Palmistry: How Your Money Slips Away

Many people are familiar with a few commonly cited signs of “leaking wealth”—ways money tends to slip away. For example, sparse, unruly eyebrows are said to reflect poor money management; flared nostrils, a free-spending streak; and lips that don’t fully cover the teeth, an unstable income. Another sign often mentioned is wide gaps between the fingers, which likewise point to money leaking out.

The overall shape of the hands and feet may be inherited, but the finer details vary and are closely tied to personality. In palmistry, people with wide gaps between their fingers are thought to be indecisive and easily distracted, which can undermine their efforts at critical moments. This is especially true for those with large palms and pronounced gaps between the fingers: they tend to favor ease over effort and look for shortcuts. Such individuals may be good at attracting opportunities, but when it’s time to put in sustained work, they come up short—so money slips away despite their potential to build wealth.

Lifelong, wide-ranging reading is valuable, chiefly for cultivating character and grasping first principles. This is especially true of China’s Four Books and Five Classics, which have remained relevant for millennia. Chinese philosophy excels at distilling ideas, an extension of the culture of 易 (the Yijing, or Book of Changes). By contrast, it’s rare to find modern works that offer truly dependable guidance. Many people fixate on getting rich, snapping up books by star entrepreneurs or so-called secret manuals, yet they miss the underlying ideas and principles. Wanting money without understanding the foundations is unlikely to succeed; even careful imitation rarely reaches the original.

When it comes to wealth, everyone’s destiny and circumstances differ, so there’s no single formula for great riches. But it is possible to reduce money leakage. The key is to cultivate one’s character and read broadly. Reading doesn’t have to mean formal schooling; much of what we memorize in high school has little use in daily life. What does matter is knowledge about how to be a decent person—and even at seventy and beyond, one should keep reading books that strengthen character.