lost Can Never Be Regained…

As he continues his dissertation, the first principle Father Abraham lays out is

“…since, as he elsewhere tells us, Lost time is never found again…”

You can regain lost money. A lost opportunity is the seed for a new opportunity. Lost sales become lessons learned and future sales. Lost time – be it seconds, minutes, hours, days or longer – is gone forever.

Every culture, every age, and every spiritual tradition recognizes the value of time. Living in the present moment isn’t a Buddhist idea, a Christian mystical teaching, or the wisdom of the ancient Greeks, Hindus, or Jews. Living in the present moment is the common sense that Father Abraham captured in a few short words: “Lost time is never found again.”

Think about it...

38 | P a g e

Time Enough; Or Not…

Father Abraham continues again with sage words that anyone who ever tried to complete a complex project on schedule can relate to:

“and what we call time enough, always proves little enough.”

Joe’s working career started in 1965 as a computer programmer for a large corporation. His first assignment was to learn a ‘symbolic language’ that would let him talk to an IBM 1460 computer. He went to a computer language school for a week and returned confident that he could handle any programming challenge that was thrown at him.

As soon as he returned to his desk at work the boss handed him a small payroll-reporting program that one of the HR folks wanted. His boss reassured him that “It should only take you a few hours to code it.

39 | P a g e

You can get it compiled into a language that the computer can understand overnight and have it running tomorrow.”

That was Monday morning. Fast forward to Thursday morning and the distinct possibility that Joe would be summarily dismissed for gross incompetence. The ‘few hours’ turned into about 30 and the program simply defied every attempt at being ‘compiled.’ Joe was downhearted, thought himself a complete failure. He was ready to take his lumps.

Joe and his boss were, however, in for a surprise. One of the more senior programmers offered to look over Joe’s code and help him get it right. After a few minutes, the senior programmer burst out laughing. Joe was certain the senior programmer was about to ridicule Joe out of existence but instead he gave Joe a hug.

“Joe’s logic is impeccable,” he told them, “and his code is elegant.” They were puzzled. What’s wrong, then, they wondered. “The only problem is” he continued laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes, “you sent Joe to the wrong language school.”

40 | P a g e

Life’s that way. Surprisingly unsurprising surprises happen to all of us throughout our lives. They keep us from completing our work on time, being prepared for our kids’ educations and our own retirement.

It’s important to recognize that plans – financial and otherwise – are snapshots of what’s on the horizon. The way to wealth leads you to the next plateau and the next plateau reveals a new horizon. The new horizon changes the path and usually increases the time it takes to reach your chosen destination.

The corollary to this observation is that the destination you chose from afar ends up being less than you anticipated and morphs into the starting point of your next journey on your way to wealth.

Think about it...

41 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: “Do or do not… there is no try.” Yoda

Having laid the groundwork for continuing his verbal treatise, Father Abraham translates the premises he’s postulated into a series of calls to action.

“Let us, then, up and be doing, and doing to the purpose; …”

These simplest of words carry profound meaning when it comes to building your wealth. During the last thirty-five years Americans have lost track of the basic truth that it just isn’t enough to work hard and follow conventional wisdom – doing what everyone else does with their money just because that’s what everyone else is doing.

42 | P a g e

You need to invest your activity and decisions with deep personal meaning. You need to be ‘doing to the purpose.’

What purpose? Every successful personal economy has four essential goals:

• to be debt free, • to develop an inflation- proof income

stream that requires neither work nor active management,

• to have plenty of cash at hand when confronting life’s surprisingly unsurprising surprises,

• to pay forward a legacy of both money and the simple wisdom found in The Way to Wealth so future generations aren’t burdened with property they don’t own and investments they don’t control.

If your work, your spending, your use of money is not bringing you closer to these four goals each and every day, it’s time to wake up and make some significant changes in how you are managing your money.

Think about it...

43 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: Diligence and Industry…

Father Abraham has other admonitions about how to traverse The Way to Wealth.

“… so by diligence shall we do more with less perplexity…”

Diligence on the way to wealth means persevering with attention and care at building your personal economy. Diligence makes life simpler and less perplexing. That lets you get more done in less time and with less stress. Life is only a struggle for those who struggle with living.

Dr Benjamin Franklin’s Father Abraham has more insights…

“Sloth makes all things difficult, but industry all easy;

Motivational speakers, authors and coaches get paid millions of dollars every year to tell

44 | P a g e

you the simple compelling truths that Americans have embraced for over 250 years and that Dr Benjamin Franklin’s Father Abraham popularized in the final installment of Poor Richard’s Almanac in 1758.

It’s no surprise that Dr Benjamin Franklin has become such an iconic person in history and folklore. He practiced what Father Abraham preached. He worked diligently at a wide range of tasks and became one of the wisest, most accomplished and most beloved men in the history of the United States of America because of it…and he made it look easy…through diligence and industry.

Think about it...

45 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: Sleep and Energy…

“…and He that riseth late must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night;

An individual may claim to be a ‘night person.’ S/he stays up late, sleeps late, arrives at the office late, and works late. His/her family suffers, health suffers, business suffers, s/he complains about being overwhelmed on a regular basis.

This kind of person reads motivational books, attends seminars, studies Dr. Benjamin Franklin’s works, yet fails to consider the possibility that sleeping and work habits have anything to do with his/her everyday challenges.

The hidden reality, however, is that this person could be a better parent, a better spouse, a better provider. S/he could be of greater service to clients. His/her income,

46 | P a g e

charitable giving, health, life and peace of mind could all improve if s/he would put business in perspective and give up the failed idea that’ s/he is a ‘night person.’

There are those who follow an even shorter path to financial failure. They chase pleasure and entertainment at night and find themselves so exhausted by day that they become ineffective in their work. Everything they do seems to demand more than they have to give so they “trot all day” just to keep up – and rarely succeed.

Think about it...

47 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: Just Plain Old Hard Work…

“...laziness travels so slowly, that Poverty soon overtakes him.”

There’s another type of person that tries to find the ‘easy way’ to do everything. These folks want to ‘delegate’ work and use ‘other people’s money’ to build wealth while they relax and await their fortune.

In Colonial America, there were many treasure hunters looking for buried pirate treasures. They would wander the coastal regions with “divining rods” or “dowsing rods” hoping that the tug of hidden and easily acquired wealth would soon present itself.

Benjamin Franklin tells the story of one man who gave a piece of land to his son, who had been seeking buried treasure. He assured the lad that the piece of land would yield much gold and great wealth but admonished

48 | P a g e

him that the wealth would never be buried deeper that the depth of a plough blade.

21st Century Americans look to Behemoth financial corporations to sell them mutual funds, IRA’s, 401(k)’s and their equivalents as the buried treasure that will bring them wealth and well being. They are not a whole lot wiser than their ancestors who wandered the land with dowsing rods. Money you do not manage and control – and that takes work – will not produce the treasures you would have for yourselves as you progress through your life.

Just as you will fail to create adequate income if you do not work hard at your job or profession, you will fail to create true wealth if you do not personally control your money.

Think about it...

49 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: A Balanced Life…

“…Drive thy business, let not that drive thee…”

How many times has someone reminded you that you need ‘balance’ in your life? How many times have you heard that the idea of a balanced life is a product of eastern philosophy?

How soon we forget:

There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build.

50 | P a g e

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them; a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces. A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away. A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes, Ch3, v 1-7

Benjamin Franklin and his contemporaries knew the Bible well and called upon it every day for its guidance. The Buddha was wandering India at the same time Lao Tzu was teaching the Tao, Confucius was laying down the law, and Plato was creating a method of inquiry. That was 1,000 years after Moses wandered in the desert with the Jews and 2,500 years before any significant eastern thought entered the Americas.

One of the saddest failures of the late 20th Century is the failure to protect and preserve

51 | P a g e

Judeo-Christian values in our public institutions, our businesses, and our personal financial practices and models.

It is a shame that Americans have discarded these essential values in favor of knock offs popularized by charlatans and snake oil sales reps. There is, of course, value in every honest religious set of beliefs. Inquiry into the ways of thinking and seeing of others serves to deepen one’s belief and to expand one’s worldview. It need not destroy tested and proven values.

Think about it...

52 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: As True Today as Ever…

“…and ‘Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,’ as Poor Richard says.”

Bill Newman was one of the pioneers of the human potential movement and one of Ed’s mentors. Bill taught Ed by example that Father Abraham’s approach to time and life management worked well.

Ed had hired Bill to conduct his PACE seminar for a group of Ed’s employees. Ed invited Bill to stay with his family for the two nights Bill would be in town.

When Bill retired the first evening, it was quite early and Ed asked him when he’d like to get up. Bill said he would awaken at 5:30 and Ed need not worry. He was awake at 5:30 AM. He awoke without the aid of an alarm. Bill had become so accustomed to

53 | P a g e

rising early that doing so was automatic for him.

I’m betting the same was true for Dr Benjamin Franklin and for thousands of other successful people for centuries since and millennia before.

Ed followed this advice and practice for decades. He tells me that his perception of the world, his peace of mind, his relationships, and every aspect of his life has improved since he adopted this approach to managing work and sleep. Ed also believe that, had he known about and followed this practice earlier in life, he would have avoided many of the mistakes he made before and since, and some he has yet to make.

Think about it...

54 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: Leisure Earned…

Father Abraham’s recounting of the advice delivered by Poor Richard’s Almanac during its twenty five years of publication continues with some admonitions about chasing a life of leisure that are more appropriate today than even they were 250 years ago when written.

"Methinks I hear some of you say, ‘Must a man afford himself no leisure?’ I will tell thee, my friend, what Poor Richard says, ‘Employ thy time well, if thou meanest to gain leisure; and, since thou art not sure of a minute, throw not away an hour’.”

Right off the bat Father Abraham chastises the questioners. Leisure is the result of work but not its aim. If you want to have leisure time, beware wasting time at work because the hour spent on the internet, or reading the

55 | P a g e

paper, or discussing last night’s game will reduce your productivity, lengthen your day at work, and shorten your time of true relaxation with family and friends.

Self-employed people, professionals, and outside sales reps recognize this relationship more readily perhaps than those employed by others and monitored with a time clock.

It’s easy to measure the value of time wasted when it translates directly into lost opportunity, lost sales or extended hours completing a critical project for a revenue producing client.

It’s easy to measure the lost leisure time when the ‘leisure’ time spent at work keeps you from a golf date with friends, your child’s sports event or musical recital; when the long awaited anniversary dinner has to be postponed at the last minute; when the weekend barbecue goes on without the host, who had to go into the office.

Think about it...

56 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: Useful Leisure…

“Leisure is time for doing something useful…” Now there’s a mind bender for the modern American. Who thinks of leisure being ‘useful?’

As a starting point, let’s define ‘work’. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it this way; ‘activity in which one exerts strength or faculties to do or perform something.’ Hmmm. According to that definition, everything is work. Playing tennis, watching TV, reading, wrestling with the kids, laying in the hammock taking a nap all require you to ‘exert,’ to ‘do.’

Father Abraham got it right again. All of those activities are useful all by themselves and all of them are work. Their leisure value comes from your intention and attitude, not from the activity itself. Their ‘useful’ aspect derives from the benefit you derive from the

57 | P a g e

activity – the work – and perhaps from the control you exercise over the choice of activity.

Think about it...

58 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: Earned Leisure…

“…this leisure the diligent man will obtain, but the lazy man never; for a life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things.”

The option of having a choice about how to spend your time and energy results from being diligent. You’ve seen it a hundred times; the slacker remains a slacker all his or her life; the hard worker grows in stature at work and in the community. The slacker ends up with few choices and the diligent person with many.

Leisure is the reward of work. Laziness is trying to gain the reward without doing the work, which – by way of observation – takes just as much work as that done by the diligent person.

Think about it...

59 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: Why Crooks and Con-Artists Fail…

“Many, without labor, would live by their wits only, but they break for want of stock; whereas industry gives comfort, and plenty, and respect.”

Following Father Abraham’s thoughts from before, it only makes sense that those who ‘live by their wits only’ and avoid labor, eventually come to a bad end. Consider where the petty thieves, drug dealers, con artists, even organized crime bosses end up. ‘They break for want of stock.’ There’s nothing of value in their choices or their ‘work.’

Those who work diligently, on the other hand, take control of their money, their time, and their lives to arrive at a different place. They earn the respect and admiration of their

60 | P a g e

community and live comfortably because of it.

By way of example, sometimes Patrick’s workload writing, helping clients and mentoring other advisors is so heavy that he has to hire out some chores around the house. Pat’s favorite chore to hire out is mowing the lawn and trimming around the sidewalks, trees, planters, and bushes.

The 72-year-old man that does this work is a fine example of a person who has diligently made his way through life for the past four decades on his own terms. Everyone who employs him respects and admires him; he works only when he chooses based on his age and energy level, but lacks for neither money nor leisure.

Think about it...

61 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: Pleasure Seekers…

“Fly pleasures, and they will follow you.” “The diligent spinner has a large shiftiv

If you start out as a pleasure seeker, you may never recover to be anything better in the eyes of the world or in fact. The ‘diligent spinner’ started, I’m thinking, with just one

; and now I have a sheep and a cow, everybody bids me good morrow.”

Dan recently attended the 50th reunion of his high school graduating class. He was amazed and surprised that so many of his classmates remembered each other for who and what they were 50 years ago.

Some of those memories were accurate and others were not. The party girls from ’58 were still seen as party girls. The jocks were still the jocks. The elite still the elite. The weirdoes still weird.

62 | P a g e

sheep. He worked hard, made wool enough to buy a cow and now ‘everybody bids [him] good morrow.’ He has achieved status and acceptance because of his diligence and hard work.

That’s not a minor accomplishment. It improves his life, his family’s life, his community, and America.

Think about it...

63 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth

Part II – Take Care

64 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: Settle Down…

“But with our industry we must likewise be steady, settled, and careful, and oversee our own affairs with our own eye, and not too much to others…”

WOW! I wonder what Father Abraham would think of ‘modern’ investment vehicles such as mutual funds, ETF’s, hedge funds, mortgage bonds, and derivatives of all kinds? These instruments demand that you not “…oversee [y]our own affairs…”

The companies and the people that sell these products would have you believe that they are “steady, settled and careful,” but those qualities are not intrinsic to their products or the hallmarks of the marketers. A cursory view of the turmoil in the financial

65 | P a g e

community in 2008 demonstrates this clearly.

In fact, the less you know the easier it is for them. If you think that’s an exaggeration, try reading a prospectus. You’ll discover that you know little more after reading than you did before, and the prospectus is supposed to be the fountain of truth about mutual funds and primary stock offerings.

The truth is that America has lost sight of the wisdom that makes it great. Unless Americans reject the conventional wisdom, which is no wisdom at all, and regain clarity about how to handle their own money, they will soon find themselves gaining wisdom and clarity from the bankruptcy judge.

Father Abraham continues his lecture about being “steady, settled, and careful:”

Think about it...

66 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: A Homestead…

“…for, as Poor Richard says, ‘I never saw an oft-removed tree, nor yet an oft-removed family, that throve so well as those that settled be.’ And again, ‘Three removes are as bad as a fire’…”

Father Abraham uses the word “remove” the way we might use the word “move.” In the America of the 1750’s, the ability to settle down in one place permanently was not quite as easy as it is today. Families built their own homes, made their own furniture, collected dinnerware one item at a time, and so on. Moving frequently would make being “steady, settled, and careful” quite difficult for the family.

You might remember, also, that Benjamin Franklin started the first volunteer fire department in Philadelphia around this time

67 | P a g e

because a fire meant the loss of all that a family owned. The insurance that we rely on today was in its infancy or did not exist.

Just as a transplanted tree finds it hard to thrive, so a frequently transplanted early American family would find it difficult to thrive. In America today we hardly think twice about moving across town or across country. Unfortunately, many families spend their present trying to create a better future.

They move to a new house or a new job or a new school district or a new city hoping that the mere fact of moving would create a better life. Americans burn their connections to place and destroy a part of their families when they do.

Granted, a lot has changed in the last 250 years, but Father Abrahams premise is just as valid today as it was in 1758; the deeper the roots, the stronger the tree.

The same thinking applies to how you deal with your money. Moving money around like play money on a Monopoly board is just as damaging to your personal economy as moving your family around is to your personal

68 | P a g e

relationships. Money needs a home; it needs to be “steady, settled, and careful” in its own way.

As always, Benjamin Franklin, through the character of Father Abraham, brings wisdom, which knows no century, to the 21st century. We stand in awe of it because it is timeless. We mourn it because it has been buried by the advertising and marketing of the Behemoths, who would like nothing more than that ‘we the people’ remain slaves to their slogans and disinformation.

Think about it...

69 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: The American Worker…

Father Abraham speaks: “…And again, Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee…”

A large percentage of Americans during the colonial period were self-employed farmers, merchants, craftsmen, tradesmen, shopkeepers, and so on. Family members and close associates staffed the businesses of that time. Employees were less common than partners and permanent employees even rarer.

Because of that, the following admonitions of Father Abraham address the working class who were also responsible for their own success and livelihood.

Today, the self reliance and independent spirit of those early Americans lives on in the tens of thousands of small businesses that create 90% of America’s jobs and in the drive

70 | P a g e

and commitment of American workers employed by large and small corporations.

Father Abraham’s words are just as meaningful today as they were then.

Each of us has a “shop” to keep. Your shop may be an actual shop or it may be a cubicle, or it could be the corner office. It may be the janitor’s closet or the cab of a truck. It may be as the center on a professional football team or as the fifth grade teacher at St. Cecelia’s Elementary school. Whatever your sphere of influence and responsibility, that’s your “shop.” As long as you take care of your shop, you can reliably expect to be able to take care of yourself.

There are, of course, external influences that can wreck your ‘shop’ regardless of how careful you are. That’s always been the case and always will be. When it happens to an American, however, we just find another shop.

Think about it...

71 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: Stay in Charge of Your Money…

“And again, if you would have your business done, go; if not, send. And again, he that by the plough would thrive, himself must either hold or drive. And again, the eye of a master will do more work than both his hands.”

Self-reliance is a hallmark of Americans. Father Abraham recognized this and cautioned his audience that they can’t delegate personal success. Individual success relies on individual effort; you are the master and your attention is essential to your success.

Of course, delegation of responsibility in business is essential to create an effective organization. Relegation of responsibility, however, leads to predictable failure. This is

72 | P a g e

especially true when it comes to creating wealth and managing money.

Americans have been deluded into thinking that Behemoth corporations, which are responsible solely to their shareholders, have the best interest of America and American’s at heart. They don’t and can’t. It would be against the very nature of their businesses.

Your mastery may be behind the plow or leading the team. Success will elude you, however, if you relegate your wealth creation and money management to others. Only you can care for your family and your future; that business will not get done and that field will not get plowed without your direct and constant attention.

Think about it...

73 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: Want of Care About Your Money…

“And again, want of care does us more damage than want of knowledge.”

There are three types of knowledge you must access when it comes to your work and your personal economy: knowing about something that could be done, knowing how to do what could be done, and knowing whether to take action or not. A ‘want of care’ means you didn’t evaluate the ‘whether-or-not’ aspect of knowing.

There’s also a second way to look at this axiom from Father Abraham. We’ve all met people with great intelligence who have achieved only moderate success because they relied on knowhow alone, and other more average folks who met with great success by working diligently. This proves the axiom. Lacking knowledge – not

74 | P a g e

knowhow – is not as much an impediment as is lacking careful attention to both the initial decision and the ensuing action.

Father Abraham is quickly becoming my hero.

Think about it...

75 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: Control of Your Livelihood…

“…and again, Not to oversee workmen, is to leave them your purse open. Trusting too much to others' care is the ruin of many; for in the affairs of this world men are saved, not by faith, but by the want of it; but a man’s own care is profitable; for, If you would have a faithful servant, and one that you like, serve yourself…”

This relatively long string of proverbs deals with the business of allowing others to gain control of your life and livelihood. Whether it is an employer or an employee, a bank or the IRS that you allow to control your financial destiny makes no difference.

Al had hired an accountant from a pool of candidates screened by his accounting firm. In 1979, Al was committed to promoting

76 | P a g e

minorities and, accordingly, hired the female candidate named Allison.

After only nine months, Allison abruptly quit and an audit of her work unearthed a consistent pattern of deception and the embezzlement of thousands of dollars. Al had left his purse open.

Al trusted too much to the care of others. He placed too much faith in the wisdom and intelligence of his accounting firm and the integrity and honesty of his hired hand. He did not care enough to oversee his employee properly.

Al failed to recognize that “in the affairs of this world” compassionate disbelief is more important than idiot compassion. He lost sight of the simple reality that he is his own best and most “faithful servant.” His failed to exercise “a man’s own care…”

“A little neglect may breed great mischief; for want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost, being overtaken

77 | P a g e and slain by the enemy; all for want of a little care about a horse-shoe nail.”

Al gave up control of his money and his business. He lost the profits his business aimed to produce. Later, because of this failure, he lost the entire business.

Think about it...

78 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth

Part III – Frugality

79 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: Success Certain…

"So much for industry, my friends, and attention to one's own business; but to these we must add frugality, if we would make our industry more certainly successful. A man may, if he knows not how to save as he gets, keep his nose all his life to the grindstone, and die not worth a groatv

In the first two chapters of The Way to Wealth Father Abraham reminds the 21st Century that success derives from industry and

at last. A fat kitchen makes a lean will; and

Many estates are spent in the getting, Since women for tea forsook spinning and knitting, And men for punch forsook hewing and splitting.…”

80 | P a g e

common sense caring about our own wealth and well-being.

In this final chapter, he wants us to recognize that hard work and careful attention to the details of earning a living will create income and support lifestyle, but wealth creation demands more.

You need to manage the money you earn to assure long-term financial success.

Father Abraham points out that you could work a lifetime but die a pauper if you don’t know “how to save as [you get].” You see it every day.

You’ve read about celebrity entertainers and athletes showing up penniless in flophouses after a career of multi-million dollar annual earnings? Ed McMahon’s home is in foreclosure. He’s an old man who earned millions during his working career.

81 | P a g e

Father Abraham identifies the problem. Perhaps it’s a shibboleth1

1 A common saying or belief with little current meaning or truth. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006

among Americans that once you achieve a level of earnings success you assume that the income will continue unabated. We continue to spend as if – pardon the trite – there’s no tomorrow.

But, there is a tomorrow. Money is not meant to be “spent in the getting…”

Think about it...

82 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: The American Example…

“If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as of getting. The Indies have not made Spain rich, because her outgoes are greater than her incomes.”

It’s an historical fact that Europeans plundered the world during the age of discovery and conquest in the 16th and 17th centuries. It’s also a fact that America became more powerful and wealthier during that same period because it preserved and employed its financial resources more effectively than its European contemporaries.

Europe squandered the riches of the world on what today we call ‘lifestyle’ while America

83 | P a g e

and Americans thought of “saving as well as getting.”

At the dawn of 2009, America’s economy looks more like old Europe’s. It has the aura of wealth but it’s actually nothing more than a “pure gold…clad replica” of the economy that stood out as the most successful in the history of the world.

What happened? “…her outgoes are greater than her incomes.”

Is your personal economy in the same sorry shape as that of the United States of America, one nation under the burden of enormous debt?

“…think of saving as well as getting…”

Think about it…

84 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: Expensive Follies…

"Away, then, with your expensive follies, and you will not then have so much cause to complain of hard times, heavy taxes, and chargeable families; for

Women and wine, game and deceit, Make the wealth small and the want great.”

Early on in this treatise, Father Abraham talked about the tax imposed by one’s “follies.” Here is a second reference to this term, its meaning, and its consequences.

The financial failings of today are the same as those of Father Abraham’s audience 250 years ago, and the results are the same too. If you were to disengage from your “expensive follies,” – women, men, partying, conning others, or whatever they might be – you would find money abundant.

85 | P a g e

It’s a lot easier to complain about the failing markets, bubbles bursting, our profligate children, and the Dolts in DC than it is to reform our own money misuse. Reality is the greatest teacher, however. Look critically at your own wealth creation and money management program before you blame others for the state of your finances.

Think about it…

86 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: Never Say “Only”…

“And further, What maintains one vice would bring up two children. You may think, perhaps, that a little tea, or a little punch now and then, diet a little more costly, clothes a little finer, and a little entertainment now and then, can be no great matter; but remember, Many a little makes a mickle2

When they started the business in cramped quarters and a low rent business district,

.” Jerry and his partner were rapidly growing their high tech business. Nationally notable industry leaders recognized them for their entrepreneurial skill, quality products, and aggressive sales and marketing programs.

2 An archaic word meaning “a lot” of “ a great deal”

87 | P a g e

they watched every penny closely. As they grew and prospered, they improved their offices and took over the ninth floor of a class “A” building in the downtown of the medium sized mid-western city where the business began.

Then came the two Mercedes cars, memberships in a few exclusive clubs, junkets to resorts for company meetings, custom made suits, shirts and ties…and the loss of a major contract to an upstart competitor housed in cramped quarters in a low rent business district who watched every penny.

Every time Jerry and his partner made a decision to “upgrade” some amenity [vice] it was a small decision. Collectively those decisions were a “mickle” of trouble. You should never use the word “only” when dealing with money. Only a few dollars, only a few hundred dollars, or thousand dollars; thinking like that leads to disaster.

“Beware of little expenses; A small leak will sink a great ship as Poor Richard says;”

88 | P a g e

Jerry’s two children had expected to sail through college with few if any financial concerns. They both ended up borrowing every cent they needed to pay for their college and post-graduate educations. Jerry, his partner, and their company went bankrupt when the children were about to graduate high school.

“Many a little makes a mickle.”

Think about it…

89 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: “To Thine Own Self Be True”

Shakespeare

“…and again, Who dainties3

3 Dainties is an archaic form that meant “values” or “places value on.” This reference likely means that one should be wary of forsaking financial success for “love.” As Father Abraham knew then and we know today, financial issues enter into every broken love relationship and are often the primary cause of the failure.

love, shall beggars prove; and moreover, Fools make feasts, and wise men eat them. . . . If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some; for he that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing, as Poor Dick says; and indeed so does he that lends to such people, when he goes to get it in again.”

Shakespeare penned these words around 1600 CE…

90 | P a g e

Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.

"Hamlet", Act 1 scene 3

Is it surprising that Father Abraham addresses the same issue 150+ years later? Is it surprising that 250 years after that the entire world seems to have lost touch with this basic tenet of personal economics?

“Fools make feasts,” by borrowing money to support their lifestyle while “wise men eat them” by sucking every possible penny from the fools’ wallets and following them through bankruptcy to make sure.

The “wise men” are “fools” too, however. The time will come – if it hasn’t already – that there will be no more borrowing fools and the foolish lenders will be left holding an empty bag.

Take this to heart: You cannot borrow wealth or well-being. In fact, there is only one way to

91 | P a g e

create wealth and manage money that has proven itself for centuries and millennia. The Way to Wealth is outlined in this brief essay and commentary.

Think about it...

92 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: Pride’s Failings; Self

Benjamin Franklin was as shrewd in relationships and in business as any man of any period of history. He was tireless at inquiry, invention, and writing. He was one of the Founding Fathers and influenced the thinking of the others. He succeeded in government, diplomacy and as a contributing citizen. Benjamin Franklin was truly a renaissance man.

It is curiously significant that he dedicated such a weighty piece of his final writing in Poor Richard’s Almanac to the effects of pride on one’s wealth and well-being.

Of all the admonitions flowing from Father Abraham’s mouth in The Way to Wealth, this discussion of “pride” seems thorough enough to warrant standing entirely on its own. Commentary is, therefore sparse and interspersed.

93 | P a g e “Poor Richard further advises, and says,

“Fond pride of drew is sure a very curse; Ere fancy you consult, consult your purse.

I have been unsuccessful finding a definition for “drew.” From the context, however, it seems clear that the word refers to one’s own opinion and the eagerness to share it. The admonition seems to be that your success in the area in which you would “consult” should be measured by the value others place on it, and not on your personal assessment of that success.

“And again, Pride is as loud a beggar as Want, and a great deal more saucy.

Haven’t we all experienced the brashness of the braggart that demands more attention than the beggar?

“It is, however, a folly soon punished; for, as Poor Richard says, Pride that dines on vanity, sups on contempt. Pride breakfasted

94 | P a g e with Plenty, dined with Poverty, and supped with Infamy.

The analogy Father Abraham uses here is interesting. The thought of progressing from one meal to the next, with each succeeding meal partner being of lesser moral value than its predecessor, creates air of despair. Isn’t it a universal experience that as pride swells, success shrinks? Consider the fallen athletes, celebrities, politicians, and so on.

Think about it…

95 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: Pride’s Failings; Stuff

When you have bought one fine thing, you must buy ten more, that your appearance may be all of a piece; but Poor Dick says. It is easier to suppress the first desire, than to satisfy all that follow it. And, it is as truly folly for the poor to ape the rich, as for the frog to swell in order to equal the ox.

Earlier in the essay Father Abraham expressed the same sentiment. Repetition here makes it even more significant.

“Vessels large may venture more, But little boats should keep near shore.

How big is your boat? Many small boats, small businesses, and small fortunes have gone down by prideful overreaching.

96 | P a g e And, after all, of what use is this pride of appearance, for which so much is risked, so

much is suffered? It cannot promote health, nor ease pain; it makes no increase of merit in the person; it creates envy; it hastens misfortune.”

America [and the entire world] needs to recognize that the current state of our personal and national economies is the direct result of two converging follies: the folly of having without owning and the even greater folly of owning investments that someone else controls.

Perhaps the greatest and most painful example is the US Congress. We invest our taxes to create a government that serves “we the people” and instead we get pork barrel spending. While the Congress points its finger at big business and CEO compensation, it ignores its own failings and mostly it ignores “we the people” in an attempt to maintain its “pride of appearance.”

97 | P a g e

Then there’s Wall Street and its minions. How many Madoff’s are there? The real question is how many foolish investors are willing to give up control of their money to the well-spoken charlatan knowing that the only guarantee is that there is no guarantee.

You are not healthier for having a thing. A broken bone hurts the laborer the same as it does the CEO. You are not a better person for having an expensive car, a vacation condo, or the largest house on the block. Do you have true friends or a covey of sycophants? Should you fall from your self-defined throne, would there be even one to help you rise up?

Wake up America! Father Abraham knew about this problem 250 years ago, Jesus spoke of it, the Torah tells of it.

Think about it…

98 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: Pride’s Failings; Debt

"But what madness must it be to run in debt for these superfluities.

The average car today will last for 200,000 miles or more with just preventive maintenance; oil changes, tires, anti-freeze, etc. Why then do Americans trade cars every three years? [Perhaps today we could say “Why did…”]

When you have got your bargain, you may, perhaps, think little of payment; but, as Poor Richard says, Creditors have better memories than debtors; creditors are a superstitious sect, great observers of set days and times. The day comes round before you are aware, and the demand is made before you are prepared to satisfy it; or, if you bear your debt in mind, the term, which at first

99 | P a g e seemed so long, will, as it lessens, appear extremely short. Time will seem to have added wings to his heels as well as his shoulders. Those have a short Lent, who owe money to be paid at Easter.

Remember, Father Abraham spoke these words over 250 years ago. Are they not just as true today? Will we ever learn? Collectively we probably won’t. Individually you can.

At present, perhaps, you may think yourselves in thriving circumstances, and that you can bear a little extravagance without injury; but

For age and want save while you may; No morning sun lasts a whole day.

Common sense permeates The Way to Wealth. One wonders why common sense is so uncommon. How did we lose these simple ideas? Where did they go? Americans have allowed the Behemoths of Wall Street and

100 | P a g e

Washington, Unions and business convince them that it makes sense to have things they don’t own and invest in things they don’t control.

Gain may be temporary and uncertain, but ever, while you live, expense is constant and certain; and It is easier to build two chimneys, than to keep one in fuel, as Poor Richard says; so, Rather go to bed supperless, than in debt.

So, here again is the theme of this entire discussion. The stuff you “have” but don’t own because of debt continues to drain your wallet while the “gain” you expect from investments you don’t control is “temporary and uncertain.” Go figure…

Get what you can, and what you get hold; 'Tis the stone that will turn all your lead into gold.

101 | P a g e And when you have got the Philosopher's stone, sure you will no longer complain of bad times, or the difficulty of paying taxes.

Save. Saving is not investing. You don’t “hold” what you invest in unless it’s your own business or you study individual investments carefully and attend to them regularly. Mutual funds, variable life insurance and annuity products, and other pooled investments that place all the risk on you but give you no control are gambles that you should reserve for a time when you can afford to lose.

Cash money and its equivalents that is readily available to you is the foundation of wealth. It is today, was 250 years ago, 2,500 years ago and will be for as long as there are complex economies at work.

Think about it…

102 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: Conclusion…

This doctrine, my friends, is reason and wisdom; but, after do not depend too much upon your own industry, and frugality, and prudence, though excellent things; for they may all be blasted, without the blessing of Heaven; and, therefore, ask that blessing humbly, and be not uncharitable to those that at present seem to want it, but comfort and help them. Remember, Job suffered, and was afterward prosperous.

And, to those among us who would deny the spiritual and religious foundations of America, I say only this: God help you.

"And now, to conclude, Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other, as Poor Richard says, and scarce in that; for,

103 | P a g e it is true, We may give advice, but we cannot give conduct. However, remember this, They that will not be counselled, cannot be helped; and further, that, If you will not hear Reason, she will surely rap your knuckles, as Poor Richard says."

It seems many Americans today are among “They that will not be counseled.” Are you knuckles hurting right now? Don’t feel badly. Read on…

Thus the old gentleman ended his harangue. The people heard it and approved the doctrine; and immediately practised the contrary, just as if it had been a common sermon; for the auction opened, and they began to buy extravagantly.

It seems sermons and their effect on the congregations haven’t changed that much either.

104 | P a g e

The 21st Century Way to Wealth: Poor Richard’s Afterthought…

I found the good man had thoroughly studied my Almanacs, and digested all I had dropped on these topics during the course of twenty-five years. The frequent mention he made of me must have tired anyone else; but my vanity was wonderfully delighted with it, though I was conscious that not a tenth part of the wisdom was my own, which he ascribed to me, but rather the gleanings that I had made of the sense of all ages and nations.

And so it is and always will be. There are no new truths about personal economics other than the scientific kind. Mankind is, as it has always been, a growing organism of individuals, societies and economies. The rules that govern The Way to Wealth and the

105 | P a g e

signposts along the way lie grounded in our humanity just as our blindness to them is.

However, I resolved to be the better for the echo of it; and though I had at first determined to buy stuff for a new coat, I went away resolved to wear my old one a little longer. Reader, if thou wilt do the same, thy profit will be as great as mine.

Benjamin Franklin, aka Poor Richard Saunders, aka Father Abraham died a wealthy and well respected American, statesman, businessman, inventor, philanthropist, husband, father and believer. He wore the old coat a long time.

I am, as ever, thine to serve thee,

RICHARD SAUNDERS. As am I. Dr Agon Fly

106 | P a g e i Original spelling “endeavoured”

ii Original spelling “neighbourhood”

iii Remarkable days referred to such dates as the solstices, equinoxes, planting days, etc.

iv Probably refers to long hours of work

v a silver coin of England, equal to four pennies, issued from 1279 to 1662

107 | P a g e

Afterword

Benjamin Franklin and his contemporaries did not have the benefit of the 250 years of financial innovation that occurred since he published the last issue of Poor Richard’s Almanac. The flip side of that is that Benjamin Franklin and his contemporaries did not have to beware of the 250 years of financial thievery that occurred since he published the last issue of Poor Richard’s Almanac.

There were, of course, con artists in 1758. However, they were less sophisticated and did not typically reside in the very institutions that served the citizens of that era. Today, every institution in America is suspect – the Dolts in DC, banks, Wall Street Wonks, radio and TV pundits, investment firms, mutual funds, investment advisors, money managers, and on and on.

Early Americans were self-reliant. They had to be and they wanted it that way. During the first 200 of those 250 years, Americans built institutions that allowed them to develop and nurture their self-reliance, which is one of the hallmarks of our great country. In the

108 | P a g e

past fifty years Behemoths and bandits rose up to weaken some of them and destroy others.

One type of institution that grew and prospered during those two and a half centuries was the mutual insurance company. The like-minded people who buy policies in a mutual insurance company own the company. It serves those policyholders exclusively. Mutual companies do not sell shares of stock to outside investors and are not beholden to other institutions. They allow and encourage self-reliance.

In the past 50 years, the dawn of the information age brought changes to the American economic scene. These changes brought unintended consequences. One of these consequences, some intended and others unintended, was an all out war on the insurance product that is the foundation of mutual insurance companies; whole life insurance.

This brief afterword does not allow a full discussion of the innovations that competing non-mutual insurance companies and other financial product and service companies used to wage that war. The results tell the story better.

109 | P a g e When I started in the insurance and financial services business in 1974, there were many mutual life insurance companies. Today, just a couple of hands full of them remain. The interesting thing is that those few mutual companies are among the strongest financial companies in America.

At the dawn of 2009 Mutual company policy owners are comfortably reviewing annual whole life policy statements. They see guaranteed, constant, year-to-year, tax-free growth.

Most other Americans were misinformed about the place of whole life insurance in their financial structure. They followed the current paradigm that moves the money of Americans into the accounts of the Behemoths. Now, many if not most of those Americans are seeing their investments and the cash values in their universal life insurance contracts going down the toilet.

Just as you need a home, your money needs a home. Home is a safe place. Whether you leave home to travel to the local supermarket or to the Super Bowl, coming home is the safe end of your journey. There is no other home for your money like whole life insurance from a mutual company. Whole life

110 | P a g e insurance allows your money to serve your wants and needs and return to a home that you own, that serves many like-minded Americans, and that has your best interests at its very foundation

Two books about wealth creation and lifetime money management explain why the current paradigm exists and why it makes sense for you to escape its grasp. They each describe how you can and should have whole life insurance from a mutual insurance company as the unassailable financial foundation of your personal economy:

• Becoming Your Own Banker by R. Nelson Nash

• Money Now, Money Later, Money for Life…How to Thrive in Good Times and Bad by Jeffrey Reeves, MA and Dr Agon Fly

Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved Poor Richard Publishing Company