PIC No. 29:
• Title: Wealth Habits: Six Ordinary Steps to Achieve Extraordinary Financial Freedom
• Author: Candy Valentino
• Publisher: Wiley (Nov. 15, 2022, 256 pages)
• Management Bucket #18 of 20: The Systems Bucket
Welcome to Issue No. 29 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.
Not “Regurgitated Fluffy Talking Points!” Truly Contrarian!
“CONTRARIAN!” That’s how I’m describing this new resource to friends and colleagues.
CONTRARIAN. You don’t need six extraordinary steps to achieve financial freedom—you just need to follow Candy Valentino’s six ORDINARY steps. (That’s refreshing! You could do this!)
CONTRARIAN. Most books obligate you to wade through introductory materials, filler, and pompous autobiographical claptrap. Not Wealth Habits. Page 16 invites you to take a 25-question quiz with Yes or No options. (Fascinating—and it pulled me immediately into the book.) Here are a few gut-checks:
YES or NO?
[ ] 1. I’ll invest when I have more money.
[ ] 3. Money is evil.
[ ] 10. God doesn’t want us to have wealth.
[ ] 17. When X happens, then I can fix my finances.
[ ] 21. I feel bad for having more money when there are so many other people in the world who don’t have what I do.
CONTRARIAN. Right from the get-go in the intro—you learn why this book is different and contrarian from all the rest. “You don’t need another book filled with a bunch of regurgitated fluffy talking points to be convinced you should build wealth—you already want it. What you need to know is how to get there.” The plan: “a book of actionable steps to get off the hamster wheel of ‘work to pay bills’ once and for all.”
CONTRARIAN. BYOC! “Be Your Own Champion” counsels the author. “You don’t need anyone else to believe in you, that’s your job.” (Find that in any other book today!)
CONTRARIAN. The essence of this book, in my opinion, is found in the simple chart on page 79, “The Business Success Route.” Four quadrants/four intersections:
1. What you know.
2. What people will buy.
3. What you can sell.
4. What you want.
Just do a deep dive in Chapter 7, “The Three Reasons Why Owning a Business Is a Powerful Wealth-Builder,” and you’ll see the possibilities.
CONTRARIAN. “From a young age,” Candy Valentino writes, “we are taught to think of only having one stream of income—a career. When you were asked, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ as a kid, can you imagine the look on adults’ faces if you answered:
“I want to be an investor and business owner with a diverse portfolio of income-generating assets including passive-income businesses, interest- and dividend-paying securities, and real estate with good rental income, under management so I can set it and forget it.”
Hilarious, right? The humor flows as fast as the author’s six ordinary wealth habits (growing, learning, earning, saving, investing, and giving). I made over 20 notes in the front of the book—and I will return to them often at Starbucks appointments with my teenage grandchildren (budding entrepreneurs!).
CONTRARIAN. Warning! There’s more contrarian gut-checks about passion and purpose. “I hate to say it, but I have to say it: ‘Go find your purpose’ is just like ‘Follow your passion.’ It’s terrible advice." (Read why.)
CONTRARIAN. “Do Everything Yourself” is one of five business “philosophies” that do NOT work. Mentioning frequently that “91% of all businesses fail,” the author warns NOT to do everything yourself. She offers a helpful three-point formula/worksheet on the big question that plagues every leader and business owner—should you outsource or hire someone to do certain tasks? Go through this process and you’ll have “your permission slip to hire” the right people. (Brilliant!)
CONTRARIAN. Chapter 9, “Yes, You Can Start a Business—Here’s How,” delivers the meat and potatoes with nine initial steps to starting a business. It’s here that Valentino recommends you focus on purpose—your business purpose. (And “reverse engineer your desired outcome.”) Aligned with this—watch for my review of Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution: A Handbook for Entrepreneurs, by Uri Levine.
Oh, my. This book is filled with big ideas and practical insights. Example: Why brain science might lead you to set an alarm on your phone every day—and review your business “blueprint” for two minutes every day. And this: “Schedule a meeting with yourself once a month.” She suggests two hours at a restaurant or coffee shop, and “Turn your phone on silent and flip it upside down.”
This is a 2023 must-read book. Enjoy!
PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of several other must-read books in the Systems Bucket, plus other buckets/core competencies.
[ ] Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It…and Why the Rest Don’t – Mastering the Rockefeller Habits 2.0, by Verne Harnish (read my review)
[ ] The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It, by Michael E. Gerber (read my review)
[ ] Poke the Box: When Was the Last Time You Did Something for the First Time? by Seth Godin (read my review)
[ ] The Power of Passion in Leadership: Lead From Your Heart, Not Just Your Head, by Hans Finzel (read my review)
[ ] Corporate Entrepreneurship: How to Create a Thriving Entrepreneurial Spirit Throughout Your Company, by Robert D. Hisrich and Claudine Kearney (read my review)
[ ] The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership, by Steven Sample (read my review)
To order from Amazon, click on the title for Wealth Habits: Six Ordinary Steps to Achieve Extraordinary Financial Freedom, by Candy Valentino. (Watch for the audio book on Libro.fm.) For more book reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting. And thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy.
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