The book · coming DATE
Rich Versus Poor
What nobody told us about money, work, and the thirty years that decide the rest.
Sixteen chapters, in paperback, ebook and audio. It isn't finished yet — I'm writing it three hours every morning before the day starts. Chapter 1 is done, and you can have it now.
Read Chapter 1 free
A boy in the street before school with a pair of his own pliers, breaking the tab on the water meter so the family can shower, then turning it back off so nobody notices. He's already worked out that nobody comes after a single mother with three kids. That's where the book opens.
You'll also be first to know when the book is out. WIRE TO KIT
Why another one of these?
Plenty of books will tell a thirty-year-old to open a retirement account. Almost none are written by somebody who was handed nothing, built a thirty-year career anyway, lost most of it twice, and is honest that he's still fighting.
I'm not going to pretend I've arrived. The last chapter is called Still Climbing because that's where I actually am. What I can do is show you both halves — the advice, and the years I didn't take it.
Who it's for
You're 25 to 45
The window is wide open and nobody has told you it closes. This is the part they skipped at school and at home.
You're past 50
You can see what you missed. Every chapter ends with what can still be fixed from here — and with the fact that you are nowhere near the only one.
You were handed nothing
No money, no network, no board of directors. Neither was I. That's the whole reason this is worth reading.
What's inside
Sixteen chapters in three parts. Each opens with a line from my daughter's notebook, tells the story behind it, and ends with what to actually do.
Part one
The Hand You're Dealt
"There are so many life lessons to teach or tell you about. Many you will just need to learn on your own."
"Never believe what someone tells you until you back it up."
"You will have seasons of life… the tuff ones will pass soon."
Part two
The Window
"Give your efforts time to compound!"
"Have your own Executive Board of 3–4 people who are older & wiser."
"Relationships are the most important key to success & life."
"You are paid in direct result to the value & service you provide."
"Always save something."
"Take risk, but calculated risk."
"The 7th wonder of the world is compounding interest."
"Always continue to educate yourself."
Part three
What Rich Actually Means
"Listen more than you talk."
"Go to the doctor often & have checkups. Be proactive."
"Only loan money as long as you expect not to be paid back."
"I hope that you will for your kids."
"The magic is in the work you are avoiding!"
Why it's honest
I wrote the advice down years before I managed to live it.
On page two of my daughter's notebook: take 10% of every paycheck and give it away, take 15% and invest it. Always save something. I wrote that in my own hand, and for years afterwards I did not do it.
Knowing was never the problem. That gap — between what I could tell a nineteen-year-old and what I actually pulled off — is the whole book.
Audiobook
Read by me
Almost all of this was spoken before it was written — three hours a morning into a recorder. I've always found reading hard and learned everything by listening, so the audiobook isn't an afterthought here. It's closer to the original than the print will be.
Chapter 1, free.
Plus one short note a week on something I got wrong and what it cost.