The Secret of Shelter Island Money and What Matters

by Green, Alexander

• ISBN13: 9780470598207
• ISBN10: 0470598204
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-06-01
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Most of us devote a substantial percentage of our waking hours to making, spending and having more. This desire to accumulate is natural. But when a bigger bank balance - or the things it can buy - becomes our animating purpose, disappointment generally follows. 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.The timing could hardly be better. After more than twenty-five years of virtually uninterrupted prosperity, the U.S. economy has hit a rough patch. Yet to the extent that downturns like the current one shake up the status quo and force us to re-examine our goals and priorities, they also offer enormous opportunities. The Secret of Shelter Island provides an ideal starting point. Drawing on some of today's best minds and many of history's greatest thinkers, it 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. The book is arranged around four central themes. In Part I, "A Rich Mind," Green explores such key questions as: How important is money in your life? What is it giving you? What is it costing you? In Part II, "What's Most Important," he discusses how to calculate your real net worth-without using a financial statement. In Part III, "Attitudes of Gratitude," he offers powerful insights based on a deceptively simple philosophy of life. In the final section of the book "The Search for Meaning," he delivers a refreshing take on the universal principles that guide us all - or should. The Secret of Shelter Island is full of practical wisdom. More than just a personal philosophy, it is a profound and utterly modern commentary on timeless values, the search for meaning and what it means to be truly wealthy.

Author Biography

Alexander Green is the Investment Director of The Oxford Club, Chairman of Investment U, and the Editor of Spiritual Wealth. He has been featured on Oprah & Friends, CNBC, Fox News, and The O`Reilly Factor, and has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Forbes, Kiplinger`s Personal Finance, and many other publications. He is the author of the bestselling title The Gone Fishin' Portfolio (Wiley).

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xv
Introduction	p. xvii
A Rich Mind	p. 1
Are You Suffering From Affluenza?	p. 3
Why Money Won't Get You to "Level Three"	p. 7
The Great Mystery	p. 10
The Decent Drapery of Life	p. 14
The Difference Between Getting Rich and Being Rich	p. 17
The Key to Perfect Freedom	p. 21
The Secret of Inspirational Leadership	p. 24
Are You One of the 4 Percent?	p. 27
Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life	p. 30
The Value of Being Utterly, Gloriously Wrong	p. 34
Advice From a 2000-Year-Old Slave	p. 37
The Hardest Victory	p. 41
In Praise of Difficult Pleasures	p. 44
The True Gentleman	p. 49
Beyond Self-Actualization	p. 52
The Last Lesson of Culture	p. 57
Wealth That Can't Be Tallied	p. 60
Stumbling on Happiness	p. 63
The True Meaning of Success	p. 66
What Matters Most	p. 69
What's on Your Bucket List?	p. 73
How to Calculate Your Real Wealth	p. 77
The Most Valuable Thing You Own	p. 80
The Biggest Question	p. 83
Dreams with Deadlines	p. 87
The Most Beautiful Place on Earth?	p. 90
How to Avoid "The Mañana Syndrome"	p. 93
Gentlemen, Stop Your Engines!	p. 96
Enjoy Every Sandwich	p. 99
The Best Spiritual Advice	p. 102
Can a Mozart Violin Sonata Change Your Life?	p. 105
How to Transform Your Life	p. 108
Six Steps to a More Relaxed Life	p. 111
One of the Best Secrets of Life	p. 114
This View of Life	p. 117
Why I Hope Steve Jobs Is Wrong	p. 121
A Resolution Worth Keeping	p. 123
A Thorn with Every Rose	p. 126
The Best Way Out	p. 130
Attitudes and Gratitude	p. 133
What Matters Most	p. 135
The Last Human Freedom	p. 138
Why You Should Think Before You "Blink"	p. 141
The Most Stupid of Vices	p. 145
The Psychology of Optimal Experience	p. 148
The Courage of Randy Pausch	p. 151
Are You Ready for the 21-Day Challenge?	p. 153
No Such Thing as a Bad Day	p. 157
The Antidote for Greed	p. 161
The Greatest Virtue à and the First	p. 165
Who's Your City?	p. 169
The Healing of Karen Armstrong	p. 173
The Cheapest Medicine à and the Best	p. 176
The Science of Giving	p. 179
Are You Keeping the Embers Alive?	p. 182
The Search for Meaning	p. 185
Discovering the Laws of Life	p. 189
The Sage of Monticello	p. 193
The Wolf in Monk's Robes	p. 197
From Grand Truths to Grand Caverns	p. 199
The Great Disconnect	p. 202
The Atheist and the Apologist	p. 205
Guideposts on the Footpath to Peace	p. 210
Two Great Thinkers on "The Good Life"	p. 213
The Formula for Re-Enchantment	p. 217
In Praise of Lifelong Learning	p. 220
The Mysterium Tremendum à and You	p. 223
My Kind of Martyr	p. 227
Finding Meaning in an Age of Doubt	p. 230
Renewing a Forgotten Virtue	p. 234
The Secret of Shelter Island	p. 238
Afterword	p. 241
Bibliography	p. 243
About the Author	p. 249
Index	p. 251
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