Felix Dennis How to Get Rich Quotes
79How to Get Rich
Felix Dennis is not a fan of get-rich-quick gurus or Internet hucksters. And he has good reason, for he made his hundreds of millions of dollars the old-fashioned way, through building up a globally successful publishing business. Now from his Mustique villa, over a glass of the finest wine, he repays the favour to the world by telling his story. His motivations for writing the book seem primarily poetic and literary - he is certainly not in the writing game for the money.
The tone of the book is refreshingly honest, as befits a man who really has seen, done and had it all. He is candid about the more colourful episodes in his own life. With the wisdom of his years, he offers this advice to any would-be millionaires - "if it flies, floats or fornicates, rent it - it's cheaper".
"How to Get Rich" (the title itself is a dig at the get-rich-quick authors, although his work doubtless appeals to the same market) is a frank, lucid and entertaining romp through the life and experience of Dennis. As befits a man who wishes to name one of the largest forests in England after himself as his legacy ("the Forest of Dennis"), he is not entirely without ego or drive. Yet a really sobering focus in the book is that the road to wealth is a path that many should rightly avoid.
Dennis is open about the traumatic breaks with family and friends, destroyed marriages and personal suffering that a ferocious and relentless quest for wealth can bring. "How to Get Rich" is no textbook "get rich and be happy" mantra but mentions the cost in health and happiness that a struggle to succeed can result in - a bill that has to be paid whether the venture is successful or not. At the very least he maintains it will allow a flock of lawyers, accountants and grasping relatives to hound you to the very end. Felix Dennis is in my view overly nostalgic and wistful about the virtues of stamina and endurance that callow youth can bring. After all, some of his own smartest publishing decisions, such as the decision to start "The Week", were only taken in late middle age.
Dennis is at his most compelling when he talks about the philosophical side of acquiring money. He is frank about the "tiger", or the inner compulsion, that any successful entrepreneur can have. The ferocity of this motivational drive is the secret of many rich people, but it is not always a socially desirable thing. In fact, he maintains it can scare old ladies! "Somewhere in the invisible heart of all self-made wealthy men and women is a sliver of razored ice".
He offers all kinds of practical tips on negotiating, running a business etc, and many of these are standard inspirational help book fare. Where Felix Dennis shines is in offering quotes, literary allusions and poems - many of which are his own. He is clearly a born poet who just happened to get lost along the way and driven to become a decamillionaire businessman.
The most lucid and thought-provoking chapters in "How to Get Rich" are those in which he dwells on the transience of life and the futility of existence.It is as if he has been reading the Book of Ecclesiastes. This realization of mortality should in his view give us the kick up our backsides to get what we really want out of life. That may or may not be the pursuit of wealth, but we should at least make an informed choice rather than be dragged down by social conformity. This insight alone makes this an inspirational work up there with Machowicz.
So cutting loose from the expectations of others is perhaps the best lesson from his accomplished self help book. Whether we share the Dennis focus on making millions or not - and we sense that wealth has been a double-edged sword for him - this is one lesson that "How to Get Rich" teaches very well.
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I personally loved Felix Dennis's book. The first real book on wealth that actually got me super excited about making money and going after what I really wanted. I discovered soemthing about myself when reading this book, I was really destined to be rich...not just rich but super rich.
Reading tons of books, and doing hours and hours of thinking, listening and then writing it all down to reflect...all that + this book made me come to a very important conclusion. Go after what you really want in life and quit listening to the self-help gurus who think they know what you want. When you put relationships on the top of your priorities, some guru comes and says, "learn how to make money." When you spend all your time building your body, some other self-help guru comes and says, "build your relationships." Screw all that and just do what you feel inside needs to be accomplished. Of course you'll make mistakes along the way, but we only have so much time on earth to live, not to become perfectly balanced and happy in every area of life.
I'm not too concerned about what people remember about me or think about me after the grave, what happens then is largely none of my business and for the most part I don't value it too much...because I'll be dead. And, I don't have a place in my heart for that.
This book rocks and the Felix Dennis's wisdom will help me break free from the chains of poverty. Money is a hell of a lot, you can't pay bills or pay your mom's hospital bills with love or happiness.
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equealla 21 months ago
There are so many people whom has focused to live a full life without pursuing wealth. They die old and happy, but penniless. They are missed by all those whom was left behind, and sometimes the family and friends talk about them for generations.
Now it makes me wonder, why will people only listen to life-advice from someone who has "made" it in life by being rich. Perhaps we still need a lot of growing up to do before the focus for a real happy life will change.
I think it is good if people like this start with an education process, using his life as example.
The review was well done, and I enjoyed reading it.