DIE WITH ZERO by Bill Perkins

Maybe you’ve heard the classic Aesop fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper: The industrious ant worked all summer long storing food for the winter, while the carefree grasshopper fiddled and played all summer. So when winter came, the ant was able to survive, while the grasshopper was in dire straits. The moral of the fable? There’s a time for work and a time for play. Great moral. But when does the ant ever get to play? That’s the theme of my whole book right there. We know what happens to the grasshopper—the grasshopper starves—but what happens to the ant? That is, if the ant spends his short life slaving away, when does he get to have any fun? We all have to survive, but we all want to do much more than survive: We want to really live. So that’s what I focus on in this book: thriving, not just surviving. This book is not about making your money grow—it’s about making your life grow. I’ve been thinking about these ideas for years, and arguing about them with friends and colleagues, and now I want to get them out to you. I don’t have all the answers, but I do have something here that I know will enrich your life. I’m not a certified financial planner or a family investment adviser. I’m just somebody who wants to live my life to the fullest, and I want the same for you. I believe everybody wants that kind of life—but, realistically, not all of us can get it. And just to be up front: If you’re struggling to make ends meet, you might get some value out of this book, but not nearly as much as someone with enough money, health, and free time to make real choices about how to put those resources to the greatest use. So read on. I hope, if nothing else, I get you to reflect and rethink some of your basic assumptions about life.