The Millionaire Next Door (Review)

I did a good bit of reading over the Christmas break, and my younger brother bought me The Millionaire Next Door, by Thomas Stanley and William Danko. I was surprised that it only took a week to read 245 pages. The book did a great job painting a picture of what the average millionaire looks like--nothing at all like the picture Hollywood paints. Here are a few quotes that I have highlighted:

"Wealth is more often the result of a lifestyle of hard work, perseverance, planning, and most of all, self-discipline."

"Multiply your age times your realized pretax annual household income from all sources except inheritances. Divide by ten. This, less any inherited wealth, is what your net worth should be."

"It's easy for Dr. South to say he wants to accumulate wealth, but his actions speak much louder than his words."

"What types of motor vehicles do millionaires drive?... 1. Ford. The most popular models include the F-150 pickup and the Explorer sports utility vehicle."

"Whatever your income, always live below your means."

"Yet many parents still think that their wealth can automatically transform their children into economically productive adults. They are wrong. Discipline and initiative can't be purchased like automobiles or clothing off a rack."

"Courage can be developed. But it cannot be nurtured in an environment that eliminates all risks, all difficulty, all dangers."

"Those who attempt to shelter their children from every conceivable germ in our society... never really inoculated them from fear, worry, and the feeling of dependency. Not at all."

"I am in control of my own destiny.

Risk is working for a ruthless employer.

I can solve any problem.

The only way to become a CEO is to own the company.

There are no limits on the amount of income I can make.

I get stronger and wiser every day by facing risk and adversity."

"Who has less fear and worry? ...Typically, it's the entrepreneur, the person who deals with risk every day, who tests his or her courage every day. In this way he learns to conquer fear."

2011 Plan

23 years have passed me by, and I only ever had a vague plan for what I would do in those years. This year, I decided to set some solid goals for myself. I don't want to be the same person next year that I am right now, so here are the general categories of my goals for 2011 (I'll spare you the detailed goals and how I'm checking myself):

Reading: I heard that the average millionaire reads a book per month. It seems like a good idea, and I like reading anyway. My goal is to read 12 books from a variety of categories over th next 12 months.

Gardening: Now that I have a back yard, I have the potential to eat food that I have grown myself. In order to make that a reality, I need to plan a garden, build it, plant it, cultivate it, and harvest the fruits.

Physical: I consider myself to be in decent shape, but in order to keep it that way, I need to develop good healthy habits. I need to exercise at three times a week, stretch, and eat healthy foods.

Innovation: Crazy inventive thoughts breed more crazy inventive thoughts. In an attempt not to lose that creativeness, I plan on putting at least one crazy idea into action--building a laser, solar heater, or water engine would do the trick.

Spiritual: Relationships need to be intentional, and I need to be more intentional about my relationship with Jesus. Time is precious, but in the middle of my crazy schedules, Jesus is the only relationship I cannot lose.

Marriage: I married a wonderful woman. Unfortunately we're both human, and I need to put forth effort to build up our relationship--this takes many forms.

Finance: At the moment, I'm not a free man financially. I owe a great deal to a number of organizations who loaned me money to go to school. I need to be responsible with the money I have to provide for my wife and buy my freedom back from these organizations.

Personal growth does not happen by accident--neither does maturity. Sometimes we luck out and grow because of someone else's choices or the circumstances that we somehow find ourselves in. For me, I'll plan on growing and execute the plan too.

The Adventure

So glad you stayed tuned (or for tuning back in) for the rest of the story.

My wife and I got up at 6:30 on Saturday, Dec 18 and left the house an hour later. The car was packed to the brim with a dog kennel, suitcase, bags, Christmas presents, skis, shoes, snacks, a couple dogs, and a married couple (that'd be my wife and I). We drove South to Iowa City, and then due West along I-80 stopping for bathroom breaks, gas, and snacks along the way.

The first leg of our journey was to be 1507 miles and (according to the all knowing maps) should have taken 23 hours 31 minutes. Unfortunately, we had to stop for the reasons mentioned previously and the blizzard blowing across Wyoming introduced me to one of the most terrifying few seconds of my driving life.

We passed the time by talking, listening to podcasts (Dave Ramsey, Ravi Zacharias, Dan Miller, Car Talk, Matt Chandler), and audio books (Lone Star Planet, War of the Worlds). It only took us 32 hours to get to Nampa, Idaho, where my parents live, and we were a lot more exhausted than we had planned to be. If you're the learning type, learn this: for a 23 and 31 minute drive, plan to stop in a hotel--especially when blizzards are afoot.

There's no time for tiredness at my family's house, so we got right to the business of having fun: hot springs swimming, snow angel (in swim trunks) making, mountain cabin renting, snow shoeing, skiing, snow sculpting, caroling, partying, downhill sledding, baking, board gaming, snowball fighting, coffee drinking, puzzle assembling, sister's knee surgery-ing... those 6 days were packed with years worth of memories.

Leg 2 of the adventure began, and we piled the cargo, dogs, and snacks back in the car for an estimated 1608 miles in 26 hours. We had the presence of mind at that point to get a hotel in Denver, Colorado. A few car wrecks in Utah reminded us to drive carefully, but after Wyoming, it was smooth sailing. We listened to more podcasts and audiobooks (The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and Henry Ford's Own Story), and soon we arrived in Watauga, Texas--home of my in-laws.

Becca has two sisters, each sister is married and between the two of them 5 children between the ages of 0 and 8 consumed the energy of all the adults in the household. We cooked food, watched How to Train Your Dragon, played Balderdash, told jokes, read books (The Millionaire Next Door), watched Despicable Me, took family photos, opened presents, and went on a triple date to see Tron Legacy. I'm just glad my in-laws and I get along so well, and a week with them was far too short.

The journey must go on though, so we packed up the car and drove 870 miles North-East (14 hours and 17 minutes) and arrived at our clean house late in the evening on the 3rd of January. We arrived just in time for me to get a rather nasty stomach bug (still not quite done with it). It was a wonderful Christmas, but I think I'm ready for a regular schedule again.