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Big Bucks! is the third in the series that started with Raving Fans and proceeded on to Gung Ho. Although you can certainly read Big Bucks! as a standalone, I recommend that you read the other two fine books first. The subject is pretty simple: How to earn, keep, and enjoy substantial wealth. That description will probably sound like any of several hundred thousand self-help books written in recent years. In true Ken Blanchard style, Big Bucks! manages a refreshing new take on an old subject. Len, our future multimillionaire, meets three spiritual leaders in a card game, who introduce him to three role models who teach him the three initial, and four eventual, rules of of getting, keeping and enjoying his Big Bucks! Simple messages are powerful, because we can remember them. I subscribe to the themes in this book, and enjoyed reading how they were articulated. Big Bucks! makes the pursuit of wealth seem downright spiritual, which of course it can be. In practice, the book is at its best in encouraging you to eventually have your own business. The perspective is certainly more that of an owner/manager than an employee. But the latter is addressed. Those who do not like The One Minute Manager format will really hate this book, because it takes that format even further into simple stories and humor than usual. As such, the format is almost a satire on itself. On the other hand, I greatly appreciate authors who can boil down important information into the gist of what needs to be done. Having considered those I know who have lived the Big Bucks! ideal, it is clear that they followed these principles unconsciously, if not consciously. I think Blanchard and Bowles have really put their finger on the pulse of the positive pursuit of wealth. This book would be a wonderful gift for a young person starting on a career, an older person thinking about starting a business, or anyone who seems serious about acquiring wealth. Even if you are not interested in having Big Bucks! for yourself, I think you will enjoy reading the book. And you never know. You just may decide that you are interested in Big Bucks! after all.
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