Since she wrote it things have taken a turn for the worse for homeless people here in Orlando. The local government are currently trying to make it illegal for charitable groups to feed the homeless in Lake Eola Park.

Complaints by local people and businesses has meant that the City Council has gone back to the law courts in an attempt to be able to enforce a law passed in 2006. The law forbids the feeding of more than 25 people in the city parks without a permit. Not so bad you may think, until that is you realize that no organization can be granted a permit more than twice in any one year.

We will let you judge what you think of that, but needless to say it doesn't really fit the How To Be Rich and Happy outlook.

Homeless Does Not Equal Hopeless

I recently volunteered for a local organization that helps collect and donate food to the homeless. It was an amazing experience and a wonderful life lesson.

It was through this organization and my work here that I was able to meet and connect with Steve. Steve is one of many homeless adults struggling to survive on the streets. Steve became homeless just a few years ago after losing his job and subsequently the apartment he was renting.

At first when I tried speaking with some of the homeless adults who had come for food, I did not get much of a response. I was trying to get to know some of them, pass out some food and pass along a few copies of “How To Be Rich and Happy” as well. While everyone was taking the food I was offering, I could not get anyone to take the book. Then Steve came along.

Steve came over to me and asked flat out why I was trying to give homeless people books. I explained that this book is a powerful tool that can help people change their lives for the better. I explained the million-book giveaway project the authors John P. Strelecky and Tim Brownson are working on. I went on to say there is a list of people that the authors are hoping to target as people to receive the books being given away, and that homeless people are one of those target populations.

Steve then asked me, “Why?”. I began to explain that the authors believe that this book can help people who are currently homeless because it can teach them how to take control of their lives and their own happiness, and how to improve their situation. Steve responded that is not what he meant. He clarified that he meant why do the authors care about what happens to the homeless population?

Steve told me that while this local organization does a very nice thing by feeding him every week, that is it for him. That as a homeless man he is stereotyped, labeled and treated with no respect. He stated that because he is homeless, people are afraid of him and don’t even want to speak with him let alone help him improve his situation. He said that it is like this for every homeless person struggling to survive right now.

He said the reason I could not get people to take copies of the books was because they did not trust me. He advised that they could not believe that someone would care enough to try and help them so they did not trust that I did not have some sort of ulterior motive in giving them the books.

As we were talking, I noticed something happening. Some of the other people who were there and initially did not want to speak with me began coming closer and listening to what we saying.  They began asking questions about the authors, the book and the give away. Some even took copies of the books! Steve assured me that if I continued to come back week after week, I would be able to build relationships with these people and give away even more books.

The lesson that I took away from that day was that homeless does not equal hopeless.

Homeless people are human beings. While it is important to feed them and help house them, it is just as important to get to know them as people. Steve taught me that just like you and I, homeless people have wants and needs, hopes and dreams and if given the chance and the right tools they just may be able to achieve some of those.

Music was playing, people were smiling and wandering around.  It was very festive.

To our left was the giant lagoon all decked out with foliage and flowers. Spaceship Earth glistening beyond.  And in the mist of this pleasantry, up wanders two wild ducks.

How about that?  In addition to all this marvelously created fake reality, here comes two beautiful wild mallards.  My daughter was very excited because they literally walked right up to our table, mucked around for a while, and then wandered underneath it and out.  A great chance for her to see them up close.

Then I noticed something that made me go hmmm.  As the ducks wandered away from our table up to the next table, the guy sitting there tried to shoo them away.  He was sitting eating his $14 falafel wrap, and he literally took the time to move his arms and feet at the duck, in what appeared to be somewhat of a territorial display.  This went on for minutes.

And I found this odd.

I struggled to comprehend the big threat.  Sure they were wild ducks, which meant anything was possible.  Although to be fair, I haven’t seen too many Discovery Channel episodes of Mallards going for the jugular and taking down a human, especially at Epcot.

I guess they could have pecked his feet, but this guy was wearing gym shoes, not the potentially peck hazardous flip-flops.  An ankle nip perhaps...a childhood incident gone wrong where a kind bread offered gesture resulted in lifetime duck trauma...bird flu?

After all, if Steve Irwin could get taken down in a freak stingray accident, isn’t anything  possible?  No wait, that was a STINGRAY!

The answer escaped me.  it still does.  What didn’t escape me though, was the bigger messages this duck encounter brought to life.  Life throws lots of ducks at us.  Some are real ducks.  Some are annoying people.  Some are opportunities outside of our area of interest.  Some are cool things we’re actually interested in.  Some are tweets, texts, emails, junk mail...and a broad assortment of other potential “ducks”.

And when they come at us, we’ve got a choice.  We can give them a quick look and if we like them, give them more time, and if we don’t, don’t.  OR, we can get all distracted by them- waving our feet and hands and taking up lots of time and mental energy.

Rich and Happy people choose the former option.  Most people choose the latter.  Then they complain they don’t have enough time to do things they really want.

Watch your actions this week.  See if you’re busy shooing away ducks.

By the way if you could spare 20 or 30 seconds we'd love some help with the voting at Change This. We are trying to earn enough votes so that we get to write a manifesto for How To Be Rich And Happy and highlight what we are doing in an effort to help good causes. We are currently 3rd out of 10 (we're the bottom proposal on the page)  and we really would love your help with a quick vote. Thanks!

Over the last week or so we have had the following setbacks occur:

1. After being invited to speak to a large group of some of central Florida’s most important movers and shakers, we then had the offer retraced the day before the event. Apparently the President got cold feet about the title of How To Be Rich and Happy, even though he hadn’t read it and he was assured by people who had it wasn’t a get rich quick scheme.

2. We had two offers to gift books to a major charity turned down.

3. We had numerous offers to gift copies of How To Be Rich and Happy to United Way ignored after they were initially very enthusiastic. Not even a thanks but no thanks and they’re no longer taking our calls or responding to e-mails.

4. Seen sales slow down, albeit expectedly after the initial rush, to the point where we are still a fraction short of having the money to buy the next batch of books.

5. Had various requests for help or to offer help either ignored or turned down.

So what should we make of a week like that?

Maybe we should feel a bit crestfallen, a bit down or even a bit angry? After all, we’re trying to help here, surely people should be flocking to join our cause? Or maybe we should just quit and sell the rights into the US as we have other countries and cut and run with the money?

The reality is, there are 1,000,001 good causes out there vying for peoples attention and this is very much a marathon and not a sprint.

No project of this magnitude is ever a straight line to success with each day moving a step nearer the final outcome. It's more like wandering in a maze thinking that the next turn will get you where you want to be only to find it's another dead end.

Or maybe I should reframe that and say it' s another option ruled out?

Good stuff happens, bad stuff happens and sometimes nothing at all happens, that’s just how it is.

I don’t necessarily agree with Churchill as I think sometimes quitting can be the wisest thing to do under certain circumstances. History is littered with people who’s inability to see quitting as the most sensible option cost them their business’s, families and sometimes their lives.

Fortunately though, we’re not even remotely close to the point where it’s wise for us to give up, and all the last week has served to do is make us even more determined. And if you do suspect my commitment is waning even for a moment, do me a favor will you please? Drop me an e-mail with a gentle reminder to never, never, never give up.

As this is a charitable project we’ve had to do everything ourselves on a shoe string. Consequently the past few days have been somewhat crazy making sure the right books went into the right envelopes and the correct forms were assigned to each.

By Monday morning I had a car loaded with books and the joy of taking them to my local post office to look forward to.

After 15 minutes ferrying cases from the parking lot into the Post Office I was finally set to join the line. I could almost feel the wave of relief from the people lucky enough to be in front of me, not so those that came behind me though.

We talk in How To Be Rich and Happy about the power of our mind to monitor things that are going on outside of our conscious awareness. Think of the ‘Cocktail Party Syndrome’ in which it’s very likely that you’ll hear your own name in a conversation a few feet away at a party, even if you hear nothing else of that conversation.

That’s your amygdala doing it’s job on your behalf and looking out for danger. I’m not completely sure if my amygdala was working really well and I was in mortal danger, or I was paranoid, but I felt sure the people behind me were plotting to kill me and burn my warm corpse on a bonfire made up of hundreds of copies of How To Be Rich and Happy.

As I shuffled forward I unconvincingly reminded myself that I was there for the greater good of mankind and if I was about to be clubbed to death by an old women wielding an umbrella then so be it.

Eventually I came to the head of the queue and as the USPS worker behind the counter beckoned me forward I pointed to the huge pile of boxes by the door and said rather sheepishly, “I hope you’re not looking to head out for lunch any time soon”

As we worked our way through the packages the lady behind me asked if I was selling stuff on Ebay. I shook my head and told her what they were. She didn’t seem overly impressed and carried on by saying,

“A lot of people are selling stuff on Ebay these days, but who can blame them with this economy and with no work around?”

I groaned inwardly and the thought of filling out customs declarations forms in the peace and quiet of my own office suddenly seemed infinitely more enticing than talking about the economy to somebody that had already decided we were all doomed.

It's not as though this type of thing is a rare occurrence either. How often over the last two years have you heard somebody say something like:

• “It’s not a good time to be starting a new business with the economy as it is”
• “It will take at least 2 years to sell your house in this recession”
• “My customers simply have no money to spend at the moment”

Seldom does a day goes past when I don’t hear something negative about the economy, but guess what? It’s never from Rich and Happy people.

Do you know why it’s never from Rich and Happy people?*

It’s because if you use the economy as an excuse (and yes it is an excuse), then by default you’re adopting a victim mindset and Rich and Happy people don’t do that. In fact it’s impossible to be Rich and Happy and be feeling like the world is conspiring against you.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate a lot of people have been severely negatively impacted by the recession, often through no fault of their own, but it’s still down to each individual to make the choice of whether they accept the role of victim or not.

Many people have refused to do so and consequently have bounced back bigger and better by reframing and seeing opportunities in misfortune. They've had brilliant years, started new businesses, bought homes, got married, traveled the world and pretty much anything else you care to think of. These people are the ones with the Rich and Happy mindset.

Sure they may blame the economy for a moment if they lose a sale, client or even their job, but then they take back control of the situation by saying, to hell with the economy I decide how Rich and Happy I’m going to be and they move on.

I want to finish by asking you something I asked my own blog readers in a post entitled The Recession Is Over as long as 18 months ago as I think it's as pertinent today as it was then:

What do you think would happen if you didn’t know there was a recession underway? Do you think you’d do anything differently? Would your outlook or demeanor change? Would you be more daring, less likely to accept second best? Would you be happier, more upbeat and more raring to go on a Monday morning?

If the answer to all or any of those questions is yes, why not just pretend? Pretend that this recession doesn’t apply to you. Pretend that your industry thrives in downturns. Pretend that it’s all over and you’ve come out smiling.

I know there will be people out there shaking their heads at my cavalier attitude and solemnly thinking I’m delusional. Maybe they’re right, maybe I am, but I’d rather be delusional and happy than realistic and miserable and that is a choice I can make every day.

* When I talk about rich and happy in that context I'm referring to it as we define it in the book. Of course it would be easy to say rich people don't need to worry about the economy because they will never be short of cash. However, I know a lot of people that aren't financially wealthy but still live a rich and happy life, I also know a lot of rich people that still worry themselves sick over money, it's a mindset we are talking about. If you have no idea what I'm talking about better go grab yourself a copy quick!

A couple of people have asked what we can do for people that already bought the ebook and would also like the physical version. That’s a fair question and I’m more than happy if that’s you and you buy a hard copy too, to then send you an additional copy free of charge.

Just order as normal and tell me you demand a free copy in the comments field! No fibbing though because I’ll check.

Each book sold helps us put another 10 into the hands of people that either couldn’t normally afford to buy one, or wouldn’t be exposed to such material, so every penny counts.

Nobody Is Motivated By Money

We talk in the book about the simply amazing stat that people who are paralyzed in a road traffic accident are no less happy after recovery than people who have won a 7 figure salary in the lottery.

Time and time again research has demonstrated that money doesn’t motivate people (other than in the immediate short-term) and it doesn’t make them happy. Granted, not having any at all and being faced with the problems that can cause is a great way to ensure misery, but that’s not the same thing at all.

One of the main reasons we take so much time in 'How To Be Rich and Happy' helping people to understand what's important to them in terms of their values, is because that way they can then set meaningful and motivating goals.

NOBODY is motivated by money, people are motivated by what they think money will give them and that usually means happiness.

So what stops you working out what makes you happy and then seeing how much money you need to do that? Isn’t that a more sensible option?

What stops you downsizing and taking a job you love for less money or going back to school to satisfy a life-long ambition to be a teacher or a nurse? How about pulling your 401K to start up your own business?

If that applies to you I'll tell you what stops you, it's fear. But what’s the reason for the fear?

It’s the erroneous and self-limiting belief that you cannot earn less money than you do now and yet be happier.

The reality is you can and I know because I’ve done it and I know plenty of other people that have too.

Not only can you earn less money and be happy, you can earn less money and be more motivated and energized. Doing things you love puts you’re in alignment with your values and that’s about as motivating and inspiring as life gets.

You have one crack at life, just one, so find out what makes you happy and then look for ways to afford to do it.

Not as many people read the How To Be Rich and Happy blog (yet), but I had mentioned it on my own blog. So I understood there was a risk of being inundated and spending hours upon hours sifting through e-mails.

Reading an e-mail and trying to get a grasp on whether a person is determined and committed is really, really difficult. If talk is cheap then e-mails are free because I have got it wrong so many times with clients that I no longer even bother trying.

So I wanted to devise a way that would test peoples commitment and narrow the field somewhat. What better way than to say I’d changed my mind?

It seems though I annoyed a few people. In fact I’d go as far as to say some people were spitting feathers and so outraged by my atrocious, dishonest and selfish behavior (their words not mine) they felt the need to berate me via DM, e-mail and in Angela's case, in the comments of the previous post.

I really don’t mind that, it comes with the territory of writing a blog, but I thought I should explain what I did and that it wasn’t a spur of the moment decision to mess with your mind and waste your time as was suggested to me.

Clue 1: The story about Robert Allen was a global metaphor designed to say;

“Look, if I cancel this, don’t take me at my word, I'm testing to see how interested you are.”

Clue 2: I stared the post saying I was canceling the offer with another global metaphor about me working my tits off to get a sales order. This one was designed to say;

“Don’t give up, you may not get the result you want now, but don’t give up”

Clue 3: Was the following line with a hyperlink back to the original post in case anybody had missed it;

"I know anybody that read the previous post thoroughly and understands what I was driving at, will appreciate the reasons I have decided to retract my offer."

Basically I was screaming, this is a test don’t quit if you want it badly!

I even closed comments, not because I was worried about what people would say, but because I knew somebody would leave a comment saying they'd worked it out, and that would have defeated the point.

Within 10 minutes I started to get e-mails. Some people were immediately on board and knew what I was up to, a few were unsure and a minority plain pissed off.

Some of the responses really impressed me (especially the two people that phoned me!) and if I’m giving so much of my time away I want to give it to somebody that impresses me.

In fact I was so inspired that once again I've changed the rules, or rather expanded on them.

Rather than being 1 winner there are going to be 6. The first person gets the original deal and the others get me for 4 sessions over a month and we'll blitz through as much stuff as possible.

There is also a 7th person listed and if I don’t hear from any of the 5 by Friday 9th at 5.00pm, their place will go to that person. Similarly, if anybody drops out before I get to them, that person will get it.

So without further ado and lacking a drum roll or American Idol type 30 second pauses in between each name, here are the winners.

Starting now for 6 months or whenever -  Alisa Bowman
Starting 1st May - Halcyone Vadeboncouer
Staring 1st June - El Daniel Simpson
Starting 1st July - Haider Al-Mosawi
Staring 1st August - Dena Botbyl
Waiting in the wings - Beth Freeman

I know some people will be upset and I’m sorry I can’t take any more at this point, but I'm grateful to all of you that contacted me and I’d encourage you to do so again if/when I decide to do this again.

On the other hand, there’s a great quote by rower Steve Redgrave, the only man to ever win a Gold Medal in 5 consecutive Olympics in a power event. After he won his 4th he said to the waiting media;

“If any of you see me in a boat again, shoot me”

If any of you hear me talking about this again, I’d prefer if you didn’t shoot me. Just send me the hyperlink back to this series of posts.

When the owner went into the back to get his posters I started talking to him and asked him where he worked. To cut a long story, he owned one of the largest stationary supplies business’s in the country that was based close by.

Wow I thought, he must have an advertising budget that ran into the millions, he could help me hit an entire campaigns target in one day!

I requested an appointment and he politely refused saying he didn’t think Yellow Pages could help his business. This was over a decade ago when people still used yellow Pages and I knew differently, so I persisted.

As a compromise he gave me a business card and told me to ring him when the main Birmingham books were due to be published and he’s see what he could do then.

I don’t know how many times I tried to get hold of him over the following weeks, but it was a lot. He was frequently traveling on business, out of the office or unable to be reached. Or so I was told.

Finally, I had one last roll of the dice. I ordered a full page, full color advertisement with his company logo and products on mocked up by our art department as though it were a real ad they had bought.

When I got the ad, I cut it out and carefully fixed in on a page in the middle of all his competitors. It looked amazing and blew everything around it out of sight.

However, as I couldn’t get an appointment with the guy I had to think of some other way of delivering it. So I gift wrapped it as a present and put a bow on it. I then stopped by his office and told the receptionist I had a gift that I must present to his secretary personally.

When I got to see the secretary I asked to see her boss, but was told he was out. I was pretty sure they were being honest with me so I had to reluctantly leave it.

I’d love to tell you I got a phone call, sold the advert and a load more and get fabulously wealthy. The fact is though, I didn’t sell it, I never even got to talk to the man again, such is the vagaries of a life in sales.

However, I knew I’d done all within my power and done everything I could to show him what was in it for him if he bought from me.

This is a really difficult post to write and I know I’m going to take some flak for it, but it is what it is and I’ll deal with that if and when it happens.

I know anybody that read the previous post thoroughly and understands what I was driving at, will appreciate the reasons I have decided to retract my offer.

I offered 6 months free life coaching and other assorted stuff to one person. I was prepared to help them get to a position where they were well on their way to a Rich and Happy life.

I've had dozens of replies which is why I know I’m going to annoy some people, especially as there were over 10 applicants who I know fairly well and 3 ex-clients!

Let me be honest here and say that many of the responses were less than earth shattering. I had at least 10 people who simply asked to be included with no details as to why, even though I clearly stated what I wanted!

I did have a lot of people telling me what I could do for them, but not one that told me explicitly what they could do for me!

You may be thinking I’ve now officially lost my mind. After all, I was offering help to you, not asking for you to help me, but hear my out.

As I said in the original post;

"I want somebody that will do whatever it takes, somebody that likes the thought of kicking down doors, walking through walls and ignoring gatekeepers."

I had no examples that made me think “Yeh, this person is really up for it, this is going to be so much fun working with her, because she’ll do anything to get the job done and we’re going to have so much fun”

And by that I don’t mean nobody seemed excited. A few people came across as though they were very excited, but if all you needed is excitement to get where you want to be, everybody would be living the life of their dreams.

So there you have it, the offer for free life coaching is now an ex-offer.

Allen went on to take on another even greater challenge. This time he was tasked with teaching somebody else to do exactly the same thing as he had done.

He went to St Louis and handed out fliers to people entering the unemployment office. The leaflets invited them to attend a free seminar at the employment office itself where they could learn to make money and get off unemployment for ever.

The fact he was doing this at the unemployment offices would have removed most peoples fears it was a scam. So with the potential for them to make lots of money without any risk on their part you would imagine Allen would be inundated with attendees.

Sadly that wasn’t the case as only 20 people from the hundreds that had been made aware of the event turned up.

When the 20 or so people arrived they were informed that the event had been canceled. All but 3 people left without complaint, but the 3 that insisted they should be helped then became the chosen ones.

It was an ingenious method of making sure Allen had people with him that had the requisite tenacity, drive and desire to make something so difficult happen. And happen it did.

Allen had the courage of his convictions and I admire that. So maybe the time is ripe for me to show my confidence in How To Be Rich and Happy.

I Can Help You Be Rich and Happy!

That’s a pretty big claim, I think you’ll agree, but I’m making it anyway and I’m prepared to back it up by agreeing to work with one client for free for 6 months. If you contacted me and asked me a price for doing something like this I'd probably be talking in the region of a $2,000 investment.

Now before you dive in to the comments to say me, me, me, there are some strict, and some not so strict, criteria you’ll have to follow for me to even consider working with you.

Desire

I once did this on my own blog and among the 50 or so replies I got was one that said,

“I wasn’t that interested in life coaching, but seeing as it’s free I thought I’d throw my hat into the ring.”

No, no and thrice NO!

I cannot help anybody that wont help themselves or is so apathetic. I want somebody that will do whatever it takes, somebody that likes the thought of kicking down doors, walking through walls and ignoring gatekeepers.  I’ll screen applicants, but if I make a mistake and choose somebody that starts wussing out or making excuses I’ll drop them in a heartbeat with no apologies.

Areas To Work On

I really want you to have multiple areas of your life that you want to improve on and there has to be something to do with work such as advancing your career,  making the leap into becoming self-employed etc. Other things I can help with are getting fitter, lowering stress levels, goal setting etc.

I’ll be taking a slightly different approach to this than with normal life coaching clients and I’m happy to blend a bit of coaching with more consulting type work and of course some severe arse kicking if you slack off. I may even be asking some of my friends to help out if I think they can, but no promises on this one because I haven't even told them I'm doing this yet!

I have 20 years experience in sales in B2B and B2C, been involved in three start -ups and I’m happy to share that knowledge as well as helping with social networking if/when needed.

NOTE: If you are currently under the care of a mental health practitioner you would have to notify them and get their ok before we could work together. This is most definitely NOT therapy!

Recording The Journey

I would prefer it if you have your own blog or mailing list to help spread the word, but that’s not an absolute must.

However, what is a ‘must’ is that you will have to commit to writing about your experience at least once a month. If you don’t have your own blog I would consider somebody writing for this blog. No exceptions to this rule.

Language

You must use English as your first language and also be available to speak either via Skype or a landline phone if overseas. I have clients in Australia, South America, Europe and right the way across North America, so it doesn’t matter where you live if your English is 100% fluent and you’re flexible with your schedule to take into account potential time differences.

Timing

You will work with me for 6 months starting 1st May or thereabouts. The first 2 sessions will be an hour or so long and probably within a week or so of each other, but as we move along we'll stretch them out and probably drop them down to 30 minutes and make them more punchy. Having said that, you'll have my cell and my home phone number and I'll be available to help when you need it - within reason!

As we say in the book, it's important to be patiently unrealistic and it may take more than 6 months before you're truly living your Rich and Happy life, but then again it may take less, my job is to get you on the right track.

Subscribe

The final condition is you must be subscribed to this blog either via RSS or via e-mail. I mean come on, how serious can you be about this if you’re not even reading the How To Be Rich and Happy blog?

So if you’re still interested, e-mail tim at howtoberichandhappy dot com with the reasons why I should pick you above anybody else that may apply.

I also want to know if you have read How To Be Rich and Happy. This is will not be a factor whatsoever in my decision, I just want to know as it may mean I will need to alter my approach.

If you know somebody else that may benefit from working with a life coach, please let them know about this.

The closing date for applications is 9.00am on April 5th 2010 and I'll announce the winner here shortly after.

Rich and Happy Update: We have finally ordered the first 3,000 copies of the book and the great news is we have used a printer in the US. That means we get the books some time in May!

On top of that a French publisher wants to buy the rights to the book for French speaking territories so things are really moving.

If I had any hair I may well have pulled it all out this morning. However, after some technical difficulties our web guy has done us proud and we're finally good to go with the 1,000,000 Giveaway. As of now, because I have made the final affiliate payments, 90% of the proceeds or every sale will be going directly to print the physical versions of How To Be Rich and Happy.

At this stage (and it could well change as we move forward) we have targeted 4 separate groups of people to give the free books to, high school/university age kids, single parent families, unemployed people and homeless people.

We have no idea how long it will take to generate the money we need to place our first order, so to give ourselves a head start we are ordering 3,000 copies and will pay for these ourselves.

It takes about 12-16 weeks to get the books printed and shipped to the US and we still have a final edit to do. So realistically speaking it will be June before we have them in our hands ready to start giving away to worthy causes and our supporters.

If we waited until we raised the $5,000 or thereabouts we’ll need for the first print run, it may take us a few weeks to get there and we’re very impatient to make this happen now!

We have set 3 price points with varying goodies thrown in to help entice you to part with your hard earned cash. The eagle eyed amongst you will see we have set a lower price point than was originally the recommended retail.

The reason for this is not to invite people to pay as little as possible. It’s purely that we realize not everybody can afford $47 no matter how much they want to buy the book and help other people.

Seeing as the whole project is to help people that may not have the financial means to help themselves, it seemed somewhat counter-intuitive to then price hundreds of thousands of people out of the market.

We still really, really need your help to make this happen and yes I am on bended knee groveling. This is only the beginning of what I personally hope will become an ongoing project that spreads overseas to tens of millions of people across the globe.

Yep, I like big, hairy, audacious goals.

If you like this blog, then the book is 100x better!

It's actually also 100x better than my own blog at The Discomfort Zone.

The best material from both blogs is in there, but it’s improved upon because it’s been re-written expanded on and organized to flow in a logical and easy to follow order.

Plus there is all of Johns great stuff to boot, and trust me he’s very knowledgeable on self-development and finances.

The single worst bit of feedback we have received about the book is when somebody left this blog comment:

“I have read How To Be Rich and Happy and I quite liked it”

I felt stunned and a bit like I’d been damned with feint praise when I first read that. Until I realized I’d had almost 100 pieces of feedback and that was the worst by some way!

Can You Help?

If you have the book already or it doesn’t really appeal to you in any way shape or form, you can still help us if you would be so kind?

Tweeting this post would be ubercool as would mentioning it on Facebook or Stumbling/Digging it.

In fact any social media mentions would be brilliant as well as forwarding on to your friends.

If you could link from your own site directly to the How To Be Rich and Happy site that would be even cooler and would lift you up to Saint status as far as I’m concerned.

I’d love to do any interviews and I’m prepared to whore myself in pretty much anyway to publicize the project, as is John to a somewhat lesser extent!

So that’s pretty much it I hope you can help with this, and if you do so, please accept our sincere thanks.

Now before you rush to call the men in white coats and tell them to have their very best long sleeved jacket at the ready, let me explain what I mean and offer you 7 reasons that will prove most dogs are indeed rich and happy.

1. Dogs Don’t Hold Grudges

When my younger dog thought it was fun to bite my testicles a few weeks ago, I wasn’t happy and she knew it. After rolling around in agony for a period of time, I then shouted ‘NO!’ at her whilst pointing at my traumatized genitalia.

She sensed I was unhappy with her and skulked away in disgrace to lick her wounds. And before you ask, no I didn't want her licking my wounds by way of reparation.

Within ten minutes she was back complete with a waggly stump and wanting to play. How can you stay mad at somebody that is so forgiving and happy to be alive?

The answer for me is, I can’t and I suspect you can’t either. Happy dogs are like those people that are always in a good mood, always fun to be around and have charisma by the boat load.

2. Dogs Know Their Values

One of the things that rich and happy people understand is what drives them at a core level. The also understand that aligning with their values is absolutely critical if they are going to live the rich and happy life.

So if peace is a top value they seek peace. If love is at the top, they demonstrate love and if their number one anti-value is stress they do whatever is needed to get the proper recovery time from stressful events

Dogs know this too. Dogs may not have the range of values that humans do, but maybe that’s a problem with us rather than our four-legged friends. Loyalty, family, trust, love and in some cases independence are all important values to rich and happy dogs and ones that they never slip out of alignment with.

3. Dogs Don’t Judge People

My dogs don’t care whether you’re the Pizza delivery guy, the mail man, the Pope or even my mother-in-law, they are still happy to see you. They also don’t care if you’re black, white, beautiful, ugly, straight, gay, tall, short or even French. They love everybody that makes a fuss of them.

What would the world be like if it was ruled by rich and happy dogs, eh?

4. Dogs Don’t Waste Money

I have lived with dogs a a good deal of my life. Not once in all that time has one ever returned from the Boxing Day or Black Friday sales and said, “look how much money I’ve just saved!” And then proceeded to hold up a dress the cost of which could have wiped out the national debt of a small Caribbean country.

Now you may be thinking dogs don’t usually carry cash around with them and you would be right. However, if they did, they wouldn’t spend it on luxuries they didn’t need thinking they would make them feel more rich and happy.

Certainly they may go a bit nuts on the pigs ears order and I think steak would take the place of Pedigree Chum, but I doubt they’d be changing cars every two years or borrowing money to buy a home that has four guest bedrooms….you know, just in case people we haven’t seen in ten years want to come and stay.

5. Dogs Don’t Worry

We ran out of dog food one day last week. Did the dogs worry about it?

Nope.

Did they pace around wondering what they were going to have for dinner?

Nope.

Did they have a disagreement with each other over who had to get the car out and fetch some food?

Nope.

They just napped whilst I fetched the food.

Rich and Happy people don’t worry excessively and chronically. Rich and Happy people would prefer to take a nap than worry, and for the most part they would prefer to act than nap.

Worrying serves no purpose, taking action does. Rich and happy dogs take action….or have a nap.

6. Dogs Don’t Try To Keep Up With The Jones’s

Rich and Happy people concentrate on what THEY want out of life. Their happiness isn’t based on some imaginary score card kept by other people, it’s tied to how they feel about themselves and their life.

If they want a boat, it’s because they want a boat and not because their best friend has one. It’s also because they have run it through the ‘rich and happy return’ to decide whether it is going to improve the quality of their life by giving them more rich and happy minutes in proportion to the expenditure.

I take my dobermans to the dog park every day and guess what? They seem completely oblivious to what the other dogs are wearing. They never complain that their collars aren’t diamond encrusted or their leash made of the finest Mongolian Yak hide, they just run around and have fun sniffing each others buts.

For them a rich and happy life involves doing whatever they want (sniffing buts), whenever they want (any time they’re not eating or sleeping)

7. Dogs Don't Feel Guilty

Tori (the black one in the photo) ate a pair of $600 glasses with progressive lenses in about a week after I got them. Since she got told off about it I haven't noticed he struggling to sleep because she is racked with guilt. In fact I haven't actually noticed her looking guilty about anything. She will pull off a sheepish look when trotting past me with my boxer shorts in her mouth, but that's about as far as it goes. She knows rich and happy dogs have no time to feel guilty when a raid on the sock drawer is to be planned.

Of course I could come up with lots more parallels, but I'm intrigued to know whether you think dogs are richer and happier than human beings on the whole?