What do You do with Your Old Books?
Watch my video and think about how you can use your old books as business relationship builders.
Archive for October, 2010
Highland’s Book List
It used to be that summer, and specifically summer vacation, was the best time for me to pack a bag full of books I’d wanted to read, then grab my towel and sunscreen for a few hours of escape on the shores of our lake place. What I’ve found during the past year or so is that I’m reading all the time, probably more than any point in my life, and really enjoying the new found passion. In fact, Amazon.com is fast becoming a materially large budget category. Note: I also carry an iPad and I’m realizing my preference to have a variety of reading mediums, including audio books. Unconstrained is my new motto!
Anyway, it got me thinking about the many really, really good books that I’ve read of late (business, personal growth, and adventure) and the large majority that were recommended by many of you—clients, professional partners, and friends. My conclusion was that it could be cool, and create a treasure trove of value for each other, if I added a place on the blog site where everyone could share book recommendations. Pretty fun, huh? Let’s see if we can cause Oprah to take notice of our list, what do you say?
Feel free to add your book suggestions by commenting on this post and we’ll get them posted right away. You can also make comments about books that are already listed if you want to add your thoughts to the mix. Enjoy!
The Cost of Living in the Land of Complexity
Managing your money and investments while living in the land of complexity can rob joy from your life. Do you want a bigger house or a new shiny toy, or would you prefer the ability to really enjoy your money doing the things that bring you true happiness? I think most wealth creators want the latter, but don’t know how to get there.
I was meeting with a new prospect recently, and they were sharing their worries and fears with me as a part of our Ideal Outcomes Conversation™, where we are able to discover what pain points are keeping wealth creators from living the life they desire.
In this particular case, money wasn’t the stressing issue per se; this couple had plenty of money and weren’t worried about their next meal or if they could pay for their kids’ college education.
Are You Asleep at the Investment Switch?
As the memory of the 2008 global financial wake-up call starts to recede ever so slightly and we are starting to see signs of normalcy again, I wanted to make sure that you have taken the steps to adjust your investment discipline and strategy that takes into account the new investing world (new normal) and the new rules that will be required going forward. If you hit the proverbial snooze button on the first alarm several years ago, consider this the equivalent of your second wake up call. Don’t fall back asleep and continue dreaming that you don’t have to do anything different. In my opinion, that would be a huge mistake.
This month is roughly the two year anniversary of when the financial world was starting to unwind in a way that we haven’t seen in my or many wealth creators lifetimes. The financial shocks that really started hitting about that time including Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, and Merrill Lynch sale, caused us at Highland to make a bold change in our investment strategy: We raised a significant amount of cash. This was the beginning of investment process changes that have continued and been refined over the past couple of years and will be a material part of our decision making going forward.
