Book SummaryThou Shall Prosper, by Rabbi Daniel Lapin

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Thou Shall Prosper

Can you become wealthy, practice self-improvement, and make the world a better place all at once? In Thou Shall Prosper, Rabbi Daniel Lapin teaches you how to do exactly that by following the “Ten Commandments” of making money. Lapin blends modern economics lessons and business advice with traditional Jewish wisdom to create a text that’s half business guide and half self-help book.

Lapin is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, a bestselling author, and a public speaker who’s addressed audiences ranging from Harvard graduates to members of the US Army. Lapin is best known for writing Thou Shall Prosper, along with its sequel Business Secrets From the Bible. He’s also an...

Thou Shall Prosper Summary Principle 1: Conduct Your Business Ethically

First, Lapin advises earning a living ethically, regardless of whether you run your own company or work for someone else. In this section, we’ll examine:

• What Judaism teaches about business ethics
• How to accept that nobody and no business will ever be perfectly ethical
• How to atone for your mistakes
• Why Jews have an unfortunate and undeserved reputation for being unethical

What Your Business Practices Say About You

According to Jewish teachings, the way you make money can’t be separated from how other people see you or from how you see yourself. Therefore, Lapin urges you to conduct business in a way that demonstrates to yourself and others that you’re a good person.

(Shortform note: Lapin is saying that it’s important to earn money ethically because the way you earn a living is a key part of your identity. This is arguably a common way of thinking—it’s natural to think of what you do as being part of who you are. However, some experts warn that it’s dangerous to [link your sense of self too strongly with your...

Thou Shall Prosper Summary Principle 2: Embrace Community

Lapin also advises recognizing that other people can be invaluable resources in your business pursuits. He notes that Judaism isn’t just a religion—it’s also a community that values friendship and trust. As such, traditional Jewish beliefs can help you develop successful business relationships.

First, it may be tempting to keep your friends and family apart from your business—to separate your personal and professional lives. However, Lapin says that your closest personal connections can be your strongest source of inspiration. Jewish wisdom teaches that your work will only succeed if you have the approval of your friends or family; their support will give you the motivation and passion you need to be successful.

(Shortform note: In Jewish tradition, strong connections are both supportive and challenging. Jews believe that a major part of any good relationship is debating and pushing each other to learn and improve. Therefore, the support of your friends and family is helpful for more than just motivation: They can also discuss and debate your...

Thou Shall Prosper Summary Principle 3: Become a Leader

Next, Lapin advises becoming a leader. He says that the most successful people are those who lead others—for instance, the CEO of a company is surely considered more successful than an entry-level employee.

There’s no one correct way to lead other people—the best way to lead is to embrace whatever leadership means to you. For example, being a leader could mean that you’re an executive officer at a large corporation; it might also mean that you inspire others with art or speeches, or that you’re a spiritual leader in your community.

(Shortform note: One way to figure out what kind of leadership suits you is to ask yourself what you’re naturally good at—in other words, how are you best able to influence and inspire other people? In Limitless, life coach Jim Kwik says that everybody is a genius at something, and realizing your full potential is largely a matter of identifying where your genius lies. So, a corporate executive might be what Kwik calls a tempo genius—someone who’s good at long-term planning. On the other hand,...

Thou Shall Prosper Summary Principle 4: Embrace Change

Lapin’s next teaching is that many people fear change because it can be difficult and painful. However, it’s also both necessary and inevitable. Therefore, you must readily embrace change, rather than fear it; you can’t stop change from happening, and in the long run, it often turns out that things have changed for the better.

Lapin adds that this pattern holds true for businesses as well as for individuals. Many companies go out of business when faced with change. However, the companies that successfully navigate those changes often enjoy profits that more than make up for their initial losses. In other words, those companies find that things have indeed changed for the better.

For example, when the Internet became available to the average person, it created enormous changes in the business world. Many companies that didn’t embrace those changes went bankrupt, like Toys “R” Us and Blockbuster. However, businesses that embraced those changes and used them to their advantage—such as Amazon, led by Jeff Bezos—enjoyed enormous profits.

(Shortform note: The classic business fable Who Moved My Cheese? gives two...

Thou Shall Prosper Summary Principle 5: Understand the Nature of Money

Another of Lapin’s teachings is to understand that your money is a reflection of you: Everything from your possessions to your time, creativity, and energy can be measured in monetary value. For instance, when you go to work, you’re selling your time and energy in exchange for money; if you make and sell a piece of art, you’re selling your creativity and artistic skills.

Therefore, Lapin says you should develop a healthy respect, and even love, for your money. However, don’t love your money because of what you can buy with it, but rather because it represents the value that you’ve contributed to the world.

(Shortform note: Lapin believes your wealth is a measurement of how much value you’ve added to the world, but that assumes earnings are an accurate reflection of productivity. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) has reported that may no longer be the case. In fact, at least for the average American (the focus of the EPI’s research), productivity has increased 3.5...

Thou Shall Prosper Summary Principle 6: Don’t Retire

Lapin’s final teaching is that you shouldn’t seek to retire—instead, stay active and productive for as long as possible.

Lapin says that people commonly believe three things that lead them to think retirement is not just necessary, but also desirable. In this section, we’ll review those three beliefs and why Lapin argues they’re not true.

False Belief 1: Work Is Meaningless

Lapin says one belief many people hold is that work has no value; it’s just something they have to do to survive. People who believe this only work to make enough money to eventually retire and don’t see any reason to work a day longer than necessary.

However, Jewish wisdom teaches otherwise: Work gives meaning to the worker’s life, and helps to improve the world for everyone. Remember that your money is a reflection of your accomplishments and your contributions; therefore, if you choose to stop earning money, it means you’ve chosen to stop contributing to society and to limit what you’ll achieve in your life.

(Shortform note: Whether it’s accurate or not, the belief that work is meaningless [is quite...

Shortform Exercise: Reflect On Lapin’s Teachings

Reflect on Rabbi Lapin’s teachings on life, business, spirituality, and making money.

Which of Lapin’s teachings appeals to you the most? Why? (For example, embracing your community to boost your business appeals to you because you’re a natural extrovert who enjoys spending time with your loved ones.)