The Billionaire of Living: Building a Life Money Can’t Buy

by Mike Woodmansee

336 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 4, 2026

Reviews

[Book Reviewer]

Mike Woodmansee’s The Billionaire of Living: Building a Life Money Can’t Buy is a memoir of endurance, adventure, and deliberate personal growth. Organized around a series of ambitious “LIFE GOALS,” the book follows Woodmansee from a childhood shaped by physical limitations and fear through decades of mountaineering, distance running, triathlon, wilderness trekking, and mentorship. Its central idea is that richness comes from purposeful experiences, sustained effort, and generosity. Woodmansee states the book’s scope clearly: “This is a book about how life can be,” a description that suits its blend of autobiography, practical guidance, and reflection.

The narrative’s strongest sections place the reader inside demanding physical experiences. Expeditions on Denali, Aconcagua, Cho Oyu, and Everest are presented alongside the Boston Marathon, the Ironman World Championship, long-distance routes through Washington, and recurring trips to places such as Stehekin and the Enchantment Lakes. Woodmansee pays close attention to preparation, equipment, weather, injury, fatigue, route finding, and team dynamics. This level of specificity gives the book the texture of an expedition journal while supporting its broader argument that confidence is built through repeated practice, calculated risk, adaptation, and honest assessment.

Woodmansee’s voice is direct, energetic, and candid about both achievement and failure. He recounts injuries, fear, missed objectives, strained relationships, and his unsuccessful Everest summit attempt without separating them from the successes that followed. The book’s cumulative structure reinforces his belief that a meaningful life is created over decades, one demanding choice at a time. Its recurring lessons about planning, discipline, physical health, and supportive relationships give the memoir a coaching quality, while the many names, dates, routes, and performance details create a substantial personal record of an unusually active life.

The book ultimately finds its emotional center in shared experience. Although Woodmansee’s accomplishments provide the narrative framework, he places increasing emphasis on family members, climbing partners, training companions, younger athletes, and the hundreds of people who joined him outdoors. His observation that “The best memories and finest experiences of my life are the adventures I shared with them” captures the generosity behind the title. The Billionaire of Living is a sincere and expansive account of a life organized around challenging goals, close companionship, and the conviction that the most valuable rewards are earned through participation.

[Suzie]

An impressive chronology of Mike's 10 life goals - mostly in the climbing category. Admittedly, I somehow misread this one as a primer to setting and achieving my own life goals (it is not), my goals are much more achievable btw!

[Christy Dunning]

An adventurer’s adventure! A great read for the goal seekers. This book takes you through the obstacles and achievements of not just setting goals but breaking them down and really looking at what it takes to achieve them. I love how this was written and enjoyed the journey. We all want to do something but are we prepared for what it really takes to achieve it when life hits and setbacks happen or learning curves take us a different direction? Maybe it’s all part of the journey.

[Debbie]

An engaging and enjoyable read.