Are you interested in making more money? Do you want to become rich? Are you interested in learning how to get rich?
How to Get Rich, by Felix Dennis, is a no nonsense summary of how Felix Dennis, founder of Maxim magazine, got rich. Dennis takes us through the ups and downs of his business life and personal life, and also gives his opinion on how to get rich (not just rich, like really, really rich).
Dennis started out in the United Kingdom in the late 60’s, and worked his way to riches by owning his own publishing business. In addition to the main publishing business, he was a partner in many other deals and opportunities which helped grow his wealth.
In the beginning of the book, he states he is worth somewhere between $400 million and $900 million pre-tax. However, because much of his wealth is illiquid, he didn’t really know (or care; he was rather old at the time of writing How to Get Rich, and didn’t care about much except the pleasures of life at his stage in life.)
How to Get Rich is not a self help book, as Dennis states multiple times, but outlines and discusses many principles, virtues, and lessons on how to get rich.
The rest of this post includes a summary of How to Get Rich, takeaways from How to Get Rich, and a reading recommendation for you.
I’m concerned that the fear of failing, in the eyes of the world, is the biggest impediment to amassing wealth. – Felix Dennis
Book Summary of How to Get Rich
How to Get Rich discusses various topics one needs to be aware of when looking to become rich.
These topics include, but are not limited to:
- ideas
- luck
- ownership
- negotiating
- delegation
- focus
- self-belief
Below are some main takeaways from each of these skills for becoming rich from How to Get Rich.
The Importance of Executing Your Ideas
Ideas are worthless without action.
Dennis discusses the importance of executing your ideas numerous times throughout the book.
Some remarkable quotes from the book include:
- “The follow-through, the execution, is a thousand times more important than a “great idea”.”
- “It is how ideas are implemented that counts in the long run.”
- “Ideas don’t make you rich. Correct execution of ideas does.”
Essentially, without an action oriented mindset, you will not be able to become rich. If brainstorming and coming up with ideas is all you do, then you will not be successful with your business.
The Role of Luck in Becoming Rich
What makes How to Get Rich great is how Dennis discusses his successes and his failures.
When he is discussing the topic of luck, he talks about how he ended up in the hospital due to his drug use.
What was lucky about the situation is that he insisted on going to his cottage and since he was not in New York City, he was able to be diagnosed quickly and accurately in a smaller hospital. This allowed him to turn his life around and continue to make more money.
This event was certainly lucky; Dennis could have died from this event.
When building, growing, and owning a business, there are many events and outcomes which can be influenced by luck.
If you want to become rich, you will have to have luck on your side.
Why Ownership is Important When Looking to Become Rich
If your goal is to become rich, Dennis argues ownership of a business is critical.
Working for other people, as an analyst or a manager, will rarely lead to extreme wealth.
When owning a business, you tap into a different wealth building equation. With a business, you are increasing your wealth by both receiving the cash flows from the business, but also own a valuable asset.
If you are working for someone else, all you get is your salary or hourly wage (which is inevitably tied to the hours you work).
Some interesting quotes from How to Get Rich about ownership include:
- Cash flow management is the most important thing in a small business.
- Managers rarely become rich.
- “To become rich, you must be an owner, and you must try to own it all.”
- Ownership is the only thing that counts.
- “Delegation and promotion is a way to get rich.”
- “Build a program of carefully tailored delegation and well-deserved promotion. This will create an atmosphere of loyalty, efficiency, and camaraderie that feeds upon itself.”
Why Delegation is the Key to Maximizing Your Businesses’ Potential
Each person only has 24 hours in a day. There is only so much time for learning, work and executing on your ideas.
If you want to scale your business, and scale your wealth, hiring others to help you will be critical.
Working with other talented individuals can help you grow your business, and allow you to get more done over time.
Delegation of tasks will free you up to think more strategically, and focus on what really matters for your business.
Some remarkable quotes from How to Get Rich on delegating include:
- “Talent is the key to sustained growth, and growth is the key to early wealth.”
- “Identify it, hire it, nurture it, reward it, protect it, and when the time comes, fire it.”
The Importance of Focus on Your Path to Building a Business
Focus is one of the most important skills to cultivate if you want to experience growth in your life.
While it seems like multitasking is a great way to get ahead, being able to focus and be consistent with your actions over time will be much more beneficial.
What’s the most critical item to get done today? Can other things wait?
Focusing in on the one thing that is necessary for success today will allow you to move forward over time and grow your business.
Why You Need to Believe in Yourself for Success
Do you believe you can achieve your goals? How’s your mindset? Do you believe you can do whatever you put your mind to?
Believing in yourself is incredibly important when trying to get out of your comfort zone, building a business, and growing as a person.
When looking to become rich and wealthy over time, self-belief is incredibly important.
Through affirmations and mindset work, you can trick your brain into believing whatever you want.
Here are some remarkable quotes from How to Get Rich on self-belief:
- “Belief in yourself and faith in your project can move mountains. But not if you insist on trying to scale the mountain by an impossible route which has already failed.”
- “Boldness has genius, power, and magic to it.”
- “Without self-belief nothing can be accomplished. With it, nothing is impossible.”
All of these great tips were very interesting and thought provoking in How to Get Rich.
Takeaways from How to Get Rich
With every book you read, it is a must to have takeaways and actionable items to implement in life.
There are many amazing takeaways from How to Get Rich, but two main takeaways stick out:
- Owning a business will help you become rich faster than holding a regular job (if done right)
- Focusing in on one thing at a time is so important for getting things done.
Similar to the book, The Millionaire Fastlane, building and owning a businesses can result in the rapid creation of wealth over time.
There is a lot of risk in starting and owning your own business. However, done right, you can grow your riches through both the cash flow of the business, and the asset value of the business.
The second takeaway is the importance of focus in life. There is only so much bandwidth you have to do work, so the best strategy for success is to determine what matters for you in this moment and do it to the fullest.
Multitasking and trying to do too much at once will not lead to success as a business owner.
How to Get Rich is a fantastic book about business, life and getting rich, and I definitely am thankful I read it.
“The world is full of money. Some of it has my name on it. All I have to do is collect it.” – Felix Dennis
Our Recommendation for How to Get Rich
How to Get Rich is extremely insightful in giving tips on how to get ridiculously wealthy.
With a combination of story telling, tips and raw details, How to Get Rich is an entertaining and informative book for people interested in business.
Whether you are interested in entrepreneurship, have started a business, or already have a built business which is successful, you will get something out of How to Get Rich.
Readers: do you enjoy books on entrepreneurship? Are you interested in running your own company?
