I want to be clear about something before I give my review of How to be Rich and Happy by Tim Brownson and John P. Strelecky. And it’s this: This book will not make you rich and happy.
I know that’s probably not how my coach and friend Tim would have me starting my review in an ideal world. He’d probably prefer that I started with a line like, “OMG, reading this book totally gives you nonstop OOOOOOOOOOOOOO orgasms!” But I know a few things about the way the world works, and foremost among them are these two beliefs, which are often known as the First Two Noble Truths of the Buddha:
BELIEF #1: I think that Johnny is in league with that wily Brownson guy and wants readers to buy this book. In fact, he’s probably a Rich and Happy affiliate and will benefit if you buy. (Which is true.)
and
BELIEF #2: The last ten personal development books/audios I bought have not yet made me rich and happy, so why would this one be any different?
In short, I’m starting my review with the statement that this book will not make you rich and happy because I don’t want to insult your intelligence. I do not expect anyone to believe that reading this book will magically, without effort, make them rich and happy — so I’m not going to say that it will.
But think about something for a second.
You wouldn’t buy a book called How to Make a Pie, read it, declare, “That was interesting,” set it aside, and then get all mad the next morning when no pie appeared on your window sill. Most people understand that if you want pie, YOU HAVE TO ACTUALLY BAKE THE FUCKING PIE.
So stop reading right now if you expect a magic pill to make you rich and happy. Seriously. I don’t want to hear you bitch and neither do the authors. YOU have to read. YOU have to do every damn thing these guys say, and do it 100% if you expect a result. YOU have to commit to something.
So now, if it’s cool, I’m going to talk about a recipe for baking some delicious wealth and happiness. I’ll leave it up to you whether or not you’d like to try to whip some up, through your own discipline and conscious effort.
See? This is why they call me Honest Johnny. Because of preambles like that.
Okay, nobody calls me Honest Johnny.
But here’s a book review anyway. Dig on it.
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Okay, so the central premise to How to be Rich and Happy is that there is a formula for wealth and happiness. Stop right now for a second and consider whether you’re willing to believe that, because it’s a foundation principle.
I can get rich by selling drugs. That’s a formula. Not a very good one, but it will work every time if I do it right.
I can be happy if I get on an IV drip of opiates and never, ever stop. Again, not a great choice, but it’s a formula that will, in a narrow sense, work.
Or you can be rich and happy if you follow the steps in this book. That’s what the authors claim, anyway. So the central questions that I and you should be asking are:
1) Is there, in fact, a real, valid formula that will work for the average person, without negative side-effects?
And, if so, 2) Have the authors provided it?
My short answers: Yeah, I believe so. And here’s why.
One of the chapter subheads in this book is: “Whatever you do, just do something!” If you take the authors literally and follow every single little step of this book and do it balls to the wall, you will be “doing something” constantly. You will be incrementally improving your life, day by day, giving it conscious attention. You do that with pure intensity and there’s a lot of leeway as to WHAT you actually do. The acts of moving forward and improving in themselves will lead toward wealth and happiness.
Re-read that last sentence because I will swear with my dying breath that it is true. It’s how I live; it’s how I’ve accomplished everything in my life worth doing. But without direction, you wander. You meander. You try a lot of things and stumble upon things that work and things that don’t. You get an A-HA! (not the “Take on Me” 1980s band) and realize, “Shit, THAT’S what I should have tried starting ten years ago.”
So if “doing something” toward self-improvement, with intensity, every day, will inevitably, over time, lead to more prosperity across the board — well, then imagine if instead of proceeding on instinct, you followed the steps outlined by guys who have spent their lives studying the rich and successful (John) and who know how to program the brain to, in short, get the fuck over itself and do its job already (Tim).
Look, if you read this blog, you know the kinds of things I talk about. Success takes hard work — and most of all, it takes dogged, almost idiotic persistence. It takes constant improvement.
You think about that for a while. Ask yourself if you can do it. Then, if you think you can, pick up this book and apply that hard work and idiotic persistence to the steps Tim and John have outlined.
That’ll totally make you rich and happy. If you don’t pussy out and stop working hard, that is.
So let’s take a look at the content, shall we? Now that I’ve beaten the hell out of the overarching theme.
Here are a few of the bullet points:
• How to define what “rich and happy” actually means to you. (Most people honestly don’t know.)
• How to tune into and trust your gut. This is not easy, but learning to heed your subconscious’s direction is like tuning into the power of a really awesome computer.
• Why “being realistic” will hold you back, and how to get over it.
• How to choose your own belief system. (This is a concept I’ve heard before, but it’s so true and most people never totally grasp it. Your beliefs hold you back. You need to figure out how to get in there and change them.)
• Why failing is actually necessary and a good thing.
• How to determine your values and figure out whether your life is in line with them. (I did this as a client of Tim’s. It’s enlightening. Luckily, I was aligned, but a lot of people are not.)
• How to do less, but get more. (This has to do with alignment.)
• Why clarifying and writing down your goals is necessary. (Beyond the obvious reason.)
• Determining your true assets. (You have a LOT more than you think, but won’t use them if you don’t see them.)
• How to get your reluctant ass up and moving.
• Why your language (how you talk) matters in the results you get and how you feel. Like, a TON.
• How to feel better about where you are, which makes you more likely to get where you want to go.
• How to seize control of your own mind. Because you’re probably not controlling it now, rest assured.
• How to see, feel, hear, taste (well, maybe not always taste) your rich and happy life, and how that will pull you toward it.
• Why selectively ignoring where you are is necessary in order to get where you want to go, and how to do it.
• How and why to “quit” things that don’t serve you.
• How to get out of stress. (A pretty damn big happiness killer I know all too well.)
• More assorted good shit on how to be happy NOW, regardless of where you are versus where you’d ideally like to be.
Look, I won’t drag this out. It’s hard to review a book that makes such a grand claim and be taken seriously, because everyone is inclined to think you’re full of shit. Everyone thinks that this subject has been done to death, and everyone has tried some of it, and yet most people aren’t rich and happy.
So let me repeat: This book will not make you rich and happy. If you think it will, don’t even think about buying it. Seriously.
It is called HOW TO be Rich and Happy. Tim and John are not giving you the pie. They are giving you the recipe explaining exactly how to make it. If you are precise. And persistent. And if you do it, full-out, every day. If you are patient with yourself. If you quit the right things but do not quit the important things.
Lastly, try seeing for yourself. The authors are offering the first three chapters as a free download, so check that out and see what you think. I mean, I obviously believe in this stuff. I got the book for free, but I have paid Tim a lot more than the book’s price to coach me personally.
Check it out. And make up your own damn mind. Ultimately, every single thing about your life is up to you.
Johnny, you said, “The acts of moving forward and improving in themselves will lead toward wealth and happiness.” You hit the nail on the head: it is important to think and act positively. Success requires both elements.
I really like your analogy of making a pie – especially since I love to cook and yeat still can’t for the life of me make a good pie crust. I was awful at cooking when I first started, but now people request my recipes and ask me to cater events. (I just don’t take pies.)
I’ve succeeded at cooking, bookkeeping and writing. Now I just need to work on my sense of humor. Hopefully by reading your site I can work on that as well. Thanks for the book review.
Mmm, I could go for some pie right now.
Pie would make me very happy.
I concur with your assessment of this book. Heartily even. The pie recipe was a good explanation, much better than me telling somebody it was like hooked on phonics for grownups.
This really isn’t for everyone, you have to be the kind of person that is willing to be open minded and do the exercises and committed to doing the work.
When I read the free teaser portion of the book and the other promo material, I couldn’t help but feel there were some MAJOR parallels between this book and the classic “Think and Grow Rich” by Napolean Hill. When they talk about a secret formula for success it sure sounded a whole lot like the fabled secret alluded to by Hill. I’m not sure if you’ve read that chestnut or not, Johnny, but if so would you say they pretty much cover the same ground?
And then the talk of pie made me think of my favorite TV show in the whole world, Twin Peaks.
“…and follow every single little step of this book and do it balls to the wall, you will…”
I don’t have balls. Hmm. Can it do it “tits to the…bricks? bits?” I need a girly version of the manly euphamism.
And then you mention pie. Yes. I read this entry and my comment is about balls and pie. I’m 10, at best.
@ Doug – There definitely are parallels, even though I couldn’t tell you a fat lot about TAGR it’s that long since I read it.
We have tried to keep a flow like that, but there are some huge differences such as the way we go into values, look at change techniques like anchoring etc. Also we back up pretty much everything we say with proof and scientific research.
Anyway, you can always buy it and if you hate it or think it isn’t what we say send it back!
@ Susan – I love the tits to the bricks expression.
@Doug – Yeah, I had that thought as well as I was reading the first chapters. Timmy may not know much about Think and Grow Rich, but it’s such a widely acclaimed text that I’d bet John does. I don’t think that detracts in any way, though… the “formula” aspect of TAGR is not only quite relatable; it’s also something that people are comfortable with.
And, as Tim says, that kind of goes away as a super-dominant element once it’s established and they get into more nitty-gritty. Hill’s material is pretty different once you hit the core of the book.
@Susan – I forgot my standard disclaimer about having balls even if you don’t have balls. Like, what if you’re a Eunuch? Same basic problem.
Hmm. What does a Eunuch have…a mound? Mound to the…pound? Yeah, doesn’t work.
** prepares to use hip @ notation, though unsure of the right syntax for a double @’ing **
@Tim & @Johnny – Thanks for the follow-up. It helps clarify the differences, as has reading more of Tim’s posts on the book/topic. The differences are welcome, for while there is some solid, classic material in TAGR, there are some later sections that cause me to give it what my wife calls “The Spock Eye” (i.e., a single raised eyebrow that she for some reason associates with the Star Trek character). It’s also rather difficult to extract and action plan or “exercises” from it.
@Susan You may be relieved to know that your female anatomy doesn’t deprive you the thrill of doing something “balls to the wall”. The expression was coined by WWII fighter pilots in reference to full throttle operation of their aircraft. When they needed full power they pushed the ball grip at the top of their throttles all the forward as close to the “wall” (i.e., dashboard or firewall) as possible. This was used for maximum power during emergency situations.
@ Doug – The spook eye as you call it is the worlds most underrated skill. I would kill (Johnny) to be able to do that!
You might want to clarify that the download is the first three sections, not the first three chapters (as you say in your post). There’s a difference…