Creating True Wealth Blog

Great Minds Discuss Ideas...

2012-01-27T16:35:00.000-08:00

From Serve to Lead here is an excellent observation from Eleanor Roosevelt. If only our politics followed this rule. Outside of politics we would be well advised to follow it in business and our private lives. Be a Great Mind - discuss ideas or even events... not people.

Read more at Serve to Lead.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

A Leader's Library

2012-01-25T20:17:00.000-08:00

Open

Leadership requires continuous learning – this has become axiomatic. There is more than one way to learn-–but none is more powerful than reading good books.

Merely reading a book and casting it aside is not enough...Read the rest...

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Best Book Reviews of 2011

2012-01-22T19:44:00.000-08:00

The Best Book Reviews of 2011

It is always so difficult to identify the best reviews ofthe year but each December I have tried to do so. Here is my short list of thebest I think we have offered this year. If you missed any of these click on thelink and read them now. Just click on the link below to read the full review onthe internet.

I will endeavor to bring you a whole new batch of reviewsof great books, many reviewed by me and some by our guest authors. My goal willbe to have an even better list for 2012.

StartLate, Finish Rich by Richard Bach, Review #70

MakeEvery Second Count by Robert Bly, Review #77

Reaganon Leadership by James M. Strock, Review #78

Success MagazineReview, Review #79

Goals– How to Get Everything You Want – Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible byBrian Tracy, Review #81

Linchpin by SethGodin, Review #82

TheTotal Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, Review #83

BoiledDown Money Goo-Minteer, Review #85

TheSuccess System That Never Fails by W. Clement Stone, Review #87

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

7 Rules of Investing

2012-01-20T19:46:00.000-08:00

Let me start by again warning anyone who reads or listens to investment advice that it is always to one degree or another risky. You never know in advance if the advice is good or not. You will only "know" how valid it is in hindsight.

Having said that however it pays to look at different bits of advice, see what seems to make sense, see what successful people like Warren Buffett keep telling us, and see how it performs.

For a very interesting summary of seven rules of value investing take a look at 7 Rules of Investing by Jim Fink. There are some gems in here and some of it straight from the reports of Buffett. Worth a read. It is short and to the point.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Helping those in the developing world

2012-01-19T20:42:00.000-08:00

I recently received a wonderful email from someone who lives in the developing world who would like to see more education on financial literacy for his people to help them succeed. I've asked him to let me know how I might help in that regard.

I believe that improving financial literacy and knowledge, no matter where you live, will help you become more financially successful.

However I would like to know from any and all of my readers in developing nations how how I might better serve those who struggle in developing nations to be more financially independent and successful.

I would like to hear from you about that. You can post a comment to this post if you like. If you would rather send me a private message on the subject please feel free to do so. Send me an email and we can discuss it.

By all means let me hear from you - only through open dialogue can we help one another.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Make Today Count

2012-01-06T19:18:00.000-08:00

James Strock just published my review of Make Today Count by John C. Maxwell on his blog. Check it out - this is a small book loaded with good advice.

John C. Maxwell is one of the most recognized names in the leadership development field. His book, Make Today Count: The Secret of Your Success Is Determined by Your Daily Agenda, is a worthy contribution, earning a place in any leader’s bookshelf.....
Read the rest here.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Laughing at Wall Street by Chris Camillo

2011-12-31T11:05:00.000-08:00

Here is the January 2012 Books2Wealth Book of the Month. This is a fascinating read and may well be a great idea to pursue.

Title and Author: Laughing at Wall Street by Chris Camillo - Book Review

Synopsis of Content:

The subtitle ofthis book is “How I beat the pros at investing (by reading Tabloids, shoppingat the Mall, and connecting on Facebook) and how you can too. This is a goodsummary of what this book is about.

The author,Chris Camillo is touted as one of the most successful amateur investors in theworld. His claim is that from September 2007 until the book came out in April2010 his self-managed investment portfolio appreciated from $83,752 to$2,388,311. A schedule of that performance is available at his website,chriscamillo.com.

Camillo’s methodis to be acutely observant of trends and hot products as observed at the malls,in internet media, and from what he sees on television and in tabloidpublications. The idea is that demand for a particular product or service canskyrocket for reasons that Wall Street often is unaware of and that if youpurchase the stock of the company involved before Wall Street is wise to thetrend and sell as soon as Wall Street sees the trend you can realize some seriousgain. Camillo demonstrates in the book in some detail how he has done this togrow his portfolio so impressively.

He tells us thatthe traditional, mostly white, male and middle aged Wall Street types are notplugged into the popular trends that drive these kinds of market demand. Theyrely on corporate reports and mainstream financial news reporting neither ofwhich report these trends until they are old news.

He offersexamples including observations of a hot new shoe that he observed on the beachbefore it became well known in financial circles and a brand of clothing thatthe Obama first family wore at the inauguration which sparked a buying spreesending stock prices up fast.

Camillo givessome attention to traditional fundamental and technical trading methods andtells us how and why they are not dependable. He then discusses how thispopular trend watching is superior. His method requires a lot of observation,web browsing and a form of due diligence to insure that the trend he suspectshe is seeing is genuine and that the stock market is not yet aware of it onWall Street. He then dives in, buys this stock and waits for it to peak when itbecomes common knowledge.

The appeal ofCamillo’s approach is that it does not require any specialized knowledge ofstocks, the market as a whole, technical treading techniques or fundamentalanalysis of company management which Warren Buffet is famous for. This methodcould be done by anyone who is observant and disciplined and willing to do theleg work required. A high school student could do it and have done so.

As with anymethod at making money this one requires significant time and effort. This isnot really a get-rich-quick scheme, although Camillo has demonstrated someremarkable performance in his trading using it. It is not about day tradingeither, he waits until he identifies a genuine potential money maker, buys andholds the stock until it takes off and market demand ends the upward ride, thensells before it comes down again once everyone knows about it.

It must also beobserved that the author is a professional market researcher by trade, this iswhat he does for a living, and in that he watches market trends for a living hestarts out with some advantage over the novice.

This method is clearlynot for everyone. It takes time and commitment to the methodology and someawareness and understanding of market trends for a specific product or servicethat are not yet common knowledge. It does appear however to offer a unique andvery accessible method of beating the market odds for someone willing to do thework in the manner he illustrates. For anyone who has the time and willingnessto learn this method there is clearly potential to beat the index fund averages.

This book is amust read for anyone looking for an accessible and relatively simple method tocapture market gains.

Usefulness:

For the personwith some money to invest and the time and self-discipline to apply this methodthis book is an excellent primer on a novel and promising way to increase gainon equity investments.

Disclaimer: allinvestment methods carry some risk including this one. This review should notbe relied upon as professional investment or financial advice. See aprofessional financial advisor for professional advice.

Readability/Writing Quality:

The book is veryreadable and easy to follow. It is well organized.

Notes on Author:

ChrisCamillo is a market researcher who has been less than impressed with moretraditional stock trading methods and has used his own power of observation tobeat the averages on the market.

Related Website:

www.Chriscamillo.com

Three Great Ideas You Can Use:

1. Iftraditional market analysis is not for you and you do not want to leave themanagement of your investment portfolio to a professional manager there is amethod that most anyone can use to learn about promising stocks before theytake off.

2. This methodrequires continued time observing and learning about products and services andthe emerging market trends that one can observe at the local mall, on Facebook,and many other places. It then requires some due diligence to insure that youhave observed a genuine large scale trend that will pump up the value of stock.

3. If you followa proven method taking care to do the homework you can improve your odds withstocks. You have to read the book though to learn the details of how it isdone.

Publication Information:

Laughing at Wall Street by Chris Camillo

Total Rating Score:	4
Writing Style:	5
Who Should Read This:	Anyone willing to learn and devote some time to a unique method of increasing returns on investments in the market.
Usefulness:	4
Difficulty:	2
Scoring System:	1: poor / 2: average / 3: good / 4: very good / 5: superior

Disclosure: theauthor of this book review has no relationship or financial arrangement withthe author or the publisher of this book. Some publishers and authors doprovide a copy of the book for reviewers to read.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

What is new at Books2Wealth.com?

2011-12-30T17:08:00.000-08:00

Here is what is new at www.books2wealth.com and you may want to check it out...

The Books2Wealth Book of the month for January 2012 is Chris Camillo's Laughing At Wallstreet--

The subtitle of this book is “How I beat the pros at investing (by reading Tabloids, shopping at the Mall, and connecting on Facebook) and how you can too. This is a good summary of what this book is about.

The author, Chris Camillo is touted as one of the most successful amateur investors in the world....

Read more here.

Exciting New Project only from Books2Wealth!
Coming in 2012 to Books2Wealth is the Investment Watch Project. We will watch the watchers - we will review the recommendations of some of the leading stock and bond financial and investment letters and then analyze their performance. At the end of the year our subscribers will have access to a full report on an entire year of this financial analysis and how well it performed.

Do you have an IRA or other investment account? Do you have retirement savings? Are you concerned about your investments and how to get the most out of them? There is lots of advice out there about where to invest your hard earned money. Who should you trust and who should you believe? The Investment Watch Project will look at some of these advice sources and bring you the real story on how their recommendations perform.

These montly reports come as part of the free newsletter, Creating True Wealth, which you can sign up for in the box at upper right on this page. How can you afford not to have this information - and it is free every month! (The final compilation report at the end of the year will be for sale at a very low, low price though there is no obligation to buy.)

If you already a subscriber, great, our first article in this series will appear January 13. If you are not a subscriber, what are you waiting for? Sign up now. It wont cost you a cent!

***

And you will find new articles and book reviews posted as well - take a look at the home page to see the latest posts.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Rising Early

2011-12-29T07:16:00.000-08:00

Benjamin Franklin taught the value of rising early and his life was good evidence of it. In fact most successful people tend to retire early and rise early in the morning. The early hours are quiet and peaceful. One is rested and has energy to do things. Most of us who rise early get more done during the first couple hours of the day than we may for many hours later as we are interrupted by phone calls, email and other people.

Steve Sjuggerud, a successful financial advisor and marketer writes more on this in Early to Rise--

During my 20’s I was an early riser by necessity. Each morning I had to be at the gym by 5:45 am to train my first client. I remember one client, the CEO of a sports retailer, who wanted to train at 5am. Only now do I see why. Today, Steve Sjuggerud will let you in [...]
Continue reading...

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

The Date

2011-12-21T20:48:00.000-08:00

One very common attribute of financially successful people is that they are willing to delay instant gratification and work hard toward a goal to attain something greater in the future. Here is my little true story to illustrate…

When I graduated from college way back in 1976 I had no money but a dream to become an attorney. I had overcome a number of challenges and barriers just to get to through college. Law school now loomed in front of me as a very difficult barrier to get over. I was not sure I would graduate from law school but even more immediately I did not know how I could afford it. I had less than $50 in the bank.

Upon graduation from undergraduate school I was accepted to two law schools but could not afford either one. I took a year off school and worked every lousy job I could find to earn money for law school. I was a night janitor, a bottle sorter at a soda pop bottling plant, a bus boy, dish washer, fry cook and window washer. The nation was in a recession then too and good jobs were hard to find. For 15 months I did nothing but work my tail off. I scrimped and saved and spent money on nothing but gas to get back and forth to work.

Every dime I earned went into the bank for tuition and books. After those 15 months of social isolation and hard work I was again accepted into law school and eventually graduated and became an attorney.

I was a single young man that year from the summer of 1976 to the fall of 1977 and I did not have any money for a “date”. I knew I had to give up a social life to work and save. Later in law school I likewise had to work hard both at studies and at odd jobs to pay my way through. There was no time or money for girls.

During that first year from 1976 to 1977 I had one single date. I took a young lady to a movie (“Fletch” starring Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn, the only movie I saw that year) and to dinner. I felt guilty the whole time spending money that way. I probably spent a total of $20 that night.

I did not go out with anyone again or spend any other money like that until I was most of the way through law school. I knew what I wanted to achieve and I had a solid goal. I knew what I had to do to achieve it.

I ultimately achieved my goal. Despite poverty I became an attorney. But it only could have happened because I was willing to postpone immediate gratification for a long term goal.

It seems today that too few people are willing to do this. I was not alone in my willingness to forego immediate fun for long term achievement. Many others have done the same.
And the girl: she married someone else but has remained a lifelong friend.

Have you postponed immediate gratification or fun for a long term goal? Tell us about it, leave a comment below. I think our readers would love to hear about it.
Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Post #300 - Winter

2011-12-18T20:38:00.000-08:00

I just have to observe that this is post #300 on this blog. It has been up since 2008. My posting is irregular I will admit but I try to get some good content to you two or more times per week.

In three days the calendar will say it is winter. The weather has felt like winter for a long time. On the economic front winter sat in some time back and is likely to continue for a long time according to Harry S. Dent, Jr. in his new book and it will be reviewed here soon. I am reading it and studying his previous books further as context.

This brings me to an aspect of reading good nonfiction work like Dent's book on demographic analysis leading to his long term economic predictions - you are not going to get enough out of a book like this by skimming it. I do not care how good a skimmer you think you are. A book like this requires some study and careful reading. So give me a few more weeks and we will get into it. It will be our Books2Wealth Book of the Month for February 2012.

We all know how to get through our annual seasonal winters. Dent tells us how to get through the bleak decade long economic winter we are now moving through.

Finally for today, as my regular readers know I publish a free weekly newsletter which features a lot more excellent reviews and articles than ever appear here on the blog. If you would like to sample those newsletters go to the Newsletter Archive on www.books2wealth.com and check them out. While you are there, or here for that matter in the box at upper right, sign up for the free newsletter and get some great information that help you get through the winter ahead.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

James Strock reviews The Success Essentials

2011-12-16T19:57:00.000-08:00

Read James Strock's review of The Success Essentials.

Great Review - thanks Jim.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Another great view on the value of reading

2011-12-08T21:43:00.001-08:00

Daniel Minteer whose article appeared here yesterday has written a great blog entry on his Boilded Down Money Goo blog about the value of critical reading and learning. Check out his wise words on this and by all means, keep reading!

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Duped by the Tax Write-Off - Guest Post

2011-12-07T19:35:00.001-08:00

Duped by the Tax Write-Off

Daniel Minteer

A lot of people brag about their “great tax write-off.” We snicker. Don’t get us wrong, if you are buying something because you need it and get a tax deduction on the side, that’s great. But when your decision to buy something is swayed because you’ll get the tax advantage, well, that’s laughable…and sad. Why? You’re spending a dollar to save a quarter.

One of the most common and largest tax write-offs for the average person or family is associated with the home mortgage. The interest is usually tax deductable. No one seems to do the math, though. We know of too many people who won’t pay off their house early because of the tax deduction, or just as bad, buy too much house because of the tax deduction. And because of not crunching the numbers, they will pay the bank a dollar just to save a quarter on taxes. They will lose seventy-five cents of every dollar they pay in interest! So why would anyone justify keeping a mortgage any longer than necessary or buying more house than they need just because they can write off the interest? The answer is, we’ve been duped.

As if paying a dollar to save a quarter isn’t bad enough, if you have a mortgage you’ll have to pay quite a bit in interest (and/or other deductions) before you even exceed the “standard” tax deduction to make it worth the bother (for 2011, the standard deduction for a married couple filing jointly was $11,600). Did you get this? You have a choice every year to either take the standard tax deduction or itemize your deductions (basically just adding up mortgage interest, property tax, giving to charities, etc.). You can take the standard deduction even if you have no mortgage or any other deductions but if you itemize you’ll have to exceed this amount before it does any good.

Unless your mortgage interest and other deductions exceed the standard deduction, you get nothing for all the pain. Why would anyone want to pay that much in interest when you already get a free standard deduction? The answer is, we’ve been duped again. Don’t even get us started on houses and the fact that they’re rarely a good investment when you have a mortgage… (We’re not against houses, just against buying them foolishly).

Read our lips: Tax write-offs are just an incentive to buy (and quite often using credit). They were not created with you in mind, but were created with “others getting your money” in mind. We don’t just fall for this in buying houses either. We may buy all kinds of stuff for our businesses too (vehicles, furniture, electronics, appliances, tools, etc.), thinking that the tax savings make it a good bargain. On the surface it does look like a bargain. But buying a bargain you don’t really need isn’t saving you anything. Just look at those matching his and hers sunflower yellow knit sweaters in your closet – quite a steal weren’t they (too bad they’re still brand new)!

Don’t let your tax write-offs be the reason you buy anything. Get stuff you need, yes, and take the tax deduction if it’s there. But if you can, avoid even being eligible for tax write offs. If you simply don’t want to take this advice and “have to” have a tax deduction, here’s the best one…give to charity! You’ll get the same tax deduction. You’ll still spend a dollar to save a quarter. But this time the dollar goes for something of a worthy cause, not to increase the bank’s profit. And you get paid back a quarter in tax savings for being so nice. Now there is a good incentive.

---------
Daniel and Deborah Minteer proved through their own experience how to eliminate consumer debt and how to avoid incurring more of it. They have achieved financial freedom through debt avoidance, focusing of what they really care about and dumping the rest.

Read their book Boiled Down Money Goo, tips for propelling your financial future, to learn how they did it and visit their blog at http://boileddownmoneygoo.wordpress.com/ to learn even more.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

The skill that separates the successful from everyone else - self-discipline.

2011-12-06T22:03:00.001-08:00

Someone once observed that the difference between a successful person and an unsuccessful person is that a successful person does what an unsuccessful person does not want to do.

I would change that just slightly: a successful person disciplines themselves to do regularly and whenever necessary those things that most people do not want to do.
If you analyze the habits and behavior of the vast majority of successful people you will find this to be true in nearly every case. (I've yet to find a successful person who does not do this in some way.)

Successful people tend to get up early, they take care of themselves through exercise and proper diet, they resist or avoid rich foods, illicit drugs and abuse of alcohol.

Successful people reflect upon their goals in life, write them out and review them. Successful people do all the things every day that other people find boring and dreary, but they are the things that lead to success.

It is true that you will occasionally find a successful person who will not or cannot do a certain thing, like maintain their finances or manage their investments on a regular basis - these people hire others to do that for them. But most successful people do manage their affairs and attend to the important but unexciting chores of life with daily discipline and it is much of the secret of their success.

You might not have to do these things every single day, although there are successful people who do just that. You can take a Sunday off or a day once in a while - but for the most part you must discipline yourself to do the important things, the things that net you a return, every day, with self-discipline and control.

Apply this kind of discipline to nearly every enterprise and it will be the most important single element in accomplishment.
Do you want to write a book? Daunting isn't it? Sitting down to write 350 pages is very daunting to most people. How about writing one page a day? Could you write a page a day, every day without fail? Sure you could. The question is not could, it is would. Would you write one page a day? If you would write one page per day you would have a 365 page book written in one year, or if you wrote two pages a day, just two, you would have this same book written in six months. At that rate you could easily turn out two books a year by only writing two pages a day. All you need to apply is daily self-discipline.

A little self-discipline practiced every day will lead to immense accomplishment over time.

Exercise every day for just 30 minutes.

Eat an apple every day instead of a candy bar.

Drink two glasses of fresh water instead of a soda.

Read a good book on your area of personal development or on your chosen career area every day for just 30 minutes.
Make a list of goals every morning and follow through with them during the day.

These are just a few of the many examples of small steps of self discipline, done every day that can make the difference between success and failure in every important area of your life.

Self-discipline an essential to success.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Importance of Life Long Learning

2011-12-02T19:06:00.001-08:00

My friend and leadership expertJames Strock just posted my article on the importance of lifelong learning forleaders on his blog:

http://jamesstrock.com/leadership/daniel-r-murphy-leadership-requires-lifelong-learning/

We are all leaders, or should be. The more yousee yourself as a leader, act like a leader and serve others as a leader themore of a leader you will become. Jim’s blog is a good place to learn more onthat as well as his books which we have reviewed here.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

What kind of asset are we as people?

2011-11-29T21:44:00.001-08:00

Are you a person or a resource?

James Strock, author and founder of "Serve to Lead", quotes Stephen Covey on his blog recently on this very point. We need to value people for the unique beings they are and value their unique and creative contributions. Strock is a great thinker and writer on leadership and this point is a good one from his blog. People are assets for sure, but they are assets that need to be appreciated and valued as people.

Read it today.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Leadership Begins with One

2011-11-23T17:16:00.001-08:00

Many people want to learn to be a better leader of othersand there is tremendous benefit in increasing your leadership skills. Beforeyou can effectively lead others however you must effectively lead one person –yourself.

This is not a trite observation. It goes to the very coreof effective leadership. A true leader must serve others. He must lead throughexample. He must have a clear vision of what he is striving to accomplish sothat he can effectively communicate that vision to others.

There are four essential steps to leading yourself andpreparing yourself to lead others: introspection, clarification, planning, andexecution.

Introspection

All of us must look within to determine what we reallywant to do with our lives. You will not find these answers in any book. Onlythrough your own thought and reflection can you come to understand what youwant to accomplish in life. Only you can identify your genuine mission – thefire of desire that burns in you. You may well find inspiration from others butyou must look within to clearly identify who you are and what you are about.

Once you have done that you will have a general idea ofwhat you wish to accomplish; that is, how you wish to serve others.

This is not a onetime task. You will need to return tothis introspection from time to time as you mature and your life changes. Youwill find new ways to serve others and to manifest your own greatest purpose inlife. I find this process needs to be done at least once a year, and New Year’sDay is as good a time as any. But you may choose your birthday or some otherannual event. Think about where you are going and what you are accomplishing,or not, and how you might want to change it.

Clarification

Once you have a general idea of how you want to serveothers crystalize it in a short statement of what you wish to achieve. Mycurrent mission statement for my on line enterprise is this:

Educating people for building wealth,adapting to a changing future and personal development.

Yours might be longer, shorter or entirely different. Theimportant thing is to make it crisply reflect how you wish to serve others.Everything else flows from this.

When you must choose whether or not to pursue this orthat opportunity the clarity you have in your mission statement will keep youon course – it will allow you to lead yourself in the right direction.

Planning

Clarity in your chief aim is not enough however. It mustbe broken down into the day by day and week by week actions you will take toaccomplish it. To do this you ask yourself where you want to be five years fromnow in your mission. You then identify a few long term goals that will get youwhere you want to be.

You then must break those long term goals down intomedium and short term goals that you can realistically tackle on a daily basis.Most importantly write those goals down and refer back to them constantly tokeep yourself on track – to lead yourself where you want to go.

Execution

Every day people write out mission statements and longlists of goals and aspirations, put them away and take no action. It is a wasteof time. No matter how clear you are about your ultimate mission to serveothers or to lead, no matter how well-crafted your goals are, if you do not acton those goals every day in some way you will accomplish nothing.

Leaders inspire and motivate others to act and accomplishan organization’s objectives. When you lead yourself you must inspire and moveyourself to act on your fundamental objectives. This means you look at yourgoals every day and as you plan your day you make sure you create a to-do listthat includes some action that will further your goals – and you then takethose actions.

Once you master leading yourself you will be able tolead others. They will see your capability, your accomplishments, and yourserene self-mastery. People will not follow someone who is disorganized, lacksclarity or direction. They will only follow someone who can lead themselvesfirst.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

A blog worth checking out!

2011-11-20T21:22:00.001-08:00

Ablog worth checking out: Boiled Down Money Goo

The authors of Boiled Down Money Goohave a great blog where they teach how to reduce and avoid debt just like theirbook does. I have reviewed the book, Boiled Down Money Goo on the main website, if you have nothad a chance to check that out by all means do.

What makes their book and their blogvaluable is that they have done it. They were deeply in debt and going nowhere.They reduced and eliminated the debt quickly and now avoid debt altogether.They explain how they did it, how they continue to do it and how you can too.This is not just a theory they read about – they proved it by doing it.

Thank you Daniel and Deborah forcontinuing to educate us all about debt elimination and avoidance.

Interestingly, Harry Dent’s newestbook, The Great Crash Ahead, which I will be reviewing here shortly, discussesthe massive private debt in the United States and the threat it creates for oureconomy. If more people followed the Boiled Down Money Goo philosophy thismassive multi trillion dollar private debt could be sharply reduced and wewould all benefit from it. The Minteers, Money Goo Gurus, are not only helpingmany people climb out of debt, they are helping us all in the process.

And, to learn more about their experience, readmy exclusive interview of the Minteers.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

The Curmudgeon's Corner

2011-11-20T17:00:00.001-08:00

The Curmudgeon’s Corner: Christmas Music

Andy Rooney, the iconic curmudgeon, passed away recently and all of us who loved his observations about things in life that make little or no sense will miss him dearly. For those of you who did not get to enjoy his work he was a writer and a commentator for CBS 60 Minutes program for several decades.

I am no Andy Rooney and do not pretend to be as good as he was. However I find myself from time to time having similar observations about the things in life that are vexing, frustrating, irritating, or just plain stupid. It soothes the soul once in a while to vent on these things. While I am mostly a very positive person I certainly have my moments.

So on occasion I will publish similar rants here on those things that I find frustrating. I will collect them in a series called The Curmudgeon’s Corner and you will be able to find them all in the blog Series index in the tab labeled Series at the top of the page.

I would love to hear from you – feel free to comment whether you agree or disagree with my observations. Today’s rant is on Christmas Music…

Now do not get me wrong. I do not dislike Christmas Music. In fact I love it. The old traditional songs are great and evoke all kinds of memories and some of the ones written in the past couple decades are good too. What kind of Grinch would dislike Christmas music?

I object not to Christmas Music, but to the absurd modern penchant for starting to play it on the radio earlier and earlier each year. And this is but a sign of the over-commercialization of the holidays.

When I was a child the radio did not start playing Christmas music until sometime in December – just days or at best a couple weeks prior to the holiday. There was Thanksgiving, and no one was thinking of Christmas at Thanksgiving except children of course, and then there was a long quiet and dark period of late Fall between Thanksgiving the beginning of the Christmas season. For many that season began at Advent. Advent begins the fourth Sunday prior to Christmas but even then we did not see the Christmas music and advertising turn on.

Over the years the beginning of the Christmas ads and the music started earlier and earlier. I can recall but a few decades ago it moved to the weekend following Thanksgiving or the day after.

The day after Thanksgiving, by the way, now known as Black Friday – the high holy day of Christmas shopping, was first so labeled in Philadelphia in the late 1960s and did not become a national phenomenon until the mid-1970s. And of course with the accelerated shopping and advertising came the music.

This year, and for the past several, my favorite radio station began playing Christmas Music on November 12 – the day after Veteran’s Day. Of course the Christmas decorations and gift displays had already been up in the stores for several weeks.

So what, you may ask, is the problem with them playing Christmas Music for nearly eight weeks prior to the holiday? The problem is that there are not that many Christmas songs played on popular radio. They play the same couple dozen songs over and over for weeks on end and by the week of Christmas one is sick and tired of hearing it.

In my ideal world Christmas music would begin a couple weeks prior to December 25 to put you in the Christmas mood and spirit. You would genuinely enjoy hearing tunes you had not heard for a year or more. After all, the Christmas season does not include Thanksgiving. And where is the limit? If it is ok to play Christmas music the second week of November why not begin the day after Halloween? Or why not begin in mid-October?

Christmas music is like a tonic for the soul. Too much of it and you are saturated and it loses its magic. It becomes just the repeated noise in the background that has been going on for weeks on end. This is a sad way to ruin the Christmas sound.

My vote is to not play the music certainly before Advent season and ideally not before December. Let’s keep it special.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Harry Dent's New Book - Why He Should Not Be Ignored

2011-11-14T19:49:00.001-08:00

Hi,

As I mentioned a few days ago there is a big event coming up that you should not miss. Harry Dent and his colleague are releasing a new book on the economy called The Great Crash Ahead. Dent is also doing a seminar for free that everyone ought to look at.

To get information on the webinar and book, and watch an excellent interview of Dent (26 minutes) go to http://hsdent.com/blog-report/interview/ and watch. Then register for the webinar at a time convenient for you.

Dent has been amazingly accurate in his predictions over the past two decades. He predicted our economy in the 1990s with tremendous accuracy and again predicted the 2000s in a similar vein. He is now telling us what he projects will happen in the next 20 years. It is contrary to most of what you are reading and hearing in the press.

Could Dent be wrong? Of course he could. Anyone who predicts the future could well be wrong. However Dent uses some very reliable demographic analysis to make his projections and we all owe it to ourselves to read his work and then judge for ourselves what we should do.

To help you in this I am going to run reviews of his last two books in the coming days and then once we have analyzed the new book you will see a review of it. You will also see comparisons of Dent's projections and what actually happened. Then you can judge how accurate you think Dent will turn out to be.

I have no affiliation with Harry Dent. I've read this books and that is all. I have nothing to gain by suggesting you read this material and listen to his arguments. I only believe that his past record has been good enough to make it foolish to ignore him. Many will disagree with him and you may be among them - but let's make sure before we disagree that we understand what he is predicting, why he is predicting it and what his track record has been.

Watch the video in the link above and then sign up for th webinar. Then watch for our comments and reviews here.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Harry Dent - Something New Coming Soon

2011-11-09T20:21:00.000-08:00

EconomistHarry Dent has written some great books on the economy and has an excellenttrack record predicting some long term trends. I reviewed his last book, The Great DepressionAhead, and now he is coming out with a new book and some new predictionsthat you would be well advised to review. We will include more information hereon this soon – so stay tuned.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Grandma Was Right, Of Course

2011-11-05T11:31:00.000-07:00

Today was my grandmother’s birthday. She died 26 years ago and I still miss her. She would have turned 118 today had she lived that long. We lost her at 91.

As with all grandmas mine had many wise sayings and observations. One of them that I remember so well was her comment on the passing of time. When we were kids we would so earnestly wish for Christmas or some other big event. “I wish it were Christmas, Grandma” we would say. She would smile and then say, “do not wish your life away,
time passes all too quickly. When you reach my age it passes very fast indeed. I do not know where it has all gone.”

She made this observation in her late 70s or early 80s. I was very young then and could not appreciate what she was saying. Now I can. She was so right. This was before magazine articles about “living in the present” or being mindful. My grandmother was not repeating the latest pop philosophy. She was speaking from her own experience. She had come to understand how precious each moment on this earth is for us all. She had no desire to race through any of them any longer.

This is hard for a child, for their lives seem to extend beyond them endlessly and they are easily bored. Once you become an adult this all makes a lot of sense.

What you may ask does this have to do with creating true wealth. It has everything to do with it. True wealth is about more than simply making money. True wealth includes living life to its fullest. It includes all the valuable experiences with friends and family that you can find. It includes music, art, meditation, inner peace, helping others, being part of a community, having good health, etc.

Money will only buy so much – true wealth includes all those things you cannot buy.

Grandma was right, of course, do not wish your life away. And as Malcolm Forbes often observed, do not spent all your time getting, spend some seeking to understand.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Living Large in Lean Times - Clark Howard

2011-11-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

This is a my review of Clark Howard's latest book and is the featured book of the month on the Books2wealth.com site.

Title and Author: Clark Howard’s Living Large in Lean Times byClark Howard with Mark Meltzer and Theo Thimou

Synopsis of Content:

The subtitle tothis book is 250+ ways to buy smarter, spend smarter and save money. This is agood description of what the book is about. Howard teaches the reader how to bea savvy shopper. Whether you are facing hard financial struggles or you justwant to stretch your purchasing dollar this is a good source of tips on how todo it.

Howard discusseshow to be smarter about buying a car, using the internet and buying computers, beinga smarter consumer for everyday items from groceries to entertainment and sometips on how to resolve disputes.

There is a goodchapter on survival for students and on being an entrepreneur. Another chaptertackles health and health care including how to save on prescriptions, how todeal with medical insurance and elder issues.

He discussesyour home and real estate, renting, and energy efficient appliances. There is asection on personal finances, banks, budgeting and identity theft. Anotherchapter addresses saving on telephones and television and another on travel.

He wraps up witha section websites that had died as well as those that are important to knowabout that are still in existence when the book was published (2011).

Some of theinformation in the book, such as searching for unclaimed money in your name, isunlikely to be of much benefit to the typical reader. Other advice, such asavoiding extended warranties and service contracts are golden because these arerarely a good value to the consumer and are often the chief profit generatorfor business.

The controlling criterionfor Howard’s many suggestions is to save money. For example he advises you todrop cell phone contracts and switch to a no-contract phone. For many peoplehowever the contract arrangements offer benefits that some people want. Therecan be a tradeoff between convenience, safety, and other benefits that manypeople are willing to pay extra for. You have to scrutinize each suggestion tosee what you might be giving up by going with the cheapest option.

One good exampleof this is his advice to drop your telephone land line and use Voice overInternet Protocol (VoIP) instead. It is true that you will save a bundle bydoing this on your monthly telephone bill. It is also true that the quality ofVoIP connections can be less than desirable and that if you lose your internetconnection or the power goes off you have no telephone. A land line willusually still work if the power is off. If your landline phone does not work,and the problem is with the telephone system outside your house, you can callthe telephone company and get it fixed. Getting service assistance on a VoIPsystem can be much more difficult. So you have to decide what is important foryou, what convenience or safety you are willing to give up to save the money.For many it is a good choice, for others it may not be. Howard does not delveinto these kinds of tradeoffs in his discussion – so you have to do thethinking on that yourself.

If your primarycriterion is saving money though there is a wealth of information in this bookabout how to do just that.

Readability/Writing Quality:

This book iswell written and easy to follow. It is well organized.

Notes on Author:

ClarkHoward has a popular talk radio program on how to save money and a televisionshow on the same subject. He has written nine other books and has a goodwebsite at clarkhoward.com. His co-authors are Mark Meltzer, an editor for theAtlanta Business Chronicle and Theo Thimou, director of Howard’s website.

Publication Information:

Clark Howard’s Living Large in Lean Times byClark Howard with Mark Meltzer and Theo Thimou

Rating for this Book

Overall Rating for Book: Very good.

Writing Style: Easy to read.

Usefulness: Very useful for almost anyone.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Guest Post by Jenny Roberts - Debt Settlement

2011-10-29T11:30:00.000-07:00

Debtsettlement and the after effects - Is it possible to boost your credit scoreagain? By Jenny Roberts

If youdon't know how to deal with your debts you must immediately take some steps inorder to stay sure about your personal finances. As the US is donning adouble-digit unemployment rate, most people are trying to look for jobs and arenot getting enough funds to repay their surging debt burden.

Among all the debtrelief options, debtsettlement is the only one that allows a drastic reduction of theprincipal balance owed by you. However, the most important thing that you mustknow about debt settlement is that it hurts your credit score and a settlementstays on your credit report throughout the nest 7 years. This doesn't makedebtors refrain from getting help of debt settlement companies as there arenumber of ways in which the credit score can be improved. Read on to know moreon this.

Thesimple benefits of debt settlement

Debt settlement has got some particular benefits thatmake it an attractive option to most debtors. If you're knee deep in debt andyou want to know the advantages of settling your credit card debt, here aresome of them.

Negotiations on your behalf: The debt consultant will make negotiations on your behalf and therefore you need not stay in touch with your creditors. All the credit card companies will be able to get their payments from the debt settlement company and thus they will not call on you and ask for the payments.
Single monthly payment: As soon as you come to know that your debts are settled, you can immediately start making single monthly payments to the company. You may get rid of the multiple payments that you make in a particular month and replace it with a single monthly payment.
Reduction of the principal amount: The principal amount that you owe will be reduced by effective negotiation with your creditors. You will no longer require paying the entire principal amount that you owe them. A part of your debt will be forgiven by the creditors and you can easily repay the entire amount.

How can improve your credit score after adebt settlement?

It is true that debt settlement affects your credit scoreto a great extent as you're not repaying the entire amount that you actuallyowed your creditors. However, it is possible to improve your credit score withease by following certain steps. You may get yourself a secured credit card inorder to show your eagerness to repair your credit. You can also manage yourpersonal finances and make sure that you repay your debts on time so that youcan improve your credit score and make yourself worthy of receiving furtherlines of credit.

Therefore, you need not worry if you've decided to choosedebt settlement as your debt relief option. Take the required steps to avoidfalling in debt and also do the needful to improve your credit score.

Setting and Following Your Priorities

2011-10-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

Successful people have learned how to spend their time and effort in the most efficient and productive manner. To do this they have learned what effort is most productive.

Management expert Joseph M. Juran named a principle about how we spend our time after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. Pareto had discovered that 20% of the people in Italy earned 80% of the national income. He called this the 80/20 rule. Juran applied the same analysis to effort - finding that we generally spend about 20% of our time in the most productive activity which generates about 80% of our income.

Applying this more generally, focusing most of your time and effort on the 20% of your priorities that are most productive will generate an 80% return.

When determining your priorities ask yourself some basic questions:

1. What must I do - that is, what am I required to do by my boss, etc?

2. What is consistent with my definite goal or goals in life?

3. What gives me the greatest return on my effort?

4. What is both urgent and important?

5. What is important but not necessarily urgent?
Item 5, by the way, are the things that we tend to neglect the most. Stephen Covey, in his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, stresses the importance of spending time on that which is important but not urgent. These things will pay off in the long run far more than many of the things that seem urgent but are not important. A great skill in time management is distinguishing between the important and the unimportant among all the urgent and devoting your time first to the important.

Priorities are not permanent. They can shift weekly, daily and even by the hour depending on what is changing and happening in your life. When you wife goes into labor for example that becomes number one in importance and urgency regardless of what was competing for time prior to that. (Of course if you are the woman going into labor you will not need that clarification.)

It is important therefore to take some time each day and each week to review your tasks and priorities and make sure you are adjusting how you devote your time to match the needs and priorities you are facing now, as opposed to what may have been the order last week or last month.

After you complete this assessment of what is important and urgent then plan you day accordingly. Make sure you follow your plan. When things interrupt try to delegate them or put them off until you accomplish what you planned to do.

At the end of the day spend some time looking at what you accomplished, at how well you stuck to your plan or when it was necessary to deviate and why, and how you might do that better in the future. Then look at those priorities again and begin planning tomorrow.

The degree of detail in your planning depends on what works best for you, on the nature of your day and the demands upon it. You must determine what works best.

Setting good priorities that make the best use of your time and effort is a skill that takes practice, constant adjustments and learning. Over time you will become better at it and your time will be more effectively spent.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Guest Post from Jenny Roberts

2011-10-24T18:54:00.000-07:00

Ignore the Wall Street and get on with your life - Build wealth and slash off debtBy Jenny Roberts

Did you buy a home to build wealth? It may be your greatest asset but with the present debt conditions, you can't even afford to pay off the monthly mortgage installments and your home is less worth than what you've paid on it. Have you dutifully socked away bucks from your 401(k) account and the value of the accounts may have dwindled? And are those credit cards taking a toll on your personal finances making them go haywire? Actually the American's financial pain is intense and with the recent raising of the debt ceiling and the credit downgrade by the S&P, this has added fuel to the fire. More than 1/3rd or roughly 86 million adults say that they do not have any kind of non-retirement savings and with such a state of the consumers, what else can you expect from the economy?

Some principles to follow in order to build wealth and repay your debt obligationsAs the S&P downgraded the top-notch credit rating of the US by one notch, the interest rates on all the personal loans including the debt consolidation loans and the mortgage loans have been predicted to rise and this news has made the consumers particularly aware about their finances. They have become conscious about their spending decisions so that they can keep debts at bay.

Check out some ways in which you can build wealth and exterminate debts.

1. Save for a rainy day: If you want to build long term wealth, the principle that holds paramount importance is to establish a personalized financial plan. By doing so you can create a consciousness about whether or not the present spending level will actually translate into achievable goals in the long run. Save money for a rainy day fund so that you have enough during an unfavorable situation. If you have enough funds you don't need to take resort to any kind of loans.

2. Debt is a disease: Debt is almost like a form of bondage that unnecessarily enslaves the borrower. There are people who even commit suicide as they're unable to repay their credit card debt. Wouldn't it be a hundred times better life if you didn't owe anything a dime? But that is far from being true and hence you need to trigger your debts. Unless you repay your debts, your path to building wealth will also be full of obstacles. Get help from a professional and repay your debt obligations on time.

3. Let money beget money: We all know the famous saying 'money begets money', but how many of us practices it? Well, investment, done properly and wisely, can turn out to be one of the most successful ways of building wealth and repaying debt. There are many debtors who don't want to sign up with legal debt relief companies and therefore try their luck in the investment market. You can invest in the stock market, forex market and even in gold. However take the plunge only after consulting a stock market broker so that you remain sure about your steps.

4. Look for passive income: With the widespread use of the internet, you can leverage the World Wide Web to earn dollars sitting at home. Don't quit your day job but you can always look for some additional income like becoming an affiliate marketer, a web content writer, a website reviewer or even by blogging. Use the money that you earn in repaying your debts and accumulate the rest of the amount in a ban savings account.There's a millionaire in everyone. It's just that you don't follow your mind and be financially diligent enough to deal with your finances properly.

With a gloomy economic backdrop in the US, you must personally be aware and use the best finance tips mentioned above to build wealth and repay debt.

Jenney Roberts is a writer for various finance related Communities including Debt Consolidation Care. She is a financial writer by profession and has specialization in dealing with financial problems and its solutions. She is well equipped to write articles on debt consolidation, savings, planning, frugality, debt settlement etc."

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

The Financial Crisis – What You can do about it

2011-10-09T15:14:00.000-07:00

As hundreds of demonstrators in New York and elsewhere complain about the avarice of Wall Street and corporate America they miss the single largest financial problem of this nation which is entirely within the control of every individual American.

According to the 2010 US Census the total consumer debt in the US is over $2.4 trillion! That is over $7800 for every man, woman and child in the nation. This debt is crippling. It leads to massive discontent, more divorce, less financial security, and often great heartbreak.

And this is not limited to the US. Debt is a problem throughout the developed world both for governments and individuals. Over the past several decades the hard lessons learned during the Great Depression have been forgotten. Concepts such as frugality and paying your way as you go are considered passé. People want everything right now.

They have been unwilling to save for future purchases and deny immediate gratification for long term financial security. As a result credit card and other forms of consumer debt have grown astronomically. When easy access to home mortgages allowed people to purchase homes they could not afford they took full advantage and this led directly to the massive numbers of foreclosures in recent years and indirectly to the financial downturn of the last three years.

Everyone likes to find a scape goat for their problems. It must be someone else’s fault after all and blaming the government or the rich is easy – they are easy targets. In fact we have no one to blame but ourselves.

The solution to these problems is not more legislation, more taxes or attacking corporations. The solution is for each individual to take control of their own finances, pay off and avoid any debt that is not absolutely essential, and buy only what you can afford. This is not a novel idea – this is the way people functioned for a very long time before the idea that we can incur unlimited debt caught on.

If every American would save not less than 10% of their income each year and put off purchases they cannot afford without debt, financial security would increase substantially and mass foreclosures and bankruptcies would not occur.
A big part of building wealth, as we write about here all the time, is managing one’s money wisely and this includes avoiding debt. It is time to do something about this mess that is totally within everyone’s control. It is time to save, manage and postpone gratification until you can afford it.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Guest Post by Amanda Kidd

2011-10-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

One selfish reason people struggle

Many people have high aspirations and have set goals for themselves. But it’s only a handful of them who go the distance. The rest, either leave halfway or struggle to get to their targets due to their own perfectionism. The main reason why many people do not achieve their aspirations to the fullest is manifold.

1. Do not be scared of being labeled as a ‘Salesman’: Many people tend to keep their opinion and thoughts under cover and do not reveal them in open. Either they feel too selfish to inform others or simply too conscious to let others read their mind. This proves to be a big disaster. Unless you sell your ideas to the world in a proper manner, no one will actually give it a second glance and you would be lost in the crowd.

2. Be assertive and not meek: When you are meek you may think you are in reality a very good person who can do no harm to others. But you are in fact doing the greatest harm to yourself. Communicating your ideas to others not only benefits the world but it does a world of good to your personal self too. So those who are not assertive always are the ones who struggle. It has been seen that those who are pushy and outspoken are the ones who come out trumps. If you do not want to struggle then you need to showcase your ideas in an attractive package and then hand it out to the world.

3. Believe in your ideas: Those who do not want to struggle should first of all be confident that they have some amazing ideas to sell. It may be related to any field but entrepreneurs always are very confident that they can sell any idea. It is this very confidence that makes them successful and scale heights. But a person who is yet hesitant whether or not his or her idea will sell will definitely struggle.

4. Become a value creator: Whatever your idea, you must create value if you want to become successful. For this you must give cent percent of yourself behind the idea and create something that will be of help to others and mankind in general. Lack of enthusiasm will not fetch you results and will definitely make you struggle. You may be surprised to know that some of the best success stories have been written by those who were thought to have the most mediocre ideas. It is only after a certain point that your valuable ideas are understood by everyone and turn out to be your valuable assets.

5. Do it now: The gist of the matter is - get it done before it is required. That means that you need to be one step ahead in time to create something that will be certainly of help in future. Hence dilly-dallying will make you lose precious time and you may just see the opportunity slip right in front of your eyes.

Conclusion: Learn to accept criticism positively. The one selfish reason why people struggle is because they cannot accept criticism in a positive way. So if you do not want to be labeled as a struggling person, start accepting critics’ view point and incorporate the necessary changes. You will see the amazing results and get rid of the struggler’s tag once and for all.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
About the author: By profession, Amanda Kidd is a writer and blogger. She is a health buff and a strict follower of a healthy lifestyle. Her health guide specifically includes natural ways to maintain physical and mental health. These days she is busy in writing on Interior Design and womens health.
Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

I’ve been buried in work!

2011-10-01T19:31:00.001-07:00

Yes, I know it has been almost two weeks since I’ve posted here and I do not have a very good reason other than that I’ve been buried in work. I know that blog readers expect regular posts and I apologize for neglecting you. My posting may be a bit sketchy this next week as I have to attend a conference, but I will do my best. After that I should be back in the swing of things.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Embrace Failure

2011-09-20T21:26:00.000-07:00

Article 7 in the Success Mindset Series

One of the most difficult things to learn about success is the crucial role played in success by failure. We cannot ultimately succeed until we fail.

Gary Jackson writes, “In everything that requires a certain amount of skill, the learning curve includes many losses amongst the wins. These (sometimes painful) losses are
indicators of mistakes that you’re making and should alert you to the fact that you are
missing the mark.”

All success is the product of learning; learning to do things better and more effectively. The learning process always requires setbacks and “failures” through which we learn.

We are all afraid to fail. To overcome that fear and pursue goals despite the setbacks and failures is part of the path to all forms of success.

You can learn more about Gary Jackson’s lessons of financial success through his Millionaire Stealth Success program. We will look at a few of those lessons in ten introductory articles in this newsletter over the 20 weeks – one article every other week. To get the full story though visit the Millionaire Stealth Success program.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Guest Article from Amanda Kidd - Building Wealth

2011-09-14T21:26:00.000-07:00

Building wealth: When the opportunity knocks open the door
There are several successful case studies around the world where people talk about how they have succeeded in building their wealth. There is no fixed formula or strategy to build wealth. If there would have been such formula then it could have been easily applied and would have brought financial prosperity very easily. If you see these stories deeply, you will find that along with the success, there have been several failed attempts also. Here we are enumerating 5 ideas to build your personal wealth.

1. Get Educated and gain knowledge: Generally, earning potential is directly proportional to education. So, you should get yourself enrolled in some course which will be a value to your current profession. If there is some course/ degree program you had joined in the past but did not complete then rejoin that. Nowadays there is the facility of online and distance education. Do not let your age become hindrance in your pursuit of getting educating. It might be a costly endeavor but in the long run, it will pay out by increasing your income.

2. Handle your money well: We all know that if money is managed properly, it will grow. But this is quite challenging for several people. Some people are impulsive buyers while some do not have any long term goal related to money. This leads to unnecessary spending. To build your personal wealth, you will have to be organized in monetary affairs and have to keep an eye on finances. In the short run, you might not see the significance but it will surely pay off in the long run.

3. Invest: Keep into consideration all the avenues of investment like real estate, stock market or some business ventures, as these can prove to be extremely rewarding. The returns of the investments are at times unbelievable. But before investing, become educated about the investment. This is very necessary as mostly all the investments have some risks associated with them and at times may cause some loss. You can also opt for some professional advice before investing.

4. Do savings: Saving money will automatically lead to building of wealth. Thus, it is the best, tried and tested way of building personal wealth. Even if you save small, it will eventually grow over time. One of the best practices to do so is by putting a fixed amount of your salary in a savings account.

5. Think about turning hobby into a business: There have been many successful cases where people have put their hobbies in profitable ventures. These ventures are greater success as you are doing what you like the most. So people who like nature and wildlife can write books on them, people interested in photography can become wildlife photographers.

There is no hard and fast rule or a formula to grow and build your personal wealth. The way you choose will depend on your life style, personal interest as well as environment where you are living. One must keep in mind that there is no alternate for resourcefulness, informed decisions and hard work. So you need to keep in mind these three aspects while selecting any of the above methods.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
About the author: Amanda Kidd is a blogger who takes utmost care while choosing beauty products. She prefers following natural skin care tips and has a huge collection of nail paints, blushers, eye shadows and lipsticks. These days she is busy in writing on most expensive beauty stuff upcoming in the market.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Building True Wealth is More than Accumulating Money

2011-09-06T20:53:00.001-07:00

There may be nothing sadder than a wealthy person who is deeply unhappy because he has neglected important areas of his life such as his family, friends, community and health.

My father often told me the story of John D. Rockefeller walking down a street in sunny Miami, Florida and seeing a small boy staring at a bushel of bright red apples. Rockefeller was one of the richest men in the world at the time. He had neglected his health however in his everlasting striving to accumulate more money. As a result he suffered severe stomach ulcers and could not eat many foods including apples.

Rockefeller told the boy that he would give all his riches that moment if he could bite into a fresh red apple. He then bought the boy apples and walked on.

I do not know how accurate this story is although like most fables it likely contains some grain of truth. Rockefeller in fact did come to fully realize the importance of enjoying life outside his race for riches and later in life gave away millions of dollars and led a more balanced life.

This story is worth noting because we all at one time or another fail to maintain proper balance in our lives. We fail to give adequate attention to all the important things in life in our effort to pursue one of them. For some, though not all, it may be the pursuit of money.

Genuine success and happiness cannot come exclusively from accumulating money. True wealth includes happy relationships with family and friends and good health.

Are you eating a healthy diet? Are you getting enough sleep? Are you spending critical time with family and friends? Do you pay heed to your own emotional and spiritual needs? If you cannot answer affirmatively to these questions it may be time to bring things back into balance and avoid sacrificing the most important things in your life to make more money or acquire more things.

Money will buy some security and a lot of opportunity. It will ease the difficulty of life and make you more physically comfortable. It will not make you happy. Plenty of wealthy people can attest to that.

Build true wealth in your life: build love, relationships, friendships, and your health.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Why is Attitude so important to your success?

2011-09-01T20:59:00.000-07:00

In his famous book Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl, the psychotherapist who survived the German prison camps of WWII, wrote that ultimately the one power that every man always has, no matter what his circumstance, is to choose his reaction to any circumstance. No one can force you to feel anything - you choose your feelings and thoughts.

This is really a profound thought. No matter how good or how dreadful your circumstances, you choose your response to those circumstances - you have free will.

How often do we say that "he made me so mad" or "she just ruined my day"? These comments betray our lack of understanding of the fundamental truth that Frankl saw day after day demonstrated in the terrible circumstances of Dachau.

Does it matter what response you do choose? Absolutely! Your response to life - your chosen behavior and attitude on any given day or any given moment is not only totally your choice but also has a massive influence over your ultimate success. It does not matter what you set out to do, if you have a good attitude about it you are more likely to succeed. If you have a poor attitude you are more likely to fail.

People who believe they will succeed do. It works. Not every time. Not without struggle and disappointment on the path to success. But it will work.

There are certain principles and attributes which virtually every single success author, speaker and teacher includes in their list of essentials for success - attitude is one of those essentials.

It is not always easy to maintain a positive attitude. It takes work. You must intentionally manage your attitude every day. When you get up in the morning and at every turn during the day, especially when you find yourself reacting to the events of the day, you must consciously choose to have a good attitude. You must work on this every day.

Stay positive. Remember that you control your response to life - do not allow others to make you feel anything and least of all bad.

Eliminate from your vocabulary words like can't, if only, I don't think, I don't have, maybe, I am afraid, I don't believe. Replace those ideas with I can, I will, I know, I will make time, absolutely, I am confident, I am sure.

Your attitude is the tenor of your reaction. It drives your success. You control it. You must control it to be successful.

Stay positive and remember to think about your attitude every day. The pay off can be extraordinary.

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Ways to build personal wealth: Turn a hobby into a business – Guest Article by Amanda Kidd

2011-08-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

An entrepreneur is not just a person who owns his venture and bears the probable risks associated with it, or generates profit but he is a person whose passions run high. Usually in the cases of entrepreneurs, it does happen that they turn their hobbies into passion, and then they turn their passion into business. It is pleasant to give shape to your dream in this way. For playing safely, it is necessary to focus on some of the issues associated with it as follows:

Forecast the budget: It is imperative to focus on budget and to forecast it. As you are going to turn your hobby into a business and your passion is associated with it, so you have an additional competitive advantage as you know the need of the hour as per the desire. In spite of this fact, be cautious while budgeting.

Play cautiously: Do focus on concept, objective and market scenario. Simultaneously, keep an eye on geographic, political, ethical, economical and social issues as well. It is necessary to determine how much profit can be earned and what obstructions or hiccups may come in between. Ask yourself if it is really a wise step to go with? Or, whether you will be able to move its dark side as well? Or, is there enough scope to explore?

Realistic appraisal is must: Make sure that you are a perfectionist in your hobby and people will get ready to pay for it. Be serious if you really want to turn your hobby into a job. Evaluate yourself on the above criteria. Be honest while appraising.

Apply the pragmatic approach: Solve your problems and face the hiccups in a realistic way. Go for the course of actions that suit the present condition rather than chasing for fixed theories, concepts and ideas. Have the disciple and commitment.

Focus on growth as well: Draw a well-structured, systematic and well-organized layout to focus on the possible expansion areas. Find out whether enough scope is there for expansion.
How to sustain: Try to maintain the price edge. Make a blueprint of the strategies to sustain in the market. If you are a new rider then you need to populate your market place. Differentiate your business from the other available substitutes.

Be professional: Have a professional behavior. Where we pursue our hobby to have fun, performing a job requires dedication, hard work, sincerity and a responsible attitude. It is essential to make it sure that fun should not get ruined. It is good if the meanings and values for hobby remain same.
To turn your hobby into a business has some additional imperatives such as competitive advantage but despite all of other facts, it is necessary to focus and consider every aspect regarding that.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
About the author: Amanda Kidd is a passionate blogger. Amongst all, beauty, fashion and health care are her favorites. Being a skin and hair conscious she prefers using only organic products. Her articles on beauty specifically include natural beauty tips for a healthier skin. But these days she is growing her interest towards tech related topics like tech help regarding create a bootable usb, windows server.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Use the ABC Method to Plan Your Day

2011-08-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

Have you ever finished a day of work and realized you did not get any of your important tasks done and spent most of your time on unimportant things? We have all found ourselves in just that situation. Here is a way to avoid this and get the important things addressed every day.

May a to-do list of the things you need to do each day. Assign each task a letter code:

A for those things that are important and must be done today
B for those things that are less important but should be done soon
C for those things that are of least importance and can be done after the A and B tasks are done
D for those things you can delegate

Then number each of the A tasks and B tasks and C tasks and D tasks in order of urgency or importance. As an example you may have this list:

A1 Call your #1 customer and finalize a sale
A2 Call your attorney and make sure a legal issue is addressed
A3 Call your spouse and wish her happy birthday (maybe this should be A1)
B1 Pay the power bill which is due now
B2 Organize your desk so you can see what needs to be done
B3 Return a call from a prospective client
C1 Order and office supply your running low on
C2 Return a call from an old friend
C3 Make appointment for hair cut
D1 Send out form letters to customers
D2 Go through mail and sort by importance

If you have items that do not fit any of these importance levels it is not important task and should be cancelled.

Refer to your list all day long. Make sure you spend time on the A items first, and once they are done address the B items, etc. You may want to delegate the D items early on to get them off your desk.

By following a priority system like this each day your time is focused on the most important tasks and the ones that get left undone at day’s end are those that are of least importance.

Try this method for one week. You will find you are far more productive. Once you see the value in this system use it all the time. It will pay off handsomely.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Only Give with a Reason

2011-08-22T20:44:00.000-07:00

Article 6 in the Success Mindset Series

It may seem too obvious but success in business requires an exchange of value for value. This is not a repudiation of charity, which is a special exception. Rather it is a recognition that to succeed commercially one must have a reason to give. As Gary Jackson comments, “to achieve success in business you must never ever give of yourself for free”.

This does not mean that you should never give anything away. King Gillette gave away safety razors to sell safety razor blades. Bill Gates gave away copies of Microsoft Office with computers to build a demand for the product. In each case however, there was a sound commercial reason for apparently giving something away.

You are entitled to fair compensation from the market for your labor as long as you produce something of value. You do no good by giving away your labor or effort unless it is to build some greater value such as Gillette and Gates did.

You can learn more about Gary Jackson’s lessons of financial success through his Millionaire Stealth Success program. We will look at a few of those lessons in ten introductory articles in the CTW newsletter over the 20 weeks – one article every other week. To get the full story though visit the Millionaire Stealth Success program.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Only Have Integrity

2011-08-21T15:56:00.000-07:00

Article 5 in the Success Mindset Series

Success in business or in anything else worth pursuing requires integrity. Gary Jackson writes: “To achieve success in business, your primary concern should not be towards conquering other people. Instead, your primary concern is to conquer knowledge.”

So often people waste their time struggling with other people and seeking to control and dominate them. While this may lead to temporary achievements it is not a sound long term strategy for success. The more you know the more value you can provide others. The more value you can provide the more others will want to serve your interests.

People are attracted to integrity. They trust someone with integrity and since they do not trust someone without integrity that person his handicapped in his ability to motivate others and seek their help. We all need others to succeed. Maintaining unwavering integrity is the surest way to have influence over others and achieve more.

You can learn more about Gary Jackson’s lessons of financial success through his Millionaire Stealth Success program. We will look at a few of those lessons in ten introductory articles in the CTW newsletter over the 20 weeks – one article every other week. To get the full story though visit the Millionaire Stealth Success program.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Only Build Value

2011-08-18T19:52:00.000-07:00

Article 4 in the Success Mindset Series...

Success in business does not come from destroying anything or anyone. If there is a gain from destruction it is shortsighted and short-lived. Genuine success in business comes from building, not destroying. (Unless you are in the demolition business, but even then the act of destruction is building value by making way for greater value.)

Gary Jackson writes: “If someone tries to destroy you, use the energy from the anger you feel to create something great so that this ‘something’ indirectly removes their source of pleasure.”

This is extremely powerful. Rather than being sucked into the negative feelings and destructive mentality of others rise above it – as is often said, the best revenge is success. The best response to a destructive act from someone else is to engage in a constructive act that renders the destructive act powerless.

All the time you waste fighting with people who have wronged you takes away from the time you could be spending doing something to build value in your life. This is just as true in your general affairs of life as it is in business. Time is a very limited resource. You cannot buy, beg, borrow or steal it. You have only so much of it. You must use it to continue to build value if you hope to succeed.

You can learn more about Gary Jackson’s lessons of financial success through his Millionaire Stealth Success program. We will look at a few of those lessons in ten introductory articles in the CTW newsletter over the 20 weeks – one article every other week. To get the full story though visit the Millionaire Stealth Success program.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

The Most Important 10 Minutes of Your Day

2011-08-17T20:54:00.000-07:00

We have all had those days – you start out the day and one thing after another interrupts you. You spend a large part of the day putting out fires, as they say. Other people’s urgent problems become your distractions.

Weary of all that you jump from one task to another: checking email, glancing at papers on your desk, returning a phone call you want to get over with, making more coffee. Soon lunch time arrives and you have not accomplished anything important. You have done nothing to advance your important goals. You feel like your time has been wasted.
This pattern continues all day long and by the end of the day you are no further along with what is important than you were when the day started. Like a leaf blowing in the wind you have lost control of your time and your work.

The solution to this is the most important ten minutes of your day. You must discipline yourself to do this. Devote ten minutes, every evening or every morning as you prefer, to review what you want to accomplish and what you need to accomplish during the day you are planning for. Review your goals. Remind yourself of your most important purpose. Make a list of what you want to accomplish this day that will advance you toward accomplishing those goals. It may be one thing, or three things or a dozen. However guard against making too long a list. It is better to achieve two or three things of importance than making a list of 20 things and then failing to do any of them.

Refer to this list all day long. It is your guide. Force yourself to accomplish at least one or two things that will truly advance you toward your goals. Do your best to devote time to these important things before the interruptions take all your time.

The interruptions will come. Other people will invade your time and space if you let them. However if you continue to bring your attention back to those important goal fulfilling actions that need to be done, not because they are urgent, but because they are important, at the end of the day you will feel as though you have truly accomplished something. And you will have.

Make a habit of using that important ten minutes each day to plan what is most important and then follow through. You will accomplish so much more.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

New Books For Summer’s End

2011-08-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

Check out these new books for some late summer reading...

Clark Howard’s Living Large in Lean Times by Clark Howard, Mark Meltzer, & Theo Thimou.

EntreLeadership: 20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches by David Ramsey.

Stay tuned for reviews on these books and more.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

The 3 Primary Ways to Generate Income

2011-08-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

There are three primary ways to generate income. One is to work as an employee for someone else and get paid a salary or wage. One is to own a business. One is passive, that is, it involves investing money and earning a return on the investment.

The Job

For most people the easiest way to earn income is to get and keep a job. The advantages are that you need only invest limited time in a job in most cases – a set amount of time per day or week for which you are paid a salary or wage. In general you can increase earnings at a job three ways:

1. By staying with the job and earning pay raises granted for longevity.

2. By becoming more skilled and thereby earning a higher rate of compensation.

3. By working more hours.

There are things you can do to enhance your strengths in all of these areas. In future sections we will cover each of those in more detail.

Pros and Cons for a Job

The primary advantages of a job are that you have limited risk, your highest risk is being laid off; and you have limited investment – mostly your time.

One of the primary disadvantages of a job are that you are entirely at the mercy of an employer and there is no such thing as “job security”. All jobs are at risk in a modern competitive marketplace, which is where most of us live today. Another disadvantage is that you can only work so many hours and you can only earn a limited amount per hour, even if you are among the highest paid at your job. There are substantial limits on how much you can increase your annual income from a job.

Next we will discuss how you can enhance the three factors that influence how much you can earn from a job.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

The Three Essentials: GMI

2011-08-03T21:23:00.000-07:00

Many people attain some financial success but never seem to attain what they want. Something stands in their way. They have part of the picture, but not the entire essential program for financial success.

To achieve real and sustained financial success you must understand and implement all three essentials – what I call GMI for Generating wealth or income, Managing your finances and Investing wisely. If any one of those three essentials is missing from your program or you neglect any one of them for long success is unlikely.

Generating income is about focusing on what you need to do every day to insure that you continue to generate regular income. It is about your job, your profession or career, your business, or your income generating investments. For most people their primary source of regular income is their job. To avoid debt, which kills financial success, to feed your family, and to build for the future it is absolutely essential that you devote regular attention to your primary sources of income. They are the foundation of all you build for the future, for your investments and your enterprises.

Managing your finances is equally crucial. Many people live from paycheck to paycheck. They may not know how much they actually have in the bank, what their investments are doing or what they are worth, or how they are spending their money. Because they do not manage their finances carefully they fail to save enough to invest for the future, or they may fail to save anything at all! It is impossible to avoid debt and to build investments for retirement, additional sources of income or passive income, or pay for large ticket items like college educations for the kids or automobiles, without either incurring crippling debt or investing wisely. It is not possible to save and plan for these things unless you manage your finances wisely.

Once you manage your finances successfully you will begin to build savings. Those savings must be invested wisely and managed in order to build wealth. There are many ways to do this, but it must be done.

Many people find all this managing and record keeping boring and tedious. For most people it is. It is, however just as essential to financial success as it may be tedious. However as you watch your investments grown and your debt shrink the tedium begins to pay off and become enjoyable.

In future posts you will learn the essentials on how to effectively manage your GMI to build wealth, reduce debt and attain success.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

What is new on the Books2Wealth Website?

2011-07-31T21:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some things to check out on the Books2Wealth website, the sister to this blog.

August Book of the Month Book Review: The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey

My exclusive interview with authors Daniel and Deborah Minteer, authors of Boiled Down Money Goo

Book Review for Boiled Down Money Goo

Check it out. Dave Ramsey and the Minteers share the same fundamental message by the way – eliminate debt to build wealth. The Minteers list Ramsey’s book in their bibliography, he is obviously an influence on their success.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

An exclusive interview with authors Daniel and Deborah Minteer by Daniel R. Murphy-

2011-07-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

A few days ago we featured my review of a great new book on how ordinary people can eliminate debt and gain financial independence. Now read my exclusive interview with the authors:

Murphy: In your new book, Boiled Down Money Goo, Tips for Propelling Your Financial Future, you describe coming to the realization that continuing to live in debt is not a good idea. What turned that light on in your minds? What motivated you to make this big change?

Dan Minteer: I was a fool with sixty-five thousand dollars racked up on credit cards! Plus, there were student loans, a car payment, a mortgage, no savings at all and layoffs looming at work. So I was scared to say the least. Respect for my upcoming marriage to Deborah was the motivation to rethink my entire outlook with money, which obviously was a disaster.

Deborah Minteer: We had got engaged five months before we had the “money talk.” When Dan told me how much debt he had “acquired,” I was stunned and seriously freaked out. Our philosophies on money were radically different. I had no debt and Dan was all about debt. If Dan lost his job, we couldn’t make it on my paycheck. This scared me enough to start talking about how to fix this problem. Thankfully Dan was also ready to do the same…..

To read the rest of the interview please go to Interview

To read our review of the Minteer’s book to to Boiled Down Money Goo.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

The Three Essentials to Financial Success: G.M.I.

2011-07-24T16:20:00.000-07:00

Creating True Wealth, or attaining financial success, requires mastering and implementing three essentials to financial success. I call them G. M. I. That is, Generating Income, Managing Finances and Investing well. The more you learn about these subjects and master them the more likely you will attain financial success.

To improve organization and clarity here and on the website these three areas of focus will be the basis for most of my future entries. Next year be watching for my second major ebook to come out on these three essentials. In the meantime however you will see a lot of great entries here on the blog on these subjects. I will still meander off in other directions of course, as I become aware of really good books and other resources I will continue to write on them even if they do not necessarily fit the GMI definitions, but the focus here will be on these three essentials.

Stay tuned for some great articles on the GMI essentials.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Boiled Down Money Goo - the Review

2011-07-18T21:24:00.000-07:00

I recently mentioned a new book I was reading about personal finance and how to get out and stay out of debt. Here is the full book review. Check it out – it is a very good book written by ordinary people who have done it!

Title and Author: Boiled Down Money Goo by Daniel and Deborah Minteer

Synopsis of Content:
This is a guide on how to get out of debt, avoid debt and build personal wealth and financial security written by a couple in the Pacific Northwest who have experienced financial distress, debt and marital strain as a result and who also demonstrated how to escape all that and become financially independent.

They take you on their personal journey from debt and helplessness to independence. When they got married Daniel was deeply in debt with credit cards, student loans, an upside down auto loan and little home equity. His bride, Deborah, was in better condition, having avoided much debt and having some investments, but their combined financial picture was grim when you deducted his debt from her equity.

They soon realized this was no way to live. Taking radical action they eliminated all debt including their home mortgage, owned two cars free and clear and began building investments for retirement. The book describes the techniques they used.

Daniel is an engineer and Deborah is a secretary. On their combined income they succeeded in going from living paycheck to paycheck to being completely debt free and they show you how you can do it too.

You will not find anything new or revolutionary in their approach. They studied debt avoidance techniques such as those taught by Dave Ramsey and other financial advisors and authors and then used great discipline to apply those techniques to their own lives.

What makes this book unique and valuable to read is the inspirational real life story of how they did it. They endured some very frugal years to come out on top. They demonstrate however how the typical middle class American family can eliminate and avoid debt through some commons sense financial disciplines. The process took them two years of very frugal living to get out of all debt except their home mortgage which they paid off in seven years.

Readability/Writing Quality:
This is a well written book in simple language aimed at the average person seeking financial independence and willing to sacrifice some of the material trappings of a consumerist society in the process.

Notes on Author:
The authors are a typical married couple with a comfortable income.

Three Great Ideas You Can Use:

1. Avoid debt by paying cash. If you cannot pay cash you cannot afford the purchase. Financial independence requires sustained financial discipline.

2. Educate yourself about the pitfalls of debt and consumerism. Change your mindset from keeping up with the Jones’s to building financial wealth.

3. Maintain a sense of humor and balance. You do not need to stop enjoying life to save and liquidate debt. You need to set goals and work toward them. Doing this not only improves our financial situation but can strengthen your marriage.

Publication Information:
Boiled Down Money Goo by Daniel and Deborah Minteer
Copyright 2011 by Daniel and Deborah Minteer. 200 pages, paperback. Self published and available on Kindle.

Rating for this Book
Over all Rating for Book: Very good.

Writing Style: Easy to read.

Usefulness: Very useful guide for the typical person with a steady income.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Good Debt and Bad Debt

2011-07-14T21:53:00.000-07:00

I have discussed here quite a bit lately about how you should eliminate debt to build wealth. As a general rule this is true, but we need to distinguish types of debt to be clear on this.

The debt that hurts people financially is consumer debt and overly leveraged debt. Consumer debt is money borrowed to purchase assets that do not appreciate in value and/or do not generate income. This category of debt includes all credit card debt, noncommercial bank loans, payday loans, any debt incurred to pay living expenses, and auto loans. All these loans are used to either pay daily living expenses or to purchase assets that lose value from the day you purchase them. This is bad debt. It does not generate income or wealth. It digs you deeply into a financial hole you will have great difficulty digging out of. It is a bad habit and a bad practice.

Bad debt consumes inordinate amounts of your income in interest payments. This debt limits your purchasing power and denies you financial flexibility and independence.

The more you can avoid bad debt the better off you will be. If you cannot afford something you should not purchase it. Better to do without than to go into debt to buy it.

Good debt can be debt incurred to buy an appreciating asset, such as a home, or a business investment that will generate income and wealth. Good debt is complex. Buying a home for example is not the best plan for everyone at every time in their life. It is beyond this article to analyze when it is the right time to buy a home. If you are contemplating purchasing a home educate yourself about the pros and cons of buying over renting given your income, your financial stability, your age, and your existing debt.

Beware of another form of bad debt – speculative debt. The classic example of speculative debt is to borrow money to buy stock. It is rather like borrowing money to bet on the ponies. You may win or you may lose – not a good basis for incurring debt.

Understand the difference between good debt and bad debt. Avoid debt like the plague. Be cautious about incurring good debt. Do your due diligence on so called good debt and make sure it is a relative safe and sensible investment.

The best debt is debt owed to you by someone with good credit. Wealthy people avoid debt, especially bad debt. They make fortunes loaning money to others. It is called investing. You will only have money to invest if you can avoid bad debt.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Only React Positively to Every Situation

2011-07-12T19:43:00.000-07:00

Article 3 in the Success Mindset Series...

This may be the most important attitudinal lesson for us all to learn. It is difficult to learn and even more difficult to consistently implement because our human nature fights it all the time. There are a few people who are naturally upbeat and positive about everything, but they tend to be a small minority. Most of us just naturally react with some negative feelings or thoughts when things go wrong. Even though this seems “natural”, it can be overcome. To be most effective at building wealth it must be overcome.

It is said that one day a subordinate had to report to Andrew Carnegie, the great steel magnate of the late 19th and early 20th century, that one of his steel plants had burned to the ground. This was, at first glance, terrible news. The subordinate did not want to be the one to tell Carnegie that he just lost millions of dollars in a fire.

To the subordinate’s great relief Carnegie laughed heartily. He then asked, “and what shall we do now?” Carnegie understood that getting angry or having other negative reactions to this calamity would not solve anything. He understood that when faced with a big problem like this it is all the more important to keep your cool and think as creatively and positively as possible. In the end Carnegie was able to make the best of the situation and replaced the plant with a more modern and more productive plant that ended up making him even more money.

As Gary Jackson writes: “If you do not see the silver lining then you will always feel like a victim of life. You will not actually BE a victim but you will still feel it.”

If you can marshal your positive feelings about a situation you are more empowered to do something about it. You accept responsibility for fixing things rather than wasting time blaming others or complaining about your bad luck.

Even if all that you do in response to a problem does not entirely fix it, or reverse the damage done, you still avoid all the negative effects on your own thinking that a negative reaction causes.

Successful people do not waste time feeling sorry for themselves, searching for blame or feeling defeated. They marshal their best thinking and most effective efforts to press on and achieve the best they can despite the misfortune.

Try this. For just one week make it a point to react positively to every event that comes your way. Look for the silver lining. Search for the alternative approach. Learn from mistakes. Use these negative events in life to make you more effective and learn how to avoid them in the future.

You can learn more about Gary Jackson’s lessons of financial success through his Millionaire Stealth Success program. We will look at a few of those lessons in ten introductory articles in this newsletter over the 20 weeks – one article every other week. To get the full story though visit the Millionaire Stealth Success program.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Boiled Down Money Goo

2011-07-10T21:24:00.000-07:00

Just finished reading a great new little book by Daniel and Deborah Minteer called Boiled Down Money Goo. The title is a little strange but the content is great. Stay tuned for a full review in the newsletter and on this blog. Stay tuned…

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Avoiding Debt Builds Wealth

2011-07-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

Debt bleeds you of all your excess money each month. Debt requires substantial payment of interest which does not build wealth.

The more you can avoid debt the more you can build wealth. Save each month toward major purchases such as automobiles or household appliances. Put off buying these things until you have saved enough to pay cash. The interest you save each month will be enough to save even more.

Nothing you do on a regular basis will help build your wealth more than avoiding debt.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

The Critical Cash Reserve

2011-07-07T21:33:00.001-07:00

Whether you are just starting out in life, rebuilding from financial failure, or building on success nothing is more important than maintaining a cash reserve. Here are the main reasons everyone should save a cash reserve:

1. You never know when a financial emergency will arise. It may be auto repairs, dental work, medical bills, a broken window, or losing your job. There is no certainly as to which emergency will befall you, there is only certainty that one or more will befall you. A cash reserve allows you to pay for that emergency without stress.

2. Emergencies also tempt you to incur debt, especially high interest credit card debt. By having a cash reserve you avoid the temptation of going into debt. Consumer debt is a major impediment for most people in their efforts to build wealth. It should be avoided like the plague.

3. A cash reserve builds a psychological framework of self sufficiency for you. This is important. The more you can rely on yourself to meet your needs, the less likely you will be to resort to debt or foolish financial decisions.

4. The discipline required to save for a cash reserve is critical – it will then allow you to save to pay off debt and to invest for the future.

Set aside as much as you can afford to set aside each month for your cash reserve. For most people your reserve should equal at least your living expenses for six months in a strong economy and one year in a weak economy.

Ideally set aside 10% of your income for your reserve. If you cannot possibly meet your financial obligations and genuine needs on 90% of your income then save whatever you can each month – even if it is only $20. Over time you will save enough to have the peace of mind to know that an emergency or even loss of your job will not plunge you into debt or lead to imminent foreclosure. It will allow you to survive without additional debt for six months to a year whether you have a paycheck or not.

How is that for peace of mind?

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Anything You Want

2011-07-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

Amazon.com just listed a new book out that is worth looking at. It is described as a story about the new kind of entrepreneur, but it is really about what is genuinely true in success at any time.

Anything You Want by Derek Sivers

Sivers wraps up the book’s essence with this quote: "In the end, it's about what you want to be, not what you want to have." If that idea appeals to you then you need to read this short work. It will be worth it.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Would Love to Hear From You

2011-07-04T20:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

I would love to hear from you. Yesterday 15 people viewed this blog, last month 1,111 people viewed this blog. I must admit I am a bit puzzled that there are so few comments.

It would be great to hear from you - even if only to tell me you like a post or not, and why not. I am happy to post the content here and hope it is helpful to you, however if I saw more comments I would have a better idea if what I am posting is helpful to you.

So let me know. And let me know if there are things you would rather see here. I want this to benefit you. That is why the blog exists.

Thanks!

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Pay Yourself First – The Key to Building Wealth

2011-07-03T13:05:00.000-07:00

The most powerful discipline you can use to build wealth is to pay yourself first each month. Most people pay all their bills and buy everything they think they need and want first, and then save what is left. Not surprisingly nothing is usually left.

Wealthy people pay themselves first. They put a portion of their income away in savings each month before they pay bills and buy things. This insures that they will build wealth each month. While you may not be able to save a lot at first, by using this discipline each month you will build wealth.

Ideally you should save at least 10% of your income. However if that is too difficult save less; as little as 1% is better than nothing.

Use this monthly savings to build an emergency fund. This fund should be enough to pay all your necessary living expenses for at least six months in case you lose your job or have a financial emergency. They you will not need to incur debt.

Once you have an emergency fund established save for major purchases such as automobiles so you do not need to borrow for them. They save for your retirement and other investments.

Teach your children to also save some of their allowance or income each month.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Compete with Yourself

2011-06-09T21:03:00.000-07:00

Article 2 in the Success Mindset Series...

There are two levels of competition in the financial world. You can compete with others and you can compete with yourself. We have been taught that financial success comes from competing with others. It is certainly true that in a free market there will invariably be competition between people and businesses. McDonalds competes with Burger King every day to get your burger dollars. Ford competes with Toyota every day to get your automotive dollars.

Successful people learn quickly however that competing with others is a secondary level of competition. The important competition is the one you have with yourself. Millionaire Gary Jackson writes:

“To achieve success in business, you must ignore your natural desire to compete with other people. Instead, you should only compete with yourself. Here’s why…
All the trouble in the world today is brought about by people competing with each other. All the trouble in the economy today is brought about by people competing with each other.

The plain and simple truth is this: Money is not made by competing with others. It is only shared out. And only the most competitive survive in that arena.

Money is actually made by a small handful of people who only compete with themselves. These people effortlessly become leaders in their niche. Everyone else in that ‘niche’ is too busy and stressed out competing with their rival to get anywhere.”

This is counter-intuitive, isn’t it? And this is why so many people fail, because the mistake the superficial competition in the market with the more important competition with oneself. In truth the more you compete with yourself the better you get at what you do, the better you get at meeting your customer’s needs and wants. The more effective you are at doing that the more effective and competitive you will be in the open market.

You can learn more about Gary Jackson’s lessons of financial success through his Millionaire Stealth Success program. To get the full story though visit the Millionaire Stealth Success program.

[Go to the Series page for the index of this series and links to the other articles.]

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Don't Listen to Those Who Say You Cannot

2011-06-05T17:22:00.000-07:00

This is a wonderful and very short video that illustrates so well why you should not listen to those who say you cannot...

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

90 Days and Counting....

2011-06-03T21:55:00.000-07:00

For the past 30 years I have pursued the question of why some people succeed and some do not. Why some grow wealthy and some do not? Why some people achieve what they set out to accomplish and some do not? After having read and reviewed hundreds of books and articles, observed those who succeed and those who fail, and interviewing many of them, I have reduced what I have learned about success to the essentials - to those skills, attributes and disciplines that appear to be essential to nearly all success.

Just 90 days from today, on September 3, 2011, my book, The Success Essentials, will launch and you will be the first to have a chance to read it. Over the next three months I will continue to refine it, to remove anything not essential, and to refine it so it reads easily and clearly.

I will keep you posted here about that progress and about the process I have used to distill this information. As with everything I bring you, the aim is to help you become better informed and more successful in your pursuits, including the pursuit of true wealth.

I have been working on this book now for a number of years and postponed the release once because it was not ready. I am truly excited at the prospect that this project is near completion and I can share with all of you the essentials of success in a concise and easy to read ebook. Stay tuned for more information and for September 3rd!

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

The Success Mindset – Part 1

2011-06-02T20:53:00.000-07:00

Success both in the financial realm and in all areas of life is attainable if you learn some basic rules, skills and techniques which have allowed others to attain success. Success does leave clues.

The first requirement for financial success is the right mindset. Attitude and the way we approach success play a pivotal role in whether or not you will succeed.

British millionaire Gary Jackson struggled for years to achieve success in business. While he met with some modest success at times he more often met with failure. While it was frustrating and he nearly gave up after a long period he studied his journals and analyzed what worked and what did not. From this process he developed a framework of success principles that did really work. He applied them and met with tremendous success, becoming a millionaire. He is now teaching these lessons to others.

The first lesson Gary teaches is to Only Act with Reason. It is remarkable how often people take financial risks without doing the necessary homework. Gary writes:

Only act with reason To achieve success in business, you must not act on faith or guess or take blind and stupid risks. Instead, look for reasons to act based on factual information you receive. But even this should not be taken ‘as is’ and just blindly followed.

All information received by you should be thoroughly checked out. A minimum of 2 external and independent clues must be found before you can take confident action. These ‘clues’ must be from another source other than where the original information came from.

Financial success is not an accident. There is a smart way to go at it. You can struggle as others have with multiple failures or you can learn from someone who has succeeded.

You can learn more about Gary Jackson’s lessons of financial success through his Millionaire Stealth Success program. We will look at a few of those lessons in ten introductory articles in this newsletter over the next 20 weeks – one article every other week. To get the full story though visit the Millionaire Stealth Success program.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

How Focus Can Be Used To Increase Your Success

2011-05-25T21:02:00.000-07:00

Success at nearly anything requires a great deal of effort. One study showed that it typically takes 10,000 hours of effort to achieve mastery in any area of human activity. We all have a limited amount of time to devote to any activity, even if it is aimed at mastery and success.

The Pareto Principle – Focusing on What Counts

Your time can most effectively be used to attain success and to develop mastery if you focus your time and effort on what counts most. To understand this you must apply what is called the Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 rule. This principle is that you will achieve 80% return on about 20% of what you do. This is because many things we do bring little relative return. Everyone is required to do a lot of busy work that brings little in return.

The key then to maximizing your effectiveness then is to focus your time and effort on the 20% of the activities that will bring you 80% of the return. To do this you need to carefully observe and record the return on what you do. One way to do this is to track your activity over a period of two or three weeks. Keep track of every minute you are engaged in any activity and record how much time you spend. Go back at the end of the recording period and observe how much return you achieved on each activity.

Identify the areas of activity that accomplished the most toward what you are seeking to achieve. You will invariably find that you can identify about 20% of your activity that provides about 80% return. The numbers are not exact, but it is a good general measurement.

You then want to focus your efforts on that 20% of activity that gives you the greatest return. This applies whether you are training for a marathon, building a business, developing a major project, writing a book, selling, or anything else.

Limit Distractions

One of the primary reasons we engage in the other 80% of activity that brings us little is that we are easily distracted. Television and other amusements are non-productive distractions. Idle socializing is a distraction. Devoting too much time to planning and agonizing over things is a distraction.

Often as we are trying to focus on one activity we get email, phone calls, and other interruptions. You must evaluate the interruption immediately. If it is important, like a hungry child or a call from your boss, you must give up time to it. But most distractions are not priority activities and can be delayed or even avoided altogether.

The more you can focus on your task and especially the key and most productive aspects of that task, the more productive and effective you will be.

Sometimes distractions come disguised as opportunities. Many times while using the internet for example to research a project you will stumble upon “opportunities” to do other things. If the opportunity truly appears to have some merit, bookmark it for later review and move on. Most such opportunities however will only distract you and dilute your focus – ignore them.

This kind of focus requires discipline. It comes from practice. It comes from a sense of dedication to a goal and a single-mindedness of effort. By keeping the end in mind, focusing scarce time and effort on the goal to be achieved, success, if not assured, is far more attainable in any pursuit.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Who Should You Compete With

2011-05-16T20:21:00.000-07:00

There are two levels of competition in the financial world. You can compete with others and you can compete with yourself. We have been taught that financial success comes from competing with others. It is certainly true that in a free market there will invariably be competition between people and businesses. McDonalds competes with Burger King every day to get your burger dollars. Ford competes with Toyota every day to get your automotive dollars.

Successful people learn quickly however that competing with others is a secondary level of competition. The important competition is the one you have with yourself. Millionaire Gary Jackson writes:

“To achieve success in business, you must ignore your natural desire to compete with other people. Instead, you should only compete with yourself. Here’s why…

All the trouble in the world today is brought about by people competing with each other. All the trouble in the economy today is brought about by people competing with each other.

The plain and simple truth is this: Money is not made by competing with others. It is only shared out. And only the most competitive survive in that arena.

Money is actually made by a small handful of people who only compete with themselves. These people effortlessly become leaders in their niche. Everyone else in that ‘niche’ is too busy and stressed out competing with their rival to get anywhere.”

This is counter-intuitive, isn’t it? And this is why so many people fail, because the mistake the superficial competition in the market with the more important competition with oneself. In truth the more you compete with yourself the better you get at what you do, the better you get at meeting your customer’s needs and wants. The more effective you are at doing that the more effective and competitive you will be in the open market.

You can learn more about Gary Jackson’s lessons of financial success through his Millionaire Stealth Success program. We will look at a few of those lessons in ten introductory articles in this newsletter over the 20 weeks – one article every other week. To get the full story though visit the Millionaire Stealth Success program.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Success

2011-05-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

I recently attended a funeral. This was written on the program. There was no attribution. Well said:

Success

He has achieved success who
Has lived well, laughed often
And loved much.

Who has enjoyed the love of
A good woman, and the respect
Of all who knew him.

Who has filled his niche
And accomplished his task.
Who has left the world
Better than he found it,
Whether through mentoring many
Or a playful sense of humor.

Who has always looked for the
Best in others and given them
The best he had,

Whose life was an inspiration,
Whose memory a benediction.

In memory of Ralph Younce.

Although there was no attribution for this, my research indicates it was first written and published in this form in 1904 by Bessie Anderson Stanley who was paraphrasing some similar words written by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Pat Conroy, My Reading Life

2011-04-24T20:04:00.000-07:00

I just finished Pat Conroy’s book My Reading Life. If you love reading and if you love literature you will love this book. The pursuit of true wealth is about far more than the pursuit of money, as I’ve mentioned here before. True Wealth includes culture, knowledge, understanding, wisdom and the ability to enjoy life. Reading good literature is certainly a part of enjoying life and provides an open door to culture, understanding and knowledge, and if you are patient, wisdom.

Conroy’s book is about loving literature and both reading it and writing it. Take a break from all the excellent nonfiction books we usually discuss here and take some time to enjoy good fiction. Conroy is not only an excellent author, this little book of his is an excellent window into the mind of a dedicated author the world of literature.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

It is a Cycle

2011-04-05T21:47:00.000-07:00

We humans tend to be short-sighted. We see the current situation and react to it. For some reason we do not seem to learn from history. When things are bad we cannot see that they will get better. When things are good we cannot see that they will get worse.

During the years prior to the current recession many people seemed to think that we were not going to see a depression or a recession again. There were even so-called experts telling the public that the real estate growth would continue indefinitely and that the up and down economic cycles of the past would not repeat.

The remarkable thing is that people seem to always think this in good times. People thought this in the roaring 20s when the experts predicted that the good times would last indefinitely. As sure as the sun rising the Great Depression followed.

During the Depression there were those who predicted we would never see prosperity again. There were experts predicting a permanent failed economy.

During each economic growth period since the Depression people acted as though the good times would last forever.

Here is the reality. It has happened over and over again, decade after decade, for over two centuries. We experience a growth period with prosperity. It is followed by an “adjustment” period when the market falls and prices drop. Unemployment goes up and we are in hard times again.

It is a cycle. It is always in a cycle. There will always be good times followed by hard times followed by good times. The severity of the hard times may vary. The level of prosperity in each up cycle may also vary. But you can be assured of one thing – it will always go up and down. Always.

The good news is that the current economy will eventually pull out and there will be good times again. Just as assuredly that will be followed by another downturn. This applies to the stock market, the real estate market, and the entire economy.

The smart thing to do is to prepare for the hard times during the good times. Avoid unnecessary debt in all times. Institute and maintain a savings and investment program during all times. Build up reserves in the good times so you can weather the hard times.

This is not rocket science. It is predictable and obvious to anyone who looks at several decades of economic conditions. Those who learn this and act accordingly will be OK during both good and bad times.

Always remember it is a cycle.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle

2011-04-04T18:15:00.000-07:00

The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle - A Guide to Personal Success By Jim Rohn

A Book Review by Daniel R. Murphy

Jim Rohn wrote and spoke on success for over 40 years. He has been called America's Foremost Business Philosopher. He does not disappoint in his little book, The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle.

For those familiar with Rohn's work the themes and stories in this book will be mostly familiar. Even if you have heard Rohn speak you will benefit from reading this book.

Rohn approaches success through five factors, or pieces of the puzzle. They are Philosophy, Attitude, Activity, Results and Lifestyle.

Philosophy

Jim Rohn's chapter on Philosophy can be summed up in his quote: To have more we must first become more". He teaches that we make our own future. Like many other authors of note he stresses taking responsibility for our lives. He teaches that to have more we must be more. He reminds us to work on ourselves first and foremost to make ourselves more valuable in the market place and to achieve more. He then takes the reader down a road teaching how you can and should improve yourself so you can be more.

Attitude

In his chapter on Attitude he stresses the importance of our attitude in all things. He teaches the value of being present, of learning from the past, and of applying those lessons to the future. He teaches how to plan for the future building on the lessons learned in Philosophy.

Activity

In Activity he tells us that no matter how well we plan and how clever we are if we do not act on our plans no progress can occur. All achievement is the product of our action. He stresses the need for sound planning and discipline.

Results

In Results he discusses the measurement of what we do to learn how to improve on our results. He then discusses the importance of expanding our capacity and improving our results.

Lifestyle
In Lifestyle Rohn points out that you do not need to be rich or powerful to enjoy life and live with a touch of class. He gives good examples of this and how to enjoy life without the need for conspicuous consumption.

In his conclusion Rohn discusses the importance of a sense of urgency in what we do. Our time is limited and our opportunities are numbered. He stresses that we must exploit that time and opportunity for once it passes it is lost. He also compares the level of success of those who have a sense of urgency with those who do not.

In these 121 short pages Jim Rohn teaches many of the most important principles of success and achievement. This little book is worth its weight in gold.

©1991 Jim Rohn, Published by Dickinson Press Inc., Southlake, Texas

Learn More About Jim Rohn

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Will Hopper – A blog worth reading

2011-04-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

I have here commented on the Hopper brother’s seminal work on modern management, The Puritan Gift, in former posts as well as one of my conversations with William Hopper. Their book and work identifies much of what is wrong with the leadership of business today, what we have lost, and what we might regain. Will Hopper also writes for the weekly Turkish newspaper Zaman. Many of those articles also appear in his blog at:

http://thepuritangift.wordpress.com/.

I highly recommend the blog, not to build wealth necessarily, but to have a broader understanding of what is going on the world.

I am not a “news junkie” who spends hours each day pouring over newspapers or on-line news. I do view some of it to keep up, but I think the variety and quality of what you read is far more important than the quantity. For my readers in the US you will find that by reading foreign sources you get a more complete picture of the world. The US mainstream press does not provide the complete picture.

Will Hopper is British and lives in England. He writes for a worldwide audience and is published in at least one Turkish paper. He possesses an understanding of international commerce and politics that is refreshing and insightful.

The world is becoming increasingly interdependent and integrated, especially on the commercial level. If you want to succeed in most areas of commerce and business you must understand this and understand how to succeed in this more complex and ever changing world environment. Will’s blog is one very good window on that world.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

What Do You Want to Know?

2011-04-02T14:43:00.000-07:00

What do you want to know about creating true wealth? What aspect of wealth creation are you most interested in learning about? Would you rather know how to live frugally and saving? Are you more interested in investing? Would you like to learn how people make money starting and running their own businesses?

I have been writing this blog now since March 3, 2008. In those three years I have uploaded 234 posts containing 69,967 words. Every one of those words were written and published to help my readers learn how other people have been successful creating wealth in their lives. I have focused on the hard core and time tested principles of wealth building and financial discipline which have done so much for so many. I have explored hundreds of books on the subject and reviewed many of them here and in the sister publication, Creating True Wealth newsletter to which you may subscribe.

While my blog statistics indicate that a lot of you are reading the blog I do not hear back that much from you about what you like and do not like, what is and is not helpful, what you would like to see more or less of.

Please do me a favor if you would. Send me a comment. You can comment directly to the blog below with the comment feature, or you can me an email. I would really like to hear more from you – my readers. I want to make this blog helpful to you. That is its purpose after all.

Thank you for taking a moment to comment, I am listening…

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.Books2Wealth.com

Building Financial Wealth - Are you an Ant or a Grasshopper?

2011-03-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed how much advice you see these days for financial success? And have you noticed that much of that advice is conflicting? What do you believe? Who do you trust?

Trust time tested age old advice. Trust that which has been true for centuries. In the Sixth Century BC Aesop wrote fables to teach people ancient wisdom - things that had been passed down for centuries since long before the written word. Today these fables are often thought of as children's stories but in truth they are a treasury of ancient wisdom.
Perhaps the most pertinent of them to the building of wealth is the fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper. You probably know this one. The ant spends the entire summer working feverishly from dawn until dusk storing away food (grain) and reinforcing his home to be prepared for the coming winter.

The grasshopper on the other hand is singing away and dancing through the grass having the time of his life. He has no time for toil. He is enjoying the summer sun. The grasshopper sees the poor ant working so hard and he says to him, "why do you toil so hard in this fine weather, why not drop all that grain and come dance and sing with me?"
The ant replies that he must store up food for the coming winter. The grasshopper replies the he need not worry about that now for there is plenty of food about and it is time to play and have fun. The ant shakes his head in dismay for the foolish grasshopper and goes on about his work.

Summer's days expire and winter sets in. The grasshopper had no food and no warm home to retreat to. He lies in the snow freezing to death and starving. The ant however lies warm and cozy in his well built home underground, safe from storms and snow. He has plenty of food and never knows hunger.

The general moral of this story is that it is important to prepare for the days of necessity. However there is more to this than that. This ancient lesson, as true today as it was 2600 years ago, is that we must plan for the future and save for the future so that we will survive hard times ahead.

It also teaches that just as surely as there is a summer of plenty and warm sun there follows the cold cruel winter of famine. He who does not save and prepare for winter will perish. He, like the ant, who does prepare and save for winter will survive to the next summer, which also will surely follow the barren winter.

This may seem simple. It may even seem simplistic. Often the simplest wisdom is the most profound. Save at least 10% of your net income every single month, without fail. Save for your winter. Your winter may be downturn in the economy, a bear market, retirement, or personal financial failure.

Whatever it may be, if you have saved for it you can weather it and come out alright on the other side in a position to exploit the opportunities of the spring and summer that follow winter.

No matter what the current season, be an ant and not a grasshopper. Be not concerned about partying and playing all the time. Work and save for the future.

Being an ant leads to success and building wealth. Being a grasshopper leads to failure and sorrow.
Be an ant!

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
http://www.books2wealth.com

Diamond Status on Ezinearticles.com

2011-03-25T08:33:00.000-07:00

It may not be good form to crow about things on one’s own blog but I must crow a bit here. Ezinearticles.com has designated me as a Diamond Expert Author, their highest author status and has featured me in their Expert Author Showcase.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
http://www.books2wealth.com

What do successful people have in common with books?

2011-03-23T20:55:00.000-07:00

If you study the lives of nearly every person who has accomplished a great deal they all have at least one thing in common - they were avid readers. What did the homes of Benjamin Franklin, Aristotle, Thomas Jefferson, Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Edison, Theodore Roosevelt, Albert Einstein and Andrew Carnegie all have in common? They all had libraries. In fact almost every great historical figure had a library.

Today CEO's on average read 5 to 6 books per month. CEO's are among the busiest people in the world. They often work 70+ hour work weeks. How do they have time to read 60-70 books per year? What they know that many do not know is that they do not have time not to read. The average American reads one book a year and 60% of them never get beyond chapter 1. The average CEO earns 560 times as much as his average employee. What does the CEO know that the employee does not?

Reading good books on a regular basis is one of the most important things you can do to improve your skills, expand your knowledge and understanding, keep up with your profession or career area and expand your abilities. Books are the key to improving yourself. As Jim Rohn says, to be more successful you must work on yourself. One of the best ways to work on yourself is to read and study.

In fact merely reading is not really enough. You must study those books you find most useful. You must read them over and over, study them and develop a deep understanding of them.

Abraham Lincoln, a man who loved books and educated himself, would often read the same book a hundred times or more until he knew its contents forward and backward, often better than the author.

Books are about the cheapest education system available to you. Libraries are full of thousands of books and get new ones every day. You could not begin to read them all. Even buying books today is cheaper than almost any other form of education or self improvement.

People who increase their knowledge, their understanding and their skills increase their value in the market place. They become successful and prosperous. Books are often the most important source of that knowledge and skill.

Make yourself more valuable and you reduce the chance of losing your job. You increase your value to your employer and your profession. You open more doors of opportunity. You come to meet and get to know interesting people. Books open so many doors one has to wonder why more people do not read.

It has been observed that it is easy to read, and it is easy not to. The difference between those who find success and build wealth and those who don’t is that those who do build themselves.

Improve yourself through reading. Make yourself more valuable.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
http://www.books2wealth.com

Is Success Guaranteed?

2011-03-19T19:12:00.000-07:00

I was asked recently if someone followed the advice you see in these newsletters all the time would financial success be guaranteed. My response was, no. Success is no more guaranteed in life than is failure. We have often seen people begin to follow a suggested program for success in some area of their lives, find it is not working, get discouraged and quit. Then they complain the formula they were given was a fraud and that success eludes them.

The formula for most success is rather simple, but that does not make it easy. This is what confuses and confounds many people. They assume that if something is relatively simple it must be easy. This is a dangerous assumption.

We know that financial success can occur if one applies the fundamental disciplines that financially successful people apply. These chiefly include careful planning, applied creativity, hard work, strong and consistent self discipline, frequent evaluation and adjustment where needed and tremendous persistence even in the light of prolonged frustration or "failure". We know that thousands, perhaps millions of people have become successful and even rich using this relatively simple but difficult formula.

And, people have applied these skills and habits and have failed. This is the nature of life. No matter what we do, there is always the chance for failure. The important thing, the critical thing, is what you do with that failure. If you let it discourage you I guarantee you that you will fail. If you use apparent "failures" to learn what not to do and what to do and make the necessary adjustments then the chance of ultimate success continues to grow.

No, success is not guaranteed. Nor is failure. What can be guaranteed is that failing to try and failing to persist will not lead to success. Conversely, the more you try and the more you persist the more likely you will succeed.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
http://www.books2wealth.com

A conversation with William Hopper

2011-03-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

I reviewed William and Kenneth Hopper’s book, The Puritan Gift, awhile back. It is an excellent book on management and traces the history of management in the United States as well as aspects in the UK and Japan.

I asked this question of Will Hopper recently:

The traditional management path described in the Puritan Gift requires a young management prospect to work their way up in a company or at least and industry so they fully understand the craft, the process, the product, the technology, the business, the customer, etc. In today’s economy it seems that young workers are not likely to remain in one company for a long time and may not even stay in an industry for long, especially if they are in management. Companies today hire and discharge people in large numbers and there is little job stability for many. In this environment how can a person hope to develop the years’ of experience in an industry or company that the traditional path requires? Or does this beg the question in that to follow your recommendation companies must change their practices and keep employees with management potential for the long haul?

Here is Will’s response:

"It is almost by definition that, if a company is seen to be well managed, the structure will be more or less as we describe it. For example, it is doubtful if any complex organisation can function well, unless some kind of a line-and-staff structure is in place. This was the pattern that Col. Lee established at the Springfield Armory, normally regarded as the model for the future Great Engine companies. Equally, if an organisation is seen to be well-managed, some element of ‘bottom-up’ will probably be present.

"I say ‘probably’, because one can conceive of well-run organisations run by talented CEOs which do not follow this pattern. For example, they could take a detailed interest in every activity of their ‘staff’ departments or be thoroughly top-down in their approach to their ‘line’ activities. The problem will this kind of all-purpose genius is that they will turn their companies into personal fiefdoms which will collapse when they retire, resign or fall under a bus. It is most unlikely that they will have equally talented people waiting in the wings to take over from them. In short, they will have neglected the all-important subject of management development.

"Re your more general question, I agree with your answer. I believe (as we say in our Principle 22) that employment should be for the long term, namely at least ten years. Otherwise, how can you justify the expense of training and how can you build a ‘corporate memory’ of problems addressed and solved in the past?"

You may be an employee, a small business owner, or a member of management in most any organization. No matter where you are you can benefit from The Puritan Gift and the insights it gives for effective management as an aspiring manager or business owner.

Learn more from my Review on the book and if you find this as compelling as I do consider buying the book. You will be glad you did. The Hoppers challenge much about modern “management science” and offer a compelling view of where we have been, where we are going and where we ought to be going.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
http://www.books2wealth.com

Reagan on Leadership by James M. Strock - Review

2011-03-16T20:56:00.000-07:00

Read my latest book review – this on James Strock’s Centennial Edition of Reagan on Leadership. No matter what you thought of Reagan’s policies or politics there is a lot to learn from his leadership skills. Leave a comment here on the blog or on the ezinearticles.com site where the review is. If you like the sound of this book you can order it below.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
http://www.books2wealth.com

Amazon.com for Business and Investing: Nine Most Popular Releases

2011-03-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

One of the things I do here for you is to keep you up to date on what is new in information about various subjects related to building true wealth. One category we look at is Business and Investing publications. Amazon.com publishes a list of its ten most popular new books in this area about once a month. Here is a look at this week’s list.

You could read each of these books yourself. For the average reader that would take several months. It would also cost you some to buy them all, including the ones you may not find helpful. Here is a better idea: visit us on a regular basis, or better yet subscribe to an RSS feed of this blog and see these and many other books reviewed over the next year. Read the reviews and see if the book really would be of interest to you and would justify the expense the time to read it.

"Tell to Win: Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story" by Peter Guber:
Read about it at: Tell to Win: Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story

"Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Master Business and Life" by Stefan Swanepoel
Read about it at: Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Master Business and Life

"The Thank You Economy" by Gary Vaynerchuk
Read more at: The Thank You Economy

"The Money Class: Learn to Create Your New American Dream" by Suze Orman
Read about it at: The Money Class: Learn to Create Your New American Dream

"Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions" by Guy Kawasaki
Read more at: Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions

"The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement" by David Brooks
Read more at: The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement

"Endgame: The End of the Debt SuperCycle and How It Changes Everything" by John Mauldin and Jonathan Tepper
Read more at: Endgame: The End of the Debt SuperCycle and How It Changes Everything

"The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor" by Howard Marks
Read more at: The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor (Columbia Business School Publishing)

"The Asylum: The Renegades Who Hijacked the World's Oil Market" by Leah McGrath Goodman
Read more at: The Asylum: The Renegades Who Hijacked the World's Oil Market

Win: The Key Principles to Take Your Business from Ordinary to Extraordinary" by Frank I. Luntz
Read more: Win: The Key Principles to Take Your Business from Ordinary to Extraordinary

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
http://www.books2wealth.com

Diamond Author Status in Ezinearticles.com!

2011-03-10T17:25:00.000-08:00

I am very happy to announce that I have been granted Diamond Author status in Ezinearticles.com. This is the highest expert author status they grant.

You can visit my page there and read any of my 165 live articles at http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Daniel_Murphy

Thank you Ezinearticles.com for this honor.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
http://www.books2wealth.com

Pure Genius by Dan Sullivan

2011-03-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

Today we have a guest book review from Ben Sanderson--

Pure Genius by Dan Sullivan
By Ben Sanderson

Success in life and business is never easy. No one should ever be under the assumption that it is. The other side of the coin would be the notion success is a perennially elusive creature. This is probably the worst belief to prescribe to in life. Yet, this is the very belief trap we sometimes find ourselves. For those that wish to enhance their success potential in life, it may be a much better option to look towards a reliable guide able to lead you on the way to making the right decisions.

Pure Genius by Dan Sullivan can help you attain such an outcome. Whether you read the book or listen to the audio CD adaptation, you will discover reliable advice towards reversing some of the common problems that may be keeping your personal and professional life from being the best it can be.

Most people seek to improve their lot in life by becoming entrepreneurs. Anyone willing to be a motivated self-starter will discover the path of an entrepreneur can be one that leads to grand improvements in life. Why is this so? Simply put, the income an entrepreneur can generate may outright eliminate all many of problems in life. No, money is certainly not everything but it can reduce scores of life's problems.

As most people are well aware, it is never easy to boost income potential. But most people are also well aware that it can be done. Pure Genius by Dan Sullivan helps those in need of such direction find it. This, in turn, helps them make the desired improvements in life that the extra income will yield.

Dan Sullivan has spent many years devising workable plans intended to boost your success potential. Much of the material in Pure Genius is culled from Dan Sullivan's Strategic Coach program and that is a good thing. The Strategic Coach program has guided untold scores of participants to unparalleled success. A condensed version of some of its best material is found in Pure Genius. Those hoping to tap into this excellent insight will be able to do so through reading (or listening to) Pure Genius.

One of the more interesting aspects of the material is the fact that it focuses on extracurricular activities. Some might not see the value in what is done outside of work. This is really not the right approach to take. Often, outside of the office activities provide much of the relaxation you need to perform better on the job. Also, hobbies and other such pursuits help you develop various additional talents that could contribute to your ability to do your best at work.

Pure Genius is loaded with all manner of outside the box concepts such as this. This is what makes it such an innovative and insightful tome.

Dan Sullivan has certainly produced an excellent process people can follow to success in life. Those that want to see great improvements in performance and a boost in income are well advised to purchase Pure Genius.

Please visit The Personal Development Company if you would like to learn more about Pure Genius by Dan Sullivan

Article Source: Pure Genius by Dan Sullivan

Never Give Up

2011-03-07T18:54:00.001-08:00

In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins - not through strength, but through persistence. – The Buddha

Nothing in this world is as powerful as persistence. Sticking with your plan and persisting no matter how much resistance and failure you encounter will go further than any other factor in your success.

Sometimes, when things are tough going we just have to be reminded of this. Every significant success has been purchased at the price of persistence.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
http://www.books2wealth.com

What Might We Re-Learn from Islam About Credit?

2011-03-05T09:50:00.000-08:00

Will Hopper, co-author of the Puritan Gift, has posted a great blog entry on what we might re-learn from the Islamic world about the prudent use of credit. Much of the pain of the past five years in the US economy would have been avoided if American business had followed the principles of prudence in both lending and borrowing that Will discusses there. Just as his book is a gift to us all his comments are well worth the read--

http://thepuritangift.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/western-capitalism-can-learn-from-islam-how-to-borrow-judiciously/

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
http://www.books2wealth.com

Are These the 20 Best Companies?

2011-03-03T20:50:00.000-08:00

In a recent post I suggested you check out MotleyFool.com to learn something about investing. In that light by the way there are two kinds of investing that I think have merit for most of us ordinary investors. Neither of them involves “day trading” or efforts to beat the market by trading frequently. I do not suggest it because it does not work.

Two methods can work. One is dollar cost averaging where you invest in a relatively conservative index fund, such as the Vanguard Index Fund, continually add to that investment each month and invest for the long haul. You are not going to touch that money until you are retired. There are no guarantees in the stock market but these index funds have done better than many funds and are not as expensive or risky as many. The beauty of this system is that you just invest your money and you need do little more. Time is your ally.

The other method is value investing such as the approach made famous by Warren Buffett. That involves doing serious research into companies to determine how well they are managed and their true value. Look for those that are undervalued in the market and invest. Then hold as long as their value increases. Done right this can pay off. Buffett has proven that. There is risk. There is more risk with this than there is with the conservative index fund investment held for the long term but there is also more potential return.

These methods are governed by two undeniable principles in market investing – all such investing involves risk and generally the higher the potential pay off the greater the risk.

If you are not a sophisticated investor it is better to place the largest portion of your long term investments in the safer choices and the long term index fund is a good option. Less return over time and less risk. But, and this is an important but, there is always risk. No one knows what the market will do over time for sure and no one can know for sure how any one stock will do.

Here is an idea that can help you to understand this. Put most of your money in something safe. But follow some recommended stocks for awhile on paper – don’t invest a cent. See how they do. Then if you want to try it out with real money just invest a little at first and see how it goes. Little ventured, little lost. This can be a good education.

So if you want to start learning read the article below and follow some recommended stocks for awhile and see for yourself how good these recommendations may be.

Amand Chokkavelu, CFA has written an article for the Motley Fool website about what he considers the 20 best companies:

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2011/03/01/the-20-greatest-companies-i-know.aspx

I am not a professional financial planner and I am not recommending any stock. I am recommending that you learn. Remember that any stock investment has risk and invest accordingly. If you need professional advice see a qualified investment professional.

Are these the 20 best companies? Follow them for awhile and see for yourself.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
http://www.books2wealth.com

Focus – What One Millionaire Tells You

2011-03-03T06:10:00.000-08:00

Ewen Chia, successful internet marketer advises people who pay for his knowledge and experience: “Having the right mindset when you go into business is crucial. It is likely the factor that will make or break your success. * * * Simply keep your attention on the image of success, never allowing the thought of failure to enter your mind.”

Chia went from struggling with his home business on the internet, often working from 8pm to midnight or beyond every night and still getting up early the next morning and going to a day job to becoming a millionaire. Today Chia is among the most successful internet marketers.

It does not matter whether you are or are not interested in internet marketing. What matters is the single minded focus that Chia is speaking about. With it there is little you cannot accomplish. Without it there may be little you will accomplish.

Success may not be easy, but it is not necessarily complicated. Iron will, disciplined focus and a refusal to even consider failure as an option go a very long way to insuring success and building true wealth.

(Excerpt from How I Made My First Million on the Internet by Ewen Chia)

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
http://www.books2wealth.com

What is New at Books2Wealth.com

2011-03-01T21:17:00.000-08:00

Visit us at Books2Wealth and check out what is new like the Featured Book for March, How I Made My First Million on the Internet by Ewen Chia and recently posted articles and reviews.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
http://www.books2wealth.com

The E Myth Revisited

2011-02-28T20:55:00.000-08:00

The E Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber
©1995 Michael E. Gerber

There are a few basic ways to achieve financial independence. One of the most common ways is to own your own successful business. If you decide to acquire or start your own business you are an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur the first thing you should do is read this book. Then you might want to read its predecessor, The E Myth, written 15 years before this one, in 1980.

It is hard to say enough about this little book. In a short review it is almost impossible to do it justice. Gerber approaches small business like a Ninja warrior, MBA and Olympic Athlete combined, and then some. He approaches small business fundamentals from all sides and does it well.

Using a fictitious story about helping a woman transform her small pie baking business from the near failure it has become to a success is the platform from which he launches you into a vivid description of how to organize, manage and operate a small business.

Gerber uses the concept of the "turn-key" business model used in franchises. He advises small business people to create a business that is so well designed and operated that anyone could be easily trained to take it over and operate it. There are two reasons for this.

First, most small business owners become veritable slaves to their business. They become consumed in the tactical operations of the business, doing all the work all the time, and neglect the strategic thinking that successful business requires. As a slave to their business they come to loathe it and at some point shut it down to escape the enslavement if it does not otherwise fail.

A franchise styled business on the other hand is not dependent on any one person or skill set. It can be duplicated over and over and anyone can run it. This frees the owner and enables the owner to operate the business, expand the business, manage the business, or sell the business and in this freedom he frees himself from the tyranny of the typical small business.

The second reason to adopt the franchise model is that is works. By comprehensively standardizing and organizing every aspect of the business it works like a well oiled clock. You do not have to ever sell it. You can operate it or manage it as long as you like. However, absent the feeling of being bound to it you are free to run it in the best possible manner and in that to insure success.

The bottom line for Gerber is that "your business is nothing more than a distinct reflection of who you are". "If you are disorganized, your business will be disorganized. * * * (i)f your business is to change --- as it must continuously to thrive --- you must change first".

If you even think you would like to acquire or start your own small business, or if you have one and would like to improve it or free yourself from it, read this book. It is worth every penny.

This book is dense. It has more useful information - information that makes you think and upon which you can act, then most books you will read. How much I highlight lines in a book is a good gage of how much good content it contains. There is hardly a page in this book that my highlighter missed.

Rating: Over all this is a very good book and very useful. I highly recommend it.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
http://www.books2wealth.com

How to Read a Self Improvement Book

2011-02-27T11:05:00.000-08:00

Here is a new article on the Books2Wealth website. Do you read books, put them on the bookshelf and forget them? We have all done that. You get very little value out of a book when you do that. Read about how to get the most out of books, especially those about self improvement in How to Read a Self Improvement Book.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.books2wealth.com

How to Succeed in an Economic Slump

2011-02-26T10:48:00.000-08:00

The economy continues to be tough. Read about some ways you can succeed in even tough times - How to Succeed in an Economic Slump

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.books2wealth.com

The Pillars of the Earth

2011-02-25T19:32:00.000-08:00

I do not write about fiction here often. However I do read good fiction and strongly recommend it. What I do stress here is the value of increasing your knowledge and understanding. While nonfiction books are often the fastest and easiest way to learn about success and building true wealth there is a lot to be learned from good fiction as well.

Bestselling author Ken Follett wrote a book 20 years ago called The Pillars of the Earth about 12th century England. From this very well written and engaging novel you will learn a great deal not only about how people lived in those time but also about the palace intrigue, politics of both church and state and the way people’s lives intertwine and lead to outcomes no one can ever predict.

Follett is a master writer who not only spins a wonderful story and is very talented at developing characters and writing dialogue but is also very good at describing the subtleties of human behaviors. This book is not only a very entertaining pager turner it also provides tremendous insight into our European past and how the roots of democracy and a rule of law came to evolve over the tyranny of kings.

Take a break from nonfiction and read an excellent novel – I highly recommend The Pillars of the Earth.

Wishing you success and prosperity,

Daniel R. Murphy
Helping People Learn to Build Wealth
www.books2wealth.com