What I liked about it--
--The author was obviously born with a gift for communicating, like Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan or Martin Luther King, Jr. It will be interesting to watch what he's doing in future years.
--He does obviously work hard, and has a lot of courage.
--He and his family have lived very interesting lives, and the book is a page-turner.
What bugs me about it--
--He has never actually held a job. His mother taught him that "only a fool would work himself to death for someone else," and that if you work a 9-5 job, all you will ever be is "Just Over Broke." Instead of suggesting people start side businesses, or start businesses later with money saved from a paycheck, he kind of makes it sound like we are all fools for working regular jobs at all.
--His mother had tried starting many businesses over the years, but they were still living in poverty when the book began. At one point she used the rent money to fund business proposal materials and didn't get the contract. All they were left with in the world was $40. She risked that rent money with several kids at home, knowing they'd probably be evicted, having experienced living in a car with them once already. She ended up applying for public assistance and food stamps. Nowhere in the book is anything said about this whole episode being a mistake, let alone irresponsible. Instead, his mother is held up as a hero.
--He was taught that "hustling" is a good thing. (I actually looked up definitions of hustling, just to make sure I wasn't misinterpreting what he meant. The definitions I found all pretty much have to do with pressuring people, deceiving them, misrepresenting yourself, and making ends meet through questionable means)
--He makes it sound like even though you have no money, you can become a partner in a new business and immediately be able to afford moving to a luxury apartment. This is supposedly what happened with his mother. I don't buy it, and I think it's a bad idea to give people false hopes about such quick results.
--In two little paragraphs at the end of the book, we find out that he actually LOST much of his money in late 2001.
Is is worth a read? Yes. Does it show a good plan to follow if you want to build financial security for the long term? Not exactly. As far as I'm concerned. the book is full of risky ideas I want to avoid! It's back to titles like Get Rich Slowly, for me. 
The Reallionare book
July 11th, 2005 at 06:25 pm
July 11th, 2005 at 06:48 pm 1121107701
The main assumption by all these writers is that everyone wants to be rich. That may be true in the abstract, I would love to have money fall in my lap. But in reality I'm not willing to do the things they advocate for a variety of reasons. Number one my goal isn't to be rich, it's to be financially independent so I don't have to work. On the road to that goal I still want to have a life, that's somewhat stress free, so I'm not willing to put all my energy in the pursuit of every dollar that I can get by taking the types of risks they advocate.
That's not to say that if that's what someone wants to do, own a business or buy real estate, it's not a good thing, I'm just saying it's not for everyone and the rest of us aren't chumps because we don't want to take that path.
July 12th, 2005 at 12:27 am 1121128044
I invest my savings. I always say that when I run across a business talking head screaming Buy or Sell or the market's doing-this-you-do-this. If they're that great a stock picker, why do the gig on CNBC?