Take on Me (Take on Me), Take Me On (Take On Me), a Millionaire Gone…to the Bahamas!

Your Tired Blogger (what blogs at midnight) is doing a public service by reviewing The One Minute Millionaire. I’ll read all the trite comments about how you can do it if you just try hard enough with a positive mental attitude, so you don’t have to, and let you know if the book is worth reading. Last week I did a review of the first 100 pages, this week I will proceed to write about the “ahas” from the book, their ideas about mentoring, and see what the next hundred pages tells us. I’ll leave a link to the last post in case anyone wants a refresher:

https://wordpress.com/post/tiredmidnightblogger.com/4924

Let’s begin.

Aha! Moments to Learn How to be Rich.

After a brief introduction, Hansen & Allen (nothing like Hall & Oates) begin a dual edged teaching method. Their reasoning is that some are “right brained,” and others are “left brained.” So, the left-hand pages have the principles and teachings of wealth laid out and explained, while the right have a story about a widow who finds herself in dire poverty after her husband dies. In the process she loses her children to her rich in-laws who are about as ethical as Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The story is fairly trite, and I find it hard to believe some of the things that happen in it, but then again, it is fiction. And as I told my friend Stacy, truth is often stranger than fiction. The principles they begin with are the foundational “ahas” that the rest is built off of, rather like the axioms of a geometrical proof. Only, sometimes, with less logic.

The book has 24 core principles. I won’t bore you with all of them, I’ll just give highlights from the three I think most relevant.

1. Be, do, have. I’ve read this one elsewhere. The premise is first be the person you want to be, then do the things that will make you successful, and lastly you will have what you want.
2. Define specifically what your dream/goal is, then visualize every day having attained this, and visualize doing the things you need to do to achieve it. And obviously, take action based off of your goals.
3. The book has a simple process for working out what talents you need to be using in order to fulfill your dream. It’s not as good as What Color is Your Parachute? But it does offer a good place to start. From my work on this I am half bassed trying to figure out my plan. I need to somehow inculcate my skill as a writer, a researcher, and a presenter/teacher. If I can somehow figure out how to use my best strengths, which are those skills, maybe I have a shot.

Chow Yun Fat is My Master

You can say what you want about Eastern philosophy, I think one thing they have right is that you need a mentor. In the west we find the term “master” to be distasteful (unless you are a billionaire with washboard abs), but if you study Easter philosophy a master was often simply a mentor. The sensei is sometimes no more than a teacher.

But at the end of the day, we cannot all be Miyamoto Musashi. Most of us need teachers if we are ever to learn the skills we desire.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t had a true mentor since I left high school. I can hear some of my friends now. “What about Sensei N—-?”

I’m afraid that is a post for another day. Honestly, if I had any mentors in my adult life, I’d say Melvin Jones. But as great as that man was, he wouldn’t have been able to teach me how to be a millionaire.

A mentor. There’s the rub. I’ve even formally asked people to be my mentor. And at least in one case it is actually my bad. I get so busy, and they are so busy, and now some months have gone by, and I just feel stupid.

Any millionaires out there think you could teach me? I’m definitely open to positive suggestions. Comments welcome.

On page 136 OMM says “If the day-to-day kind of mentor doesn’t spontaneously “appear,” you must seek him or her out. How is this done?

• 1. Make a List of Missing Resources. Writing down the resources that you feel you lack to help you reach your goal.
• 2. Network Within Your Own Circle of Contacts. You probably already know someone-who knows someone-who has the answers to your questions. Call them up and ask: Do you have the answer or solution?
• 3. Widen Your Search. Once you know what you are lacking, you can usually find the names of potential mentors…on the Internet-for a price.

The remaining information about mentors is fascinating, and likely correct, but I’m gonna tell you, it is also intimidating to this Tired Blogger. They point out (as I have found out) that someone who will make a good mentor is often busy as crud. And then I am busy as crud. “A request for mentorship will fall at the bottom of their to-do list. The only way to move to the top of their to-do list is to find out what your mentors want, attach yourself to one of their top priorities, and help them accomplish it.”

What do my readers think? This sounds like a good idea, but I’ll admit…I have little idea about where to begin.

I guess I’m going to take some personal stock of where I’m at and where I want to be, and see if I can figure out a mentor for acquiring the specific skills or items I need to take my first steps in the directions of the goals.

I know I’m ending this on a rather abrupt note. My next post will either be a continuation of this review, or if I haven’t made enough progress either through the book or through my personal work, I will write on another topic.

Be excellent to each other, and mentors wanted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbvbIN0nN7A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnCfV0IcgJ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLv04b6bRqc