Brad Turk made himself a millionaire before his thirtieth birthday. In his new book, LifeMoney, he explains how he accomplished that amazing feat and how others can do it, too.
Of course, there are many books that point in the same direction. What makes LifeMoney unique is that Turk provides a customized roadmap, allowing each reader to choose a personal goal based on the individual’s definition of success. Turk’s personal definition is “accomplishing what you set out to do.” Making huge sums of money may not be your goal, either; maybe you define success as building your own house from the ground up, or owning a fleet of vintage Mustangs. Whatever you have in mind, Turk’s lessons can be adapted to meet your need.
Turk’s anecdotes about his own and others’ paths to success are particularly interesting. While Turk gives the reader permission to skip his life story at the beginning of the book and get right to the lessons, I suggest you read it and pay close attention. His history is loaded with useful information and strategy.
The book moves quickly, but there’s no rush to complete the exercises. The only timeframes are the ones you set for yourself. Turk promises that you’ll learn to focus, prioritize, turn criticism and obstacles to your advantage, and - best of all – enjoy the journey as much as the destination. Using eleven LifeMoney lessons (defining success, knowing yourself, setting goals and overcoming obstacles, gathering the tools, evaluating progress, resourcefulness, creativity, power with people, positive thinking, sacrifice, and patience), Turk describes the attributes associated with each. In addition, he provides exercises for each lesson, along with a Millionaire’s Checklist to help you determine how well you’re applying the lessons.
His Goal Achievement exercises are built on the logic model used by grant writers to clarify their work and persuade funders to finance their projects. Turk’s version of the logic model is succinct, easily understood, and a perfect method for sorting through the seemingly overwhelming tasks of implementing and completing any success-oriented strategy. Examples are provided for each step – goal, objective, activity, obstacles, and eventual outcome. He insists that having a plan is crucial then guides readers through the planning process step-by-step, always allowing for adjustment of the tools in LifeMoney to suit your own needs, resources, and abilities.
Of course, positive thinking counts (“If failure is always an option for you, then success may never be”), but Turk warns that success is a combination of dream, optimism, self-confidence, and a lot of hard work. Using LifeMoney as a tool certainly will make the work more bearable, though.
Along with all the exercises and anecdotes, you’ll find plenty of inspirational quotes from Turk, Donald Trump, MacGyver, and a host of other people who walk the walk. In the end, though, it is Turk’s mother who sums it up best: “Success doesn’t come to you; you go to it.” That is exactly the point Turk makes throughout LifeMoney. This is an interactive strategy, useful for so many situations that you’ll come back to it again and again whenever you start a new venture.