The richest man in ancient Babylon was asked how he became wealthy. His answer was simple: of every ten coins that enter my purse, I keep one for myself. Not rent. Not food. Not anything else — one coin, for me, always first. This is the rule of paying yourself first. Before you pay your landlord, before you buy food, before any expense: set aside a portion of everything you earn and treat it as untouchable. Most people pay everyone else first and save whatever is left. The problem is that there is rarely anything left. The exact percentage matters less than the habit. Ten percent is the traditional figure. But even five percent, kept consistently, begins to build something real.