How to Get Rich and How to Make Money.....
I have never met Felix Dennis but one day I will. It will be on an island in the Caribbean, Mystique. I will sail up in my catamaran and meet him in the local bar for a cocktail or just some good rum.
I will tell him that above all others that he was right.
Why? Well so many books tell you it’s easy and anyone can do it. They tell you that you just write down your goals and off you go. The biggest offender of these is “The Secret”. The secret is – that if you tell people they can be rich just by reading your book and watching your videos – you are going to sell a lot of books and videos.
Dennis also reveals that it’s not just hard work and dedication. It’s not having a great idea. It’s about the execution of the idea.
He also asks: do you really want it? “Analyse your need. Desire is insufficient. Compulsion is mandatory.”
One of the great things about How to Get Rich is the way it is written. So seldom are rich people also good writers. And their ghost writers and editors often fall short too.
Felix Dennis made his money in publishing. He is also a poet. So his style flows and is a pleasure to read. He is also typically British and of a minority – which so helps his dry humour. I am not such a writer but I love to read well written works.
I will come to the true “secret of success” as Dennis puts it in a moment. But first what struck me about this book is the honesty and candour with which he questions if you really want to bother with the whole thing.
He even starts the book with the question “Can this book really make you rich?” His answer is yes – “I believe that almost anyone of reasonable inelegance can become rich, given sufficient motivation and application.”
However once you dig deeper you see that what he requires for motivation and application are way beyond what almost the whole population would be willing to give.
We would all like to be slim and fit but how many of us truly watch what we eat and exercise on a regular basis?
Felix asks us to ask ourselves “how bad do I want it?” The chances are not badly enough.
His scale of being rich is also of great interest. Where are you now and where are you heading?
True Net Worth (Assets):
£1 million - £2 million The comfortably poor
£2 million - £5 million The comfortably off
£5 million - £15 million The comfortably wealthy
£15 million - £40 million The lesser rich
£40 million - £75 million The comfortably rich
£75 million - £100 million The rich
£100 million - £200 million The seriously rich
£200 million - £400 million The truly rich
£400 million - £999 million The filthy rich
Over £999 million The super rich
So now ask yourself where you would like to be on that scale.
Part one of the book then goes in to the reasons not to get rich. There are many and I suggest that you consider them all carefully.
I think that it is this candour and honesty about what it will cost you personally to get rich that appeals to me. How many of us have that burning desire to become truly rich?
We can all be athletic and have great bodies. But how much we desire that will determine our success. If you want to get gold at the Olympics then you had better start training young and do little else until you reach your goal.
So how much do you want, and how badly do you want it, are the key messages. Then Felix goes on to guide us through many stories. He has much advice and I recommend reading the complete book. As he says; it is definitely worth the price of the book for the knowledge that you will receive.
As Felix says: “Without self belief nothing can be accomplished. With it, nothing is impossible.” So knowing your objectives and what you will do to get them is essential.
As Napoleon Hill would have it – you need your goal and then you need an idea of what you will do (or give) to get it. One definitely get the impression that Dennis has given up much to be rich and given his time again may not make the same choice.
This is not a book for managers it’s a book for people who are serious about the accumulation of wealth. It pulls no punches and questions if you really want it. Because let’s face it most of us just will not make the sacrifices needed.
Either way I still recommend that you read it.
Felix Dennis would give it all up, and all is a lot, to have his time over. Money is not everything and one is left wondering just how badly we want riches; how much we are willing to sacrifice.
Give your life for wealth and potentially miss out on kids and love and friends. Riches are nothing compared to time. Once you spend time it’s gone – you can always make more money.
So before I end this review of How to Get Rich with Felix Dennis’s 8 secrets to getting rich, I would say that overwhelmingly what one gets from this book is a sense of the preciousness of time.
You only have so much – so do you really want to spend it all getting money?
Felix Dennis – The Eight Secrets to Getting Rich
1. Analyse your need Desire is insufficient. Compulsion is mandatory.
2. Cut loose from negative influences. Never give in. Stay the course.
3. Ignore “Great Ideas”. Concentrate on great execution.
4. Focus. Keep your eye on the ball marked “the money is here”.
5. Hire talent smarter than you. Delegate. Share the annual prize.
6. Ownership is the real secret. Hold on to every percentage point you can.
7. Sell before you need to, or when bored. Empty your mind when negotiating.
8. Fear nothing and no one. Get rich. Remember to give it all away.
***** Five stars – buy it and then spend your time wisely reading it
Extra Bits....
My favourite quote that I over use from Felix is “If it flies, floats or fornicates; rent it”.
Favourite Quotes in the book:
“Success is never permanent, failure is never fatal. The only thing that really counts is to never, never, never give up.” Churchill
“Assumption is the mother of all f***-ups” US army motto
Come to the edge,
We might fall.
Come to the edge,
Its too high.
COME TO THE EDGE!
And they came
And he pushed
And they flew....
Christopher Logue
The sequel “How to make money” is not a patch on the first book but more a reworking and summary of points. Good as a revision piece but not as a standalone book.
I will tell him that above all others that he was right.
Why? Well so many books tell you it’s easy and anyone can do it. They tell you that you just write down your goals and off you go. The biggest offender of these is “The Secret”. The secret is – that if you tell people they can be rich just by reading your book and watching your videos – you are going to sell a lot of books and videos.
Dennis also reveals that it’s not just hard work and dedication. It’s not having a great idea. It’s about the execution of the idea.
He also asks: do you really want it? “Analyse your need. Desire is insufficient. Compulsion is mandatory.”
One of the great things about How to Get Rich is the way it is written. So seldom are rich people also good writers. And their ghost writers and editors often fall short too.
Felix Dennis made his money in publishing. He is also a poet. So his style flows and is a pleasure to read. He is also typically British and of a minority – which so helps his dry humour. I am not such a writer but I love to read well written works.
I will come to the true “secret of success” as Dennis puts it in a moment. But first what struck me about this book is the honesty and candour with which he questions if you really want to bother with the whole thing.
He even starts the book with the question “Can this book really make you rich?” His answer is yes – “I believe that almost anyone of reasonable inelegance can become rich, given sufficient motivation and application.”
However once you dig deeper you see that what he requires for motivation and application are way beyond what almost the whole population would be willing to give.
We would all like to be slim and fit but how many of us truly watch what we eat and exercise on a regular basis?
Felix asks us to ask ourselves “how bad do I want it?” The chances are not badly enough.
His scale of being rich is also of great interest. Where are you now and where are you heading?
True Net Worth (Assets):
£1 million - £2 million The comfortably poor
£2 million - £5 million The comfortably off
£5 million - £15 million The comfortably wealthy
£15 million - £40 million The lesser rich
£40 million - £75 million The comfortably rich
£75 million - £100 million The rich
£100 million - £200 million The seriously rich
£200 million - £400 million The truly rich
£400 million - £999 million The filthy rich
Over £999 million The super rich
So now ask yourself where you would like to be on that scale.
Part one of the book then goes in to the reasons not to get rich. There are many and I suggest that you consider them all carefully.
I think that it is this candour and honesty about what it will cost you personally to get rich that appeals to me. How many of us have that burning desire to become truly rich?
We can all be athletic and have great bodies. But how much we desire that will determine our success. If you want to get gold at the Olympics then you had better start training young and do little else until you reach your goal.
So how much do you want, and how badly do you want it, are the key messages. Then Felix goes on to guide us through many stories. He has much advice and I recommend reading the complete book. As he says; it is definitely worth the price of the book for the knowledge that you will receive.
As Felix says: “Without self belief nothing can be accomplished. With it, nothing is impossible.” So knowing your objectives and what you will do to get them is essential.
As Napoleon Hill would have it – you need your goal and then you need an idea of what you will do (or give) to get it. One definitely get the impression that Dennis has given up much to be rich and given his time again may not make the same choice.
This is not a book for managers it’s a book for people who are serious about the accumulation of wealth. It pulls no punches and questions if you really want it. Because let’s face it most of us just will not make the sacrifices needed.
Either way I still recommend that you read it.
Felix Dennis would give it all up, and all is a lot, to have his time over. Money is not everything and one is left wondering just how badly we want riches; how much we are willing to sacrifice.
Give your life for wealth and potentially miss out on kids and love and friends. Riches are nothing compared to time. Once you spend time it’s gone – you can always make more money.
So before I end this review of How to Get Rich with Felix Dennis’s 8 secrets to getting rich, I would say that overwhelmingly what one gets from this book is a sense of the preciousness of time.
You only have so much – so do you really want to spend it all getting money?
Felix Dennis – The Eight Secrets to Getting Rich
1. Analyse your need Desire is insufficient. Compulsion is mandatory.
2. Cut loose from negative influences. Never give in. Stay the course.
3. Ignore “Great Ideas”. Concentrate on great execution.
4. Focus. Keep your eye on the ball marked “the money is here”.
5. Hire talent smarter than you. Delegate. Share the annual prize.
6. Ownership is the real secret. Hold on to every percentage point you can.
7. Sell before you need to, or when bored. Empty your mind when negotiating.
8. Fear nothing and no one. Get rich. Remember to give it all away.
***** Five stars – buy it and then spend your time wisely reading it
Extra Bits....
My favourite quote that I over use from Felix is “If it flies, floats or fornicates; rent it”.
Favourite Quotes in the book:
“Success is never permanent, failure is never fatal. The only thing that really counts is to never, never, never give up.” Churchill
“Assumption is the mother of all f***-ups” US army motto
Come to the edge,
We might fall.
Come to the edge,
Its too high.
COME TO THE EDGE!
And they came
And he pushed
And they flew....
Christopher Logue
The sequel “How to make money” is not a patch on the first book but more a reworking and summary of points. Good as a revision piece but not as a standalone book.