Rating: 
Summary: If you only read one of Stanley's books . . .
Review: Read the Millionaire Next Door. The Millionaire Mind was informative, but it was dull at times and rather repetitive. For example, Stanley spends the first hundred pages demonstrating that good grades in school don't necessarily translate into financial success. Duh! That shouldn't take so long to explain. One point he doesn't make enough, though, is that performing sufficiently well in college WILL open doors and provide opportunities. Doing so gives an indivdual a certain degree (no pun intended) of credibility. From there, it is largely up to the individual to make his or her future. (For a college professor, Stanley seems a bit anti-intellectual at times.) In conclusion, The Millionaire Mind will help us all understand further that there is so much beyond appearances in our hyper-consuming society, but don't expect it to jolt you like the Millionaire Next Door did.
Rating: 
Summary: Some Useful Info, But Tedious
Review: I didn't read Thomas Stanley's first book, The Millionaire Next Door and as I listened to The Millionaire Mind on tape, I wondered if his earlier work was more interesting. First of all, this book needs more editing. Stanley repeats himself constantly, not only bringing up the same topics chapter after chapter but often the same sentences. He also overuses statistics, some of which are dubious, some merely banal. For example, is it really a surprise that few multimillionaires buy lotto tickets? Then Stanley works out an elaborate formula showing how, using the average millionaire salary of $300/hour, money spent on lotto would add up over the years to something like $50,000. The problem is, poor and middle class people don't make this much per hour, so the formula doesn't apply to them; it merely gives a good argument for rich people not to play lotto. Possibly even more annoying than the statistics is Stanley's love of insipid acronyms, like OPM for other people's money (and that's the least annoying of them, I can't remember most of the others). There is useful information here, such as the sound advice to live beneath your means, but it could have been compressed into a much smaller book.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best books about wealth-building
Review: If you want to understand how millionaires achieve wealth, "The Millionaire Mind" by Thomas Stanley is a great book. As a professor and researcher, Stanley has devoted much of his life to studying the habits and behaviors of millionaires. What Jane Goodall is to chimps, Thomas Stanley is to the affluent. My big criticism with "The Millionaire Next Door," Stanley's other book, was the lack of discussion about entrepreneurship. After showing that 2/3 of millionaires were business owners, Stanley just dropped the topic of entrepreneurship to discuss topics such as the types of cars driven by millionaires. Despite the relative underrepresentation of business owners in the new survey, Stanley does an outstanding job of discussing the role of entrepreneurship and small business in building wealth in "The Millionaire Mind." We learn that millionaire entrepreneurs place high importance upon finding a profitable niche to serve. Stanley writes, "In fact, there is a highly significant correlation between level of net worth and the importance rating of 'finding a profitable niche.'" "The Millionaire Mind" has an excellent chapter, "Vocation, Vocation, Vocation," which gives examples of profitable small businesses. We learn about Mr. Richard who specializes in providing eighteen-wheeler tractor trailer parts. Mr. Richard's company acquires wrecked tractor trailers, strips them for parts, and resells the parts. His net worth is approaching eight figures. And, his annual income is above $700,000 a year. He's the only dealer of used eighteen-wheeler parts listed in his local phone book, among pages and pages of general auto parts dealers. And, he pays his top mechanics about $130,000 a year. Stanley writes, "Many millionaires have told me that their financial success is a direct function of owning a specialized business in a geo-area that contains little or no competition. Financially successful entrepreneurs also place great importance upon doing something they love. Stanley says that if you could just make one decision right, you could be very successful financially. That decision is choosing the right vocation suited to you as a person. Find something you love to do. Stanley tells us that selecting the right vocation will give you the emotional energy and focus needed to succeed. I agree 100%. Stanley says the more wealth a person has, the more likely that person will say, "My success is a direct result of loving my career or business." Stanley recommends choosing a career which allows you to fully use your aptitudes, talents, and abilities. The book has outstanding career and entrepreneurship advice. There is also great advice about many other topics from house hunting to spouse hunting. Why does Stanley feel qualified to give advice on seeking a spouse? Well, he's found that millionaires tend to have especially stable and loving marriages lasting decades, in a world where unhappiness and divorce are common. After showing that most men seek attractive mates, and most women seek mates who are high earners, Stanley tells us millionaires select their spouses differently. What traits do millionaires value in a spouse? Honesty, responsibility, lovingness, capability, and supportiveness. These traits are highly ranked by both millionaire men and millionaire women. Stanley suggests college, night classes, and church groups as possible meeting places of honest and dependable spouses. Skip the singles bar. Stanley says that to become a financially productive person, you should associate with other financially productive people. Stanley tells us that financially productive people tend to think differently from the crowd, both in their choice of vocation and in their investments. This unique ability to see the value behind things has some interesting consequences. Stanley notes that many wealthy aren't big do-it-yourselfers, especially when it comes to dangerous jobs like house painting. Why risk falling off a ladder? Or, as the old, do-it-yourself electrical wiring joke goes, "There are only three possible outcomes to doing electrical wiring projects yourself 1) You are electrocuted 2) You think you did the job correctly 3) You think you did the job correctly, until you come home to find your house burned to the ground." Financially successful people know when to pay someone else to do a job. They also understand the value of buying quality products and maintaining them. Stanley does a great job of explaining the importance of examining the life-cycle cost of a purchase rather than just the first-cost purchase. As one example, Stanley discusses the importance of buying a home in an area with quality public schools. Rather than paying thousands of dollars in private school tuition, make use of quality public schools. Plus, buying a home in a good neighborhood makes it easier to sell your property in the future. However, such neighborhoods probably have slightly higher property taxes. Many people want to be millionaires, yet few are. If you adopt even a small portion of Stanley's suggestions, your chances of becoming a millionaire should be significantly enhanced. Some people might be slightly turned off by Stanley occasionally referring to himself and his own thought process throughout this book. Don't be. When Stanley starts contemplating the future cash flow of each letter written in a book and comparing the work of best-selling authors to that of agents, and the relative profitability-per-invested-time of each endeavor, we can say that Stanley has, himself, developed the millionaire mind. He knows what he's writing about. "The Millionaire Mind" by Thomas J. Stanley is truly a great book. Peter Hupalo, author of "Thinking Like An Entrepreneur"
Rating:
Summary: Not very interesting
Review: In recent months I have become very interested in personal finance and have found myself perusing the aisles of the bookstores looking for good books that avoid repeating what every other book says: save 10-15% of your earnings, invest, and look into good retirement plans. Upon locating this book, I thought surely I had stumbled upon something innovative and insightful, surely this book would put all others to shame. Well, it disappointed me entirely. The main theme for the book is live cheaply so that you can acquire wealth and then...continue to live cheaply. As many other posters pondered, what is the point of acquiring all of this wealth, only to hold on to it with a thightfist. Truly you do not gain anything when you behave like a miser. I was not impressed with the values that many of the millionaire hold in high esteem as contributing to their wealth. I see no reason not to enjoy nice things. True it is encouraging to find that many millionaires were not valedictorians and in the top SAT percentie, but how many poeple actually ejoy such success stories? Only a select few. I would also like to once again agree with another poster that the people interviewed for the book were very uninteresting and one-dimensional. The book hails the typical American values that in essence are really associated with a male-dominated culture: have a wife at home, go out and break your back, spend lots of time with your kids, and above all STAY MARRIED to avoid having to pay for a costly divorce. Perhaps all of these values and tidbits would serve as being helpful in a Dummy's guide to Living the American Dream, but in a finance book, there is no room for it. The book is repetitous and honestly does not appear to cover a broad range of millionaires, only the miserly ones. In short, I would really not recommend this book to anyone looking for sound advice on joining the ranks of millionaires.
Rating:
Summary: What if you don't care much about money?
Review: I am as stingy as the people profiled in Stanley's books - I just browsed through them in the store. What I don't get is the focus on accumulating wealth for its own sake. I mean why bother to be rich if you're not going to own an expensive car, take vacations, etc. Money is just a means; it shouldn't be seen as an important goal in its own right! Also, not to be disrespectful, these people don't seem very interesting, not really the type of people I would go out of my way to associate with. As you might guess, I am not conservative, family-oriented, nor much concerned with accumulating wealth. However, the book is interesting from a psychological standpoint.
Rating:
Summary: Why have to be cheap?
Review: I've just read this book, and well.... has good ideas, but the bottom line is: become cheap. Why acumulate wealth and live cheap? Not much sense to me. Becoming wealthy for me is becoming wealthy in all aspects of life, not just economically. One of the teachings of this book was that millionaires ride american made cars, and most of them not luxurious ones. For me, that is a clear example of being cheap.There is nothing like a well made european car.
Rating: 
Summary: If you don't already know what's in this book...
Review: You need to drop what you're doing and read it. I am one of a minority- at least in my own circle- of people who knew instinctively that this book contains universal truths. The best part is that the authors have a unique talent providing mountains of empirical evidence for every assertion. I'd have given the book five stars, but some of it was redundant for those who've read "The Millionaire Next Door". Becoming net-worth rich is truly a mindset. I do think this however- that life-style is somewhat understated- though probably not so for most people who think that millionaires live on the cul de sac off the golf course and drive Ferrari's (not that there's anything wrong with that) when the fact is that millionaires don't live lavishly most of the time- that's why they are millionaires. It's a different mindset- which is the whole point of the book. If one reads this book with an open mind and applies the insights contained in it they will have taken the first (and biggest) step in becoming net-worth wealthy. Paul
Rating:
Summary: A Limp Follow-On to The Millionaire Next Door
Review: This book is very seriously flawed in its methods, writing, and conclusions. If you want to learn more about becoming wealthier, I suggest you read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and "The Cash Flow Quadrant instead. The author surveyed hundreds of people in a few suburban communities. 733 turned out to be millionaires. The book is based on the self-reported results and perceptions of those 733. Because of the way the sample was selected, you won't get much variety in type of millionaire. Very few inherited-money millionaires make it into the sample. Also missing are 17-year-old models who are on the cover of every magazine, basketball players who sit on the bench for the Celtics and earn millions annually, 25 year old founders of Internet companies, and so forth. Also, the results are not segmented very much. It would have been nice to have been able to slice the data to look at oneself and see where each of us fails to match up to the standard. This might have provided some ideas about what each person needs to do differently if one wants to become wealthier. A lot of interesting questions are missed as a result. Are different paths working better now than in the past? What takes the least effort (if one is to be self-made)? What takes the least risk? What takes the fewest number of years? Most observers would agree that the New Economy has changed the wealth distribution in the U.S. You will look in vain for much on this subject. Also, since we are only looking at millionaires, we can't find out what is significant if we don't see how their attitudes and lifestyles are different from similar people who are nonmillionaires. That control group is essentially missing in this case. Finally, what are the odds of success if you do what these people did? How much does it improve your odds of success? You might find that the reported variables are not the essential ones. But the way the study was done, you can't tell. A good example of the problem of cause and effect was the finding that the richest millionaires played the most golf. Now, was that because the richest people can afford the time and money to play more golf, or because golf contributes to becoming wealthier? You can't tell from this research. Next, the good part. The book certainly espouses good middle class values. Work hard, stick with your spouse, watch the kids' sporting events, entertain your friends. No one will go off the deep end following this advice. Probably the most encouraging part of the book was the assertion that millionaires were not tops in SAT scores and college grades. Anyone who has gone to a high school or a college reunion would probably have already figured that out. The key points, that millionaires are more likely to be sociable and not accept setbacks as permanent) have been reported many times before. There's nothing new there. You should also realize that doing something different from this model does not doom you to the poor house. Some rich people do spend more time on ski vacations than with tax advisors. Some rich people do use credit cards (it's hard to travel if you don't). Some rich people have been through divorces. I can go on, but realize that your life is what you make of it. Keep improving yourself and what you do, and you can be as financially successful as you want to be. May your progress towards the wealth you desire be irresistible and based on your values!
Rating:
Summary: Education more relevant now then before
Review: In this book, a lot has been said about the fact that millionaires come from disparate educational background. High SAT's and grades are deemed un-important. Well remember, the average millionaire of today is apprx. 54 yrs old. Perhaps in there day and age they may not have needed to be as intellectually smart. I think that if this book is re-written 20 years from now, you will find more millionaires attribute their wealth to smarts and IQ. The young silicon valley engineers and computer scientists will all claim their IQ was a major factor in their success. Remember while reading this book that the things that may have applied in those days may not apply now. Education and IQ now is of prime importance -- although other traits are still needed.
Rating:
Summary: Classic American Success Literature with a Modern Cachet
Review: Horatio Alger would have liked <i>Millionaire Mind</i>, especially since it's documented with Research. Work hard! Be moral! Have courage and take risks! Be frugal! And one of these days, you will rise out of the unwashed masses to ascend to the status of millionaire or maybe even decamillionaire! No special education needed! Yes. Well. I have no quibble with Dr. Stanley's message. Really. In fact, I found it rather inspirational at times. Dr. Stanley's writing is a different thing all together. Dr. Stanley repeats his points. And repeats his points. Oh, and did I mention that Dr. Stanley repeats his points; the same points in every chapter, in slightly different order with varying emphasis? I am thinking that the editor was reluctant to judiciously trim the text so as to be able to justify a thick hardback price. I also found the anecdotal focus on the entrepreneurial millionaires rather limiting. It was as if someone decided that to feature a senior corporate executive in an anecdote would disprove the importance of taking financial risk (which Stanley interprets as being self-employed). My last little quibble is the disconcerting <b>Sentence fragments in bold.</b> Whoever thought of this stylistic device should go back to editing school. Now that I've vented, my summarizing comment is to buy this book but only if you are serious about making money. Part of my problem with the book is that about a third of the way through, I realized I don't want to be a millionaire. It was kinda like reading a How To Cook Meat book if you are vegetarian. Interesting but not particularly useful.
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