I Inherited a Fortune
by Paul J. Meyer
Published by Summit Publishing Group
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Reviewed by Bob Pike CSP, CPAE-Speakers Hall of Fame
What is the greatest gift a father could give his children? Himself, of course. And in his autobiography Paul J. Meyer gives both his children and the rest of us as his readers the gift of himself, the things he learned--and how he learned them. He made his first million dollars by age 27, and lost it by the age of 28--and made it back again many times over. He was, and still is, the youngest insurance agent ever inducted into the million-dollar roundtable, something he accomplished at age 22.
A good friend of mine, Charles "Tremendous" Jones, says that the only people we should take advice from are people who have gone where we want to go and paid the price we're willing to pay. Paul J. Meyer has done that.
He has listened and learned--first from his hardworking immigrant father and mother, and then from his teachers. He made mistakes, many of them, described in this book, but he seldom made the same mistake twice. He learned from each mistake, and that made him a quick learner.
The fortune he inherited was not money, but rather an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and the idea that he could achieve anything he wanted--if he wanted too badly enough. He was raised in a family that was rich in love though not wealthy.
He learned how to make what he needed or to barter for it. He learned to work with his hands first as a field laborer picking fruit, then in rebuilding junk bicycles. In every job he learned something.
Read this book, not because it is a fascinating autobiography, though it is. Read it, rather, because the author provides page after page of step-by-step strategies that any reader can apply to their own life--regardless of situation.
Armchair Interviews says: Great advice all in one place.