In a recent edition of Financial Advisor magazine, Nick Murray wrote a piece on
The Millionaire Next Door and Dr. Thomas J. Stanley’s
life. Mr. Murray, an expert in his own right, discusses the
book in the context of the time it was written and the way in
which stories were blended with statistics to illustrate how
seemingly average individuals could be wealthy. It reads in
part:
He had me at hello: literally from page one, where Tom had written, “Wealth is what you accumulate, not what you spend” – very much not a widely-held perception in those roaring ‘90s! But then he went on to prove it, in page after page of delightful stories laced with conclusive (but never obtrusive) statistics.
Likewise, Mr. Murray suggests the benefits of reading (or
rereading) the book as a means to understand clients and
oneself.
rereading) the book as a means to understand clients and
oneself.
If you’ve never read The Millionaire Next Door – and especially if you have, but not for a while – put it at the top of your list. It cannot fail to galvanize your thinking about the kind of prospective clients you really want, and about what a joy it is to work with them. Indeed, it may even focus you more clearly on the kind of person you want to be – as I’m quite sure it did me.
One of the most interesting features of the article was the
uncanny similarities between the two experts, and Mr.
Murray’s writing summarized them
beautifully. The
full article is available here.
uncanny similarities between the two experts, and Mr.
Murray’s writing summarized them
beautifully. The
full article is available here.
I’ve read the book cover to cover at least 6 or 7 times in the past 15 years. I keep a few key pages (for me) with highlights and notes in my portfolio so that I can refer to it in case I come across an interesting (or shocking!!) comparison. This book has been like a financial bible to me, and it’s helped my wealth-building efforts tremendously!