of Great Wealth
And Why Less Than 2% of Americans Know It…
Dear Reader,
When we’re young, we’re taught that the best things in life are free. That money can’t buy happiness. That it can’t buy genuine love or friendship.
These things are true, of course. But they aren’t the whole story.
Since ancient times, men and women have always pursued great wealth.
Millions have worked for it, struggled for it, married for it, gone to war for it … even died for it.
Some wanted the things money can buy. Others sought the power it bestows. Or the security it brings. Or the status it confers.
Wealth is real independence. It liberates you from want, from work that is drudgery, from relationships that confine you.
No one is truly free who is a slave to his job, his creditors, his circumstances or his overhead.
Wealth is the great equalizer. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or woman, black or white, young or old, tall or short, educated or not. If you have money, you have power … in the best sense.
Wealth is freedom, security and peace of mind. It allows you to do and be what you want. It enables you to follow your dreams, to spend your life the way you choose.
Few things are more important. Yet, in my experience, not one person in fifty understands the one secret of great wealth.
And that’s unfortunate – because it is the difference between the life you’re living today and the life you could be living, the life you’ve always dreamed of living.
That’s why I’m excited to share it with you now.
The Best Book Ever Written About Money
… Period
My name is James Livingston. And I know a thing or two about money.
As a long-time financial publisher, I’ve read countless books, articles, and newsletters on money and investing.
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Some were insightful. A few even made me a good bit of money.
But I’ve never encountered a book like The Secret of Shelter Island: Money and What Matters.
Hot off the press this week, I received an advance copy in the mail two weeks ago and began browsing it out of curiosity.
A few minutes later, I phoned my secretary and told her to hold my calls. Thirty minutes later I cancelled my lunch appointment. I couldn’t go home until I finished it.
It’s that good.
I learned something new and unexpected on virtually every page. This may be the best book ever written about wealth. Period.
In some ways, this comes as no surprise.
The Secret of Shelter Island is the latest from Alexander Green, a former money manager and nationally-renowned financial expert who spent the last twenty-five years showing ordinary individuals not just how to get rich and stay rich but – more importantly – be rich.
“What’s the difference?” you may ask.
J. Paul Getty knew. He understood that genuine wealth is at least as much a matter of philosophy, of outlook and attitude, as it is of money.
Genuine wealth can’t just be about how much stuff you own. (That’s materialism, not wealth.) It’s not about showing off a huge house, exotic cars, or an exclusive club membership. (That’s ego, not wealth.)
In many ways, it’s not even about your bank balance, income statement or net worth, no matter how large.
What It Means to Be Truly Wealthy
Real wealth isn’t just a number. It is also a state of mind.
And this state of mind generally precedes the accumulation of wealth itself.
Alex Green understands this. As a leading research analyst and top investment expert, he knows how to make money, how to safeguard it, how to multiply it. (He retired from Wall Street at the ripe old age of 42.)
His last book “The Gone Fishin’ Portfolio” was a runaway New York Times Bestseller. It received glowing reviews in The Wall Street Journal and the national media. The editors at Amazon.com chose it as one of “The Top Ten Business and Investment Books of 2008.”
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This time, however, he’s outdone himself. And he covers completely new ground.
Released just a few days ago, this book will make you feel wealthier, even before you put his ideas to work.
I won’t spoil the surprise, but his discovery on Shelter Island – one of the richest areas per capita in the country – is the secret of great wealth. This knowledge alone is worth many times the price of the book.
However, there are eye-opening revelations on virtually every page. You’ll learn, for example:
- The one indispensable quality that the world’s great investors – Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch and John Templeton – all have in common. Without this, you simply will not succeed in the markets.
- How to instantly evaluate potential partners in both your business and personal life. This trick alone is practically guaranteed to save you buckets of money … and untold headaches.
- How to profit from the mistakes you’ve already made – as well as the ones you’re about to make. My advice? As soon as you receive the book, skip directly to the chapter entitled “The Value of Being Utterly, Gloriously Wrong.”
- The unconscious technique that turned Don Traster into a master persuader. It’s deceptively simple. Yet it helped him and his business associates create fortunes for themselves.
- Alex is a big admirer of Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs. But he points out an uncharacteristic misstep Jobs recently made – and reveals how Jeff Bezos is using it to make millions. (Fortunately, there’s still time for investors to climb onboard, too.)
- Learn how to join “The 4%.” That’s the percentage of Americans who rate themselves fully satisfied with both their business and personal lives.
- How to determine your real net worth. (And you won’t need a calculator.) This one caught me completely off guard.
- Uncertainty is endemic in the financial markets and in life. Don’t fight it. Alex shows you how to use uncertainty to become wealthier than you ever imagined.
- Find out why your greatest hurdle – as both an investor and a human being – is likely to be yourself. And what you can do to change that.
- The secret of inspirational leadership. Alex explains why the greatest motivator isn’t money or other financial incentives. (And it certainly isn’t “strategic goals.”) Whether you’re leading a Fortune 500 company or just a house full of kids, you need to read this chapter.
- A slave taught the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius one of the great keys to wealth … and what it means to live the best possible life. His book shows why this lesson is even more important today than it was 2,000 years ago.
- Few of us will achieve true wealth until we understand what matters most. One of the best chapters is devoted to this essential topic.
- Alex argues that great wealth comes not from following the right predictions but rather the right principles. Find out what they are… and how you can use them to achieve what he calls everyday greatness.
- Discover Adam Smith’s little-known confession. The famous Scottish economist, often called “the father of free markets,” realized that what drives the economy is the very opposite of what you need to succeed in the markets and in life.
- Pioneering psychologist, Abraham Maslow received the second-highest IQ score ever recorded. The Secret of Shelter Island reveals the 16 qualities he discovered that lead to the pinnacle of success in both business and life.
- Most Americans are fairly satisfied with their income and their lives. But do you have what it takes to reach what psychologist Nathaniel Nettle calls “Level Three”? Only those who are truly flourishing achieve this. The Secret of Shelter Island explains why.
- Planning to start getting wealthy next month or next year? Alex exposes “the myth of tomorrow” and explains “How to Avoid the Manana Syndrome.”
I could go on. This list hardly scratches the surface.
There is so much to recommend in this book. Lately I’ve been talking it up to my business colleagues, passing it along to relatives, even giving away copies as graduation gifts.
Yes, the book is partly about achieving great wealth. But The Secret of Shelter Island is also about honoring and fighting for your highest potential, living the life you want, doing work you enjoy, paying attention to your highest goals and values.
Throughout our lives, we all develop a complicated relationship with money. Alex Green helps us untangle it. In the process, he reveals the road map to a rich life.
And the timing could hardly be better. After more than twenty-five years of virtually uninterrupted prosperity, the U.S. economy has hit a rough patch. Yet to the extent that downturns like the current one shake up the status quo and force us to re-examine our goals and priorities, they also offer enormous opportunities.
The Secret of Shelter Island provides an ideal starting point. Drawing on some of today’s best minds and many of history’s greatest thinkers, it is both a much-needed source of inspiration and an insightful look at the role of both money and values in the pursuit of the good life.
Here’s What the Experts Are Saying…
Michael Masterson, bestselling author of “Automatic Wealth” and “Power and Persuasion” says The Secret of Shelter Island “provides fresh perspectives and compelling ideas about how to live a richer life. And the writing is shockingly good.”
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Michael Shermer, monthly columnist for Scientific American and author of “The Mind of the Market,” says “With an economy of words and poignancy of thought, Green cuts straight to the heart of what really matters.”
Edgar F. Puryear, author of Nineteen Stars: A Study in Military Character and Leadership” says “The Secret of Shelter Island is exceptional – indeed brilliant!”
Do yourself a favor and keep a highlighter handy as you read. There are just too many nuggets you’ll want to remember.
This is a book you will return to again and again. Of course, you’ll discover that yourself when you have the pleasure of reading it.
The Secret of Shelter Island is now available in bookstores nationwide.
For a limited time, however, you can get the book for less than $17 – 40% off the cover price.
To pick up your copy from Amazon.com, click here.
Sincerely,
James Livingston
Associate Publisher
Agora Book Publishing
P.S. The Secret of Shelter Island is both entertaining and thought provoking. It may be the best investment you make this year.
