Sumry of 50 Prosperity Classics
A review of the Book from USA Today 9/08 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4biz
The timing could not have been better for Author Tom Butler-Bowdon’s “50 Prosperity Classics” book: Attract It, Create It, Manage It, Share It. It is not a handbook on how to get rich quick. As the author explains in the introduction . . .
“Wealth is about money, but Prosperity is about having a Good Life of plenty of choices, due to a satisfying Career, good Health & Relationships + a little Luck.” (which is probably due to a (+) attitude)
The Winning Approach used in the earlier books in his 50 Classics series on self-help, success, psychology & spirituality is used by the Author. He presents the heart & soul of a book in about six pages each, drilling down to the main points. He subdivides each into categories of attracting wealth & abundance, wealth creation, managing money & sharing your wealth:
• Attract it. The runaway success of Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret demonstrates that readers remain hungry for ideas on how to gain more abundance and live better lives. Tom writes that it is valuable for putting the spotlight on the “Law of Attraction,” He describes LoA as “Whatever you think about or put your attention on becomes reality in your life.”
• Create it. There are accounts of entrepreneurs who created wealth for not only themselves, but also for other stakeholders. There is no one path to entrepreneurial success and wealth, and obstacles often have to be overcome:
– Howard Schultz (Pour Your Heart Into It) describes how Starbucks was transformed into a ubiquitous chain of cafes from the small Seattle coffee retailer he bought from its original owners, his onetime employers.
– Richard Branson (Losing My Virginity) built the sprawling Virgin music-to-airlines business empire after struggling through school as a dyslexic student.
• Manage it. Several of the 13 books in this category, especially
– “Your Money Or Your Life”, emphasize the thinking behind getting, keeping & growing your money. Know what’s important to you & your family, live within your means & keep control of your finances – whether you currently have a little money or a lot.
– John Bogle, the founder of the Vanguard 500-stock index fund, asserts in The Little Book of Common Sense Investing to keep it simple, by putting your money in low-cost index funds rather than individual stocks: “Don’t look for the needle — buy the haystack.”
• Share it. A Scottish immigrant Andrew Carnegie (The Gospel of Wealth), who built a large fortune in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, set a remarkable example of philanthropy by endowing 1700 public libraries across the USA & a philanthropy Foundation. His spirit of giving lives on in the recent example of .Microsoft’s Bill Gates and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Author is so good at distilling the essence of these books that you may feel you don’t have to read them. But his infectious enthusiasm makes a good case that reading one or more books in each category can help any reader — no matter your current financial circumstances — become worthy of wealth.
Comments: Get the List of Books mentioned in this Book and pick out the ones that sound interesting to you. Then set up a regular schedule to read them, and you’ll find yourself accelerating on the road to success.