A lucky man is in a desirable position, everyone wants what he has, right? He is successful and is an example to many, a kind of a role model, right? Today we look at Chapter 10, “The Luckiest Man in Babylon”, in the book, The Richest Man in Babylon.
It’s good to have a dream, to want something better or to want the best for yourself. However, at times, we are too eager to experience the end result and we do not take the correct steps to get there. We sometimes look for short-cuts and refuse to look too closely, because if we do we are fearful we will not experience the destination.
The Parable in chapter 10, is of a man by the name of Shurra Nada, the luckiest man in Babylon. Now if ever there was a hustler – the go getter kind thank you very much – then it would be Shurra. He was able to squeeze the last drops of luck out of every meager opportunity that came his way. His pickings were slim to none because he became a slave in Babylon. Captured and made a slave, he worked overtime to not only gain his freedom but he was able to drop a gem stone of wisdom that had been entrusted to him: work is the best friend he will ever know. You want to get something, well, you have to work for it, it is not going to find you waiting on a couch or in bed.
As a slave he was advised to make work his best friend but to what end? So that his master could get richer and he poorer? No, in order to get out of his situation and while he was a slave it did not mean he could not use the little opportunities there were to get out of that situation, no matter how impossible it seemed. He did not work to be recognized as a loyal worker or to get worker of the month, every month, but to be independent of his master some day to “cling no longer to thy master”.
But misfortune befell him, and his plans were derailed. sounds familiar to anyone? While his situation moved from impossible to beyond impossible, he still worked, waited and looked for any opportunity. Like many of us do, he asked himself this question, “was I to work the rest of my life, without gain of my desires, without happiness or success?” Like many of us he was at the end of the line ready to wallow, and he would have been within his rights to do so. But he did not, he worked towards the same goal, his freedom. But when he lest expected, his good deed in passing on the knowledge to a fellow slave to make work your best friend paid off. That same friend having gained both his freedom and eventual wealth, because of that advice, came back to free him!
His luck did not come from his working and saving and dreaming. Neither did his master look at his efforts and rewarded him with his freedom. His luck came in the guise of a fellow slave who had remembered his work ethics, his profitable advice and decided that he would help him when he could to return the favor. He received a return on his investment – that advice, all he had, was enough to get him out of a bad situation to have his mountain top experience.
What treasures do you have within in you that bring you luck? Be a lucky man.
