Richest Man Who Ever Lived Summary

The Richest Man Who Ever Lived

Cliff Notes

Chapter One:

In chapter one, the laws of living are discussed. Chapter one states that the laws of living are as old as human life itself and being ignorant of them restricts your ability to achieve genuine happiness, fulfillment, purpose and success, yet following them people achieve their greatest success and happiness. Solomon became the richest man to ever live but as he began to violate the laws of living, his happiness and success vaporized. Below are just a few of the rewards Solomon says you can look forward to when following his advice.

• Knowledge • Discretion • Good Judgement • Preservation and Protection • Success
• Better Health • Longer Life • Honor • Financial Abundance • Favor of those in Authority
• Commendation and Promotions • Financial Independence • Confidence • Strength of Character
• Courage • Extraordinary Achievement • Personal Fulfillment • Great Relationships
• A truly Meaningful Life • Love and Admiration of Others • Understanding • True Wisdom

Chapter Two:

In chapter two, diligence is discussed. We all have traits that are part of the human condition. These traits produce our natural drives, inclinations, strengths, and weaknesses.  Diligence, however, is not one of them. Diligence is a skill that when it is fully used your impossible dreams will come true. Diligence is a learnable skill that combines creative persistence, a smart working effort rightly planned and rightly performed in a timely, efficient, and effective manner to attain a result that is pure and of the highest quality of excellence. Anyone can learn to be diligent. To use diligence, one must remember it is easier to act out of ignorance than it is to become educated. In order to continue to use diligence to benefit your life, you must wake up to reality, define your visions, effectively partner as well as pursue wisdom and build your life upon it. The rewards of being diligent are:

• You will gain sure advantage • You will experience true fulfillment • Your needs will be satisfied
• You will attain the respect and admiration of those in authority • Your efforts will be profitable
• You will experience ever-increasing success • You will control situations, rather than them controlling you

Chapter Three:

In chapter three, Solomon’s power and fuel is discussed. Solomon’s power is vision and his fuel is hope. When the power of the two are combined, the power is so strong it replicates the power which is produced when an atom is split. In order to achieve a vision, one must follow a vision mapping process. In the mapping process there are five major steps. The first step is to start with your most important dream and write a clear and precise description of the dream. The second step is to create a goals page for the dream. The third step is to create a page for each goal and label them as the “Goals to the Steps” and list all intermediate goals you want to achieve and the steps that are needed to reach the goal. The fourth step is to take any complex step and create a “Steps to Tasks” and list all tasks that need to be completed to take that step. The fifth and final step is to assign completion dates for each task and step. Solomon claims that it’s so important that without it our innermost being will begin to waste away. That’s why Solomon says, where there is no vision, the people perish.

 

Chapter Four:

In chapter four, hope is discussed in regard to the well founded and confident belief of specific visions. Proverbs reads, that deferring hope makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life. Remember hope is deferred in two ways. First, it is deferred when others do not fulfill their promises or commitments. Second, it is deferred by your own lack of a clear and precise visions for your important dreams. If one uses hope in regard to a specific vision the vision will be achieved or fulfilled within a specific amount of time. In a sense, hope is mankind’s only perpetual fuel. Hope produces progress toward a given goal, and your progress produces even more hope and greater momentum. When hope is put off, you lose your emotional energy and motivation. When one gains a clear and precise vision of their dreams, one will bring a whole new level of fulfillment to one’s life.

Chapter Five:

In chapter five, effective communication is discussed. Proverbs says, “The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds persuasiveness to his lips”. The number one problem in business and life is ineffective communication. Life and death are in the power of the tongue. Below are examples of that.

• Your communication can extinguish anger or escalate it • Your communication can wound or heal others
• Your communication can infuse life into a person’s spirit • Your communication can bring delight to others
• Your communication can save a life or take a life

It is stated that effective communication can open any door. One just needs the correct words, tone of voice, gestures and facial expressions, spirit, timing all of the correct nonverbal communication cues and frame comments. Manipulation is known to convince one to do something that is not in their best interest where persuasion allows one to represent one’s point of view in a clear and compelling way to motivate one to do what you believe is in their best interest. Rules for effective communication.

• Speak in such a way that makes others want to listen • Learn to become persuasive
• Listen before speaking • Be slow to speak and guard your words carefully • Always speak the truth
• Never tear others down-rather, build them up • Stop while you are ahead • Share genuine wisdom

Chapter Six:

In chapter six, Solomon’s accelerator is discussed. Solomon’s accelerator uses one’s partners to conquer your dreams and goals at unimaginable speed. It is known that when one does not use partners or counselors, achievement will become radically limited.

The consequences of “Going It Alone” are:

• Your plans and purposes will be frustrated • You will fail • You will experience financial loss

The rewards of effective partnering are:

• You will accomplish your dreams, goals, plans, and objective • You’ll reduce your risk
• You’ll gain wisdom that will serve you for the rest of your life • You’ll achieve greater success
• In troubled times, you’ll have someone to help you out • You’ll be able to win battles

that would otherwise be lost

 

 

Solomon’s signs to avoid partnering with the wrong partners. They will exhibit the following:

• A lack of integrity • A quick temper or deep-seated anger • Foolishness • Anyone who offers a lot for a little
• The excessive use of flattery • Anyone who gossips or exaggerates • A disregard for laws, rules, regulations, or personal boundaries

Chapter Seven:

In chapter seven, happiness is discussed. Happiness is a heartfelt joy that is consistent, persistent, and lasting. It is stated that anything that lacks eternal purpose or value was empty in its power to provide true happiness. Unhappiness should serve as an alarm to redirect your focus and energy. When one starts to envy, misery and ultimate depression reign supreme. When one’s heart is full of gratitude there is no room for envy to grow. Always remind yourself of three facts when envy starts to take over, you do not know the whole story of other’s lives, everything a person owns is left behind at death and death can take anyone at any time.

Chapter Eight:

In chapter eight, the four qualities that make you invaluable are discussed. Proverbs says, “Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. So, you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man.” Kindness and truthfulness should be the first two things anyone notices about you. The two traits help you create and secure lasting and treasured relationships. They provide encouragement and build self-esteem. They will increase commitment, loyalty, and motivation. Thirdly, generosity is the quality that receives more than it gives. Those who are generous, Solomon tells us, will never lack for anything-every true need will be provided-and that they will prosper, and their prosperity will always increase. Fourth, is graciousness. Being genuinely grateful creates within us a gracious spirit, the choice of being patient when you are feeling impatient, the choice to extend kindness when you are angry as well as the choice to tactfully and gently correct someone instead of criticizing.

Chapter Nine:

In chapter nine, conflict is discussed. Conflict should not be seen as a dreaded enemy, but it should be seen as a necessary tool for optimum achievement in any walk of life. There are five causes of detrimental and destructive conflict: pride, anger, harsh words, impulsive reactions and meddling in other people’s conflicts. Solomon’s advice for winning conflicts and overcoming adverse situations are to understand the potential consequences of the conflict, keep your goal which is to “achieve the best possible outcome for all parties involved, seek counsel before engaging in conflict, do not answer a fool in the manner he attacks, don’t reveal confidential information, never prolong an argument, give an unexpected gift and lastly, be quick to forgive.” There are unseen or unrecognized benefits from adversity. First, you develop qualities of patience, strength, courage, compassion, kindness, love, humility, and faith. Second, you become infinitely more valuable to others when they are experiencing adversity. The people best equipped to help others through adversity are those who have already gone through it.

Chapter Ten:

In chapter ten, criticism is discussed. Criticism is needed to grow and reacting against criticism can bring life altering negative consequences, but correctly reacting to it can bring tremendous benefits. It is important to take all criticism under consideration and do not react instantly. When giving criticism use the sandwich method, lay down a slice of praise or encouragement then transition to the meat of the criticism, tell them what they are doing incorrectly and suggest how they can improve, then ask for their input and lastly add a final slice of encouragement.

 

Chapter Eleven:

In chapter eleven, anger is discussed. Anger causes contention and drives others from us as well as lowers your self-esteem and that of others. If one learns how to control anger you have the power to overcome contention, have greater understanding, accomplishments will increase as well as you will become highly respected by others. The only way to resolve anger is to treat the root causes and deal with the emotional hurts, frustrations and fears on a regular basis. It is important to get rid of all anger. To do so define the offense in writing, allow yourself to grieve loss, try to understand the offender, write a letter without mailing, release the other person from the hurts they have caused you, and reach out to the offender. It is important to always undo the anger you have caused. You can do so by defining the offense to others, tell the person how sorry you are, ask for forgiveness, work to restore the relationship to its earlier state, never gloat when a person who hurt you gets hurt and lastly, look for opportunities to do good to those who hurt you.

Chapter Twelve:

In chapter twelve, how to make correct decisions is discussed. It is important to look well into the matter before making important decisions. Do not follow with oversimplification, presumption, laziness, superficial appearances, haste, narrow vision, greed, arrogance as well as the wrong priorities. To make the correct decisions one must seek out counsel as well as choose friends and associates wisely. Remember to be prudent each and every day. Whether you are facing a business decision, a financial decision, or a personal decision, choose first to “look well into the matter and seek outside counsel”.

Chapter Thirteen:

In chapter thirteen, greed is discussed. Greed is not defined by what you want but rather by how badly you want it. If you do not take preventative measures to take greed away, it may ultimately rob you of what you value the most. The consequences of greed are large, being it can steal your life away, destroy your financial security, affect your loved ones, bankrupt you spiritually, steal your happiness and your real reason for living, steal your integrity, and create a false sense of security. To achieve success without greed one must focus on achievement rather than money. To overcome greed, one must focus on giving generously to others in need and to stop chasing riches.

Chapter Fourteen:

In chapter fourteen, attitude is discussed. The attitude that can cause the most devastating consequences in your life is arrogance. When arrogance is recognized, its power can be neutralized. Pride is so cunning and implacable that even when you know its destructive power, you can succumb to its seductive call. The most important reward in life is that attitude can change one’s life for the better, by supporting honor and wisdom. In order to replace pride with humility, be grateful, become attentive to and focus upon the needs of others. These will allow you to become the best version of oneself.

Chapter Fifteen:

In chapter fifteen, the foundation of wisdom and knowledge is discussed. The foundation of wisdom and knowledge gives integrity to our lives. To acquire true wisdom, you must have a great understanding of the world and people around you as well as knowledge of the surrounding world. One must understand the way you act as you do as well as have value and honor, give protection and safety to those surrounding you. In order to grow wisdom, one must take away self-deception and realize what one is doing and how it is wrong, though everyone else may be doing it as well. To acquire wisdom one must listen, search for wisdom as you would search for hidden treasure, never stop learning, and study the book of Proverbs. Receive all wisdom even when it is not recognized and lastly, keep the precepts of wisdom at the front of your thoughts and vision.

 

Resource Definitions

 

Diligence – A learnable skill that combines creative persistence, a smart working effort that is rightly planned and rightly performed in a time, in an efficient and effective manner to attain a result that is pure and of the highest quality of excellence.

Vision – A precise and clearly defined goal with a detailed plan and a timetable for achieving that goal as well as all the small goals one must accomplish to attain the larger goal.

Hope – A well founded and confident belief that a specific vision, goal, desire, or promise will be achieved or fulfilled within a specific amount of time.

Kindness – To be selfless, compassionate and merciful to those around you. Kindness is our greatest power to overcome enemies or those who doubt us.

Truthfulness – The ultimate standard one should follow in order to measure our lives greatness.

Generosity – Generosity is the heart of God. A sacrifice for others which makes God pleased.

Graciousness – To show kindness, to favor and to be compassionate to those around us.

Favor – To feel or to show approval or preference for those around us as well as items we acquire. Favor also means to step into one’s situation and make a worthwhile difference by overall understanding one’s situation.

Passion – A strong liking or desire for or a devotion to some activity, object or concept.

Associates/Partners – One associated with one another in an action, whether a relationship or as colleagues. Associates and/or partners tend to have each other’s backs and rely on each other for counsel. Anyone who can provide needed insight, advice, wisdom or any practical help for the affective achievement of a specific project, goal or dream.

Attitude – The lens through which we see the world around us. Attitude will allow us to see the world from a positive perspective or a negative perspective.

 

“Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, for it becomes your destiny”