AARP The Secret of Shelter Island E-Book

Alexander Green

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 345

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

AARP Digital Editions offer you practical tips, proven solutions, and expert guidance. 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. * Addresses what really matters when it comes to money and how to make smarter decisions with what you have * Describes the profound connection between money, character, personal philosophy, and outlook * Other bestselling titles by Green: The Gone Fishin' Portfolio 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.

Leseprobe

MAKING YOUR MONEY WORK FOR YOU

Maybe you’re thinking it’s time to review your investment strategy and make the most of the money you have today. Maybe you’ve already built a financially successful retirement egg and want to protect what you’ve built. Or maybe you need to bulk up your earnings to ensure your family’s future.

Welcome to money for grown-ups. Where do you turn for credible information?

Dedicated to helping you protect your assets, stretch your dollars, and bolster your longterm security, AARP can offer you powerful solutions. Whatever your strategy for managing money, we’ve got suggestions that will help – from saving money on that next big purchase to planning your charitable giving. If you’re taking your job to the next level or building up a second career, we’ve got strategies that will help you make your mark.

You may think your money — or your financial advisor — should be working harder for you. You may be watching market trends and seeing new opportunities. And, of course, you want to protect yourself and your loved ones from scams and data breaches. We can give you the support you need.

And turn to us for fun, too. (Is it time for that car, that trip, that weekend home you’ve always wanted?) Because that, too, is what this time of your life is about.

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50 and older improve their lives. For more than 50 years, AARP has been serving our members and society by creating positive social change. AARP’s mission is to enhance the quality of life for all as we age; lead positive social change; and deliver value to members through information, service and advocacy. This information in this book is for educational purposes and does not constitute financial advice.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Epigraph

PREFACE

Acknowledgements

Introduction

PART ONE - A RICH MIND

ARE YOU SUFFERING FROM AFFLUENZA?

WHY MONEY WON’T GET YOU TO “LEVEL THREE”

THE GREAT MYSTERY

THE DECENT DRAPERY OF LIFE

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GETTING RICH AND BEING RICH

THE KEY TO PERFECT FREEDOM

THE SECRET OF INSPIRATIONAL LEADERSHIP

ARE YOU ONE OF THE 4 PERCENT?

FINDING MEANING IN THE SECOND HALF OF LIFE

THE VALUE OF BEING UTTERLY, GLORIOUSLY WRONG

ADVICE FROM A 2000-YEAR-OLD SLAVE

THE HARDEST VICTORY

IN PRAISE OF DIFFICULT PLEASURES

THE TRUE GENTLEMAN

BEYOND SELF-ACTUALIZATION

THE LAST LESSON OF CULTURE

WEALTH THAT CAN’T BE TALLIED

STUMBLING ON HAPPINESS

THE TRUE MEANING OF SUCCESS

PART TWO - WHAT MATTERS MOST

WHAT’S ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?

HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR REAL WEALTH

THE MOST VALUABLE THING YOU OWN

THE BIGGEST QUESTION

DREAMS WITH DEADLINES

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE ON EARTH?

HOW TO AVOID “THE MAÑANA SYNDROME”

GENTLEMEN, STOP YOUR ENGINES!

ENJOY EVERY SANDWICH

THE BEST SPIRITUAL ADVICE

CAN A MOZART VIOLIN SONATA CHANGE YOUR LIFE?

HOW TO TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE

SIX STEPS TO A MORE RELAXED LIFE

ONE OF THE BEST SECRETS OF LIFE

THIS VIEW OF LIFE

WHY I HOPE STEVE JOBS IS WRONG

A RESOLUTION WORTH KEEPING

A THORN WITH EVERY ROSE

THE BEST WAY OUT

PART THREE - ATTITUDES AND GRATITUDE

WHAT MATTERS MOST

THE LAST HUMAN FREEDOM

WHY YOU SHOULD THINK BEFORE YOU “BLINK”

THE MOST STUPID OF VICES

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF OPTIMAL EXPERIENCE

THE COURAGE OF RANDY PAUSCH

ARE YOU READY FOR THE 21-DAY CHALLENGE?

NO SUCH THING AS A BAD DAY

THE ANTIDOTE FOR GREED

THE GREATEST VIRTUE... AND THE FIRST

WHO’S YOUR CITY?

THE HEALING OF KAREN ARMSTRONG

THE CHEAPEST MEDICINE . . . AND THE BEST

THE SCIENCE OF GIVING

ARE YOU KEEPING THE EMBERS ALIVE?

PART FOUR - THE SEARCH FOR MEANING

DISCOVERING THE LAWS OF LIFE

THE SAGE OF MONTICELLO

THE WOLF IN MONK’S ROBES

FROM GRAND TRUTHS TO GRAND CAVERNS

THE GREAT DISCONNECT

THE ATHEIST AND THE APOLOGIST

GUIDEPOSTS ON THE FOOTPATH TO PEACE

TWO GREAT THINKERS ON “THE GOOD LIFE”

THE FORMULA FOR RE-ENCHANTMENT

IN PRAISE OF LIFELONG LEARNING

THE MYSTERIUM TREMENDUM . . . AND YOU

MY KIND OF MARTYR

FINDING MEANING IN AN AGE OF DOUBT

RENEWING A FORGOTTEN VIRTUE

THE SECRET OF SHELTER ISLAND

AFTERWORD

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

INDEX

Copyright © 2009 by Alexander Green. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at [phone], outside the United States at [phone] or fax [phone].

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Green, Alexander, 1958-

The secret of shelter island : money and what matters / Alexander Green.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

eISBN : 978-0-470-52228-8

1. Money—Philosophy. 2. Finance, Personal. I. Title.

HG220.3.G74 2009

332.024—dc22

2009007446

For Hannah and David

Money has yet to make anyone rich.

—Seneca

PREFACE

After more than 25 years of virtually uninterrupted prosperity, the U.S. economy has hit a rough patch.

As I write, jobless claims are at a 27-year high. Consumer confidence is at an all-time low. Credit is tight. Business investment and personal spending have plunged. Housing is in a death spiral. The U.S. auto industry is on the verge of collapse. And the stock market just experienced its worst year since 1931.

Welcome to The Great Recession.

There’s nothing funny, of course, about losing your job, getting evicted, or watching your net worth plummet. Economic downturns bring pain and suffering. There will be plenty of belt-tightening—and sober reflection—in the months ahead.

But to the extent recessions shake up the status quo and force us to examine our goals and priorities, they also offer enormous opportunities.

This book is meant to aid in that process. The Secret of Shelter Island is partly about money. But it is also about putting it—and the rest of your life—in perspective.

There has rarely been a better time to do so. We are experiencing a financial slump unlike any in modern times. Virtually every investor has seen his net worth get a serious haircut.

How did we get here? There is plenty of blame to go around, starting with reckless lenders, overly ambitious borrowers, unethical CEOs, feckless investors, and shortsighted policy makers.

Too many were chasing the fast buck, took momentary leave of their senses, or abandoned their basic values. This is especially true on Wall Street. Vanguard Founder John Bogle hits the nail on the head in his book Enough:

“Not knowing what enough is subverts our professional values. It makes salespersons of those who should be fiduciaries of the investments entrusted to them. It turns a system that should be built on trust into one with counting as its foundation. Worse, this confusion about enough leads us astray in our larger lives. We chase the false rabbits of success; we too often bow down at the altar of the transitory and finally meaningless and fail to cherish what is beyond calculation, indeed eternal.”

In many ways, enough is a central message of this book. Even during this historic downturn, most Americans have ample material wealth. (Covering our basic needs just doesn’t take that much.) But how about the immaterial?

What is your animating purpose? How are you spending your time? What are you living for?

Many of us—perhaps especially those with a newfound hole in their retirement account, financial plan, or tuition fund—are reap-praising these questions now.

This book may help you see—or consider—things differently. It consists primarily of essays I wrote for Spiritual Wealth, a weekly e-letter that seeks “The Road Map to a Rich Life.” If you’re a new reader, welcome. If you’re a regular reader, welcome back.

The Secret of Shelter Island is arranged around four central themes: A Rich Mind, What Matters Most, Attitudes and Gratitude, and The Search for Meaning. My objective here is to share some insights about “the big questions”—and perhaps provide a bit of inspiration, something we could all use in a world that bombards us with sad and tragic news.

If you’re like me, you’re tired of hearing about wild-eyed terrorists, drug-addled celebrities, ethically challenged businessmen and crooked politicians. The national media delivers a daily dose of heartbreak, misery, and cynicism. Much of what we watch and read each day is depressing, even rattling.

I wrote these essays as an antidote. They consist solely of ideas I’ve found particularly inspiring, elevating, or ennobling.

Over the last thirty years, I’ve spent a great deal of time studying history, philosophy, psychology, science and religion, saving and highlighting virtually everything I read. This project gave me the opportunity to revisit those classic works and cite some of the best minds and ideas of all time.

You’ll notice that these pages lean heavily on quotes and sources from antiquity. Why? When it comes to wisdom about how to live your life, the best ideas are not new. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “All my best thoughts were stolen by the ancients.”

Second, authoritative historical sources give more heft to anyone’s point of view. I’ve found you don’t get much opposition to ideas attributed to Cicero, Aristotle, or Epictetus. (Who really wants to argue with Marcus Aurelius?)

Judging by my mailbag, there is a great thirst out there for this kind of knowledge. Writers are always hearing from their readers, of course. But even in the glory days of the last bull market—or the depths of the previous bear—I never received an avalanche like this.

Readers told me these essays inspired them, motivated them, caused them to end a bad relationship, start a new career, forgive an old grudge, or spend a moment appreciating their incredible good fortune, whatever their current financial status.

They sent me books, poems, photographs, speaking invitations, and handwritten letters, some several pages long.

I was overwhelmed with the response. Not just emotionally, but physically. My publisher estimates that we received over 10,000 emails from readers in the first few months alone. It was simply not possible to respond to them all. Especially since, except for a copy editor who gives my columns the once-over for grammatical and typographical errors, I had no real staff for this project. My primary occupation is logging several thousand words of investment commentary each week. Spiritual Wealth is just a sideline, one that my publisher likes to remind me has never produced a penny of revenue.

Still, I enjoyed researching and writing these pieces—and learned a lot in the process. Now I’m pleased to share them with you.

And I think the moment is right. Given recent events, this is a particularly opportune time to consider the innate connection between money, values, and the pursuit of the good life.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I could never have written this book without the fine words and great ideas of some of history’s best thinkers. We are all truly standing on the shoulders of giants.

I would also like to thank several more contemporary writers who have helped shape my views, including Karen Armstrong, Joseph Campbell, Huston Smith, Thich Nhat Hanh, Laurence G. Boldt, Jack Kornfield, Eckhart Tolle, John Horgan, Martin Seligman, Paul Kurtz, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Carl Sagan, Charles Murray, Nathaniel Branden, Stephen Jay Gould, Sam Harris, David McCullough, Christopher Hitchens, Gregg Easterbrook, George Will, Steven R. Covey, Matthew Kelly, Daniel Gilbert, Michael Shermer, James Hollis, and Timothy Ferris.

Particular thanks to British author Bryan Magee for his excellent memoir Confessions of a Philosopher.

(I would also like to state, for the record, that I hate Bill Bryson. All writers should. If you don’t know why, read everything he’s written.)

Many thanks to Mrs. Gant, my high school English teacher, who inspired me—and paid me the biggest compliment of my 17-year-old life—when she asked whether I “planned to do anything” with my writing.

(And to the career counselor at Furman University who suggested I had a better chance of playing third base for the Yankees than earning a living wage as a writer, let me add—with all due respect—nah nah nah boo boo.)

It has been my exceptional good fortune to work with Julia Guth, Bill Bonner, Mark Ford, Myles Norin, and my other colleagues, mentors, and good friends at Agora Publishing. (Many thanks to Steven King, Alex Wissel, Christina Olson, Alex Williams, Chris Matthai, Katherine Schildt, and Matt Weinschenk for putting up with me every day.) What a great bunch of people and inspiring place to work, even though our marketing remains minimal, constrained, and hopelessly understated.

Thanks, too, to my publishers and editors at John Wiley & Sons, including Debra Englander and Kelly O’Connor, who reviewed this manuscript and recommended some important changes and clarifications.

I would also like to thank my regular readers at The Oxford Club, Investment U, and Spiritual Wealth. Without an audience, a writer is just an opinionated crank. (We’re opinionated cranks anyway, of course.)

Let me doff my hat to my good friends Mark Skousen and Rob Fix. Our many private debates—I’m still wiping the spittle off my windshield, Rob—helped sharpen my own views on many philosophical and religious matters.

Special thanks to my parents Braxton and Judith Green who, through their positive spirit and attitude toward life, taught me the best things I know. They and my wife, Karen; daughter, Hannah; and son, David are my greatest treasure—and my real source of wealth.

INTRODUCTION

When I stepped down from the podium in Phoenix, the applause from the audience of more than 600 was still ringing in my ears.

Readers were in high spirits. And why not? It was 2007 and for five straight years we had enjoyed a smooth rise in stock and bond prices.

Markets were good. Our portfolios were flush with profits. And my investment letter, The Oxford Club Communique, had been singled out by the independent Hulbert Financial Digest as one of the top letters in the country for five-year performance for two years running.

This didn’t stop a nattily dressed older gentleman from buttonholing me in the lobby with some choice words, however.

“Money, money, money, money,” he said with rising emphasis, stabbing a finger toward my chest. “You’ve made me a lot of money over the years. But let me ask, do you ever think about anything else?”

At first I thought he was kidding. He wasn’t. He just stood there in front of me, wide-eyed.

I’m used to getting feedback—both positive and negative—from readers who follow my investment advice. But I’d never had one baldly suggest that I was obsessed with money to the exclusion of everything else.

And he was dead serious. He stood there, patiently waiting for my response.

Do I ever think about anything other than money? How do you answer a question like that?

I remember wondering what had prompted the question. After all, we’d only just met. He knew me solely from my writing and lectures. Then it dawned on me . . .

For the previous seven years, I had dutifully churned out eight investment columns and articles a week—over 400 a year—with endless commentary on interest rates, currencies, stocks, bonds, commodities, mutual funds, hedge funds, convertibles, annuities, options, futures, diversification, asset allocation, takeovers, share buybacks, trailing stops, hot IPOs, how to increase returns, lower risks, reduce costs, minimize taxes, and so on.

Most of my pieces are short. And I try to keep them light and entertaining. Yet there was no denying that the primary subject of each of my previous 3,000 or so columns—not to mention every lecture, radio and television appearance—was exactly the same: money. How to make it. How to save it. How to invest it. How to multiply it.

I make no apologies for this, incidentally.

In more ways than I can enumerate, money is important. We all want to better our lives and our children’s lives. We have a natural desire to experience the best that life has to offer. We want to live in good neighborhoods. Travel to new places. Try different things. Send our kids and grandkids to better schools. These things, you may have noticed, take money.

Money grants you the power to make important choices in your life. As I emphasized in my last book The Gone Fishin’ Portfolio ( John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2008), financial independence is a worthwhile goal. It enables you to do what you want, where you want, with whom you want.

Still, I’ve never believed that getting, saving, spending, and investing are the most important things in life. Yet apparently I had created this impression with at least one reader—and probably more.

He remained steadfast in front of me, awaiting my reply. But he didn’t get one—not a good one, anyway—until I began writing a new column a few weeks later, one he had inadvertently inspired.

When I broached the idea of a new “more meaningful” writing project with my publisher, Julia Guth, she seemed open-minded.

“What will these columns be about?”

I told her they would touch on money, but also things more important than money.

She looked intrigued, but skeptical. We’re financial publishers. Our product is investment research and analysis, not musings about “the good life.”

“But what are you going to say?” she persisted.

“I don’t know yet,” I confessed. “I’ll have to write a few to find out.”

She gave me a sideways glance. “You’re not going to pull a Jerry Seinfeld on me and write about nothing are you?”

I assured her that, at the very least, each column would be about something. About what, exactly? I still wasn’t sure.

Nor had I considered what to call a column by an investment analyst, written primarily for business and financial readers, dealing only tangentially with money.

Fortunately, a title popped into my head almost immediately: True Wealth. Everyone understands the pursuit of financial wealth. I would write about combining that with nonmaterial blessings too. True wealth.

It was perfect. There was only one small problem. My friend and colleague Steve Sjuggerud already owned the True Wealth trademark. He writes an investment letter by that name. (A good one, incidentally.) But it’s about money, not things more important than money.

So what would I call this new column, one that wasn’t devoted exclusively to financial matters? At some point I realized that if I wasn’t writing about material wealth, I should just call it Spiritual Wealth.

My publisher, a spiritual sort (if I may say so), loved the title. But she was The Lone Ranger. Most everyone else in my office was negative, confused, or skeptical. None of them, however, suggested a better name.

A few days before kickoff, I was chatting with fellow editor Eric Frye at a company cocktail party. I told him about my latest project.

“Spiritual Wealth?” he asked in amazement. “Man, I wouldn’t use that word.”

“You mean spiritual?” I said.

“Yeah,” he said with a laugh. “That’s dynamite.”

I was beginning to have reservations. Why was this word so controversial?

It didn’t take long to find out. As soon as we announced Spiritual Wealth—before we published a single column—I began receiving letters from regular readers who told me in no uncertain terms that they weren’t about to listen to me—an investment analyst, for Pete’s sake—lecture them about spiritual matters.

I had no intention of doing any such thing. But they never discovered that. The word carries certain connotations and their minds were made up.

Fortunately, these letters were a distinct minority. The vast majority of respondents loved having an opportunity to ruminate about what I call “The Great Ideas.” In just a few weeks, we received thousands of testimonials.

At financial conferences, I began receiving ten comments about Spiritual Wealth for every comment about my other writing projects—the ones that actually pay the bills—combined.

People really are passionate about hearing and discussing these ideas.

And the letters kept pouring in. Many asked whether we intended to compile these essays into a book. Quite frankly, we hadn’t. But readers asked so frequently, I began thinking it might be a good idea.

Most of us devote a substantial percentage of our waking hours to making, spending or having more. The desire to accumulate is natural, of course. But when a bigger bank balance—or the things it can buy—becomes our animating purpose, disappointment generally follows.

The Secret of Shelter Island is about recognizing the importance of money, but also the primacy of honoring and fighting for your highest potential, living the life you want, doing work you enjoy, paying attention to your highest goals and values.

Material wealth alone doesn’t bring lasting satisfaction. And neither will nonmaterial blessings if you’re wondering where you’re going to get this month’s rent. But combine a sensible approach to money with good choices about nonfinancial matters and the result is the best of all worlds.

That is the essential idea in these essays. Each one was written to stand alone, however, so feel free to skip around if you’re so inclined.

Oh, and to the gentleman in Phoenix who wanted to know whether I ever think about anything besides money, let me just say yes—and thanks for asking.

PART ONE

A RICH MIND

By the time we reach adulthood, we have all developed a specific attitude toward—and relationship with—money.

This is especially true in my case. For the past 24 years, thinking about money has been my full-time job.

I spent 16 years as a research analyst, investment advisor, and portfolio manager. And in the eight years since I retired from Wall Street, I’ve been living what I call “the second half of my life,” writing about world financial markets.

From an early age we’re taught that the best things in life are free, that money can’t buy happiness, that it can’t buy love . . . and so forth. These thoughts are commonplace because they’re true.

But that’s not the whole story.

Money is the most egalitarian force in society, bestowing power on whoever holds it. It gives you the freedom to make important choices in your life. No one is truly free who is a slave to his job, his creditors, his circumstances, or his overhead.

Money may not buy happiness, but it sure steamrolls a whole lot of problems. As essayist Logan Pearsall Smith pointed out, “There are few sorrows, however poignant, in which a good income is of no avail.”

Money also makes it easier to relax, to experience peace of mind. As author Tom Robbins notes, “There’s a certain Buddhistic calm that comes from having money in the bank.”

Overcoming money worries allows you to get on with your life and focus on the people and activities you love. To pretend this isn’t so can be a form of denial, a sort of spiritual snobbery. Or it may mean that a lifetime of comfortable living has blinded us to the hardships that exist without it.

Money is freedom. It’s power, in the best sense. It allows you to support worthy causes and help those in need. It enables you to spend your life the way you want.

Of course, it would probably take a lot of money for you to have and do everything you want. That may not be possible. More importantly, it may not be desirable.

As J. Brotherton said, “My riches consist not in the extent of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants.”

Once you start accumulating a bit of money, in fact, you’re faced with a new set of problems and responsibilities. You have to grow and protect it. You have to manage risk, stay ahead of inflation and the taxman. You have to decide whom to give it to and when.

These issues were the subject of my previous book, The Gone Fishin’ Portfolio: Get Wise, Get Wealthy . . . and Get On With Your Life.

In this book, I want to share a more personal philosophy of money . . . and of life.

What does money mean to you? What are you working for, saving for? How are you managing your relationship with money? How important is it in your life? What is it giving you? What is it costing you?

These are deeply personal issues. No one can simply hand you the answers. But it never hurts to consider the questions.