26. Rich Like Them: My Door-to-Door Search for the Secrets of Wealth in America’s Richest Neighborhoods
Rating: ☆☆
Recommended by:
Author: Ryan D’Agostino
Genre: Non-Fiction, Finance
Info: 256 pages, published January 5, 2009
Format: Audiobook
Summary
Ryan D’Agostino, former senior editor at Money, knocked on 500 doors in the twenty wealthiest zip codes in the U.S. to discover how people got rich. He met with a wide variety of men and women who shared their most difficult financial decisions, toughest setbacks, greatest strategies, most triumphant moments, and deepest insights. In Rich Like Them, D’Agostino shares what he found. The best pieces of advice:
Connect the people you meet
Once you connect the dots, then follow through
Don’t deviate from your planned path to get a quick gain
Perseverance doesn’t take forever
Do one thing and do it well
Don’t plan a career – plan a life
Never stop being a student
Calculate every risk – even the one you live in
Don’t worry about what other people think
If you hate your career, um, change it
Sometimes the biggest risk is doing nothing
Never let pride get in the way of profit
Be humble even if you’re as rich as Brooke Astor
Understand your limitations
Don’t be a slave to Plan A – it’ll prevent you from seeing Plan B
Quotes
“Anyone can find herself at the right place at the right time but if you don’t recognize that and don’t work hard to take advantage of it or if you’re lazy you’re unfocused you can be at the best possible place at the best possible time and still end up making $70,000 instead of $700,000.
“Never let pride get in the way of profit.”
“A humble person never believes he knows everything or has done everything, and that’s what keeps him working hard. He believes there is always more he can learn, that he can always do a better job next time, and that hard work is just part of getting better.”
“When you fail miserably, be thankful.”
“Humility makes it OK to roll up your sleeves and stay late when no one else does it. To make your own coffee instead of having an assistant. Humility makes you work harder.”
“ Money is simply a tool, to make a good life and to make other lives good.”
My Take
I have a huge interest in personal finance and regularly read numerous blogs on investing, early retirement, frugality and money management. As such, I was very interested in listening to the audio book version of Rich Like Them, a book I randomly picked up at the library. Unfortunately, D’Agostino fails to go very deep with his interview subjects and there were few pearls of wisdom that I took away after reading the book. He also spends too much time discussing what he eats in the different locales. Not interested!
