How to Get Rich book club questions

1. 1.

   Dennis says the will to be rich is the single most important variable. Do you actually have that kind of hunger, or do you have a milder preference that you've been telling yourself is hunger?

2. 2.

   He argues that salary earners, however well-paid, are fundamentally in a different category from owners. Does the distinction feel true in your own experience of work?

3. 3.

   Dennis is explicit that getting rich cost him relationships and years of his life. Is there a version of his path you'd find acceptable? Where is your actual line?

4. 4.

   He recommends starting in a niche small enough to dominate. What niche in your own field is currently under-served or owned by people who aren't very good at it?

5. 5.

   His chapter on fear calls it the primary reason talented people don't become wealthy. What fear, specifically, is blocking the thing you say you want to do?

6. 6.

   Dennis argues that most partnerships are value-destroying because people take partners for psychological comfort rather than genuine capability. Have you ever seen that dynamic play out?

7. 7.

   He says wealth is amoral — that money doesn't care about your reasons for wanting it. Do you agree, and does it change anything about how you think about building it?

8. 8.

   The book is written by someone who regrets some of what he traded for money. What would you need to see before deciding the trade was worth it?

9. 9.

   Dennis writes that the biggest mistake is waiting until you can afford to quit your day job. What is the smallest viable version of a thing you could build without quitting anything?

10. 10.

    He has a chapter on luck and argues that you can manufacture it by putting yourself in more situations where luck can find you. Where are you not putting yourself often enough?

11. 11.

    Dennis distinguishes between 'being in business' and 'owning a business.' Which category does your current situation fall into?

12. 12.

    If you took Dennis's advice seriously for two years, what specifically would you do differently starting Monday?

How to run the discussion

• Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
• Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
• Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
• Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.