Book review of The One Minute Millionaire, by Mark Hansen and Robert Allen

I first saw "The One Minute Millionaire" in a bookstore years ago, when I was in the beginning stages of my moneyseeking. I decided not to buy it at that time, as my intuition told me that it seemed to be too much of a hustle job, and would probably appeal mainly to the get rich quick crowd. The title put me off, I thought how could you possibly become a millionaire in only 1 minute? The reviews for the book were nothing special. As it is a popular book, I purchased a cheap second-hand copy this year, to make sure I hadn't missed any good advice. Here's my review.

The book is in two halves. It's two books in one. The first half is definite plans and advice about becoming wealthy, for" left brained", logical people. The other half is the fantasy story of a lady named Michelle, putting the plans put into action by making a million dollars in 90 days.

First half of the book, logical advice:
The advice is solid is some places, but mainly over simplistic. At the start, it says all that is required to be a millionaire in your lifetime is the ability to find investments that yield at least 10% annually after taxes and the discipline to keep doing this every year. That's easier said than done. Convicted fraudster Bernard Madoff offered investments yielding a guaranteed 10% per year, but he was unable to provide such returns, despite having a fantastic education and investment background. That's why he turned to fraud instead.

Some of this part of the book is good, but spoiled by some outrageous "no money down" deals. E.g: I made so much money, in no time at all, using quick and easy methods. When it talks about network marketing, this is a big fail in my eyes, because that type of business is a pyramid scheme, no matter what the organisers tell you, and pyramid schemes are illegal in many countries.

I recognised bits and stories of the book as being re-printed wholesale from Hansen and Allen's other books: "Multiple Streams of income" (pg 154, the extract of Mentored by a Billionaire), and "Chicken soup for the soul" (pg 364 the extract of Willing to Pay the Price). This is a cheap way to fill the pages, and shows why it pays to read many books, because then you can see when authors are copying from other books.

Second half of the book, fantasy story:
I enjoyed the fantasy story part, much more than the logical plans part. In the story, a woman is about to lose her children and has 90 days to make a million dollars to get them back. 90 days to make a million is a bit too far fetched for my liking, and though it's an interesting story, the audacity of the goal makes me think the author is trying to pull the wool over our eyes with the idea that a complete novice has a good chance of making so much money, so quickly.

In the story, a woman named Michelle is about to lose her kids, but meets a millionaire mentor named Samantha and turns her life around.  Part of the story has Michelle buying houses at substantial discounts from people who are in financial difficulty. This is taking advantage of people's misfortune, which I disagree with,  no matter how much they try to sell it as "helping the other person to solve their financial problem". In real life, sellers and banks are unlikely to offer huge discounts, and if they do, the property will be put on the open market which will push the price up. People are not stupid enough to give their assets away at a fraction of their true value. I've currently been studying the property market in England for over a year, hoping to find big bargains. There are none, unless you have enough cash to buy buildings outright, and even then discounts are minor when other costs are factored in.

The fantasy story of Michelle is like one of those action movies where everything is overly dramatic, and filled with amazement and danger which is conveniently survived, then everything comes together perfectly at the last minute. The perfect example being of the story's heroine, Michelle, getting all of the required money in cash just 7 minutes before the deadline. Things do not happen so conveniently, in real life.

Conclusion:
In the recent book "Stop Acting Rich, Start Living Like a Real Millionaire" - by Thomas Stanley, which I reviewed last year, Stanley says (letter in chapter 9) that to become a millionaire usually takes 20 to 30 years. This is based on extensive research of real millionaires. This is a complete difference to The One Minute Millionaire's claims that it's possible to become a millionaire in 60 seconds, or 90 days! I know who I believe (Thomas Stanley).

The main advice in the book about becoming a millionaire in one minute, is an example of the author's using the internet to sell their seminars/financial knowledge online. They have the profile and mailing lists to be able to do this. The vast majority of people, whom this book is aimed at, do not. The book title is therefore misleading and sensationalist, and like much of the advice in the book, it was clearly made up to increase sales. The fantasy story in the book of having a timeframe of 3 months to become a millionaire from nothing, is outrageous.

A potentially good book, spoiled by being overlong, dragging basic points out too much, and including rubbish advice like investing in Network Marketing (pyramid schemes/MLM). The fantasy story of Michelle in the other half of the book, is the best part of it, but that's not saying much because the goal of making one million dollars in 3 months is unlikely to work for the majority of readers. I know a few real life millionaires, and none of them ever made that much money, that quickly. There are some good parts of the book, some of the logical advice is very good, and the fantasy story gives an interesting if far fetched take on the journey to wealth, but overall I think I was right in my initial assessment, and the book is more hustle, than useful.

It is good to give people hope, and to inspire and motivate them, but not if the advice has a low likelihood of succeeding. Some of the advice is too outrageous to be true, and appeals to those with a get rich quick mentality. I want to believe that making money can be as quick, easy, and positive as the authors say, but I have already seen real life millionaires in action, who came from humble backgrounds, and I know how long and hard they had to work. I am not going to lose my head and forget everything I have already learned so I can join "The One Minute Millionaire's" travelling circus.

Maybe Robert Allen is genuinely trying to help people, but further internet research shows that the president of his "Nothing Down" real estate club in Atlanta went to prison for using Robert Allen's property investment techniques. Allen himself, went bankrupt in the past doing his property deals, and even though he says he was once a religious missionary in Tahiti, he did not do the right thing and pay back his creditors when he became rich again. John T Reed has written his criticisms of Robert Allen. He claims that Robert Allen once said to his associate: “We’re not in the real estate investment information business, Marc. This is show business.”

Moneyseeker3000 book  rating: 2 stars out of 5.