In a chapter titled, ‘Your results are a reflection of you,’ he observes that anything that’s gifted to you in this universe that you don’t have the capability to create for yourself will always be taken away. “Things that are self-created are more readily self-sustained and rapidly (if necessary) re-created. But if you don’t know how to generate it in the first place, you won’t know how to keep it, even when it falls in your lap.”

Create your own lottery, Ray prods. “Don’t wish or wait for anything or anyone to create wealth for you. Decide right now that you’re going to go out and do it for yourself… Tap into the great sea of money flowing around this planet.”

Money, he describes, as a magnifier. “It will highlight your traits – positive and negative, good and bad.” For instance, the anxious ones will stew endlessly over the newfound cash, and the pessimists will find themselves surrounded by people who resent wealth. “You’ve got to be strong enough to stand under that magnifying glass or you’ll get fried in the rays.”

Creating and maintaining financial wealth means that you’ve got to be willing to stretch yourself, eradicate your demons, take risks, and chase down every last detail, says Ray.

Recommended read to ensure money leads to accord, rather than discord.

Organisational bystanders are individuals who often have crucial information or a valuable point of view that would improve an organisation’s decision-making, but they fail to take necessary action even when important threats or opportunities arise, writes Marc Gerstein in ‘Flirting with Disaster’ ( www.sterlingpublishing.com ). Such people subjectively employ ‘bystander calculus,’ he adds. “They consider what will happen if they are right, what will happen if they are wrong, and what will happen if they simply do nothing at all.”

Remaining silent in the face of serious risks is selfish behaviour, Gerstein chides. “It places our own need to avoid embarrassment and damage to our reputation above the safety of others.”

A chapter on ‘human biases and distortions’ takes a hard look of how stories and generalisations apply not only to people, objects and events, but also to time-series phenomena, such as accidents, company growth rates, and athletic performance.

A compulsory addition to the analysts’ shelf.

He is rich who hath enough to be charitable, says Sir Thomas Browne. “Money’s the wise man’s religion,” avers Euripides. “Wealth is not a matter of intelligence, it’s a matter of inspiration,” decodes Jim Rohn. And Pindar declares that even genius is tied to profit. Then, in the massive collection of ‘uplifting quotes for everyday life’ that B.C. Aronson has edited in ‘Secrets to Happiness’ ; ( www.valuebooks.com ), there are those who take a critical view of money and wealth. Such as Marilyn Monroe: “I don’t care about money. I just want to be wonderful.” Or, Robert G. Ingersoll, who says, “Few rich men own their own property. The property owns them.” The meek shall inherit the earth, concedes J. Paul Getty. “But not the mineral rights,” he adds. “With money in your pocket, you are wise and you are handsome and you sing well too,” cheers an Yiddish proverb. And Henny Youngman shares an anecdote: “Someone stole all my credit cards, but I won’t be reporting it. The thief spends less than what my wife did.”

Suggested dip over a leisurely weekend.

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