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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
The Last Safe Investment summary
Michael Ellsberg and Bryan Franklin
Spending Now to Increase Your True Wealth Forever
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Key idea 1 of 8
4.2 (205 ratings)
23 mins
8 key ideas
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What is The Last Safe Investment about?
The Last Safe Investment (2016) flips financial planning on its head by focusing on the one thing you have full control of: yourself. Its model will teach you three disciplines that support three areas of wealth, to shore-up your earning potential and increase your daily happiness.
About the Author
Michael Ellsberg is a freelance copywriter and activist for civil liberties. He has authored and co-authored several books, including The Education of Millionaires: Everything You Don’t Learn in College About How to be Successful.
Bryan Franklin is a business strategist who works with VPs and CEOs to enhance their leadership skills. He has been an entrepreneur since high school, where he sold his friends shares in his experimental theater company.
Table of Contents
Key idea 1 of 8
To safeguard your future, shift your focus from finances to earning potential.
What does financial security look like to you? Is it a huge savings fund that generates enough interest to cover your living costs? Or perhaps it’s an extensive investment portfolio. Or it might even mean having a well-paid job in a company that values you.
All these scenarios align with the advice that most financial advisers give. But they have one major flaw: they all rely on factors that are beyond your control. You could lose your job through no fault of your own. The stock market could crash. Your living costs could unexpectedly change.
But there’s something you can invest in that won’t ever lose its value, regardless of the state of the world. That something is you.
The key message here is: To safeguard your future, shift your focus from finances to earning potential.
What happens to stocks and investments is largely out of your control, which makes most financial plans risky. But if you place yourself at the center of your plan, you can start working toward true wealth. True wealth acknowledges that money alone won’t make you happy. As a human, you also need freedom, love, the potential to grow and learn, and the scope to be creative.
Based on this concept, the authors have developed an alternative financial plan called SAFE. SAFE stands for self-amplifying financial ecosystem. It's a model that creates financial safety by focusing on three disciplines that support the growth of three key assets: your savings pot; your equity; and your tribe.
Don’t be put off by the word “discipline.” SAFE isn’t one of those financial plans that’s designed to make your life miserable. It takes your happiness seriously by increasing how much you enjoy life today, rather than expecting you to defer it until you retire.
Following SAFE’s disciplines will help you develop super skills – the soundest way to maximize your earning potential. What’s more, you’ll see how the SAFE plan can give you financial security and, in the process, ensure you achieve far more than your savings target. You’ll discover a way of life that makes you feel supported, connected and free.
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Who should read The Last Safe Investment
- Anxious savers seeking greater financial security
- Professionals wanting to expand their earning potential
- Investors looking for new ways to build assets
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