P.T. Barnum’s Forgotten Book “The Art of Getting Money” – Chapters 9, 10, and 11
We are doing a series here at BBH on The Art of Getting Money, a little-know book from P.T. Barnum wrote back in 1880.
Why? A couple reasons. First, because of a new movie that just came out December 25, 2017, starring Hugh Jackman, called The Greatest Showman.
It’s a musical about the life of P.T. Barnum.
I don’t know a lot about the movie yet, but my wife and her friends saw it and they loved it…
The Greatest Showman – Official Trailer
P.T. Barnum’s Little-Known Book from 1880
So I thought it’d be cool to feature his little-known book The Art of Money Getting or Golden Rules for Making Money (It’s in the public domain, so it’s ok for me to post it on this site)
Some of you might not know this, but Barnum is FALSELY known for saying, “There’s a sucker born every minute,” (He actually didn’t say that.)
The second reason I thought it would be good to do this is series is because this book contains some surprisingly practical and helpful advice on how everyday people can better manage their income and increase their wealth.
The book is 137 years old, but much of the advice he gives is still applicable to all of us today.
That’s why I’ve decided to post a new segment of the book once a week here on BayBusinessHelp.com.
Today you will be able to read chapter 1 about choosing your vocation (i.e. what you do for a living).
Reminder of 4 Things Before You Read the Book
1. DISCLAIMER:
I don’t agree with everything that P.T. Barnum did during his life.
I also don’t agree with every single thing he wrote in his book.
I don’t even agree that wealth is, or should be, the primary goal in life. (There are plenty things that are more important than wealth!)
But I DO believe that all of us can benefit from learning how to better handle the money (however small or great) that flows in and out of our hands.
And this book contains some advice that I think you will find both interesting and helpful for you when it comes to how to better handle your money.
2. MY ADVICE TO READERS:
Take the good advice and leave the bad!
3. THE ONLY CHANGES I’VE MADE:
The only changes I’ve made to the text are:
- I’ve broke many of the paragraphs into smaller chunks of text to make it easier to read.
- I’ve also bolded or italicized sections of the text to help them stand out to the reader.
- I also occasionally include a modernized word to help the reader understand an old school word or phrase that Barnum uses.
- And I’ve also added some headers to the text, made some quotes stand out, and bulleted some of his points to make sections stand out for the reader.
4. SOME OF IT MIGHT BE OFFENSIVE
Because of the way spoke and thought back in the 1800’s compared to now, you shouldn’t be surprised if some of the content is offensive to our current standards and way of thinking.
If you can’t just ignore this, like I do, and you will be offended, then you probably shouldn’t read any of the posts from this series. 🙂
What We’ve Covered So Far
If you missed the previous posts in this series, you can read them here:
Introduction to The Art of Money Getting
— The Art of Money Getting – Chapter 1: Right Vocation
— The Art of Money Getting – Chapter 2: Right Location
— The Art of Money Getting – Chapter 3: Avoid Debt
— The Art of Money Getting – Chapter 4: Persevere
— The Art of Money Getting – Chapter 5: Whatever You Do, Do It With All Your Might
— The Art of Money Getting – Chapter 6: Depend Upon Your Own Personal Exertions
— The Art of Money Getting – Chapter 7: Use the Best Tools
— The Art of Money Getting – Chapter 8 | Pt. I: Don’t Get Above Your Business
The Art of Money Getting – Chapter 8 | Pt. II: Don’t Get Above Your Business
Today we’ll look at three chapters, but don’t let that scare you.
All three of these chapters are short ones.
And as you read these chapters, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how practical they are.
Read below to see what I mean…
— The Art of Money Getting: Chapters 9, 10, and 11
Learn Something Useful
Every man should make his son or daughter learn some useful trade or profession, so that in these days of changing fortunes of being rich to-day and poor tomorrow they may have something tangible to fall back upon.
This provision might save many persons from misery, who by some unexpected turn of fortune have lost all their means.
Let Hope Predominate But Be Not Too Visionary
Many persons are always kept poor, because they are too visionary.
Every project looks to them like certain success, and therefore they keep changing from one business to another, always in hot water, always “under the harrow.”
The plan of “counting the chickens before they are hatched” is an error of ancient date, but it does not seem to improve by age.
Do Not Scatter Your Powers
Engage in one kind of business only, and stick to it faithfully until you succeed, or until your experience shows that you should abandon it.
A constant hammering on one nail will generally drive it home at last, so that it can be clinched.
When a man’s undivided attention is centered on one object, his mind will constantly be suggesting improvements of value, which would escape him if his brain was occupied by a dozen different subjects at once.
Many a fortune has slipped through a man’s fingers because he was engaged in too many occupations at a time. There is good sense in the old caution against having too many irons in the fire at once.
— End of Chapters 9, 10, and 11— The Art of Money Getting —
Coming Next: Chapter 12: LEARN SOMETHING USEFUL
Hi guys. I have been following your excellent articles on P.T. Barnum’s Forgotten Book “The Art of Getting Money” – but can’t find Chapter 12: LEARN SOMETHING USEFUL and any subsequent ones after that. Any chance of directing them to me, or sending copies please. Many thanks – and well done!
Hi Geoff! I haven’t posted them yet, so that’s why you can’t find them. 🙂 Sorry about that. I got stalled out on the series because of the workload from teaching a marketing class for UC Berkeley Extension. I will get back to the series ASAP.
If you sign-up to be notified whenever 12 new articles are up, then you’ll be able to see when the series starts back up. Thanks so much for leaving a comment, Geoff, and sorry to leave you hanging!