How to Get Rich by Felix Dennis: Summary & Notes

• Ownership is everything—salaries never make you rich
• Start young or start now—never wait for the "right time"
• You must be willing to fail and look foolish
• Fear of failure holds more people back than actual failure
• Delegate relentlessly—your time should be spent on what moves the needle
• Money doesn't buy happiness, but poverty doesn't either

• Aspiring entrepreneurs
• Anyone who wants honest talk about wealth
• People stuck in "safe" corporate jobs
• Readers who appreciate irreverent, honest advice

Notes

• The people who get rich are those who are utterly determined to, whatever the cost.
• Execution matters, not ideas.
• Time is the most precious thing that riches provide.
• John Paul Getty: “If you can actually count your money, you are not really a rich man.”
• Net worth of over $80M is a good benchmark for being rich (or, over $10M in liquid assets).
• If you're young and penniless, you have the best chance of getting rich—you have nothing to lose. By the time you're successful and well-off, you have too much to lose.
• If doing it again, Dennis would aim to make $60-$80M as quickly as possible, and then cash out. Making money is fun, but it consumes your life.
• "Once begun, the job's half done."
• If you wish to be rich, you must learn to shrug off your failures and envy from others.
• Getting rich means sacrifice. You must be willing to fail. You can't care about what others think. You must be willing to work long hours. You must treat it as a game.
• The fear of failing is the single biggest impediment to amassing wealth.
• Working too long for other people can blunt your desire to take risks.
• Working for others is a reconnaissance expedition. It is an apprenticeship and not a goal.
• To choose what to work in, marry your inclinations, aptitudes, and opportunities. Trial and error is the only way to find what you're good at.
• Luck is a result of hard work, practice, and seizing opportunity.
• Never be afraid to emulate a good idea. Execution is everything.
• Ownership is what ultimately makes you rich. Seek ownership in everything you do.
• Think big and act small. If you start to believe you're infallible, you're in trouble.
• Quitting is not dishonorable. Quitting when you believe you can still succeed is.
• Without self-belief nothing can be accomplished. With it, nothing is impossible.
• "Luck is preparation multiplied by opportunity."—Seneca
• “The chief value of money lies in the fact that one lives in a world in which it is overestimated.”—H.L. Mencken
• To become rich you must be an owner. And you must try to own it all.
• Keep costs down, always, but give generous bonuses.
• Dennis became a millionaire when he was thirty-five years old.
• If you wish to become rich, go to industries where the money is. Look for small but quickly growing spaces.
• The young are richer than anyone older than them, and far richer than those much older. Choose to use your time wisely.
• Make yourself independent. Go out on your own and cut loose all those who are negative influences and naysayers.
• Start. Start now!
• Hire talent smarter than you. Delegate. Share the annual take.
• Sell before you need to, or when bored.
• Fear nothing and no one. Get rich. Give it all away.