Seven Years to Seven Figures

March 26, 2007
This is not the book for people who merely want to enjoy a comfortable retirement, but for those whose goal is nothing less than becoming fabulously wealthy. Masterson (Automatic Wealth
) derides what he calls the "pinch-save-and-wait" philosophy of contributing the maximum to one's 401(k) and depending on compound interest and time to work their magic. Such tactics, he says, can take decades to bear fruit, whereas most of his clients are baby boomers who hope to realize astonishing gains in a few short years. The first part of the book is about "super-sizing" one's income to six-figure levels in order to free up money for investing in one's own businesses, and soaking up knowledge from mentors and bosses. The rest contains numerous stories of self-made millionaires (almost all from sales and direct marketing) along with Masterson's advice: invest in businesses you understand and, more importantly, can actually control; be entrepreneurial and a risk taker; never stop networking and selling yourself; invest heavily in real estate. Masterson's aggressive, gratingly self-promotional message is oddly out of synch with Dietz's gentle, avuncular, let's-chat-on-the-porch narration. Dietz's wonderful storytelling voice is wasted on this get-rich-quick scheme. Simultaneous release with the Wiley hardcover