The Rich, The Poor & The Foolish (Increase Your Financial IQ in Just 60 Minutes...)

This little book is based on real life experience, including failure and success. It is not a ‘Rags to Riches’ story; it is much more informative than that. It is not even a step-by-step guide to setting up a business; it’s more useful than that too. This book actually contains the key to understanding the real difference between rich people and poor people and it has nothing to do with how much money they had to start off with.

When I was younger, I succeeded in making a lot of money through various business ventures but I was still poor because I was foolish. I allowed the money to pass through my fingers like sand in an hourglass and disappear without a trace almost as quickly as I had acquired it. I earned a lot and spent it all. Oh yes! I had a great time shopping and travelling but the good times eventually came to an end when the money ran out. Later on in life, with many more successes and failures under my belt, I finally began to understand the real difference between rich and poor people. I realized that it had more to do with how rich people think and what motivates them, than how much money they started off with.

One day, after losing a few hundred thousand pounds in a poorly managed business venture, I sank into a depression. As I thought about how foolish I had been and what I could have, and should have, done differently, my wife said something to me that got me thinking.

‘If Sir Richard Branson (the owner of the multi-million pound Virgin Empire) lost all of his money and moved into the house next door and took an ordinary day job just to survive, I bet you that within one year, he would be a millionaire again.’

I thought about it for a while and considered all of the world’s millionaires and how many of them had hit rock bottom (in some cases more than once) in their working life, and yet managed to bounce back to become even richer than they had been before. If wealth was all about how much money one had to start with and if rich people were rich simply because they had a better financial starting point, then these failed businessmen should never have recovered so quickly from their financial setbacks. But the fact is, they did recover and bounce back. How did they do it?

If you read this little book carefully and allow yourself time to stop and think about what you have read, and implement the simple principles outlined, you will not only discover the answer to this question but your personal wealth will increase and continue growing without limit.

I have deliberately written this first volume as a small book because it is designed for busy people who do not have time to sit for hours and wade through hundreds of pages. However, nothing is missing. Everything you need to get started on the road to financial success is included. I have begun with a story. Tell this story to your children and explain its meaning to them. If they understand and remember it, they will never be poor as long as they live.