Publisher's Synopsis
The book is packed with practical advice that we've heard before but need hearing again. Despite this, I struggled reading this book, because of the disconnect between what I was reading, and who Barnum was. He talks about valuing your customers, and operating with integrity, which are very good things. However, Barnum was a scam artist and hoaxer, who manipulated the people who came to see his shows.This book is written in the format of listing the golden rules for making money according to PT Barnum. There was a movie released recently called The Greatest Showman about PT Barnum's success. Even though the book is written from the perspective of an earlier time, the terminology was not difficult to apply to today. Before the "rules" are laid out, the introduction makes it sound simple and easy to make money. It says it's not difficult to make money and the road to wealth is plain. But it then explains that it's only easy for people who really understand economics. Examples were given of saving on many small expenses that make it feel like you are trying to save more money, when many people that do that end up spending more on one thing that is something much more expensive that they could do without. The introduction also says that some of the worst reasons people spend more money than they have are due to what can be called sinful behaviors. They want to keep up with their neighbors and be seen as successful, or they have bad habits like tobacco that cost money and ruins their health, or they drink too much that not only cost money and ruins their health but also does not let them think clearly.The Art of Money Getting: Golden Rules for Money Making" written by P.T. Barnum, is a very noble, helpful and inspiring read, still until this day. Barnum is basically listing out the different ways he believes are helpful to not only getting but attaining money as well, while going into detail as how to do such. The way he gets his point across in the book is surprisingly relatable, often telling stories that almost anyone can relate to.His main point in regards to obtaining money is that there are a lot of ways in which one needs to be smart in how they go about and what they do with the money they receive. Barnum separates the topics in his book by stating exact phrases that coincide with what you should do with your money, such as "Avoid Debt", "Use The Best Tools", "Advertise Your Business", and "Preserve Your Integrity". It seems that in sectioning off his book in that way, he wanted to make it easier for people to find the section that best applies to the circumstance they are currently in.
