Succeeding With What You Have by Charles Schwab

Synopsis of Content:

Charles Schwab wrote a very small book which became a classic soon after it was first published in 1920. In this book a man who had risen from rags to riches in reality tells his fellow man how it is done.

He begins by instructing people to think beyond their job. He gives examples from his own experience in America's early steel industry of men who intended to amount to something more than a wage earner, worked hard, and utilized the other principles outlined in this little book.

First he counsels the value of hard honest work. Next he speaks of giving more than fair service for the pay. Then he teaches men to think continually on how the business might be improved and communicate those ideas in little ways.

Next is a chapter on how men are appraised on the job, seizing opportunities, the relative value of a college education, what employers expect, how he sees his employees as partners, men with whom he has worked and a woman's part in a man's success.

Some of this material, especially the last chapter, is very dated and possibly of little use today. However much of what is written here is still as true today as it was in 1920. Hard work, dedication to your goals, going the extra mile, maintaining a good and positive attitude, making a difference, all remain vital steps toward success in a business or in life.

Readability/Writing Quality:

For a book written in 1920 it is surprisingly readable. In part this is due to its small size, a pocket edition having only 55 pages which could be easily read by most in a single evening. The chapters are short enough and well written. Quotes he wishes emphasized are in bold.

Notes on Author:

Charles Schwab was a remarkable man. He started as a stake driver, a minimally paid hourly wage earner in Andrew Carnegie's steel mills. He had little education and came from poor roots.

Carnegie took notice of him however because of his charming personality, incredibly positive attitude, great work ethic and willingness to please. He was just the kind of young man Carnegie was looking to mold and develop into executive material. Schwab did not disappoint and he eventually became Carnegie's chief man and the first President of a corporation to earn one million dollars a year in compensation.

Through his wit, intelligence, charm and hard work he engineered the buyout of Carnegie Steel and the creation of US Steel. He then became the first President of US Steel and a short time later President of Bethlehem Steel. He was known as a master motivator of men and Thomas Edison referred to him as a master hustler.

Sadly despite a meteoric rise to incredible riches and power, Schwab came to a very poor end. In the 1920s, after having written this book, he squandered much of his wealth gambling, spending and carousing. He seemed to lose sight of his own roots and senses and became a spendthrift. In time he was in trouble and then the stock market crash of 1929 left him destitute.

In 1939 he died a poor man, deeply in debt, living off of loans in a small London apartment. On his death he owned a large amount of Bethlehem Steel stock, which during the depression was near worthless. Just a couple years later however it became very valuable as the steel industry boomed during the war.

Despite his sad end, Schwab had very clearly demonstrated in his younger years how to succeed and how to go from poverty to riches.

Three Great Ideas You Can Use:

1. Successful men are not natural prodigies. They win by using normal brains to think beyond their manifest daily duty. The look beyond the day's labor and the day's meal.

2. The real test of business greatness is in giving opportunity to others. Many fail in business because they are thinking only of their own personal gain and glory.

3. Personality is a key asset. If you have it, cherish it. If you do not, cultivate it.

Publication Information:

Succeeding With What You Have by Charles M. Schwab

This book is out of copyright however it is published by Executive Books in booklet form, costing less than $2, with a copyright of 2005 by Executive Books, Mechanicsburg, PA.

General Rating: Fair, >Good<, Very Good, Excellent

Daniel R. Murphy writes on success and how you can build wealth. Would you like to learn how others have been successful in business and in life? For a free success eBook and much information which can help make you successful and financially independent visit http://www.bookstowealth.com/. Begin your self-education today learning how others have become successful and rich! Do it today!

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Start Late, Finish Rich - Part One and Part Two

Rapidly approaching retirement age, the subtitle to this book: "A No-Fail Plan for Achieving Financial Freedom at Any Age" definitely grabbed my interest. The cover also states: "It's Never Too Late to be Rich!" Does David Bach's #1 selling book live up to its cover?

This book is part of "The Finish Rich Book Series" by David Bach. One of the more well-known names in the financial guru set, David Bach has written seven consecutive national bestsellers. I have read and passed around "The Automatic Millionaire"-especially to those I know who are younger and still have decades to take advantage of the magic of compound interest.

Whenever I read a book that talks about compound interest and shows the charts comparing how much you will have if you start at 20 vs. starting at 30, I find myself asking: "Why didn't anyone tell me that when I was in my 20s?" The sad thing is, as I'm trying to be that "someone" for the younger people who work for me, or my son and his friends, it seems like the message just falls on deaf ears.

Why is it that when we can most benefit from this kind of information, we "know it all" and don't want to listen? Well, Mr. Bach, I'm listening now!

"The Automatic Millionaire" is a short book and a quick read; "Start Late, Finish Rich" is not. The best way I know of to review this book is to actually review it in parts.

Part One: It's Time to Get It

In the first part of Bach's book, he speaks directly to people like me; people who wish they had heard this stuff when they were younger; people who think they would have been different and actually listened to this advice when they were twenty-something. We look at our savings account and retirement fund, and wonder how we are ever going to catch up to where we should be.

At this point, we aren't even concerned with finishing rich; we just don't want to live on the streets or in a tiny shack eating Alpo. Bach shows how investing $10 or $20 a day for 20 years you can end up with nearly half a million dollars for retirement.

His point in this section is to get you to stop giving yourself 50 lashes with a wet noodle. Regret, anger and fear won't get you anywhere. In fact, those negative emotions are more likely to immobilize you. If you feel like it's hopeless, you won't even try. And if that's where you are, I can guarantee that you won't improve your retirement picture.

Bach's advice is to give yourself a break already! He then gives some inspiring examples of people who started late and finished not just comfortable, not just well-to-do, but rich.

Part Two: Spend Less

In "The Automatic Millionaire" Bach explains his "Latte Factor." In "Start Late, Finish Rich" he talks about finding your "Double Latte Factor." He insists that it isn't how much we earn, but how much we spend - or, perhaps more accurately, how much we save.

The fact is most of us were programmed to spend what we earn. We believe that if we only had the next big thing, we would be happy. It isn't until we learn to control our spending that things become easier and we finally do become happier. The "Double Latte Factor" is about going through your purchases and finding out where you can cut back. Those small purchases can add up to amazingly large amounts over time. If you're getting a late start, you may want to cut back on some things that will actually make the average American think you are a bit strange, like cable TV, for instance.

Another way to spend less is to change your credit card spending. Bach insists that it isn't the credit card debt that's killing us, but the interest. He shows us why we'll never finish rich with credit card debt and how we'll never get out of debt by paying only the monthly minimum. Other tips he gives are to negotiate a lower interest rate with your credit card company and to stop buying things on credit. If you can't pay cash, don't buy it!

Also in Part Two, you will be encouraged to get out of debt but, contrary to many other financial experts, Bach does not recommend paying off your debt first to the exclusion of saving money. He insists that you will lose even more time and compound interest by putting off saving now, and you'll also lose the psychological benefit of saving for your future.

"DOLP your debt out of existence" is another invention of David Bach's. DOLP stands for "dead on last payment". He provides a method of calculating the DOLP number for each of your debts to determine the order you will pay them off. This is similar to the popular debt snowball method.

He wraps up Part Two with advice on Debt Counselors. There are a lot of scam artists out there claiming to want to help you get out of debt. Bach gives you red flags to look for so that you can spot the fakes from the genuine article. Of course, the best way to find an agency to work with is by referral from someone you know and trust. But, for most of us, a debt counseling agency really isn't necessary. You can do this on your own; it just takes some self-discipline and persistence.

Taking control of your spending and getting out of debt are the first two steps to finishing rich - and they are especially essential for those who are starting out late!

My name is Cheree Miller. I'm not a financial counselor or legal advisor. In fact, I've made some poor choices in my life. I've been broke, with creditors calling, writing, and sending court summons. I've had my bank account garnished and wondered how I was going to feed my family. But, I can tell you that you can learn to make good choices where your money is concerned. You can get out of debt if you remain focused on the end goal instead of wallowing around in a pity pool feeling sorry for yourself. Better yet, you can retire rich if you start saving for your retirement now!

Life was meant to be enjoyed. For more resources on getting out of debt and living debt free, visit http://www.imdebtfree.net/. While you're there, sign up for my free newsletter with more tips on how to get and stay debt free, and receive my free report "101 Powerful Tips for Legally Improving Your Credit Score."

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