The name of George Clayson was glorified not so much by the book "The Richest Man in Babylon" as by the monetary philosophy created on its basis. Its relevance has not diminished over the years. The successful publisher and businessman was America's best cartographer.
George Samuel Clayson is spoken of as a successful writer, a successful businessman, and an excellent cartographer. However, there is also an opinion that the author is still an excellent hoaxer, skillfully manipulating the desires of people.
Road to success
This position is taken by scientists, confident that the author's book was created not on the basis of tablets with parables found during excavations and deciphered, but entirely invented by Clayson, that is, a work of fiction.
The biography of the future celebrity began in 1874. The baby was born in Louisiana, Missouri on October 7. His family was one of the first to settle there.
After school, the boy continued his education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. There is no information about his chosen specialty anywhere. In the 1890s, the graduate completed his studies.
In 1898, Clayson enlisted in the army. He participated in the Spanish-American War. After its graduation, nothing was known about the young man until George started his first business. There are suggestions that he tried to make a military career.
Business and creativity
In 1906 in Denver, he founded The Clason Map, a travel guide company. The publisher began the business with the release of atlases for all the states of the country at very modest prices. Each copy was a detailed index with a fold-out map in a branded green cover.
The guidebooks also mentioned the main government offices and mining sites. At the same time, the release of pocket plans of cities was being adjusted.
In 1923, the successful entrepreneur began producing more expensive travel atlases. The bulk of the company's products went to the market. By order of the largest editions of the city, separate editions were printed. The main feature of such atlases was their orientation towards motorists.
The distance between settlements and the quality of roads were also indicated. This technique was quickly adopted by the businessman's competitors. The format has remained the gold standard for a long time.
The company was growing successfully, and its founder started taking notes. They later formed the basis of books. Small articles were published at first in various publishers. Around 1930, Clason formed Clason Publishing. The Clason Map closed in 1931. The publishing house lasted until 1937.
New plans
George soon contracted the publication of his writings with Financial Education. He wrote works that are in demand. The topics were varied. Due to the fact that no one was seriously engaged in Kleison's biographical research for a long time, it is not possible to establish all of his works.
Among the first publications is called the Description of the Free Lands of Colorado, published in 1916. Settler's Guide”. Timed the publication to coincide with the fortieth anniversary of the state and to attract new residents. Color photographs and maps supplemented the impressive volume of work.
In 1925, in collaboration with one of the most famous and respected ladies of Denver, Ida Gregory, a book was published, a manual for non-verbal communication "Reading signs: how to understand friends, relatives, business partners and casual acquaintances."
In 1926, a very interesting research work by Clayson "Catholics, Jews and the Ku Klux Klan: What They Believe and Why Conflict" is dated.
In 1930, readers received the main essay, The Richest Man of Babylon. The book united parables for employees of insurance companies and banks, published separately over four years.
Confession
The collection immediately became famous. During the life of the author, the work was reprinted several times. Its names changed: "The Babylonian Course of Financial Success", "Gold Ahead". An adaptation for the modern language was performed in 1924.
Many contemporaries called the information that the cuneiform texts that served as the basis for writing were deciphered by Kleison himself as a skillful advertising move. No one had any confirmation of this fact, therefore the information was considered a marketing move of the stores.
The writer himself called himself a translator. He offered the readers evidence pointing to a link to archaeological finds in the Clay Plates chapter. The information is given in the form of letters from the employee of the English archaeological department, Alfred Shrewsbury.
The messages addressed to the head of the expedition inform about the financial difficulties, the expectation of starting work on decoding the tablets, then it is said about reading the find and improving the situation. Subsequently, it turned out that such an archaeologist had never existed.
Therefore, fans are sure that the author put his own thoughts into the manuscript in this way. The reason for this was the fascination of society of the time of the twenties and thirties with ancient civilizations. However, even the artistic form of the presentation did not diminish the usefulness of the advice. The techniques suggested by the writer turned out to be universal. They existed outside of time.
The essence of philosophy
Clayson proposed 7 postulates. He proposed to systematically save money, control all expenses, and carefully plan the budget.
Obligatory, according to the author, were cash investments. Clayson considered it important to calculate risks and minimize them.
He offered not to rent real estate, but to acquire it on credit. One of the main tasks of the writer called the provision of income in old age and the constant acquisition of new knowledge.
Readers were inspired by these principles. They have become central to authors of financial literature.
About the personal life of George Clayson, the presence or absence of his wife, children, nothing is known.
It is known that the writer died in 1957, on April 7.
