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The Secret of Shelter Island: Money and What Matters
How to lead a "rich" life during trying economic times In The Secret of Shelter Island , nationally renowned financial analyst and bestselling author Alexander Green explores the complicated relationship we all have with money and reveals the road map to a rich life . Drawing on some of today's best minds and many of history's greatest thinkers, The Secret of Shelter Island is both a much-needed source of inspiration and an insightful look at the role of both money and values in the pursuit of the good life . If you want to understand what ultimately provides meaning, contentment, and the satisfaction of a life well-lived, then read The Secret of Shelter Island .
288 pages, Hardcover
First published June 15, 2009
20 people are currently reading
138 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
August 3, 2017
This book is an easy, inspirational nonfiction read that is full of wisdom on how to live a meaningful life. I highly recommend...my only critique is that it became a bit repetitive at times.
December 23, 2020
This is collection of essays about and life. It was written back in 2009 and showing its age. A lot of the ideas are timeless ... maybe just need a fresh coat of paint.
November 23, 2024
1. money and what matters
2. a collection of essays written by Alex about how there is more to life than money and how to maybe live a better life
2. a collection of essays written by Alex about how there is more to life than money and how to maybe live a better life
July 9, 2020
This is an easy light philosophical book on living a rich life, both financially and spiritually. I loved it as an Audio book and decided to buy the paperback for future reminders on how to stay rich in all aspects of my life.
July 17, 2010
This is a difficult book to review because it contains so many good ideas and pithy quotations. It is a collection of sixty-eight short essays, most of which stand on their own. Most can be read in 10-15 minutes. But this is NOT a book you should try to speed read. Each essay should be read slowly, meditated upon, digested. Each is an opportunity to reflect on the direction and nature of the life you are currently living. The secret of Shelter Island, in one sense, is about “paying attention to your highest goals and values.” [xx:]
In the essay called “Are You Suffering from Affluenza?”, Green notes that “many of us are working ourselves to death to accumulate an endless array of goods and services we don’t really need.” [3:] He cites Bertram Russell, Diogenes, Oscar Wilde and others to motivate us to live more while accumulating less.
The essays are grouped into four parts. Part 1, “A Rich Mind,” [1-68:] contains 19 essays treating such subjects as these:
-What does it take to live the highest quality life? [7-9:]
-Which virtue is most becoming? [10-13:]
-Why we should slow down and appreciate the small things we normally miss [14-16:].
-What does it mean to “be rich”? [17-20:]
-Why it is important to “follow your bliss” in your employment choices [21-23:].
-What is true success and inspirational leadership? [24-26:]
-What do America’s most satisfied top executives have in common? [27-29:]
This sampling hardly does justice to this very interesting section of the book.
Part Two, “What Matters Most,” [69-132:] contains 19 essays also. These explain the meaning of life [83-86:], the importance of goal setting [87-89:], and the evils of procrastination [93-95:]. Green gives pointers to help us enjoy life: spend time with friends [99-101:]; adopt a more deliberate approach to eating [96-98:], pay attention! [102-104:], and, once in a while, listen to a Mozart violin sonata. [105-107:] He advises focusing on the present moment [108-110:] as the best way to deal with multiple problems. He lists six steps [111-113:] that will lead to a more relaxed life. He counsels forgetting self [114-116:] and focusing on others. He presents interesting thoughts on life by Charles Darwin [117-120:], John Templeton [130-132:] and Stephen Covey [123-125:], among others. Each essay is packed with numerous pertinent quotations from notable thinkers.
Part Three, “Attitudes and Gratitude,” [133-184:] contains 15 essays. Topics include these: What is the ultimate human freedom? [133-140:]; What is the stupidest vice? [145-147:]; How do predicaments differ from problems? [148-150:]; Why should you stop complaining? [153-156:]; Why is a positive attitude both healthier and useful? [157-160:]. Other essays in this part focus on humor, greed, gratitude, compassion, altruism, and the danger in carrying a grudge. Each essay is a polished gem and many essays make you understand an old subject in a new light.
Part Four, “The Search for Meaning,” [185-240:] contains 15 essays. Some hold up as examples particularly outstanding individuals: John Templeton [189-192:], Thomas Jefferson [193-196:], the Dalai Lama [197-198:], Dietrich Bonhoeffer [227-229:], and Voltaire [230-233:]. In other essays, Green is sharing the secrets of Shelter Island. The basic secret is that we would all be happier if we gave up the consumerist mentality--the notion that we need something more. Instead, we should live, with a proper sense of reverence, content with what we have.
This work is guaranteed to make the reader stop and think. It would be a perfect gift for the person who has everything he or she needs but does not know it yet.
In the essay called “Are You Suffering from Affluenza?”, Green notes that “many of us are working ourselves to death to accumulate an endless array of goods and services we don’t really need.” [3:] He cites Bertram Russell, Diogenes, Oscar Wilde and others to motivate us to live more while accumulating less.
The essays are grouped into four parts. Part 1, “A Rich Mind,” [1-68:] contains 19 essays treating such subjects as these:
-What does it take to live the highest quality life? [7-9:]
-Which virtue is most becoming? [10-13:]
-Why we should slow down and appreciate the small things we normally miss [14-16:].
-What does it mean to “be rich”? [17-20:]
-Why it is important to “follow your bliss” in your employment choices [21-23:].
-What is true success and inspirational leadership? [24-26:]
-What do America’s most satisfied top executives have in common? [27-29:]
This sampling hardly does justice to this very interesting section of the book.
Part Two, “What Matters Most,” [69-132:] contains 19 essays also. These explain the meaning of life [83-86:], the importance of goal setting [87-89:], and the evils of procrastination [93-95:]. Green gives pointers to help us enjoy life: spend time with friends [99-101:]; adopt a more deliberate approach to eating [96-98:], pay attention! [102-104:], and, once in a while, listen to a Mozart violin sonata. [105-107:] He advises focusing on the present moment [108-110:] as the best way to deal with multiple problems. He lists six steps [111-113:] that will lead to a more relaxed life. He counsels forgetting self [114-116:] and focusing on others. He presents interesting thoughts on life by Charles Darwin [117-120:], John Templeton [130-132:] and Stephen Covey [123-125:], among others. Each essay is packed with numerous pertinent quotations from notable thinkers.
Part Three, “Attitudes and Gratitude,” [133-184:] contains 15 essays. Topics include these: What is the ultimate human freedom? [133-140:]; What is the stupidest vice? [145-147:]; How do predicaments differ from problems? [148-150:]; Why should you stop complaining? [153-156:]; Why is a positive attitude both healthier and useful? [157-160:]. Other essays in this part focus on humor, greed, gratitude, compassion, altruism, and the danger in carrying a grudge. Each essay is a polished gem and many essays make you understand an old subject in a new light.
Part Four, “The Search for Meaning,” [185-240:] contains 15 essays. Some hold up as examples particularly outstanding individuals: John Templeton [189-192:], Thomas Jefferson [193-196:], the Dalai Lama [197-198:], Dietrich Bonhoeffer [227-229:], and Voltaire [230-233:]. In other essays, Green is sharing the secrets of Shelter Island. The basic secret is that we would all be happier if we gave up the consumerist mentality--the notion that we need something more. Instead, we should live, with a proper sense of reverence, content with what we have.
This work is guaranteed to make the reader stop and think. It would be a perfect gift for the person who has everything he or she needs but does not know it yet.
January 14, 2011
This is a great personal development book; one that is thought provoking and serves to help one pause to think about life and what truly matters most.
The 6-page bibliography is evidence to the many references and quotes from other books, which added so much of the philosophical flavor and value in the book.
I like this excerpt from the afterword:
"Beyond material comfort, our happiness is highly dependent on principle-centered living. To the extent that we abide by timeless, universal principles, we are happy, engaged, satisfied with our lot. To the extent that we depart from these principles, our conscience aches - or should - and trouble follows."
"Recognizing this won't change a thing, however. AS the proverb says, wisdom is knowing what to do next. Virtue is doing it."
The 6-page bibliography is evidence to the many references and quotes from other books, which added so much of the philosophical flavor and value in the book.
I like this excerpt from the afterword:
"Beyond material comfort, our happiness is highly dependent on principle-centered living. To the extent that we abide by timeless, universal principles, we are happy, engaged, satisfied with our lot. To the extent that we depart from these principles, our conscience aches - or should - and trouble follows."
"Recognizing this won't change a thing, however. AS the proverb says, wisdom is knowing what to do next. Virtue is doing it."
June 7, 2010
"Alexander Green has taken the "wisdom of the ancients" as he calls it and rendered a book that reads like a memoir, a bible and a self help guide all at once. Each small essay/chapter captivates in spite of it's brevity. Such an easy read that you'll want to slow it down and fully digest every lesson. Truly a gift to be shared among the generations, but not too soon, it will enlighten those that are ready. Buy it, read it, gift it."
June 11, 2010
"Alexander Green has taken the "wisdom of the ancients" as he calls it and rendered a book that reads like a memoir, a bible and a self help guide all at once. Each small essay/chapter captivates in spite of it's brevity. Such an easy read that you'll want to slow it down and fully digest every lesson.
September 22, 2011
A collection of about 80 essays dealing with "what really matters". For this kind of book, it's actually quite well written. If the author's own thoughts fail to impress, he quotes the right people, and I found myself really, really enjoying some of the essays. But, for about a third of the book, I was bored. So, I can't give him a fourth star.
Worth a peak, if this is your kind of thing.
Worth a peak, if this is your kind of thing.
January 1, 2022
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the things you did.
There is no shortage of time only a confusion of priorities.
Enjoy every sandwich.
Pay attention.
A successful life depends less on how long you live than on how much you can pack into the time you have.
There is no shortage of time only a confusion of priorities.
Enjoy every sandwich.
Pay attention.
A successful life depends less on how long you live than on how much you can pack into the time you have.
Read
September 10, 2009Just picked up this book ... I was, of course, drawn to the title because I spent every summer of my childhood at my grandmother's house on Shelter Island. It is a book of essays about attitudes toward money. I'll keep you posted ... skimming it looks promising.
Read
January 17, 2010Really enjoyed this title...a great book that I keep going back to read again a chapter.. Deep truths and insights in role of money and values in life.. A must read for those in pursuit of a good life..
July 18, 2011
I really enjoyed this book. It was a great source of inspiration about the role of money in pursuit of "the good life".Each little chapter is like a nugget of practical instruction for how to be happy, whether you're rich or not.
October 14, 2011
I read the author's newer collection and loved it so much that I also wanted to read this one. I was a little disappointed because he covers a lot of the same things in both books--even some of the same stories to make a point. Still worth reading, although you might be fine with just one of them.
February 5, 2016
A very interesting financial planning book. It has nothing to do with numbers, but everything to do with people. Well-written, pithy, and very wise. Talks about subjects like goals, character, friends, spiritual matters, and even where to live. A good, fast read. You will enjoy it.
June 30, 2009
Wisdom - yes. Living up to
the hype that interested me enough to order it - no.
the hype that interested me enough to order it - no.
January 14, 2010
This was really enjoyable. Short essays but very thought provoking.
March 6, 2012
Interesting and engaging book that emphasizes that money isn't everything, and how to live with your standard of living.
September 13, 2012
Having enjoyed Alexander Green's Spiritual Wealth e-newsletter for a while, I decided to read this collection of earlier essays. I found much to savor and re-read in the future.
January 1, 2013
An thought-provoking collection of essays.
April 23, 2015
Loved this, loved Beyond Wealth even more!
August 14, 2015
I seldom give books such high rating. Really a good read, short articles with seemingly simple but profound life lessons that we can all learn from it every now and then.
February 7, 2016
Excellent to read and to apply. I particular like the references and stories the author used in this book.
September 9, 2012
A great book full of pearls of wisdom and will make you evaluate what is really important in life.
May 3, 2014
A very obscure title for a pretty special book. Short chapters loaded with wisdom. Top read.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews