Book Review: How Come That Idiot's Rich and I'm Not? by Robert Shemin

Filed in archive Book Reviews on March 4, 2008

Ever been surprised to see someone you always thought was a goofball idiot turn into a rich, successful person while your training and smarts were not getting you to the same place? In the appropriately-titled How Come That Idiot's Rich and I'm Not?, Robert Shemin gives you his thoughts on why upside-down "idiots" get rich while "RUBs" (Rightside Up and Broke) toil away for The Man and live lives of quiet desperation.

I had sort of a love-hate relationship with this book. The idea that you need to think differently, become entrepreneurial, attack a single goal relentlessly, etc. are all great points, and Shemin's own past of building a real estate business that allows him to be both rich and free at the same time is inspiring. But, on the other side, the writing is a little cheesy (for example, the "Wealth Wows") and at times has a get-rich-quick, join my network marketing downline kind of feel to it.

I'm also becoming increasingly immune to the "here's how to get rich" books from real estate investors. If you want to become a real estate investor as your path to wealth, great. But not everyone does, and when the majority of these types of books are written by those who made their money in real estate, it's not particularly helpful to those who don't want to go that path. (Shemin would probably say that I am a RUB.)

That said, here are the things I like about this book:

* Shemin makes it clear that his goal has always been not just to make money, but also to make money in a way that doesn't force him to work his butt off hour after hour. If your wealth only comes from an hourly wage, no matter how high, your time is not your own. You need to be on the job for the money to keep flowing. If you want money AND freedom, you need to have residual income that flows even when you're not working.

* Successful people don't do it alone. While you may need to take on both the CEO and janitor role to begin with, be ready to delegate and outsource as you gain success so you are focused on what you are best at, instead of continuing to do bookkeeping, computer repair, your tax return, whatever. In the case of his real estate career, Shemin uses the example of having the vision but needing many specialists to help carry it out.

* Despite encouraging you to enjoy a rich lifestyle, Shemin doesn't suggest that such a lifestyle should be full of depreciating assets such as new cars or luxury apartment rentals. Many of these things are liabilities instead of assets, unless you are somehow leveraging them for a higher purpose.

* If you DO want to invest in real estate, Shemin offers some simple numbers that may inspire you and get you excited about taking the first steps.

* His "Everything You Need to Know About Starting Your Own Business" is spot on.

On the downside, I felt Shemin spent too much time on positive thinking and the "spiritual laws of wealth." It seems like every "wealth guru" book features a section like this, and it always feels like filler to get the book to a certain length.

Also, Shemin's plug for the network marketing company Pre-Paid Legal Services seem less like trying to make you money and more like trying to make him money. His thoughts on getting rich via virtual online worlds also seem out of place and not very well thought out, as if he heard that someone got rich trading virtual real estate and is saying "hey, maybe you should check that out."

Like most books in this genre, there is plenty of good in How Come That Idiot's Rich and I'm Not? but also plenty of filler or advice that is half-baked. Keep your BS detector on while you read and you'll find the nuggets that can truly help you.