Introduction
“Merry Christmas, uncle.”
“Bah! Humbug! What right do you have to be
merry? You’re poor enough.”
“What right do you have to be so dismal?
You’re rich enough.”
“Bah!” said Scrooge again.“Humbug!”
—A Christmas Carol
Scrooge was a miser, to begin with. There is no doubt
whatever about that.
No one with even a vague familiarity with Charles Dickens’s
classic A Christmas Carol, the story of penny-pinching
Ebenezer Scrooge, could argue with such a statement about
the tale’s main character.
Scrooge was a miserable man who seemingly had enough
money to be more than comfortable. Still, he dipped his own
candles, kept his sparse apartment cold and dark, cared nothing
about the welfare of others and worried endlessly that
someone would take advantage of him and his wealth.
Dickens describes him as a man whose heart was so cold he
was even unaffected by the weather:
“No warmth could warm, nor wintry weather chill him.
No wind that blew was bitterer than he.”
Yet, before the tale is over, Scrooge experiences profound
changes in his outlook and behavior. By the final chapter, he
is transformed into a joyful, compassionate, generous man.
What happened? Scrooge became a new man because he
took a difficult journey. It wasn’t a journey he took willingly,
but as the night wore on, he became more eager to learn the
life-changing lessons the spirits had to teach.
Scrooge’s enlightenment begins with an intervention, a
visit from the ghost of his old business partner, Jacob Marley.
It continues with the wise guidance of the Ghost of Christmas
Past. Scrooge sees how past events from his childhood created
beliefs about money and attitudes that were destroying his
life and keeping him spiritually and emotionally poor in spite
of his great wealth. Next, the Ghost of Christmas Present
models the true abundance that is so lacking in Scrooge’s life
and shows Scrooge the reality of the world and how he fits
into it. Finally, the Ghost of Christmas Future shows Scrooge
what the consequences will be if he doesn’t change.
By visiting his past, clearly seeing the present and understanding
the consequences of the future, Scrooge brings his
life into balance.Most of all, he becomes happy, at peace with
himself and with the world.
The root of Scrooge’s miserly existence was an unhealthy
belief system about money. In spite of his wealth, Scrooge’s
beliefs about money—created, nurtured and anchored in his
long-forgotten past—kept him poor in spirit. His loyal
employee, Bob Cratchit, also had some unhealthy beliefs about
money that contributed to his poverty. Like Scrooge and
Cratchit, who represent two extremes, many people are trapped
by money beliefs they are unaware of. They irrationally continue
destructive behaviors, unable to break free and recognize
how they are sabotaging their own goals and dreams.
This classic tale of how one man finds his true course in
life provides a powerful model that we can still learn from
today. Not only was Dickens a master storyteller, he had
insights into human behavior—and how to change it—that
were far ahead of his time. To help Scrooge on his journey
from misery to enlightenment, the spirits skillfully use techniques
that are employed by modern psychologists and
financial planners.
As the story of A Christmas Carol unfolds, Scrooge learns
five principles that lead to financial wisdom. In this book we
share this wisdom. We have seen it transform careers, families
and lives. Don’t think that these principles work only for
the wealthy. You will soon come to understand that the
amount of money you have or make is irrelevant. It’s not
about the money. It’s the relationship you have with money
that is the key.
©2005. All rights reserved. Reprinted from The Financial Wisdom of Ebenezer Scrooge . No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher. Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 3201 SW 15th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442. |
