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If Your Money Talked...What Secrets Would It Tell?
If Your Money Talked...
It would tell Gary Sirak he got it right: The real lessons about money don't come with a calculator in your hand, but a mirror. Ego, Impatience, skewed self-perceptions, get-rich quick come-ons, lying to yourself and others about money - these, and many more, are the building blocks of lifestyles of the broke and regretful. But there's a better way, and Sirak tells you what it is, with simplicity, wit and compassion.
Improving your financial story begins with an honest look inward. And Sirak's story begins with a warm look backward. From the moment he raised money to go to camp by selling peppermint patties door-to-door from a little red wagon - overcoming shyness and realizing the power of setting goals in the process - he began to understand that people don't just have (or not have) money. They have a relationship with money.
It's that insight that makes Sirak as much a counselor as an adviser. Now, after more than 30 years working with both the absurdly affluent and the desperately debt-laden, Sirak shares real-life stories to illustrate the seven common mistakes people make with their money, and the often dramatic consequences that result.
Learn how you can avoid or overcome those same mistakes as Sirak takes you on a tour of his lessons, ranging from a modern-day miser who'd rather count his money than furnish his home to the inner thoughts of an unlikely scam-artist victim: Sirak himself. Pitfalls, trapdoors and dead ends revealed, Sirak closes with a list of eight secrets to financial peace-of-mind, including his wise Marriage Money Agreement.
Profoundly influenced by his parents, and in the tradition of The Millionaire Next Door and Think and Grow Rich, Sirak offers guidance that is wise, practical, and infinitely time-tested.
It would tell Gary Sirak he got it right: The real lessons about money don't come with a calculator in your hand, but a mirror. Ego, Impatience, skewed self-perceptions, get-rich quick come-ons, lying to yourself and others about money - these, and many more, are the building blocks of lifestyles of the broke and regretful. But there's a better way, and Sirak tells you what it is, with simplicity, wit and compassion.
Improving your financial story begins with an honest look inward. And Sirak's story begins with a warm look backward. From the moment he raised money to go to camp by selling peppermint patties door-to-door from a little red wagon - overcoming shyness and realizing the power of setting goals in the process - he began to understand that people don't just have (or not have) money. They have a relationship with money.
It's that insight that makes Sirak as much a counselor as an adviser. Now, after more than 30 years working with both the absurdly affluent and the desperately debt-laden, Sirak shares real-life stories to illustrate the seven common mistakes people make with their money, and the often dramatic consequences that result.
Learn how you can avoid or overcome those same mistakes as Sirak takes you on a tour of his lessons, ranging from a modern-day miser who'd rather count his money than furnish his home to the inner thoughts of an unlikely scam-artist victim: Sirak himself. Pitfalls, trapdoors and dead ends revealed, Sirak closes with a list of eight secrets to financial peace-of-mind, including his wise Marriage Money Agreement.
Profoundly influenced by his parents, and in the tradition of The Millionaire Next Door and Think and Grow Rich, Sirak offers guidance that is wise, practical, and infinitely time-tested.
95 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 12, 2012
4 people want to read
About the author
Gary Sirak
3 books2 followersPlease Allow Me To Introduce Myself
I grew up in Canton, Ohio in the 1950s. At one point there were six of us living in a two-bedroom house. The earliest memories I have of my parents is of them sitting around the kitchen table. They weren’t eating. They were arguing, trying to figure out how to make ends meet. I remember the tension in the room as she and my father were going back and forth about which bills to pay.
Fast forward a few years and my Dad now sat at the head of a very successful life insurance business he had built from scratch. He was always looking for new salespeople, so he gave me a shot.
I was already pretty good at selling from my stint with auto parts, but life insurance was a different beast. It was slow going. I was impatient. I had a wife and new baby boy at home to feed and nothing much happening on the sales front. It was right around then – on a car ride home from another failed appointment – my father gave me the best advice of my career.
It was a fall day. He was driving and I was frustrated and angry at having lost the biggest sale of my career. In a moment of desperation, I asked him for help. “Gary,” he said, “you’re not going to like what I am about to tell you. The reason you didn’t get the sale is that you wanted it more than he did. And he knew it. You wanted your commission more than you wanted to help his family. You’ve got to be the one in the room who wants to help people. Stop thinking about what’s best for you and start thinking about what’s best for them.”
Sure, it took a couple more years for me to realize it, but boy am I glad I did. Because as soon as I stopped thinking about myself, stopped worrying about me, and started really trying to help people – everything started to fall into place.
And that’s the reason I started writing books. To honor what I learned from my dad in 1981 on that dreary fall day – the best advice I’ve ever been given – “Be the one in the room who wants to help people.”
I grew up in Canton, Ohio in the 1950s. At one point there were six of us living in a two-bedroom house. The earliest memories I have of my parents is of them sitting around the kitchen table. They weren’t eating. They were arguing, trying to figure out how to make ends meet. I remember the tension in the room as she and my father were going back and forth about which bills to pay.
Fast forward a few years and my Dad now sat at the head of a very successful life insurance business he had built from scratch. He was always looking for new salespeople, so he gave me a shot.
I was already pretty good at selling from my stint with auto parts, but life insurance was a different beast. It was slow going. I was impatient. I had a wife and new baby boy at home to feed and nothing much happening on the sales front. It was right around then – on a car ride home from another failed appointment – my father gave me the best advice of my career.
It was a fall day. He was driving and I was frustrated and angry at having lost the biggest sale of my career. In a moment of desperation, I asked him for help. “Gary,” he said, “you’re not going to like what I am about to tell you. The reason you didn’t get the sale is that you wanted it more than he did. And he knew it. You wanted your commission more than you wanted to help his family. You’ve got to be the one in the room who wants to help people. Stop thinking about what’s best for you and start thinking about what’s best for them.”
Sure, it took a couple more years for me to realize it, but boy am I glad I did. Because as soon as I stopped thinking about myself, stopped worrying about me, and started really trying to help people – everything started to fall into place.
And that’s the reason I started writing books. To honor what I learned from my dad in 1981 on that dreary fall day – the best advice I’ve ever been given – “Be the one in the room who wants to help people.”
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 19, 2013
This is a quick read that shares common sense advice from someone who knows. Gary Sirak doesn't just sound like "a" financial advisor, he comes across as your financial advisor. His writing style is relaxed and personal, and his insights are based on years of experience -- his own, and that of others. Helpful and practical!
February 16, 2013
Money issues are such a challenge for many. I just loved reading Gary Sirak's book, "If Your Money Talked..." as it's a simple, clear, enjoyable read that has been such a help to me.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews