Wealthology

by Akinaw Bulcha

  Also, please don‘t think I‘m unpatriotic because of anything I‘ve said in the preceding pages. I say this in all sincerity: I‘m the most patriotic person I know. Love and truth are not competing ideals. Blind zealotry or allegiance has more in common with hatred or control than love.

  All these qualifiers have been added because, in addition to the subjects of economics/business, I also teach marketing at the college level. Independent reviewers have more power than ever before. If anyone can read this book and believe I‘m politically biased, they must not have read it. If anyone wants to know the economic truth, they have it. A lot of what I‘ve said is disagreeable to my own prejudices but I must accept facts for reasons I‘ve already outlined in wealth consciousness.

  In closing, thank you for reading this book.

  It‘s a risk to write an honest appraisal of the economic environment in which we live. If you‘ve received any value from the book, please consider telling others about it either in the real world or the virtual one. Independent authors have the advantage and disadvantage of honestly serving the people rather than pandering to ideologies, organizations or the ruling elites. We don‘t belong to one camp or another—we exist for you.

  Although it feels good to empower people with accurate, unbiased information, getting publicity is more difficult if you don‘t belong to one camp or another. We can only succeed in such a politically polarized, extreme world if good, balanced, independent people spread the word. Don‘t let anyone walk away from this recession without getting something more precious than gold.

  Thank You,

  Akinaw Bulcha. P.S., if you‘d like to reach me for any reason (speaking engagements, networking, partnerships, business ideas, questions, licensing, suggestions or consulting you can email me directly: akinawb@gmail.com).

  If you have any suggestions for the second edition of this book, I want to cocreate, enhance it with your comments. If you‘d like to find out more about a topic presented in this book, please let me know. Feel free to email me.

  You can also visit my blog: www.akinaw.wordpress.com. I named my blog ―The Bottom Line‖ way before I ever thought of writing a book. That fact reinforces everything I‘ve said in the ―Wealth Consciousness‖ section. Just a hint of why you should “mine” the book for insights that I haven"t directly mentioned. It all points to one definite direction: Getting to the heart of things so we can make it last.

  P.P.S., if you don‘t feel like you‘ve gotten enough value from this book, email me and I‘ll do my best to make sure you do by filling in any holes.

  Acknowledgments

  First and foremost, this book would not have been possible without the support, guidance, love and advice of Amy throughout the process. Thanks to my mom for all her love and support throughout the years. Thanks to the rest of my family and friends for support and feedback. Thanks to Greg for reviewing the manuscript. Thank you Joey for giving me ways to make some of the tough parts palatable. Thanks to the Meyers, the Knedliks and others for helping with the title.

  Thanks to business and writing consultant Becca Korphage for her insights and guidance.

  Thanks to Seth Godin for allowing me to use ―the dip‖ illustration. Thanks to Nong Vang for helping me format a great cover on a budget. Thanks to my entrepreneur mastermind group for some great ideas that I‘ve incorporated (Kelly, Michael, Patrick, Julian, Kevin, Don and Edwin).

  Thanks to the Mises Institute for making so much great literature, audiobooks, ebooks, videos, and much more available free to inquiring minds. And (without endorsing his political ideas) to Congressman Ron Paul for indirectly (never personally met him) introducing me (and thousands of others) to Austrian Economics.

  Thank You.