CHAPTER 1 How the Richest Man Who Ever Lived Can Make You Happier, More Successful, and Wealthier Imagine going from a below-average wage to a personal income of more than $600,000 per month! Imagine losing nine jobs in your first six years after college, and then, on your tenth job, building more than a dozen multimillion-dollar businesses from scratch, achieving sales of billions of dollars. Imagine doing all of this by following specific steps taught by Solomon in the Old Testament Book of Proverbs. In a nut­shell, that is my personal story. Now think about it: Before: Earned less than half of the income of the aver­age American wage earner. After: Income rose from $18,000 per year to more than $7 million. Before: Diagnosed a hopeless corporate failure with a suc­cess rate of 0 percent. After: A twenty-nine-year career success rate of over 60 percent in an industry where the average success rate is under 1 percent. And just as convincing to me is what happened when I acted contrary to Solomon''s advice.

On three occasions, I vio­lated three of his warnings and lost millions of dollars through bad investment decisions. Had I followed Solomon''s advice, I would not have lost a penny. I ignored his advice on relation­ships and watched one of the happiest marriages in America fall apart. Then, following Solomon''s advice on relationships, my marriage was restored and today is happier than ever! If following Solomon''s advice had worked only a few times in the course of my life, we could call it coincidence. If ignoring his advice and warnings had resulted in a few minor setbacks, we could call it chance. But when following his advice has created such significant personal, business, and financial success year after year for me and for countless oth­ers, and failing to heed his warnings has caused heartbreaking personal and financial disasters, even the heartiest skeptic must admit what wise men and kings and queens the world over once acknowledged-that Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. Just as there are physical laws that govern the physical universe, Solomon reveals "laws of living" that invisibly govern all aspects of life. Every time you step on board an airliner, the physical laws of gravity and aerodynamics govern your ultimate destiny.

If your pilot and the airplane operate in accordance with those laws, you will safely arrive at your destination. If for any rea­son whatsoever they do not operate in accordance with those laws, you will return to the ground, one way or another. It doesn''t matter how you feel about these laws, whether you love them or hate them, whether you choose to ignore them or not; they still exist and they will govern your flight. Fortu­nately, pilots, aeronautical engineers, and aircraft designers fully understand these laws, and thus they are able to use them to great advantage. They are able to build and fly air­craft that move us quickly, safely, and comfortably to our des­tinations. If they were ignorant of these laws, no airplanes would be able to fly. Just as there are physical laws that govern the universe, there are laws of living that are just as sure and true. It doesn''t matter if you love them or hate them, they still exist, and they will govern your life.

Solomon reveals these laws in the bibli­cal Book of Proverbs, and more important, shows us how to use them to our advantage. The laws of gravity and aerody­namics have always existed, but until they were learned and understood, they kept the entire human race on the ground; once they were discovered, they became the very basis for achieving human flight. The laws of living are as old as human life itself. Being ignorant of them only restricts your ability to achieve genuine happiness, fulfillment, purpose, and success. Many people act in accordance with some of these laws coincidentally, with­out knowing or understanding them, and they gain a level of success or happiness by doing so. But more often than not, ignorance of these laws creates insurmountable barriers to sustained success and fulfillment. On the other hand, those who learn these laws and how to use them in their flight through life will achieve a level of purpose, success, and hap­piness that others can only dream of. The purpose-driven life will become the purpose- accomplished life.

The Prayer of Solomon Solomon was born around 974 B.C. and was installed as King of Israel by his father, David, shortly before David died. Solomon was twelve years old. Solomon was terrified of ruling Israel, afraid that he didn''t have the wisdom to do so. According to the Old Testament, God appeared to Solomon and asked him what he wanted. Solomon answered, asking only for wisdom and knowledge so that he could rightly judge the great people of Israel (I Kings 3:9; II Chronicles 1:10). God then told Solomon that because he had not asked for riches, wealth, honor, the life of his enemies, nor a longer life for himself, He would give Solomon more wisdom, knowledge, riches, wealth, and honor than any king before him or any king that would come after him.

What was promised was delivered. Solomon''s wisdom, success, and wealth increased beyond imagination. In terms of wealth, some have suggested that in today''s dollars, he may well have been a "trillionaire." In addition to his gold reserves worth hundreds of billions of dollars in today''s mar­ket, he owned 4,000 stalls for his horses and chariots, and kept 12,000 horsemen on his payroll. Rulers of nations throughout the world sought his advice, and paid dearly for it. However, by the middle of his life, he began to violate the laws of living, its principles and strategies that he so wisely articulated in the Book of Proverbs; as he did, his success and happiness vapor­ized. Fortunately for us, he recorded many of his laws for liv­ing in the Book of Proverbs. Cracking the Solomon Code Although each Proverb provides an obvious insight, often the real treasure of a Proverb is buried deep beneath its sur­face.

Solomon implores us in chapter 2, verse 4, to search for wisdom and knowledge as we would search for silver or buried treasure. To do this, we must often look deeper beneath the surface, at the background of the Proverb, its context, and even nuances of the Hebrew words that make up the original text of Proverbs. In many cases, we can find added treasure by looking at the converse meaning of a Proverb. And last, but not least, we must look at the broader spirit of the Proverb and not just the narrow meaning of the literal statement. As we do this, we not only discover Solomon''s laws for living, we find the silver and buried treasure he talked about-treasure that will last beyond our lifetime. I''m not the only person who has achieved his impossible dreams by following Solomon''s strategies. I love reading biographies of those who have achieved extraordinary accomplishments, both in modern times and throughout his­tory. As I have studied their lives, I have discovered that their successes, too, were realized by actions and attitudes that reflected Solomon''s teachings, even though some may have never read his writings.

George Washington, Thomas Jeffer­son, Abraham Lincoln, Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison were all readers of Proverbs in their youth. But even in look­ing at the lives of modern icons such as Bill Gates, Sam Wal­ton, Helen Keller, Steven Spielberg, and Oprah Winfrey, we see that they have achieved their impossible dreams by doing the very things that Solomon advises each of us to do. I''ve also seen disasters befall men, companies, and nations when they acted contrary to Solomon''s admonitions. Adolf Hitler was able to bewitch an entire nation because they ignored Solomon''s warnings. America was caught off guard at Pearl Harbor. Recently, the executives of America''s seventh-largest corporation drove it into the largest corporate bankruptcy in American history. All of these events were brought about by violating a handful of Solomon''s admonitions. What Can Solomon''s Wisdom Do for You? So what can Solomon''s insights and teachings do for your career, your relationships, and your personal life? No matter what you think they can do, they can do infinitely more.

Here are just a few of the rewards Solomon says you can look for­ward to when you follow his advice. The Benefits of Solomon''s Strategies * Knowledge * Discretion * Good judgment * 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 Solomon gives us powerful strategies and life-changing tactics for achieving extraordinary outcomes. Don''t make the mistake of thinking that what you''re about to read is simply a collection of general principles and poetic platitudes. Solomon was far too wise to waste his time and yours with such meaningless generalities. His writings provide precise steps that can be taken in your personal and professional life to produce astounding results. In this book, I focus on the strategies and steps articulated in the biblical Book of Proverbs that I have applied to the business, per­sonal, and financial areas of my ow.