Page 11 - One Thousand Ways to Make $1000

and the other half given to the person loaning the silver. At first these tally
sticks were used as receipts only, but after a time people exchanged them for
things they needed. Then the Exchequer issued tally sticks notched for even
number of pounds of silver—one pound, five pounds, twenty pounds and so
forth. These were much more convenient than carrying around the actual
silver. Eventually the tally stick was superseded by paper receipts, the
forerunner of our present paper money. The big advantage of the tally stick
was that no two sticks were notched in the same way, so that when the owner
of a tally stick called at the Exchequer to collect, the notching on his tally
stick certified to his ownership of the silver. It remained for John Law, the
eminent Scotch banker, to carry money to its next stage of development—
pieces of paper secured by various kinds of assets, and too often by nothing at
all.

It is important to know how our present system of money grew, so you will
understand its true place in our scheme of business. When you determine to
make $1,000 you are not thinking of ten one-hundred-dollar bills so much as
you are thinking in terms of what you can buy with those bills. And the same
is true of those from whom you get money. You both talk about money as
though money was all important, but actually you are exchanging services.
So your success in making your first $1,000 will depend upon your ability to
make or do something, of definite value to society, which people want more
than they want the money it will cost them.

In the years gone by, there was money in making and selling carriages. Based
on figures alone it might seem like a good thing to start in the carriage
business. But even the most casual investigation will show the folly of doing
so. The public today needs low-priced aeroplanes, automobiles operated with
fuel oil, and similar things. So other things being equal, if two men started in
business today, one making carriages and the other making Diesel
automobiles, it is probable that while the man making carriages might make a
bare living out of his business, he would never make any “big” money. He
might be every bit as smart, even a better business man, but society is not
willing to exchange money for better horse-drawn carriages. But it will for
automobiles which will run one hundred miles to the gallon of crude oil!