Legend of the Monk and Merchant Book Review

The Legend of the Monk and the Merchant, by Terry Felber, is a book about religion, wealth, family, service, and leadership. Felber writes about a grandfather who passes on his twelve keys to successful living to his grandson.

These twelve keys are:

Work hard and God will prosper you
Financial prosperity is often connected to soul prosperity
A man must do whatever he can to provide for his family
Trials develop your character, preparing you for increased blessings
Take responsibility for problems that are the result of your own bad decisions. Don't displace the blame
See challenges as stepping stones, not as obstacles
Be meek before God but bold before men
Live debt-free and below your means
Always keep to your budget
Loaning money destroys relationships
Set aside the first 10 percent to honor God
Understand the power of partnership

I can relate to these 12 principles, but the one that resonated with me the most was "see challenges as stepping stones, not as obstacles." Antonio, the grandfather, learned to embrace challenges rather than resist them as obstacles. This is often a difficult approach because when we are immersed in our problems, we often cannot see past them to what is beyond that challenge.

I find that "live debt-free and below your means" is not an easy task to do in our society. In order for me to accomplish my goal of higher education, I took on student loans. I also live below my means, but I chose to sacrifice money and debt for an education. This doesn't necessarily make me a bad person, it is just the way our society functions.

I would recommend this book to those in their early 20's, who are starting out in the real world and becoming adjusted to a materialistic society. This book will help people see the bigger picture, the means to an end, and not just the short-term success that comes with material gain.



I received a copy of this book from BookSneeze. All opinions are my own and are based on actual use of the product.