Dark Thoughts

Being in Turkey has afforded me quite a bit of time to get back to reading books. I've finished three so far, and am about 2/3 of the way through the 4th, so here's my reviews so far.

Who Took My Money - Robert Kiyosaki
Another book from the Rich Dad series. The series itself is quite good, particularly for those who struggle from paycheck to paycheck. Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and Retire Rich, Retire Young are definately the best two in the bunch, but the rest are worth the read. Rich Dad's Philosophy is an interesting read and it is this book that is a precursor to Who Took My Money.

Basically this book follows the first investment experience of a young Rich Dad into managed funds (or mutual funds) and looks at investment from the point of view of a number of professions such as a banker, insurance salesman etc. It regurgitates much of what has been mentioned in previous books, but it does hilight that you need to do your own due dilligence when looking at potential investments rather than relying on the advice of someone who has a vested interest, such as your financial advisor.

Real Estate Investment and Insured Share Trading and options are again mentioned as good investments with owning your own business being the most highly geared and rewarding way of earning money. A couple of one liners in there that business ownership isn't for everyone, but still promotes it heavily.

Not a bad book. 3 1/2 dollar bill from your fiver.

How to Pay Your Mortgage off in 5 Years - Anita Bell
This is the second of this authors books that I've read. I'm not sure that I agree completely with Bell's strategy because I think I can better returns in investing in other assets than by paying off the loan, but it's still a good read. For those who struggle to meet their monthly mortgage repayments, this book is a must read.

If you really want to own your own house outright in the minimum time then the method outlined in this book will acheive that for you, though it relies on your own hard earned post tax dollars to do it.

Bell should be commended for the amount of detail that she uses in this book. The tables and appendices are useful and practical, and she gives anecdotes about what worked for her. If you want to learn to budget and start getting ahead financially then I recommend this book coupled with Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and perhaps Noel Whittikers Making Money Made Simple.

Overall 4 houses, but not quite the hotel yet.

The Millionare Next Door - Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko
A fabulous book about who the real wealthy people in America are. I like their definition of wealth and their way of measuring progress. It's easy to apply it to yourself using their simplified formula's.

It appears as though there's no substitute for discovering how to do it yourself out of necessity and then excelling at it. This book shows pretty well that the key is to live frugally and below your means. It shows that most of America's self-made millionares have various methods of doing this. It also shows an interesting side in that inherited money is flowing out of the hands of the wealthy as they have not had the need to learn it's real value.

These guys have definately done their research and it shows.

I particulaly liked the section that discusses how to pass wealth on to future generations. I think many parents could learn a thing or two from reading this book.

Overall, the full million

Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M Parsig
What a friggin fantastic book. I grabbed this off the bookshelf just before I left for Turkey not really meaning to read it, but am I glad I did. I've actually read this once before, and got an awful lot out of it, but this second read 10 years later is like a completely new book.

I've picked up different threads this time to what I did last time and it's provided a new launchpad for internal reflection for me.

I think that this is a book that everyone should read every 10 years of their lives. At the age of 10 you can follow the adventures of Chris and recognize the difficulty that he has relating to his father. At 20 you can learn that the motorcycle that is your life is best off being continually tweaked and maintained, rather than letting it break down. At 30 you can appreciate the sentiments about quality and stiving towards being a true craftsman in whatever you do. When you have children of your own you can sympathise with the struggle to reach out to your children and communicate with them. I'm not sure what this book has in stall for me as I reach my 40's 50's and beyhond. Perhaps a better understanding of the philosophy that is discussed, and an ability to be able to look back at it as Parsig has done. Perhaps we will all have a Phaedrus of our own that we can remember and analyse.

Overall Rating - this one hits the full Nirvana State. Just Read It.

OK - That's the Turkish Sessions book reviews this time around. Lots of motivational stuff there, but it's been an enjoyable journey.

Other news from Turkey.

I spen last weekend away with my friend Korai at some really nice beachfront places north of Izmir. Had a great time and did lots of unwinding. I've spent quite a bit of time conversing with Jodie in true multimedia style. It's difficult being apart from her, but I think we are growing closer because we are forced to communicate in ways that we might otherwise not do. I hope that we never lose that ability even when we are physically close.

There was a bit of a fight here at the camp the other night. Apparently some bloke got a bit upset with his work and with his bosses so decided to take matters into his own hands. Some of the other workers did the sheep thing and got into the whole mob mentality thing. Couldn't find the bloke that they wanted to rough up so took a swipe at some blokes car puting a nice dent in the front fender. Lots of sorting stuff out by the staff here all day yesterday and lots of high emotions, but I think everything is quite a bit better now.

We've got a barbecue on site this evening where I need to make a bit of a presentation about exactly what it is that we'll be doing. Dunno what I'm going to say, but I'll probably print out some photo's from the Radio Hill operation, and show them what we're doing with the ore.

Hopefully it will all go down well.

Anyway, I best be back to it.

Till next time