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MONEY Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom (Tony Robbins Financial Freedom Series) Paperback – March 29, 2016

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Tony Robbins turns to the topic that vexes us all: How to secure financial freedom for ourselves and for our families. “If there were a Pulitzer Prize for investment books, this one would win, hands down” (Forbes).

Tony Robbins is one of the most revered writers and thinkers of our time. People from all over the world—from the disadvantaged to the well-heeled, from twenty-somethings to retirees—credit him for giving them the inspiration and the tools for transforming their lives. From diet and fitness, to business and leadership, to relationships and self-respect, Tony Robbins’s books have changed people in profound and lasting ways. Now, for the first time, he has assembled an invaluable “distillation of just about every good personal finance idea of the last forty years” (
The New York Times).

Based on extensive research and interviews with some of the most legendary investors at work today (John Bogle, Warren Buffett, Paul Tudor Jones, Ray Dalio, Carl Icahn, and many others), Tony Robbins has created a 7-step blueprint for securing financial freedom. With advice about taking control of your financial decisions, to setting up a savings and investing plan, to destroying myths about what it takes to save and invest, to setting up a “lifetime income plan,” the book brims with advice and practices for making the financial game not only winnable—but providing financial freedom for the rest of your life. “Put
MONEY on your short list of new books to read…It’s that good” (Marketwatch.com).
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About the Author

Tony Robbins is an international entrepreneur, #1 New York Times bestselling author, and philanthropist. Worth magazine recognized Robbins as one of the top 100 most influential people in global finance for two consecutive years. Accenture honored Robbins as one of the “Top 50 Business Intellectuals in the World.” Robbins is a leader called upon by leaders: He’s consulted and coached some of the world’s greatest athletes, entertainers, Fortune 500 CEOs, and four US presidents.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Money Master the Game CHAPTER 1.2 THE 7 SIMPLE STEPS TO FINANCIAL FREEDOM: CREATE AN INCOME FOR LIFE
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

—LAO-TZU

Tell me something: Have you ever had that experience, you know . . . the completely humiliating experience of playing a video game against a child? Who always wins? The child, of course! But how does she do it? Is she smarter, quicker, stronger?

Here’s how it works. You’re visiting your niece or nephew, and she or he will say, “Come play it with me, Uncle Tony!”

You immediately protest, “No, no, I don’t know this game. You go ahead and play.”

And they say, “C’mon, it’s easy! Just let me just show you.” Then they shoot a few bad guys when they pop up on the screen. You still resist, so they start pleading. “C’mon! C’mon! Please, please, please!” You love this kid, so you give in. Then she says the simple words that tell you you’re being set up: “You go first.”

So you decide you’re gonna make it happen! You’re going to show this kid a thing or two. And then what? Bam! Bam! Bam! In 3.4 seconds, you’re dead. Shot in the side of the head. Smoked.

Then the kid takes the gun, and suddenly it’s bam-bam-bam-bam-bam! The bad guys are dropping from the sky and whizzing around every corner in hyperspeed. The kid is anticipating every move and picking them off—and about 45 minutes later, you get your second turn.

Now you’re ticked off, and even more committed. This time you last a full five seconds. And she goes another 45 minutes. You know the drill.

So why do these kids always win? Is it because they have better reflexes? Is it because they’re faster? No! It’s because they’ve played the game before.

They already have one of the greatest secrets to wealth and success in life: they can anticipate the road ahead.

Remember this: anticipation is the ultimate power. Losers react; leaders anticipate. And in the following pages, you’ll learn to anticipate from the best of the best: the Ray Dalios and the Paul Tudor Joneses and the army of 50 other extraordinary financial leaders who know the road ahead. They’re here to help you anticipate the problems and challenges on the path to financial freedom so you don’t get hurt along the way. Like Ray Dalio says, it’s a jungle out there, full of things that can kill you financially, and you need trusted guides to help you get through it. With their help, we’re going to lay out a plan that will help you anticipate the challenges, avoid unnecessary stress, and arrive at your ideal financial destination.

I want to give a quick overview of where we’re going and how this book is set up, so you can make the best use of it. But before we do that, let’s be clear about our true purpose. This book is committed to one primary outcome: to set you up so you have an income for life without ever having to work again. Real financial freedom! And the good news is, it can be achieved by anyone. Even if you’re starting out in debt, deep in the hole—no exaggeration—with a little bit of time, consistent focus, and the right strategies applied, you can get to financial security or even independence in a few years.

Before we walk through the steps, let’s first take a look at why being financially secure used to seem so simple. What’s changed? And what do we need to do? Let’s start with a little history lesson.

You can be young without money, but you can’t be old without it.

—TENNESSEE WILLIAMS

Everything about your financial life seems so much harder these days, doesn’t it? I’m sure you’ve wondered why it is so difficult to save money and retire comfortably. We’ve come to treat retirement as a given in our society; a sacrosanct stage of life. But let’s not forget that retirement is a relatively new concept. The idea has really served only a generation or two—for most of us, our parents and grandparents. Before their time, folks generally worked until they couldn’t.

Until they died.

Do you remember your history? When was Social Security invented? It was created under Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the Great Depression, when there was no social safety net for old and sick people. And “old” was a different concept back then. The average life expectancy in the United States was 62 years. That’s all! And Social Security retirement benefits were supposed to kick in at age 65, so not everybody was expected to collect, or at least not for very long. In fact, Roosevelt himself didn’t live long enough to cash in on his benefits (not that he would have needed them). He died at the age of 63.

The Social Security Act eased the suffering of millions of Americans during a time of crisis, but it was never intended to become a replacement for retirement savings—just a supplement to cover the most basic needs. And the system wasn’t designed for the world we live in today.

Here’s the new reality:

There’s a 50% chance that, among married couples, at least one spouse will live to the age of 92 and a 25% chance that one will live to 97.

Wow! We are closing in on a life expectancy of age 100 pretty damn quick.

And with longer lives, we expect longer—much longer—years for our retirement. Fifty years ago, the average retirement was 12 years. Someone retiring today at age 65 is expected to live to 85 or longer. That’s 20-plus years of retirement. And that’s the average. Many will live longer and have 30 years of retirement!

It is not realistic to finance a 30-year retirement with 30 years of work. You can’t expect to put 10% of your income aside and then finance a retirement that’s just as long.

—JOHN SHOVEN, Stanford University professor of economics

How long do you expect to live? All the breakthroughs we’re seeing in medical technology might add years to your life—decades, even. From stem cell technology, to 3-D printing of organs, to cellular regeneration, technologies are exploding onto the scene. You’ll hear about them in chapter 7.1, “The Future Is Brighter Than You Think.” It’s a blessing, but are you ready? Many of us are not.

A recent survey conducted by Mass Mutual asked baby boomers to name their number one fear.

What do you think it was? Death? Terrorism? Pestilence?

No, the number one fear of baby boomers was outliving their savings.

(Death, by the way, checked in a distant second.)

The baby boomers have a right to be scared, and so do millennials. According to an Ernst and Young study, 75% of Americans can expect to see their assets disappear before they die. And the Social Security safety net—if it survives into the next generation—won’t provide a reasonable standard of living on its own. The current average benefit is $1,294 per month. How far do you think that will stretch if you live in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, or Miami? Or how long will the equivalent system work in your country if you live in London, Sydney, Rome, Tokyo, Hong Kong, or New Delhi? No matter where you live, if you don’t have another source of income, you could end up the best-dressed greeter at Wal-Mart.

It’s obvious that we’ll need to stretch our retirement income longer than ever before—smack in the middle of a flat economy at a time when many are struggling to recover lost ground.

How have we responded to this growing emergency? A lot of us find the problem so painful and overwhelming that we just block it out and hope it goes away. According to EBRI, the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 48% of all working Americans haven’t even calculated how much money they’ll need to retire. Yep, 48%! That’s an astounding number: almost half of us have yet to take one of the first steps toward planning for our financial futures—and our time of reckoning is coming.

So what’s the solution? It starts with taking Step 1: make the most important financial decision of your life. By the time you finish this book, you’ll not only have an automated plan for saving and investing, but also you’ll know how to create income without having to work.

Wait a second! That’s too good to be true, you’re thinking. And anything that sounds too good to be true probably is, right?

Yet I’m sure you know there are some exceptions to the rule. What would you say if I told you that today there are financial instruments that will let you make money when the markets go up and not lose a penny when they go down? Twenty years ago, it would have been impossible for ordinary investors to imagine such a thing. But investors using these tools in 2008 didn’t lose a dime or even a night’s sleep. I have this kind of security and freedom for my family. It’s an amazing feeling to know you’ll never run out of income. And I want to make sure you have it for yourself and your family as well. In this book, I will show you how to create a guaranteed lifetime income stream.

A paycheck for life without ever having to work again.

Wouldn’t it be great to open up your mail at the end of the month, and instead of finding a statement with an account balance you’re hoping hasn’t gone down, you find a check in its place? Imagine this happening every month. That’s income for life, and there’s a way to get it.

In section 2, we’ll show you how to build your investments into a sizeable nest egg—what I call a critical mass—that will enable you to make money even while you sleep! With a few simple strategies, you’ll be able to create a guaranteed income stream, allowing you to build, manage, and enjoy your own personal “pension” on your own terms.

It’s probably hard for you to imagine that there’s a structure available today that can deliver for you:

• 100% principal protection, meaning that you can’t lose your investment.

• The returns in your account are directly linked to the upside of the stock market (for example, the S&P 500). So if the stock market goes up, you get to participate in the gains. But if the market goes down, you don’t lose!

• You also have the ability to convert your account balance to a guaranteed income that you’ll never outlive.

You can stop imagining—it’s here! It’s one of the opportunities that’s now available for investors like you. (And you will find out about it in chapter 5.3.)

To be clear, I’m not suggesting here that, even with income for life, you’ll want to stop working when you reach the traditional retirement age. Chances are you won’t. Studies show that the more money you earn, the more likely you are to keep working. It used to be that the goal was to get rich and retire by the age of 40. Now the goal is to get rich and work until you’re 90. Nearly half of all individuals who earn $750,000 per year or more say they will never retire, or if they do, the earliest they would consider it is age 70.

How about the Rolling Stones and Mick Jagger at age 71—still rockin’ the world?

Or think of business moguls like Steve Wynn at 72.

Warren Buffett at 84.

Rupert Murdoch at 83.

Sumner Redstone at 91.

At those ages they were all still running their businesses and crushing it. (Probably still are.) Maybe you will be, too.

But what happens if we can’t work, or don’t want to work anymore? Social Security alone is not going to be much of a cushion for our retirement. With 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 every day and the ratio of old to young getting more and more lopsided, it may not even be around, at least as we know it. In 1950 there were 16.5 workers paying into the Social Security system to support one person getting benefits. Now it’s 2.9 workers per recipient.

Does this ratio sound sustainable to you?

In an article titled “It’s a 401(k) World,” Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist and bestselling author, wrote, “If you are self-motivated, wow, this world is tailored for you. The boundaries are all gone. But if you’re not self-motivated, this world will be a challenge because the walls, ceilings and floors that protected people are also disappearing. . . . There will be fewer limits, but also fewer guarantees. Your specific contribution will define your specific benefits much more. Just showing up will not cut it.”

As for those sweet employee pensions our parents and grandparents counted on in retirement, they too are going the way of blacksmiths and telephone operators. Only about half of America’s private sector work-force is covered by any kind of retirement plan at all, and most of those are now do-it-yourself, take-all-the-risk models.

If you’re a municipal, state, or federal employee, you might still enjoy a government-backed pension, but with every passing day, there are more folks, like those from Detroit to San Bernardino, wondering if that money will be there when it’s their time to collect.

So what’s your retirement plan? Do you have a pension? A 401(k)? An IRA? Today about 60 million Americans participate in 401(k) plans, totaling over $3.5 trillion. But they can be a bad, even disastrous deal for you if you’re in one of the high-fee plans that dominate the market. That’s why, if you are in a 401(k) plan, you’ve got to read chapter 2.5, “Myth 5: ‘Your Retirement Is Just a 401(k) Away.’?” What you’ll learn and the simple changes you can make could transform your life—giving you peace of mind and the certainty you need today—and mean the difference between retiring early and not being able to retire at all.
DEATH AND TAXES: THE ONLY CONSTANTS
Not to be outdone by volatile markets (moving faster than the speed of light, literally), exorbitant (and hidden) fees, and an outdated pension system, let’s not forget about our good old friend the tax man. Oh, the tax man. He’ll take up to 50% (or more!), thank you very much—on everything you earn. If you thought hidden fees were the only drag on accumulating wealth, you’ve missed the biggest culprit of all.

We all know the drag of taxes, to some degree, but few realize just how big a bite taxes take from our ability to achieve financial freedom. Sophisticated investors have always known this: it’s not what you earn, it’s what you keep that matters.

The greatest investors in the world understand the importance of tax efficiency. Just how destructive can taxes be when compounded over time?

Let’s try a metaphor: say you’ve got one dollar, and somehow you’re able to double it every year for 20 years. We all know this game. It’s called compounding, right?

After year one, you’ve doubled your dollar to $2.

Year two: $4.

Year three: $8.

Year four: $16.

Year five: $32.

If you had to guess, what do you think your dollar has grown to by year 20?

Don’t cheat and peek ahead. Take a moment and guess.

Through the magic of compounding, in just two decades your dollar turns into (drumroll, please): $1,048,576! That’s the incredible power of compounding!

As investors, we want to tap into this power. But, of course, the game is not that simple. In the real world, Caesar wants to be paid first. The tax man is looking for his piece. So what’s the impact of taxes on the same scenario? Once again, take a guess. If you’re fortunate enough to pay only 33% in taxes per year, what do you think your dollar has now grown to after taxes in 20 years?

Again, take a moment and really guess.

Well, if the tax-free number was $1,048,576 . . . hmmm. With 33% tax, would that be about $750,000? Or even $500,000? Think again, Kemosabe.

Now let’s look at the next column and see the incredible dollar-draining power when we take out money for our taxes each year before compounding—doubling our account. Assuming an annual tax rate of 33%, at the end of those same 20 years, the actual net amount you’ll end up with is just over $28,000!

That’s right, $28,000! A difference of over $1 million—and that doesn’t even account for state taxes! In some states, such as California, New York, and New Jersey, you can expect the total to be significantly smaller still.

Sure, this dollar-doubling, dollar-draining scenario is based on returns you’ll never see in the real world—but it illustrates what can happen when we neglect to consider the impact of taxes in our financial planning.

Given the way things are going in Washington, do you think taxes are going to be higher or lower in the coming years?

(You don’t even have to answer that one!)

In section 5, I’m going to give you the “in” that until now was available only to sophisticated investors or ultra-high-net-worth individuals. I’m going to show you what the smartest investors already do—how to take taxes out of the equation, using what the New York Times calls “the insider’s secret for the affluent.” It’s an IRS-approved method to grow your money tax free, and you don’t have to be rich or famous to take advantage of it. It could literally help you achieve your financial independence 25% to 50% faster, depending upon your tax bracket.

No person is free who is not master of himself.

—EPICTETUS

But plan or no plan, the future is coming on fast. According to the Center for Retirement Research, 53% of American households are “at risk” for not having enough money in retirement to maintain their living standards. That’s more than half! And remember, more than a third of workers have less than $1,000 saved up for retirement (not including pensions and the price of their home), while 60% have less than $25,000.

How can this be? We can’t blame it all on the economy. The savings crisis started long before the recent crash. In 2005 the personal savings rate was 1.5% in the United States. In 2013 it was 2.2% (after topping 5.5% at the height of the meltdown). What’s wrong with this picture? We don’t live in isolation. We know we need to save more and invest. So why don’t we do it? What’s holding us back?

Let’s start by admitting that human beings don’t always act rationally. Some of us spend money on lottery tickets even if we know the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 175 million, and that we are 251 times more likely to be hit by lightning. In fact, here’s a statistic that will blow your mind: the average American household spends $1,000 a year on lotteries. Now, my first reaction when I heard this from my friend Shlomo Benartzi, the celebrated professor of behavioral finance at UCLA, was, “That’s not possible!” In fact, I was recently at a seminar and asked the audience how many had bought a lottery ticket. In a room of 5,000 people, fewer than 50 raised their hands. If only 50 people out of 5,000 are doing it and the average is $1,000, then there are plenty of people buying way more. By the way, the record is held by Singapore, where the average household spends $4,000 a year. Do you have any idea what $1,000, $2,000, $3,000, $4,000 set aside and compounded over time could be worth to you? In the next chapter, you’re going to discover how little money it takes to have a half million to one million dollars or more in retirement that requires almost no time to manage.

So let’s turn to behavioral economics and see if we can’t find some little tricks that could make the difference between poverty and wealth. Behavioral economists try to figure out why we make the financial mistakes we do and how to correct them without even our conscious awareness. Pretty cool, huh?

Dan Ariely, renowned professor of behavioral economics at Duke University, studies how our brains fool us regularly. Human beings evolved to depend on our sight, and a huge part of our brain is dedicated to vision. But how often do our eyes deceive us? Have a look at the two tables below.



If I asked you which table is longer, the narrow one on the left or the fat one on the right, most people would naturally pick the one on the left. And if you were one of them, you’d be wrong. The lengths of both tables are exactly the same (go on, measure them if you don’t believe me). Okay, let’s try it again.



Which table is longer this time? Wouldn’t you bet anything that the one on the left is still longer? You know the answer, and yet your brain continues to deceive you. The one on the left still looks longer. Your eyes haven’t caught up with your brain. “Our intuition is fooling us in a repeatable, predictable, consistent way,” Ariely said at a memorable TED Talk. “And there is almost nothing we can do about it.”

So if we make these mistakes with vision, which in theory we’re decent at, what’s the chance that we don’t make even more mistakes in areas we’re not as good at—financial decision making, for example? Whether or not we think we make good financial decisions, or poor ones, we assume we’re in control of the decisions we do make. Science would suggest we’re not.

Just like the visual illusions we’re susceptible to, Ariely told me later in an interview that he chalks up many of our decision-making mistakes to “cognitive illusions.” A case in point: If you were to walk into your local Department of Motor Vehicles tomorrow and be asked the question “Do you want to donate your organs?” what do you think you would say? Some of us would immediately say yes, and think ourselves selfless and noble. Others might pause or balk or be turned off by the gruesomeness of the question and decline. Or maybe you’d punt and say you need time to think about it. Regardless, you’d assume that your decision is based on free will. You are a competent and capable adult, qualified to determine whether or not to donate your organs to save a life.

But here’s the thing: a lot of it depends on where you live. If you are in Germany, there’s about a one-in-eight chance you’ll donate your organs—about 12% of the population does. Whereas in Austria, Germany’s next-door neighbor, 99% of people donate their organs. In Sweden, 89% donate, but in Denmark, the rate is only 4%. What gives? Why such a disparity?

Could it be about religion, or a fear factor? Is it based on culture? It turns out the answer is none of the above. The huge disparity in donor rates has absolutely nothing to do with you personally or your cultural heritage. It has everything to do with the wording on the form at the DMV.

In countries with the lowest donor rates, like Denmark, there is a small box that says, “Check here if you want to participate in the organ donor program.” In countries with the highest rates, like Sweden, the form says, “Check here if you don’t want to participate in the organ donor program.”

That’s the secret! Nobody likes to check boxes. It’s not that we don’t want to donate our organs. That little bit of inertia makes all the difference in the world!

If a problem is too overwhelming, we tend to just freeze and do nothing. Or we do what’s been decided for us. It’s not our fault. It’s the way we’re wired. The problem with organ donation is not that people don’t care, it’s that they care so much. The decision is difficult and complicated, and many of us don’t know what to do. “And because we have no idea what to do, we just stick with whatever is chosen for us,” says Ariely.

This same sense of inertia, or picking what has been chosen for us, helps explain why only a third of American workers ever take advantage of available retirement plans. It explains why so few of us have made a financial plan for our futures. It seems complicated. We’re not sure what to do, so we punt, or we do nothing at all.

Ariely told me that when it comes to the physical world, we understand our limitations and build around them. We use steps, ramps, and elevators. “But for some reason, when we design things like health care and retirement and stock markets, we somehow forget the idea that we are limited,” he said. “I think that if we understood our cognitive limitations in the same way that we understand our physical limitations, even though they don’t stare us in the face in the same way, we could design a better world.”

Remember what Ray Dalio said about going into the jungle, that the first thing he asked himself was, “What don’t I know?” If you know your limitations, you can adapt and succeed. If you don’t know them, you’re going to get hurt.

My goal in this book is to wake people up and give them the knowledge and the tools to take immediate control of their financial lives. So I’ve created a plan that won’t trip you up because it’s too complex, or too hard, or time intensive. Why? Because, as we’ve seen from those DMV forms, complexity is the enemy of execution. That’s why I’ve divided this plan into 7 Simple Steps and created a powerful new smart phone app, completely free, to guide you through them. You can download it right now by going to www.tonyrobbins.com/masterthegame. You can check off your progress as you go, and celebrate your victories along the way. The app will support you, answer your questions, and even give you a nudge when you need it. Because you’re going to get excited and have the best intentions, and then a few distractions or an attack of inertia can knock you off target. This automated system is designed to prevent that. And guess what? Once you’re done, you’re done. After your plan is in place, you’ll have to spend only an hour or so once or twice a year to make sure you’re on course. So there’s no excuse not to stay on the path to a lifetime of financial security, independence, and freedom—and have plenty of time to enjoy the things that really matter to you!

Hopefully, by now your mind is churning. I know I’ve given you a lot to think about so far, but I’m committed to creating lasting breakthroughs in your financial life, and I want you to get a clear picture of the road ahead. So let’s take a quick walk through the 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom.

If you belong to a generation raised on blogs and tweets, my guess is that you’re saying: “Why don’t you just put these 7 Steps—and, for that matter, the whole book!—in one paragraph for me, or even an infographic?” I could do that. But knowing information is not the same as owning it and following through. Information without execution is poverty. Remember: we’re drowning in information, but we’re starving for wisdom.

So I want to prepare your mind for each of the steps that are coming. In this way, you’ll be ready to take the necessary actions that will guarantee that your path to financial freedom is realized.

This book is designed to give you mastery over a subject that torments most people because they’ve never taken the time to master the fundamentals that would set them free. And mastery means going deep. Anyone can read something, remember it, and feel like he or she has learned something. But true mastery requires three levels.

The first is cognitive understanding. It’s your ability to understand the concept. Any of us can get it. And many of us already have a cognitive understanding of personal finance and investing. But that and $3 will almost buy you a cup of coffee at Starbucks! What I mean is that information by itself is not valuable. It’s only the first step.

You start getting real value when you reach the second step: emotional mastery. That’s where you have heard something with enough repetition, and it’s stimulated enough feelings inside you—desires, hungers, fears, concerns—that now you become conscious and capable of consistently using what you’ve learned.

But the ultimate mastery is physical mastery. That means you don’t have to think about what you do; your actions are second nature. And the only way to get it is through consistent repetition. My great teacher, Jim Rohn, taught me that repetition is the mother of skill.

I’ll give you a perfect example of where I fell short in this area. In my early twenties, I decided I wanted to get a black belt in martial arts, and I had the privilege of meeting and becoming dear friends with the grand master Jhoon Rhee. He’s the man who brought Tae Kwon Do to this country and who trained both Bruce Lee and Muhammad Ali in the art. I told him I wanted to gain my black belt in the shortest time in history, and I was willing to do whatever it took in terms of practice, commitment, and discipline to break the record. He agreed to travel on the road with me to complete my training. It was brutal! I’d often finish a seminar and arrive at one o’clock in the morning for my training, and then work with the master for another three or four hours. I would have to get by on four hours of sleep at most.

One night, after a particularly long period of practicing the same exact move at least 300 times, I finally turned to my teacher and asked, “Master, when can we go on to the next move?” He looked at me sternly and said, “Oh, grasshopper, this is the next move. The fact that you can’t tell the difference between the move you made this time and the one you did before shows you are still a dabbler. Those fine distinctions are the difference between a master and an amateur. And mastery requires this level of repetition. With each repetition you must learn more,” he said with a smile.

Do you see my point? This book was not designed for you to skim through in an afternoon.

As you read, you’ll notice that this book is unlike anything you’ve encountered before because it reflects my unique style of teaching. You’ll be asked a lot of questions, and you’ll sometimes see facts and phrases that you’ve read before. There will be a lot of exclamation points! This isn’t an editing mistake! It’s a technique designed to mark out key ideas and to build knowledge into your mind, body, and spirit so that action becomes automatic. That’s when you’ll start seeing results and reaping the rewards that you desire and deserve. Are you up for the challenge?

And remember: this is not just a book, it’s a blueprint. Each section is designed to help you understand exactly where you are in financial terms and help you close the gap between where you are now and where you truly want to be. This work is designed to arm you, not just for today but for the rest of your life. I know you’ll come back at different stages to take things to the next level.
SECTION 1:
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE: THE JOURNEY BEGINS WITH THIS FIRST STEP
Like all great adventurers, we’ll start by getting oriented for the trip. In chapter 1.4, you’ll learn more about the psychology of wealth, what holds us back, and some simple cures. You’ll uncover what it is you’re really investing for, and unleash the power of the best financial breakthrough strategies. Then, in the next chapter, we blast off. Here you’ll take the first of the 7 Simple Steps and make the most important financial decision of your life. This chapter is a must read. You’ll learn how, with even the smallest amount of money combined with the miracle power of compounding, you can absolutely become financially independent in your life without ever having to make a fortune in annual income. You’ll activate this system by deciding on a portion of your income to save and invest for compounded interest. You’ll become not just a consumer in the economy but also an owner—an investor with a stake in the future. You’ll learn how to build your own automated “money machine,” a system that will generate income for you for a lifetime while you sleep.
SECTION 2:
BECOME THE INSIDER: KNOW THE RULES BEFORE YOU GET IN THE GAME
Maybe you’ve heard that old expression, “When a man with money meets a man with experience, the man with the experience ends up with the money, and the man with the money ends up with the experience.” Now that you’ve decided to become an investor, this section explains the critical rules of the game so that you don’t fall prey to those players with all the experience. This road map shows the way through the investment jungle that Ray Dalio was talking about, with the worst danger zones marked with big red Xs. These are the marketing myths—some people call them investment lies—that are often designed to systematically separate you from your money. You’ll learn why the returns the mutual funds advertise are not the returns that you actually receive. I know it sounds crazy, but the 1% fee that you think is the total cost you’re paying is really only one of more than ten potential fees, and that your average mutual fund might be eating up 60% of your potential returns over time! Remember, in this short section alone, you’ll save between $250,000 and $450,000 minimum, back in your pocket without getting any better returns over your investment lifetime! And you’ll see that this amount is all documented—based on studies, not based on my opinion or funny math. We’ll also discuss the deceptions that can be a part of target-date funds and no-load funds, and arm you with a real understanding of how to protect yourself from firms that often tailor these products and strategies for their maximum profit—not yours! By the end of this section you’ll have taken your second step, and even if you only have a small amount of money, you’ll be investing it like an insider.
SECTION 3:
WHAT’S THE PRICE OF YOUR DREAMS? MAKE THE GAME WINNABLE
Together we’ll explore your financial dreams, and set some realistic goals that will make the game truly winnable. Most people have no idea how much money they’ll need to achieve financial security, independence, and freedom. Or the giant numbers they have in their heads are so intimidating that they never even start a plan to get there. But in chapter 3.1, you’ll figure out what you really want, and it’s going to be exciting—especially when you realize that your dreams may be closer than you think. You’ll not only dream, but you’ll turn those dreams into reality—a plan—in chapter 3.2. It’s going to be different for everyone, and we have the software to customize it for you. You can do it online or on your app, where you can keep it and change it as many times as you want until you find a realistic and achievable plan. And if you’re not getting to your dreams fast enough, we’re going to show you five ways to speed it up in section 3. By the time you’ve taken Step 3, you’ll not only know how to build wealth for your future retirement, but how to enjoy it along the way.
SECTION 4:
MAKE THE MOST IMPORTANT INVESTMENT DECISION OF YOUR LIFE
Now that you’re thinking like an insider, you know the rules of the game, and you’ve learned how to make the game winnable, it’s time to make the most important investment decision of your life: Where do you put your money and in what proportions? Asset allocation is what every Nobel Prize winner, every hedge fund manager, every top institutional investor, bar none, told me was the key to successful investing—yet virtually 99% of Americans know little or nothing about it. Why? Maybe it seems too complicated. But in chapter 4.1, I’m going to make it simple and also show you where to go to have an expert assist you online. Proper asset allocation means dividing up what you’re investing into buckets that are secure and give you peace of mind, versus buckets that are riskier but may have greater potential for growth. It’s the ultimate bucket list! And when you complete Step 4, you’ll not only know how to become wealthy, but how to stay wealthy.
SECTION 5:
UPSIDE WITHOUT THE DOWNSIDE: CREATE A LIFETIME INCOME PLAN
What good is investing if you don’t have any money to spend? Most people have been so conditioned to focus on putting more money in a 401(k) plan or building their retirement account they forget that they’ll need to draw it down as income some day. And since account balances fluctuate (remember, they don’t just go up!), we must create and protect our income plan. Remember 2008? How do you protect yourself from the next crash? How do you set up a portfolio that avoids getting whipsawed? How do you know you won’t end up outliving your money, which is so many people’s number one fear? You may be blessed with a long life, but it may not feel like a blessing if you run out of money. In this section we’ll offer specific insights into one of the best-kept secrets in the financial community and help you develop a guaranteed lifetime income plan—a certain revenue stream that can form the foundation for true financial peace of mind. We’ll explore creative ways you can stop or drastically limit losses and increase your gains—using the investment vehicles favored by banks, large corporations, and some of the world’s wealthiest individuals. What do they know that you don’t know? It’s how to have the upside without the downside, and to make sure your gains aren’t eaten away by taxes.
SECTION 6:
INVEST LIKE THE .001%: THE BILLIONAIRE’S PLAYBOOK
We’ll hear what’s good and what’s challenging about the state of the global economy—how we got here and what may be coming next—from some of the clearest and most influential thinkers in the financial world. Then you’ll meet the masters of the game, 12 of the most colorful and brilliant minds in finance, and learn what has guided them through every economic condition. We’ll ask Paul Tudor Jones how he made a 60% monthly return in 1987 by predicting the Black Monday crash, when the market was burning down around him. And how, 21 years later, he was able to make nearly 30% when the market lost nearly 50% and the world seemed to be falling apart again. Plus we’ll look at how he has avoided losses and managed to have 28 straight profitable years in every conceivable market, never losing a dime. Some of the people you’ll be meeting in our “Billionaire’s Playbook,” such as Charles Schwab, Carl Icahn, T. Boone Pickens, Ray Dalio, and Jack Bogle, struggled when they were growing up—they weren’t born with a silver spoon in their mouth. So how did they make it to the top? We’ll ask what money means to them, and we’ll peek into their actual portfolios. By the time you’ve finished Step 6, you’ll know how the .001% invests.
SECTION 7:
JUST DO IT, ENJOY IT, AND SHARE IT
Here we’ll come up with an action plan to help you live a better, fuller, richer, more joyful life. And we’ll talk about what to do to stay on target. I guarantee we’ll blow your mind with some of the breathtaking new technologies that will make even the near future better than you think. This is the opposite of what most people believe. According to an NBC–Wall Street Journal poll, 76% of Americans—an all-time record—think that their children’s lives will be worse off than their own! But you’re going to get an insider’s look at what’s coming from some of the most brilliant minds of our time. We’ll hear from my friends Ray Kurzweil, the Edison of our age, and Peter Diamandis, creator of the X Prize, about new technologies coming online: 3-D printers that will transform your personal computer into a manufacturing plant, self-driving cars, exoskeletons that enable paraplegics to walk, artificial limbs grown from single cells—innovations that will dramatically change our lives for the better in the very near future. I’m hoping this will inspire you, and also show you that even if you somehow screw up and don’t get your financial act together, you’ll still have a better quality of life. And for those with the resources, you’re looking at a future of limitless possibilities.

We’ll wrap up with the simple fact that the secret to living is giving: sharing with others not only gives you a greater quality of life but also brings you a greater experience of joy. And you’ll learn about new technologies that make giving painless and fun. As you feed your mind and build your own wealth, my hope is that you’ll do well enough to help others. And remember, you’re my partner in giving now. And as you’re reading, someone in need is being fed.

I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive.

—JOSEPH CAMPBELL

I’ve made these 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom as clear and simple as possible for you. Now it’s up to you to take action and follow through each of the seven steps, one at a time, to get the job done.

What do you need to see it through? What works best for you? Let’s create a simple plan together now. Some of you might sit down and read the whole book over a long weekend—and if you do, then you’re as crazy and as obsessed as I am, a brother or sister on the path! If you don’t have a weekend to spare, consider taking a chapter a day or a section a week. Immerse yourself a little bit at a time for a few weeks and you’ll get it done. Whatever it takes.

This is a journey of a lifetime, a journey worth mastering! If you’re with me, let the journey begin!

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster; Updated edition (March 29, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 688 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1476757860
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1476757865
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.45 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.7 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 13,948 ratings

About the author

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Tony Robbins
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Tony Robbins is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. For more than thirty-nine years, millions of people have enjoyed the warmth, humor, and the transformational power of Mr. Robbins’s business and personal development events. He is the nation’s #1 life and business strategist. He’s called upon to consult and coach some of the world’s finest athletes, entertainers, Fortune 500 CEOs, and even presidents of nations. Robbins is the chairman of a holding company comprised of more than a dozen businesses with combined sales exceeding five billion dollars a year. His philanthropic efforts helped provide more than 100 million meals in the last year alone. He lives in Palm Beach, Florida.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
13,948 global ratings
Easily the most beneficial, most informative & eye-opening book I have read, on any subject!
5 Stars
Easily the most beneficial, most informative & eye-opening book I have read, on any subject!
This is easily the greatest, most beneficial, most informative and eye-opening book I have ever read, on any subject! This being Tony Robbins' first book in two decades, he's hit an absolute grand-slam in my opinion. What a success! In my mind, this is now the definitive tome to lay-bare a subject so complex, yet so vital. This book IS financial education for the common man. This book is packed to-the-gills with things no one tells you. And nobody has ever spelled-out every detail as thoroughly as Tony does in this book ever, but particularly in the post-2008 financial world, and trust me, I have read many many titles on the subject. I am proud to say that my father introduced me to Dave Ramsey at a very young age, and thus began my financial education. Obviously, it is a long road, but despite the disagreements I know have with some parts of his strategy, I can say with certainty that he set me about on the right path.In my thinking, the core element in this book is not only a very-broad understanding of the modern financial & investment landscape, as well as the pit-falls and traps to avoid that so many others fall prey to, if simply in an effort to 'delegate' responsibility for securing their financial future so someone else. Too often, the person chosen for this most-critical of tasks in life is handed-over to a less-than-fully-trustworthy 'financial advisor' or 'planner' (which as this book teaches, are simply a few of the many terms used to describe financial practitioners who are bound only by the "suitability standard" by the government. This most prevalent type of financial-advisors-to-avoid are also called: broker-dealers.For those that don't know, this standard of "suitability" is a horribly low-standard, and in-a-nutshell says only that these people recommend investments to you that are "suitable." This means they are well-within-their-rights and, in fact, are in fact most likely to only recommend to you investments that they themselves make the highest commissions from. These are all-too-often high-fee and 'hidden-fee' proprietary Mutual Funds which are generally owned by the company these individuals work for (and, not surprisingly, it would take the average a fair amount of research to uncover that fact, as these funds are often named in ways that do not reflect, much less suggest the name of the companies that actually operate them).The best type of Financial Advisor, which is the kind you want is an Independent Registered Investment Advisor! In my mind, this is one of the most valuable facts IN THIS BOOK! Because it is one of the most misunderstood aspects of the industry. But the difference is that an Independent RIA is required to provide financial advice to you that is BEST FOR YOU! This is a HUGE distinction!!! They cannot provide recommendations to you simply because they will receive a higher commission—as under the "suitability standard." They are REQUIRED to only give you advice that is BEST. FOR. YOU!It is important to mention that your RIA absolutely needs to be Independent, because a gigantic loophole many so-called RIA's exploit is called dual-registration. This is where an individual is actually registered as BOTH a Broker-Dealer and a Registered Investment Advisor… and this is a perfect example of the different types of technicalities and exceptions (AKA loopholes) that those in-the-know in the financial word exploit every day to 'get-one-over' on the common man, and basically take their money. In a nutshell, what dual-registration means is that a financial advisor can, at any time, with-or-without notifying you, importantly, "change-hats" so-to-speak and start giving you advice as a RIA, or a Broker. The choice is completely theirs. So… and this is the key takeaway: dually-registered RIA's are NOT bound by the Fiduciary standard. They can at any time of their choosing provide to you advice only as a Broker, which places that advice only under the Suitability standard.I know that all sounds confusing, but if you're following what I'm saying, you can see that really sucks for people who don't understand the distinction, and I HATE that kind of stuff. And, sadly, this type of thing runs rampant throughout the financial industry. But the best way to defend oneself against this type of exploitation is to educate yourself about the intricacies of the industry, and thus gain 'immunity' from the tricks and deceit so many in the field would try to sell you.At any rate, suffice it to say that I give this book my UTMOST RECOMMENDATION. In fact, I think purchasing it is in-itself a MAGNIFICENT INVESTMENT because (as you'll read in the book) Tony Robbins is donating every ounce of the proceeds to charity to feed the hungry among us and furthermore, as Benjamin Franklin once said: "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."
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Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2014
I want to start off by saying that I'm not a follower of Tony's motivational literature. When I was younger my mother purchased some of his books and tapes and while they were somewhat inspiring, I never was one to draw my "passion for life" reading any book other than the Bible. I couldn't tell you what Tony's done or written since his 'Get the Edge' series that was mass marketed on television back in the late 90's.. but I can tell you what I'm pleasantly surprised with, and frankly glad I'm I came across this new finance book because a few of the chapters are "worth their weight in gold." These are Chapters 2 and 5, but please continue reading my review to understand why.

-To give you some background I've been reading personal finance books since the late 90's starting with titles like 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' by Robert Kiyosaki, 'Automatic Millionaire' by David Bach, every Dave Ramsey and Ben Stein title ever written, most of Larry Burkett's scripture based Business and Finance books and Crown Financial information, Random Walk down wall street, etc. etc. To make a long story short let's just say I've read dozens of personal finance or retirement books starting from age 16 up until my present age of 31 so I can tell when something is new or old fluff, or just plain made up. I've also an investor so I have skin in the game.

-Some people are reading these reviews and they just want to know if this book will help them manage their money or make money, and to cut to to the chase yes this book can both make you alot of money and save you even more money. After reading Tony's book I've placed it among the top 10 personal finance titles I've ever read and that list reads like the who's who of books that can actually make a huge impact on the financial future of the average American. If you don't like to read it doesn't matter, just buy the book and read Chapter 2 and 5 and then give it to a friend or delete it, but just read those two chapters.

-What makes this book so valuable and easily worth the price I paid ($12 on Kindle). Let me summarize, and we're going to throw out all the chapters and information that was motivational jargon because I didn't buy this book to be motivated on living life to the fullest and I don't think most of you reading this did either.

1. THE INTERVIEWS. Most of these interviews were not rehash's of what you could find in other books, and a couple of them could be downright life altering if people were to employ some of the advice given by a few of the men or start to follow a few of these men with regard to what they are doing with their investments. The possible life-changing and or interviews that offered terrific advice, tidbits of information that could save you time and money, stock market psychology, and or getting insight into those with your interest at heart. If you browse Yahoo finance and or blogs you can occasionally glean tidbits of gold regarding finance wisdom from some of the best of the best who have both integrity and the average joe investor in mind when they are giving out advice. These are some of the men who realize that most people who need this information are not making a 6 figure income and yet while most of them have wealth in the 7 figure range they don't forget about the rest of us and want to help us to avoid mistakes with our money.

Carl Icahn. Rarely does this man give longer interviews, but Tony Robbins just may have one of the best interviews ever done with Carl Icahn. Carl Icahn is an activist investor. This type of investor attempts to take control of companies they believe are underperforming(usually due to poor management) and then take them over or make changes that will benefit both the shareholder and the activist. As a result in most cases employees and customers benefit also. Carl Icahn is one of the few power brokers on Wall Street who by following you can make quite a bit of money because he will make a poorly operating company do better by holding management accountable, and as a result he has and will continue to help the American People by making our companies more efficient and better which can enrich everyone. After you read this interview you will understand why it's important to follow the moves this man makes.

David Swensen. Great interview, a good overview of asset allocation and risk management, shows why playing it safe for a long time is smart. Great tidbits to learn.

Ray Dalio. Just getting the broken down into easy terms "All Weather Portfolio" is worth the price of the book alone and much more. This information is covered in Chapter 5. He must have owed Tony a huge debt to give out this information. Next to an index fund this is the best portfolio I've ever seen and the results it has brought prove it. You won't find anything better, but most people should have a broad ranged index fund before attempting to copy an allocation like the all weather.

Paul Tudor Jones. Some of the investing psychology(not stock picking advice, but market psychology) he gives in his interview is as if you are sitting in a premier top 10 MBA rated program's class and studying under his stock market tutelage. You simply can't hear these things anywhere else and unless your in a very elite group that are getting MBA's at the very top finance schools you probably never will.

John Bogle. What more can anyone say, he revolutionized investing for the common man by introducing the index fund and if you don't have one you really need one ASAP. Watch every interview with John Bogle you can find on youtube if you want a quick study in long term investing with the best possible outcome for the average person. I personally believe John Bogle has made more of an impact on the finances of the average American than anyone in history ever has or ever will, he truly is both a pioneer and a sort of modern day hero who put the common man above greed and reshaped Wall Street and investing forever.

Warren Buffet. I can tell in this interview Mr. Buffet was just doing Tony a favor by giving a short interview to a friend but he didn't really give any advice you couldn't find anywhere else nor did he dive into any strategies or ideas for the common person. I put him with these others because of his track record. If you purchase a few of his BRK-B stock shares and hold them for a very long time you will probably do pretty well, but Warren Buffet would tell all average investors to get an index fund and not try their hand at picking stocks. He basically will mimic what John Bogle says in most of his interviews but John Bogle goes much deeper, is more interesting, has more integrity, and just does it better.

-Yes a few of the interviews were not very good and I discuss those below. They in my opinion revealed little information, did not know how to convey investment advice to the average person, or just came across as sort of a self pat on the back in my opinion and wouldn't make much impact to the future financial wellness of the reader. Remember, just because someone is ultra wealthy in no way means they have you interest in mind nor can their advice or circumstances be applied to your own life.

-These people from this book in my opinion who you shouldn't listen to include:

Marc Faber(Commodities speculator who is a very shrewd and astute insider, I don't think he can be trusted personally, but when it came to giving advice he came across as a guy just throwing information out there just to give an interview almost as if he wasn't really sure what to say, like he was picking random numbers out of his head and giving them to Tony.)

T. Boone Pickens (Just talks about himself most of the interview, you can find better advice elsewhere.)

Kyle Bass (Made most of his money off an incredible speculation and talks about purchasing millions in nickels with little information given for the regular investor. It's my belief he either isn't very knowledgeable when it comes to investing for regular people or he simply cannot convey the information in a manner with tools he has never used for the average person. He is an algorith based trader and has access to both tools and information most people don't have. I would never listen to his advice based upon his history even though he is successful, his success cannot be repeated.

-I group these next three together because their interviews mainly went through their personal histories and discussed why the success occurred and the importance of integrity and a customer first approach in the finance world:
Mary Callahan Erdoes, Charles Schwab, Sir John Templeton (Mostly discusses the type of work ethic, integrity, and fortitude needed to be successful and also to leave a legacy for your family or people who's money you are investing.

-So what makes this book so valuable, and why am I saying you must include this in your collection if you're a person under 50 looking to improve your finances.

2. Simply because of Chapter 2 and Chapter 5.

-Chapter 2 covers some of the things you've read in other finance books before, usually John Bogle's or Ben Stein's, but it discusses the Myths of the market and advisor fees. It discusses investment broker actual returns and debunks many of the common beliefs among the uneducated majority regarding how to make money with investing or retirement plans. The way this chapter is organized regarding the myths of the market and annuities is invaluable. The information on annuities for anyone under 50 is pure gold, and I have yet to see even a handful of books that ever covered the Annuity, which is starting to grow like wildfire and probably the best option for most of us with less than $500,000-1,000,000 at retirement.

-Chapter 5. This is the best chapter of the book bar none. Ray Dalio's all weather portfolio is simply unmatched and having an in-depth guide of why and how it was designed, and then actually broken down into easy to understand choices is truly incredible. Yes you can and should invest in an Index Fund, and by now we know that 95% of portfolio managers will never beat the stock market over a long time frame such as 20-30 years, but the all weather portfolio created by Ray Dalio's team just may give you better or at least safer returns with less downside risk than even a broad market index fund. I'm still left wondering how Tony got them to do this and give up this much information on this fund. On top of that, there is a larger annuity and retirement information section which goes in depth on the importance of the 3 year window into retirement and how just the stock market return of the first 3 years of a person's retirement can make or break them, and WILL... unless they read the information on annuities.

-On top of all this great information, section after section has Tony giving good links on how to access both more information. Going through this book you can see that Tony actually cares to help the uneducated average investor gain the tools to invest both wisely and and safely. Most finance books give you the what to do(or at least attempt to), but Tony's goes beyond and actually gives you both tools and the where to go to get more information and possibly help.

-To top of these great chapters there is also a chapter on the future of American technology which goes into the advances being made in healthcare and engineering with the creation of 3D printers and how people are continually living longer so what we do with our money today is very important for a potentially long tomorrow. On top of this unlike many finance books, Tony goes into the importance of giving and how it can change a person's life and bring more fulfillment far beyond any dream or desire to be rich. Tony actually explains how and why giving is so important, and it's refreshing to see even a non Christian hold such a high view of giving our time and resources back to those who are less fortunate.

So take my review for what you will, as someone who's read dozens of finance books and will only give applause to something that is both different and worth reading and knowing. I believe this book is very good just for those 2 chapters, especially if you are under 50 and have a long term horizon to invest with and haven't made tons of mistakes yet. For those who ar e older they undoubtedly should discuss retirement with a financial planner and look into insurance/annuities and stable funds. Below I will list my top Finance guru's and what I believe are some of the must read books in this field that all have information that can change your financial future as this book can do.

Best personal finance guru's, the very best of the best who's work you must read and I will include one book from each. These people have care about the common investor above selling books or making money. While some of the information may be a little outdated in one or two of these books, these are still the best of the best by far.

Must reads for personal finance with investment advice also
John Bogle (The Little book of common sense investing, watch his interviews on youtube or yahoo)
Larry Burkett (The complete guide to managing your money, planning for Retirement, Business by the Book)
Ben Stein (How to retire comfortably, The little black book of investing, how to ruin your financial future, most of his books)

Great books on investing that don't cover personal finance
Burton Malkiel (A Random Walk down Wall Street)
William Bernstein (The Four Pillars of Investing)

Honorable Mentions for personal finance, financial lifestyle etc.
Dave Ramsey(We all know about his books, very good for basic advice regarding personal budgeting, not better than the previously mentioned writers or their titles though)
David Bach (Automatic millionaire, Fight for your Money)
Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad, Poor Dad)
Ramit Sethi (I will teach you to be rich)
Thomas Stanley (Millionaire next door)

Are there any people you should be watching when it comes to how they are investing their money?
Only two in my opinion. Warren Buffet and Carl Icahn. Both of their basic stock offerings are in the 100's still. I believe Carl Icahn's IEP is up over 1000% since inception and Buffet's BRK-B is up 24% this year alone. Watch what Warren Buffet does because he has insider access to large changes in the economy and the government, and watch Carl Icahn because he creates huge changes in companies by forcing their management to become better in every way and with that usually comes great returns for shareholders.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2024
A good read. Full of good information. I know nothing about stocks and such… now, I’m more informed.
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2016
This is easily the greatest, most beneficial, most informative and eye-opening book I have ever read, on any subject! This being Tony Robbins' first book in two decades, he's hit an absolute grand-slam in my opinion. What a success! In my mind, this is now the definitive tome to lay-bare a subject so complex, yet so vital. This book IS financial education for the common man. This book is packed to-the-gills with things no one tells you. And nobody has ever spelled-out every detail as thoroughly as Tony does in this book ever, but particularly in the post-2008 financial world, and trust me, I have read many many titles on the subject. I am proud to say that my father introduced me to Dave Ramsey at a very young age, and thus began my financial education. Obviously, it is a long road, but despite the disagreements I know have with some parts of his strategy, I can say with certainty that he set me about on the right path.

In my thinking, the core element in this book is not only a very-broad understanding of the modern financial & investment landscape, as well as the pit-falls and traps to avoid that so many others fall prey to, if simply in an effort to 'delegate' responsibility for securing their financial future so someone else. Too often, the person chosen for this most-critical of tasks in life is handed-over to a less-than-fully-trustworthy 'financial advisor' or 'planner' (which as this book teaches, are simply a few of the many terms used to describe financial practitioners who are bound only by the "suitability standard" by the government. This most prevalent type of financial-advisors-to-avoid are also called: broker-dealers.

For those that don't know, this standard of "suitability" is a horribly low-standard, and in-a-nutshell says only that these people recommend investments to you that are "suitable." This means they are well-within-their-rights and, in fact, are in fact most likely to only recommend to you investments that they themselves make the highest commissions from. These are all-too-often high-fee and 'hidden-fee' proprietary Mutual Funds which are generally owned by the company these individuals work for (and, not surprisingly, it would take the average a fair amount of research to uncover that fact, as these funds are often named in ways that do not reflect, much less suggest the name of the companies that actually operate them).

The best type of Financial Advisor, which is the kind you want is an Independent Registered Investment Advisor! In my mind, this is one of the most valuable facts IN THIS BOOK! Because it is one of the most misunderstood aspects of the industry. But the difference is that an Independent RIA is required to provide financial advice to you that is BEST FOR YOU! This is a HUGE distinction!!! They cannot provide recommendations to you simply because they will receive a higher commission—as under the "suitability standard." They are REQUIRED to only give you advice that is BEST. FOR. YOU!

It is important to mention that your RIA absolutely needs to be Independent, because a gigantic loophole many so-called RIA's exploit is called dual-registration. This is where an individual is actually registered as BOTH a Broker-Dealer and a Registered Investment Advisor… and this is a perfect example of the different types of technicalities and exceptions (AKA loopholes) that those in-the-know in the financial word exploit every day to 'get-one-over' on the common man, and basically take their money. In a nutshell, what dual-registration means is that a financial advisor can, at any time, with-or-without notifying you, importantly, "change-hats" so-to-speak and start giving you advice as a RIA, or a Broker. The choice is completely theirs. So… and this is the key takeaway: dually-registered RIA's are NOT bound by the Fiduciary standard. They can at any time of their choosing provide to you advice only as a Broker, which places that advice only under the Suitability standard.

I know that all sounds confusing, but if you're following what I'm saying, you can see that really sucks for people who don't understand the distinction, and I HATE that kind of stuff. And, sadly, this type of thing runs rampant throughout the financial industry. But the best way to defend oneself against this type of exploitation is to educate yourself about the intricacies of the industry, and thus gain 'immunity' from the tricks and deceit so many in the field would try to sell you.

At any rate, suffice it to say that I give this book my UTMOST RECOMMENDATION. In fact, I think purchasing it is in-itself a MAGNIFICENT INVESTMENT because (as you'll read in the book) Tony Robbins is donating every ounce of the proceeds to charity to feed the hungry among us and furthermore, as Benjamin Franklin once said: "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."
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5.0 out of 5 stars Easily the most beneficial, most informative & eye-opening book I have read, on any subject!
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2016
This is easily the greatest, most beneficial, most informative and eye-opening book I have ever read, on any subject! This being Tony Robbins' first book in two decades, he's hit an absolute grand-slam in my opinion. What a success! In my mind, this is now the definitive tome to lay-bare a subject so complex, yet so vital. This book IS financial education for the common man. This book is packed to-the-gills with things no one tells you. And nobody has ever spelled-out every detail as thoroughly as Tony does in this book ever, but particularly in the post-2008 financial world, and trust me, I have read many many titles on the subject. I am proud to say that my father introduced me to Dave Ramsey at a very young age, and thus began my financial education. Obviously, it is a long road, but despite the disagreements I know have with some parts of his strategy, I can say with certainty that he set me about on the right path.

In my thinking, the core element in this book is not only a very-broad understanding of the modern financial & investment landscape, as well as the pit-falls and traps to avoid that so many others fall prey to, if simply in an effort to 'delegate' responsibility for securing their financial future so someone else. Too often, the person chosen for this most-critical of tasks in life is handed-over to a less-than-fully-trustworthy 'financial advisor' or 'planner' (which as this book teaches, are simply a few of the many terms used to describe financial practitioners who are bound only by the "suitability standard" by the government. This most prevalent type of financial-advisors-to-avoid are also called: broker-dealers.

For those that don't know, this standard of "suitability" is a horribly low-standard, and in-a-nutshell says only that these people recommend investments to you that are "suitable." This means they are well-within-their-rights and, in fact, are in fact most likely to only recommend to you investments that they themselves make the highest commissions from. These are all-too-often high-fee and 'hidden-fee' proprietary Mutual Funds which are generally owned by the company these individuals work for (and, not surprisingly, it would take the average a fair amount of research to uncover that fact, as these funds are often named in ways that do not reflect, much less suggest the name of the companies that actually operate them).

The best type of Financial Advisor, which is the kind you want is an Independent Registered Investment Advisor! In my mind, this is one of the most valuable facts IN THIS BOOK! Because it is one of the most misunderstood aspects of the industry. But the difference is that an Independent RIA is required to provide financial advice to you that is BEST FOR YOU! This is a HUGE distinction!!! They cannot provide recommendations to you simply because they will receive a higher commission—as under the "suitability standard." They are REQUIRED to only give you advice that is BEST. FOR. YOU!

It is important to mention that your RIA absolutely needs to be Independent, because a gigantic loophole many so-called RIA's exploit is called dual-registration. This is where an individual is actually registered as BOTH a Broker-Dealer and a Registered Investment Advisor… and this is a perfect example of the different types of technicalities and exceptions (AKA loopholes) that those in-the-know in the financial word exploit every day to 'get-one-over' on the common man, and basically take their money. In a nutshell, what dual-registration means is that a financial advisor can, at any time, with-or-without notifying you, importantly, "change-hats" so-to-speak and start giving you advice as a RIA, or a Broker. The choice is completely theirs. So… and this is the key takeaway: dually-registered RIA's are NOT bound by the Fiduciary standard. They can at any time of their choosing provide to you advice only as a Broker, which places that advice only under the Suitability standard.

I know that all sounds confusing, but if you're following what I'm saying, you can see that really sucks for people who don't understand the distinction, and I HATE that kind of stuff. And, sadly, this type of thing runs rampant throughout the financial industry. But the best way to defend oneself against this type of exploitation is to educate yourself about the intricacies of the industry, and thus gain 'immunity' from the tricks and deceit so many in the field would try to sell you.

At any rate, suffice it to say that I give this book my UTMOST RECOMMENDATION. In fact, I think purchasing it is in-itself a MAGNIFICENT INVESTMENT because (as you'll read in the book) Tony Robbins is donating every ounce of the proceeds to charity to feed the hungry among us and furthermore, as Benjamin Franklin once said: "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."
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Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2024
Please read beyond the first 2 parts to see why I still give this 4 stars.

I'm only about 1/3 of the way through the book and at this point I decided to check 2 of the websites mentioned in the book. I was quite disappointed to find that LoansQuickly.com is now just a domain for sale and ShowMeTheFees.com can't even be reached. Through a quick Google search I found a link to a Tony Robbin's website which in turn had a link to Americas Best 401k. Once there I found they no longer offer this service for individuals but do have something for a business owner.

In addition I've found the printing quality of my copy to be sub-par. In some pages the print fades as you go across the page and a couple pages are just considerably lighter. Mind you I can still read the book but I thought it was worth mentioning.

My guess is Tony Robbin's is not aware of some of the current shortcomings of this book. I may even discover a couple more as I continue reading. That being said, if you want to take your financial knowledge to the next level and end up with a much clearer path forward you need to get this book. It will teach you vital lessons that will improve your financial outlook.

As a side note, if you find yourself impressed with the wealth of knowledge Tony has packed into this book, you should do yourself a favor and find out more about the author Tony Robbins. Helping change your financial life is just a small piece of what he does.
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Juan Luis Mariscal Hurtado
5.0 out of 5 stars Bueno
Reviewed in Mexico on February 8, 2024
Buen libro
Diogo Sales Ferreira
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding
Reviewed in Brazil on November 26, 2021
An excellent book for those searching for knowledge about financing and a good add for those who live in the financial field as financial administrators, CFOs, financial advisers, brokers, fund managers, I'm a business administrator and that book helped me a lot, it's a book that makes the person think and also gives wisdom. I already have this book on the shelf, I bought one 5 or 4 years ago, but decided to buy a fresh new one of the same just to read again, just to keep the mindset.
H Ghorbani
4.0 out of 5 stars Too much ranting, but still worth reading
Reviewed in Sweden on October 27, 2023
It is pretty lengthy and too much unnecessary text however it is a good book. I think there are better and shorter books out there.
Nanda N Luiten
5.0 out of 5 stars amazing
Reviewed in the Netherlands on June 19, 2023
Total recommendation to read. Got so much out of it. Very inspiring and helpful. Great read and fantastic insights for now and the future.
Jandres L.F.
5.0 out of 5 stars Buen libro.
Reviewed in Spain on June 2, 2020
Un libro que me está gustando bastante. Mezcla entre finanzas y autoayuda. A veces es un poco redundante, pero gusta mucho leerlo.