Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss: Best Book Summary and Review

Do you want to know some of the modern-day strategies geniuses and billionaires use to become healthy, wealthy and wise? Get this book or gift it to a friend and then borrow it.

In Tools of Titans, 2016, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Tim Ferriss took the best tips from over 200 interviews he conducted with some of the healthiest, wisest, and wealthiest people around the world and shares them in this book. It is a massive 671 pages.  Everyone will find something of value here.

Here are a few of the tips I am using from Tools of Titans:

(1) Have a clear vision of where you want to go. [from former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger]

(2)  Block two to three hours out of your day every day as a one block chunk of time and work on your most important project that will advance you toward your most important goal. [Tim Ferriss]

(3) It’s not what you know, it’s what you do consistently. Also, once you have some success, if it is not a “hell yes,” it’s a “no.” Treat life as a series of experiments.   [Derek Sivers.]

(4) Geranium oil can both relax and stimulate a person to work. [Nicholas McCarthy.]

(5) Stressed is the achiever word for “fear.”  Losers react, leaders anticipate.  Quality questions create a quality life.  Focus only on me equals suffering.  Suffering comes from three thought patterns: loss, less, never. [Tony Robbins.]

(6) The way you know you are dealing with “A” players is that they suggest modifications to the plan you hand them to improve it. [Reid Hoffman]

(7) Are you starting with a big share of a small market?  Have you identified a unique opportunity that others don’t see? Do you have a way to not just create but to deliver your product? [Peter Thiel]

(8) We can’t “out obedience” the competition.  Trust and attention - these are the scarce items in a post-scarcity world. To create something great, start extremely small.  We need to teach kids two things - how to lead and how to solve interesting problems.  [Seth Godin.]

(9) We all have two to three, or more, massive pain points in our lives that everyone can relate to.  Write about those and how you attempted to solve them. [James Altucher]

(10) Losers have goals, winners have systems. By focusing on systems, you gain transferable skills or relationships that help you to succeed over time as you build assets that carry over to other projects. [Scott Adams.]

(11) The best way to become a billionaire is to help a billion people. [Peter Diamandis]

(12)  Take extreme ownership of your world. [Jocko Willink]

(13) Sometimes the best “no” is no reply. If you don’t have the patience to read something, don’t have the hubris to comment on it.  [Maria Popova]

(14)   Sit. Sit. Walk. Walk. Don’t wobble.  Totally focus on what you are doing this moment. [Kevin Kelly]

(15) If something offends you, look inward. ..That’s a sign that there is something there.” [Whitney Cummings]

I hope something here resonates with you. But even if it doesn’t, get the book and find the content that you find interesting and useful.

And a huge apology to Tim Ferriss as I initially misspelled his name.  In his podcast today, he kindly reminded us all of the correct spelling.  Maybe I was not the only one?   This reminds me of my New Year Resolution for 2017 to spend more time editing.  

Rating: $$$$$ out of five.  There is an immense amount of information that can be used to increase your health, wealth, and wisdom in this book.


Copyright @ 2016 Christine Esser

This book was purchased, not a gift.   

The Magic of Believing by Claude M. Bristol: Best Book Summary and Review

We get what we anticipate.  Essentially, the gist of the book is that if you ever hope to achieve successful results in any endeavor, you need to first believe that you can do it.  

 In The Magic of Believing, 1944, 2011 edition, Thinking Ink Media, Claude M. Bristol, explains why we often get what we anticipate. Even today, it is people’s self-limiting beliefs that often hold them back from achievement. Thus, this book is as applicable today as it was when it was published in 1944. 

I.  How Bristol Tapped Into the Power of Belief 

Bristol began as a newspaperman before he became a businessman. Bristol wrote this book in his 50's after he observed that it was “the magic of believing” that determined whether a person achieved the result he or she sought or not. 


2.  Mind-Stuff Experiments 

Everything that has ever been created began as a thought. Many years ago, Buddha said, “All that we are is a result of all that we have thought.” Thought is the original source of all wealth, success, material gain, and all achievement. We become what we envisage. Before Thomas Edison died, he said, “Ideas come from space.” By using the dynamic force of believing, you set the forces in motion that help you to achieve your goal. 


3. What the Subconscious Really Is. 

Gustav Gelly, who was an author and French psychologist,  wrote the best results in life are achieved by close harmony and cooperation between the conscious and unconscious minds. The part of the mind that is called the subconscious works while you sleep, relax, or are engaged in an unrelated task. Some people are able to train their unconscious mind by asking it to answer a problem before they fall asleep and then wake up in the morning with a solution to the problem.  The conscious mind is above the line of consciousness, the subconscious is below the line of consciousness. 
     
Most times we use our conscious minds to solve problems. We use deductive and inductive reasoning, analysis, synthesis, and other modes of comparison. 

The subconscious mind is the source of power. It is rooted in instinct. The subconscious embodies the feeling and wisdom of the past, the awareness and knowledge of the present, and the thought and vision of the future.  The subconscious has many powers: intuition, emotion, certitude, inspiration, suggestion, deduction, imagination, organization, memory, and dynamic energy.  In order to use the resources of the subconscious, you must ask for something that is rightfully yours and within your capabilities. 


4.  Suggestion Is Power 

The act of believing is the starting point to generating the power to reach accomplishment. There will never be another business depression if people generally believe that their own fearful thoughts create hard times. As individuals think and believe, so they are.  The subconscious can be guided by suggestions it receives from the conscious.  


5.  The Art of Mental Pictures 

Many people in positions of power assume an air of importance that causes some people to hold them in awe. Rather than look at these people as they appear to be, picture them as mere human beings with frailties, fears, and faults, like everyone else.  

An interesting aside is that some people have been able to picture an open parking space in their minds, and then they were able to actually find an open parking space at their destination. 

Desire is the starting point of all human activities.  The more urgent the desire, the sooner the consummation.   

6.  The Mirror Technique

Thought can attract money. Get a picture of what you want and keep telling yourself you are going to get it. The more you can save, the faster you can build your fortune.  After you have saved, invest your money in securities with proven worth, real estate, or your own business.  
If you don’t follow your own thoughts, you will follow the thoughts of someone else who is following his or her thoughts. 

Stand in front of a mirror, pull in your stomach, stand erect, breathe deeply three or four times, look deeply into your eyes, and tell yourself that you are going to get the thing that you want. Make a ritual of this, standing in front of the mirror and telling yourself that you are getting the thing you want at least twice a day. Hold the picture of what you want in your mind and begin to develop it with action until you get it. 


7.   How to Project Your Thoughts 

Success is a never-ceasing application. Most people never start anything. When a person stops being active, the person is on the way to the grave. 

The only way to have a friend is to be one. You can’t cast your bread on the water without it being returned to you. You can’t do a good deed without having a good deed done for you.  

 Always try to do something for other people. Sincere compliments will always help you to make friends. Dress well and you will feel better about yourself. There is a force at work in the mind that can influence others, even at a distance. 


8.  Women, And the Science of Belief

This book was written in 1944. Women were just beginning to break into many fields.  Madame Curie was a scientist who discovered radium. Helen Keller who was blind and deaf, became a great author and speaker. The Bronte sisters became talented authors. 


9.  Belief Makes Things Happen. 

In 1944, a rare female moth was placed in a room and a male of her species was released four miles away.  The male found the female moth within several hours. 

Distress ensues only when developed by conscious mental attitudes.  Disappointment, suppression, melancholy, depression, etc., are emotional excitements or suggestions from a mode of thinking. If you resisted these emotional tendencies, and assert willpower to prevent these influences from reaching your mental consciousness, the foundation of the thought disappears. Assert yourself to be the creator and boss of your own habit of thought. No one has ever defeated a resolute will. 

Emerson asked, “What is the hardest task in the world?  To think.” 

Most of us are victims of mass thinking and feed off of the suggestions of others.  No one has a monopoly on thought power.  Know yourself. Know your power. 
\
Just believe.  Believing will give you the power to succeed in everything you undertake. Back your belief with resolute will and you will become unconquerable, a master among men, and master of yourself. 

Rating: $$$$$ I love that our belief in ourselves gives us the power to create success.                                                                        
Copyright @ 2016 Christine Esser

This book was purchased, not a gift.   

The 10 Pillars of Wealth by Alex Becker: Free Business Book Summary and Review #10pillars

The 10 Pillars of Wealth is for anyone who is currently working at a  job but wants to start an internet business for the first time and is not certain how to develop a mindset and plan that will accomplish this goal.  If you fit into this category, this book will provide excellent advice. 

In The Ten Pillars of Wealth, Mind-Sets of the World’s Richest People, 2016, Brown Books, Alex Becker, who is currently in his twenties but has already achieved millionaire status, shares ten beliefs, or  "pillars" about wealth that if connected to appropriate action steps, will help generate income. Once the person becomes skillful, the income can be massive. Here is a quick summary of the ten pillars: 

The First Pillar

Reject get rich slowly.  Getting rich slowly today may actually have more risk than getting rich quickly because jobs are no longer guaranteed for any length of time. More jobs are being outsourced and moved overseas. But if you lower your living expenses by living in an inexpensive dwelling and work at least part-time to pay for your living expenses while you develop an online business that does not require a lot of your money in your spare time, you can actually fail in business several times before succeeding. If you follow this path, you will likely come out further ahead than you would have if you worked at a job. Once you have sufficient income from your own online business, you can quit your job. 

The Second Pillar 

Find a way to separate your time from your money. Instead of increasing the value of your time, create a system that allows you to make money whether you are working or not. Spend most of your time creating a system that creates money.  Your first goal is to find a process that works. Then clone yourself so that the process continues to work without you. For example, create a website that manages client appointments, run ads that sell for you, etc.  When you decide on a business model ask yourself these questions: (1) Can the business make money when you are not present? (2) Can this process be done by others or automated and done by machines?  (3) If this business became successful, could I train someone else to run it? (4) Is it possible to make the process of delivering $100 the same as delivering one million in sales?   

The Third Pillar

Accept that you must be better than everyone else. You must be confident of your skills to take chances and make money in the marketplace. Accept that if you lack necessary skills you need to build up those skills and become great. Repeated actions over time and incremental improvements in those actions can make anyone great. 

The Fourth Pillar

Accept 100% responsibility for everything in your life. Once you accept full responsibility, you begin to think more pro-actively. 

The Fifth Pillar

Adopt an abundance mindset to attract money.  Money is repulsed by people with a scarcity mindset. If your actions do not drastically change, your outcomes cannot drastically change. Identify where you can increase your income and invest in those areas. Whenever you find yourself reverting back to a scarcity mindset, look for ways to expand. Abundance allows progress, whereas, scarcity impedes progress. Remember there is unlimited money in the world. You can take an unlimited amount of actions to go get it. 

The Sixth Pillar

Forget what if, focus on what is.  Constantly take shots. Identify the next task you need to do to move forward and do it. This might be cold calling businesses, emailing businesses, attending business network events. Place this into an action paragraph. For example, it might be that you need to get a client. To get a client, you might need to learn how to sell. Get practice selling by calling businesses, emailing businesses, and attending business network events. 

The Seventh Pillar

Map out the actions you need to take to achieve your goals. Define your goal. Then map out a plan to get there.  Don’t look at the success event, which could be someone being recognized as a best-selling author or selling a website for a million dollars or more. Instead, focus on finding out all the steps that led up to the successful event. Begin taking small steps to achieve your goals and keep going until you achieve success. Break down each of your major goals into actionable tasks you can begin working on and begin working on the first step immediately.  

The Eighth Pillar

Focus on what gets you paid the most. Once you can, hire others to do lower-value tasks.  By identifying the actions that get us paid and focusing most of our efforts on those actions, we can reduce the amount of time it takes to become profitable. For example, if you have an internet business, the most profitable task might be to focus on generating the number of leads that come into your pipeline.  For example, if your goal is to earn ten thousand dollars a month, your goals might be to (1) read four marketing books, (2) work on ranking websites using search engine optimization (SEO), (3) learn Adwords and Facebook advertising, (4) create a business website, and (5) cold call and email potential clients. But of these tasks, the only one that will generate cash right away is contacting potential clients by phone and email and getting paid. But once the person is earning $10,000 per month with ten clients, the task that will generate the most money will be closing the deal on one-on-one meetings where she will earn $500 per hour if the meeting takes two hours. That means that the task of cold-calling and emailing customers should be outsourced to someone else. 

The Ninth Pillar

People give money to people who understand people. Money is the exchange of power between people. Thus, we need to learn how to persuade other people to give us money. If you are trying to get rich, you are trying to gain control over other people to get their money. You must be able to lead people to earn money. You cannot become rich by yourself.  You must figure out what your target audience wants and needs and learn how to convince them to hand over their cash in exchange for what you are selling. Spend some time each day learning about people. The way to earn the most money is to have the brand, the product, and packaging that people “feel” the most positive about buying. As a beginner in any business, you must become comfortable at two things: (1) selling and (2) being comfortable around people and leading them to do things. Regularly ask yourself if your product/service is the coolest one available for your target customer. No one has ever gotten rich without being paid by someone else first.  

The Tenth Pillar 

Find competitive friends and suitable mentors. Being in a community of like-minded people can trigger an obsession to work hard and achieve success.

The opportunities are out there. Plenty of people become wealthy each year, especially now with all the tools available to almost anyone.  It is up to each of us to learn the skills and mindsets that will help us succeed in achieving our goals in the field(s) we select to pursue.   

Rating: $$$$$ out of 5 if you seek to start an internet business for the first time, especially one that does SEO optimization for other businesses, this book will help you earn money if you work hard and follow the plan. Alex Becker also has videos available about SEO on YouTube. If this does not fit your plan, and your plan is to continue working at your present job without generating a second income, this book may be interesting, but it probably will not help you earn any more money.

Copyright @ 2016 Christine Esser

This book was purchased, not a gift.   

10 Lessons from The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino: Free Business Book Summary and Review

Can ten lessons from an old parable lead you to success in life?  If these lessons become your daily habits, they can. But the ten lessons found in The Greatest Salesman in the World contain principles that develop a person’s character, rather than sales techniques. 
  
In The Greatest Salesman in the World, Bantam, 1968, Og Mandino, presents his philosophy on how to live a successful life as a sales person in a parable. In the story, Pathros, a wealthy trader, was known as the Greatest Salesman in the world.  Pathros had a camel boy, Hafid, who was also his adopted son. Hafid met a young woman, Lisha,  and wanted to be more than a camel boy so that he could marry Lisha.  Hafid asks Pathros to let him become a salesman. Hafid is given a robe to sell, but out of compassion, he gives the robe to a couple in a cave with a newborn baby. Hafid returns to Pathros empty-handed but the old trader sees a bright star over Hafid when he returns from Bethlehem and decides he is the next one to receive the scrolls. Thus, Pathros passes the ten scrolls on to his protégée Hafid. 

Pathros’ first condition for giving the scrolls to Hafid requires Hafid to agree to follow the instructions on the scrolls and Hafid agrees.  The second condition Hafid agrees to follow is to  give half his earnings to the poor. After following the lessons contained in the scrolls,  Hafid became known as the Greatest Salesman in the world. Later, a former tax collector named Paul comes to Hafid and asks how to become a great salesman and Hafid gives the scrolls to Paul.  
     
Obviously, this parable takes place in the Middle East, in the period shortly before Christianity spread around the world and contains Biblical references.  But, you do not need to be a Christian to benefit from Mandino’s philosophy. 

The instructions for the scrolls are that each scroll is to be read three times a day - once in the morning, once at noon and once at night for thirty days straight until the information becomes so ingrained that it becomes a habit before the next scroll is read three times a day for thirty days until all ten scrolls are read, which should take about ten months. The instructions state that during the morning and noon reading, read silently. At night, read it out loud. Remind yourself throughout the day that failure will never overtake you if your will to succeed is strong enough.  

The first scroll contains the secret to learning. The other nine scrolls contain the principles and secrets to becoming a success in the art of selling and life.   

The Scroll Marked I

Today is a new day and the start of my new life. I will leave failure far behind.  Good habits are the key to all success. The difference between success and failure lies in the difference of habits. I will commit to becoming a slave to good habits and eliminate all bad habits that lead to failure. Because only a new habit can replace an old bad habit, I will replace any bad habit with a good habit. Experience is like fashion, like yesterday’s fashion that is out of style, what worked for another yesterday, may not work for you today.   

The Scroll Marked II 

I will greet this day with love in my heart. When you show love and compassion to the world, you shall find it returned to you. 


The Scroll Marked III

I will persist until I succeed. Persistence will bring you success.I will remove defeat, quit, failure, hopeless, and similar words from my vocabulary.  

The Scroll Marked IV

I am nature's greatest miracle.  I am committed to becoming a better version of myself than I was yesterday.  No one else can sell like me.  I am an original. I will focus all my energy on the challenge of this moment.  

The Scroll Marked V

I will live this day as if it is my last.  I will not waste a moment of today focusing on yesterday’s problems and sorrows. I will focus on taking care of my family and lifting up any friends in need. 
I will give thanks for every moment of this day. 

The Scroll Marked VI

I will be the master of my emotions.  I will live courageously and not fall victim to fear and disappointment. If I bring rain and gloom to others, they will react with rain and gloom and not buy from me.  If I bring joy and enthusiasm, they will react with joy and enthusiasm.  If I feel a negative emotion like depression, I will replace it with a positive emotion by singing, laughing, or taking action to move forward.  

The Scroll Marked VII

I will laugh at the world.  I will appreciate each situation and not take life too seriously. I will remember these words, “This too shall pass.”  

The Scroll Marked VIII

Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold.  I will find ways to create value for others in our exchanges.  I will set goals for the day, week, month, and year.  I will aim high, do the work failures avoid, and improve my performance.  I will announce my goals but never announce my accomplishments. I will let others sing my praise and accept that praise with humility.  

The Scroll Marked IX

I will act now.  I will act decisively to achieve success. Only my actions determine my value in the marketplace.  To multiply my value, I need to multiply my actions. 

The Scroll Marked X

I will pray for guidance.  Anyone who has faced great danger has cried out for help.  I will renew myself through a connection with God or a higher power. I will not pray for goods and services, I will only pray for guidance on how I might get these things for myself. 

Rating: $$$$$ out of five. Timeless advice.

Copyright @ 2016 Christine Esser

This book was purchased, not a gift.   

Thank you for reading this review. Comments are welcome.  We have not received anything from the author or publisher in exchange for this review. 

Use Creative Thinking to Turn Problems Into Business Solutions, Read “What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20" by Tina Seelig

If you had $5 and needed to make money in two hours,  what would you do?  This is an actual project given to Stanford University students to get them to think more creatively about how to solve business problems and think with an entrepreneurial mindset. The goal of the program and this book, What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20, A Crash Course on Making Your Way in the World, 2009, Harper Collins, by Tina Seelig, is to teach that all problems can be viewed as opportunities to come up with a creative solution.  

The best teams at Stanford re-framed the question of how to make money with only $5 in two hours more broadly. They reasoned that since $5 is essentially nothing, they needed to focus on ways of earning money that would not cost them anything.  For example, one team brought a bicycle tire air pump onto campus and filled the tires of bicycle commuters up with air for a donation. Another team saw the long lines outside of restaurants and used their cell phones to make reservations and then sold these reservations to the people standing in line for $20.  A third group went to a festival and took people’s pictures. The group that made the most money was a group who viewed their most valuable asset as the 2-hour presentation time they had to present their project to their fellow students and sold this time to present a sales promotion for a local business for $650. 

Finding creative solutions to problems is essential to us all when the business environment is constantly changing.  We all need to know how to identify opportunities, balance priorities and learn from mistakes. 

Most people believe that problems are to be avoided, not embraced. But entrepreneurs must learn to solve problems to stay in business.  Here are some other insights gleaned: 

** Most ideas, even when they look silly on the surface, can be reworked to have some potential. 
      
** It is usually possible to build on others’ good and bad ideas to make them better. 

** When doing something new, sometimes it is better to know the few things not to do, rather than a bunch of rules to follow that may or may not be important in achieving success. 

** For many entrepreneurs with multiple companies, the greatest factor to success is learning to kill non-profitable projects early. 

** If you quit someone else’s venture, give plenty of notice and don't leave them in a lurch because your reputation will follow you for years. If you let down co-workers at the company by quitting at an inconvenient time, all of your good work will be lost because people will only remember how you let them down. 

** Success often follows failure if you learn the lesson. 

** Some failures can be turned into a success. For example, 3M Post-It notes began as an adhesive that didn’t stick. 

** For an enjoyable career, find an opportunity that aligns with your passion, a  need in the marketplace, and your talent.  

** Hard work is usually an important factor in making someone successful. 

** If you are a young mother who plans to stop working at a full-time job for a few years while your children are young, find a way to stay connected to the workplace through volunteer work or some other activity, like contract work. 

** Most lucky breaks come from prior training and preparation. 

** Being observant, friendly, open-minded and optimistic draws luck to you. 

** There can be great value in recombining ideas in unusual ways. 

** Don’t wait to be anointed by someone in authority, unless what you want to do requires a license granted by the state. 

** Assume a thank you note is in order whenever someone does something for you and that not giving a thank you note is an exception, not the rule.  

** Your reputation is your most valuable asset, so guard it well. 

** When faced with a problem that is ambiguous, think about how you want to tell the story ten years into the future before you take action. 

** Embrace uncertainty. 

There are a lot of other great tips about life and how to solve problems throughout the book.  But I will let you uncover these on your own.  

Rating: $$$$$ out of five.   I wish I had this book when I was 20.  This would make a great gift for young people searching for direction. 

Copyright @ 2016 Christine Esser

This book was purchased, not a gift.   

This book can be purchased on Amazon by clicking the first link below. Disclosure: We may receive a small commission from your purchase, but this will not raise the amount you pay. Thank you for reading this review. Comments are welcome.  We have not received anything from the author or publisher in exchange for this review. 

Making These 10 Choices Can Lead to Personal and Financial Freedom: The Millionaire in You Book Summary and Review

If a wealthy friend presented you with a simple 10-step plan that helped him become a millionaire, would you follow it? Michael Lebouef  created The Millionaire in You  to teach people strategies they can use to have more money, as well as more time to enjoy their money, and then ultimately to become a millionaire household.  

At the end of the twentieth century, Lebouef found that one in fourteen United States households were millionaires. Lebouef wrote this book to share the blueprint on how his household arrived there. 

Lebouef believes we only need to know four things about money: (1) how to make money, (2) how to save money, (3) how to invest money, and (4) how to enjoy money.  

In The Millionaire in You, Ten Things, You Need to Do Now to Have Money and the Time to Enjoy It, 2002, Crown Business, Michael Lebouef, Ph.D.,  challenges us to invest our time actively and our money passively.  Here is a quick overview of ten choices you can make to have personal and financial freedom.  

(1) Live the Life You Want Instead of the Life Others Expect. 

Ask yourself what you want out of life and how will I know when I achieve it.  You have to be able to visualize the life of your dreams before you can achieve it.  (a)  Be sure your goals are yours and yours alone. (b) Use the BEST [Believable, Energizing, Specific, Timed] criteria for setting goals. (c) Write down your goals and review them frequently. (d) Set goals for every major area of your life: career, family, recreation, health, personal relationships, self-esteem, and religious and spiritual goals. (e) check your goals for compatibility, (f) translate your goals into action plans. 

(2) Stack the Odds in Your Favor Instead of Against You. 

Legal immigrants to the United States become millionaires at about four times the rate of natural-born citizens.  Many believe it is because they come here seeking opportunity and find it. Being a smart risk taker can speed up a person’s journey to financial freedom. These seven guidelines may also help speed up the journey. (a) Get a good education but don’t overpay.  (b) Choose the right kind of career - one that energizes you and brings you joy. (c) Take action to ensure good health by ridding yourself of bad health habits and acquiring new healthy habits. (d) Live in an area with a low cost of living to reduce your living expenses. (e) Buy a moderately priced home. (f) Have a moderate number of children. 

(3) Be a Super Saver Instead of a Big Spender 

Every enduring financial fortune is built on a foundation of saving.  Even small savings compounded over time can be the difference between poverty and financial freedom.  With every dollar you receive, you can either save it or spend it. You will be more successful when you learn to strike the right balance. Pay yourself first at least ten percent of every dollar you earn. The earlier you start saving the more time your money will have to compound.  As your income grows, maintain the same standard of living and devote the extra income to savings. Defer your taxes by placing money in retirement savings, such as 401K’s., SEP IRA’s.  If you are eligible, use a ROTH savings account to save for retirement.  Instead of buying a new car, consider buying cars that are two to three years old and keeping them.  Pay off your credit cards every month in full to avoid paying high-interest rates. Record your spending in a log for at least one month to become aware of your spending habits and find out where you can cut back.  

(4) Increase the Market Value of Your Time Instead of Working Longer Hours. 

Focus your time and energy on getting paid more for your time, not working longer hours.  It is better to focus on employability rather than job security because it is likely that at some point you will change jobs.  An investment in knowledge and increased skills pays the best dividend.  If you work for someone else, develop a side income that is your own.  Practice giving something extra to foster customer loyalty.  Build your brand and increase your visibility. 

(5)  Do Less Better Instead of Trying to Do It All. 

Do what is most important to achieving your life dreams first, such as projects important to you and time spent with family. Otherwise, left to chance, the most important things will not get done.  The way to get more done is to do less better. The two traps to avoid are (1) confusing activity with productivity and (2) confusing urgency with importance.  Most people who are successful do not work harder, they work smarter. Use a time log to determine your biggest time wasters. Also, Lebouef includes twelve additional tips to help manage and save time that are brilliant.  

(6) Capitalize on the Unexpected Instead of Being Derailed By It. 

Always look for ways to capitalize on unexpected changes. Keep your eyes on your long-term goals and don’t allow short-term setbacks to derail you.  Don’t allow fear to prevent you from seizing a great opportunity. Use setbacks as an incentive to achieve success.  Don’t let the opinions of others limit your success. Take your dreams seriously, but not yourself.  Never quit. 

(7) Own the Market Instead of Beat the Market

Invest in no-load index funds from a reputable company. Decide on an allocation of stocks and bonds that makes you comfortable.  If you are not comfortable with a lot of volatility in stocks, invest more in bonds. 

(8) Limit Your Losses Instead of Letting Bad Luck Ruin You. 

Buy the right insurance for your situation. Insure for big calamities you cannot afford to pay out of pocket.  The only valid reason to have life insurance is to provide income for dependents who would be financially deprived in the event of your death. Don’t overlook long-term disability insurance.  Don’t overlook homeowner’s or renter’s insurance.  Also, long-term care insurance should be considered. 

(9) Listen to Those Who Know Instead of Those Who Sell. 

Listen to a few good sources and tune out the rest.  Say “yes” to a few good opportunities and say ‘no” to the rest.  Determine what type of legal and financial advice you need. Get the best advice you can at a reasonable price.  Protect yourself from scam artists by learning to be a critical thinker. Call the Better Business Bureau, state or county consumer protection agency, state attorney general’s office, Federal Trade Commission before you spend your money on an unknown business opportunity. Most people do not need a financial planner.    Making the Most of Your Money Now: The Classic Bestseller Completely Revised for the New Economy   by Jane Bryant Quinn  and Personal Finance For DummiesPersonal Finance for Dummies by Eric Tyson contain excellent personal financial advice.  

(10) Do It Now Instead of Regretting It Later

Just as it took know-how, time, vision, talent, patience, and sustained effort for Michelangelo to create David, it will take all of these qualities for you to reach financial freedom too. Earl Nightingale defines success as the “progressive realization of a worthy ideal.”  Nightingale also said that we become what we think about. Staying in the time-money trap is easier than climbing out. It is up to you to make it happen. 

Start with your dream. Begin where you are and begin immediately to work on making your dreams come true.  Commitment creates success.  You will need to get out of your comfort zone.  Be decisive and take action. Rate yourself on how well you are doing on each of the ten choices listed above.  Ask yourself these questions: 

Am I living the life I want? 
Do I stack the odds in my favor? 
Am I a super saver? 
Am I improving the value of my time? 
Do I do less better?
Do I capitalize on the unexpected?  
Do I own the market?
Am I properly insured?
Do I listen to those who know or those who sell? 
Do I do it now?   

Remember that a million dollars buys freedom, not extravagance. Once you have your million, you will need to allocate it properly.  Lebouef reveals some good recommendations on how to allocate a million dollar retirement bucket that he received from a certified financial planner. In short, divide the money into two buckets: one for safety and one for growth. Keep the money for growth in index funds.  Divide the safety bucket in half, placing one year of income into a  money market fund and the other six years of income in short-term bond funds. Transfer all dividends and interest into the money-market account. 

Remember to continue doing what you like to do even after you are financially free to stay mentally and physically active.  Many people who achieve financial freedom enjoy finding a cause they believe in and helping it to be successful. 

Life should be a series of experiences to enjoy and savor, not merely endure. Lebouf reminds us in closing, ‘Remember the journey is the joy.” 



Rating: $$$$$ out of five.  This book  provides a strategy that a person can use to earn more money, have time to enjoy it, and keep it.   

Copyright @ 2016 Christine Esser

This book was purchased, not a gift.   

This book can be purchased on Amazon by clicking the first link below. Disclosure: We may receive a small commission from your purchase, but this will not raise the amount you pay. Thank you for reading this review. Comments are welcome.  We have not received anything from the author or publisher in exchange for this review. 

17 Ways Rich People Think Differently from Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Ekert: Free Book Summary and Review

There has been a lot written recently about how rich people view the world through a different lens than poor people. In Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, Ekert states, “Give me five minutes and I can predict your financial future for the rest of your life.” Eckert claims he can do this by identifying your financial blueprint. But the good news is that with the right information, you can reset your financial blueprint to operate at a higher level.  

In Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth, 2005, Harper Collins, T. Harv Ekert explains how a financial blueprint works in part one.  Ekert asks us to go back and review our earliest childhood memories around money. Ekert also explains how we can identify our financial blueprint and reset it to a higher level.  

In part two, Ekert discloses 17 ways wealthy people think differently than middle-class and poor people. In a nutshell, here are 17 wealth files to embed into your conscious and subconscious to continue on your path to wealth.  

(1) Rich people acknowledge that we all create our own lives.   

(2) Rich people play the money game on the offensive to win. 

(3) Rich people commit to becoming rich. 

(4) Rich people think big and deliver as much value as possible to the marketplace. 

(5) Rich people focus on opportunities. 

(6) Rich people admire other rich and successful people. 

(7) Rich people associate with positive and successful people. 

(8) Rich people promote themselves and their value. 

(9) Rich people believe they are bigger than their problems. 

(10) Rich people are excellent receivers.  

(11) Rich people choose to be paid based upon results. 

(12) Rich people believe the world is abundant and look for ways to have it all. 

(13) Rich people focus on net worth, not working income. 

(14) Rich people manage their money well. 

(15) Rich people look for ways to have their money work for them. 

(16) Rich people act in spite of their fear. 

(17) Rich people constantly learn and grow. 


Of course, this book serves as an introduction for Ekert to convince you to attend his seminar. But even if you have no interest in attending the seminar, the book does have a lot of worthwhile advice that can help a person learn to think in a manner that is more conducive to earning and keeping wealth. One of the best nuggets I found in the book is Ekert's advice on how to divide up your income into different buckets, and to live on only fifty percent of your net income so the remaining portion of your money can be placed into long-term and short-term savings, charitable giving, and even having fun.  But, you can read the book if you are interested in learning more about that.  As Ekert explains it, the way you know if you know something is to look and see if you are living it.  If not, you still have some things to learn about money, success, and life." 

Rating: $$$$$ out of five.  This book can help a person make changes to earn more money.  

6 Lessons from Rich Dad, Poor Dad and 10 Strategies to Build Wealth by Robert T. Kiyosaki: Free Book Summary

This is the book that opened my eyes and convinced me that I was thinking all wrong. I had been indoctrinated into the get a good education, work hard, find a good job with benefits, buy a house, and all will be well philosophy of life. The get a good education part of this equation had left me heavily indebted and bewildered as to how I had fallen so far off track when there were no good jobs to be found in my field because firms were downsizing, not hiring.  

Then Robert Kiyosaki, in Rich Dad, Poor Dad, What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money - That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not, 1997, Warner Books, opened my eyes and I finally understood that I had been sold a false philosophy that may have applied in a previous generation but no longer applied in general to the times I was living in. It was a painful view of reality that I wish I had learned before incurring all that debt; but, nonetheless, the knowledge and awareness can now serve me well and it can serve you well too if you did not learn these six lessons at home.  

These are the six lessons: 

(1) The Rich don’t work for money.

Kiyosaki writes about having two dads. One dad got a great education and became a teacher and administrator in the school system, buying a larger house with each raise, but eventually being pushed out of the school system for political reasons, and retiring poor in need of help. The other dad dropped out of high school to support his family by running a store, and continued to buy  additional businesses that he managed but had others working for him, and he purchased rental properties, and eventually retired a very rich man.   

When Kiyosaki was in grade school he asked the Rich Dad to teach him how to make money and the Rich Dad designed a course for him to learn how life operates. Initially, he only paid Kiyosaki ten cents an hour to teach him that he needed to change himself and his philosophy and not blame the Rich Dad for being cheap in paying him. 

Rich Dad shared that the poor and middle class work for money, but the rich find ways to have money work for them.  Whereas poor and middle-class people often are controlled by fear and greed, the rich learn to work for financial freedom. Rich dad told Kiyosaki to be truthful about his  emotions and use his mind and emotions to work for him, not against him. Rich dad explained that we are all employees but at different levels. 

The main cause of poverty and financial struggle is fear and ignorance, not the economy or the government or the rich. Self-inflicted fear and ignorance keep people trapped. 

Learning to master fear and greed and choosing thoughts and actions that lead to financial freedom, rather than reflexively depending on a job when there are other options available to make money, is the first step in wealth building.  This way of thinking teaches the wealthy to see opportunities to earn money that others miss.  

(2) Why teach financial literacy? 

In the long run, it is not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, and how many generations keep it, that matters.  Mastering financial literacy is an essential step to becoming wealthy.   The first step to financial literacy is to know the difference between an asset and a liability.  An asset puts money in your pocket.  A liability takes money out of your pocket. The wealthy use their income to invest in assets that place money into their pockets. 

Many middle-class families buy  liabilities, such as a house, and  they think these are assets.  But these liabilities force them to have to continue working a job to continue to pay these debts.  The poor only have expenses that they pay. 

(3) Mind your own business. 

Invest in assets that place money into your pocket. These can include businesses that do not require your presence to operate. [If you have to work there, it is a job, not a business.] Purchase stocks, bonds, mutual funds, income generating real estate, notes [I.O.U.’s], royalties from intellectual property such as books, music, scripts, patents, or anything else that has value, produces income, and has a steady market. 

(4) The history of taxes and the power of corporations. 

Taxes initially were passed that were intended only for the wealthy. But the wealthy figured out clever ways to avoid paying the taxes. The government’s appetite for money grew and the taxes mostly fell on the middle class and the poor. The tax man is often the biggest bully after your money. 

The rich use their clout to get laws and tax codes that benefit them. For example, rich people use “1031" exchanges that allow them to trade one piece of property for another more valuable property without being taxed. 

The rich learn financial literacy, how to invest, how to understand markets [the basic law of supply and demand], and they learn to use the law to their advantage by forming corporations.  By forming corporations, the rich are able to  pay their expenses, such as cell phone payments, vehicle payments, even vacations for board meetings before they pay taxes on the money the corporation earns. Additionally, the rich learn ways to protect their assets from lawsuits with layers of legal protection.  

(5) The Rich invent money. 

Many in the middle class subscribe to the strategy of putting a hundred dollars into savings every month for 40 years and then having money at retirement.  But this mindset of placing all their money for investment into savings for retirement could blind people into not seeing opportunities for making a better return on their investment dollars.  For example, in a down economy, purchasing an apartment complex might provide a greater return on investment dollars.  

Great opportunities are not seen with the eyes. They are seen with the mind. 

Investors come in two types. The first type of investor buys a packaged investment. The second type of investor creates the packaged investment that others buy. 

(6) Work to learn - don’t work for money. 

The old acronym that “job” means just over broke applies to many even today. Thus, seeking work for what you will learn there, rather than for pay and benefits, will often benefit people more in the long run.  Once people are trapped into working to pay bills they become like hamsters on a wheel, always running but going nowhere. 

Kiyosaki's educated Dad worked harder and harder, the more he climbed the totem pole at his job. Whereas, his Rich Dad gained more and more freedom from work, the longer he worked managing his companies and real estate. 

10 Steps to take on Your Journey to Wealth

(a) Develop a compelling reason for getting wealthy. 

(b) Choose daily with each dollar you receive to be wealthy or not. 

(c) Choose friends carefully and learn from others’ money stories; 

(d) Master a money-generating formula and then learn a new one; 

(e) Pay yourself first;

(f) Pay your brokers well; 

(g) Always ask how fast you will get your money back with each investment you make. 

(h) Assets buy luxuries; 

(i) We all need heroes - Find people who invest well and learn from them. 

(j) Teach and you shall receive - Give that which you want to receive. If you want money, be charitable and give to a church or your favorite charity.  If you want knowledge, teach someone else what you know.  

More strategies to employ 

(a) Stop doing what you are doing and assess where you are at on your financial journey. What is working and what is not working?  How can you fix what is not working? 

(b) Look for new ideas you can use. These can be found in bookstores. Look for new formulas you can use to generate wealth. 

(c)   Take action.   Do what the income generating formula advises you to do, step by step.  Find someone else who has done it successfully and take them to lunch.  Take classes and buy tapes.  If you are investing in real estate, make offers. 

Money is only an idea. If you want more money, change your thinking.  We have all received two great gifts, our mind and our time. Each person chooses how to use both of these gifts. With each day and each dollar that enters our hands, we have the power to choose our destiny by making decisions on how to use that day and that dollar that correspond with wealthy philosophies, middle-class philosophies, or poor philosophies.  

Rating: $$$$$ out of 5.  I am so grateful Mr. Kyosaki opened my eyes.  I hope you will consider reading his book if you were sold a philosophy that no longer works.  

opyright @ 2016 Christine Esser

This book was purchased, not a gift.   

This book can be purchased on Amazon by clicking the first link below. Disclosure: We may receive a small commission from your purchase, but this will not raise the amount you pay. Thank you for reading this review. Comments are welcome.  We have not received anything from the author or publisher in exchange for this review.