Mark Fisher - The Instant Millionaire

Copyright 1990 by Mark Fisher

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, or other without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Author represented by the Cathy Miller Agency, London, UK.
Edited by Katherine Dieter
Type design by Tona Pearce Myers

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fisher, Mark, date.
The instant millionaire : a tale of wisdom and wealth / Mark Fisher ; foreword
by Marc Allen. 2nd ed.
p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-57731-934-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. MillionairesFiction. 2. WealthFiction. I. Title.
PS3556.I8142I57 2010
813'.54dc22

2010021997

First printing of second edition, August 2010
ISBN 978-1-57731-934-4
Printed in Canada on 100% postconsumer-waste recycled paper

1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

CONTENTS

In which the young man consults
a wealthy relative

In which the young man meets
an elderly gardener

In which the young man learns to seize
opportunities and take risks

In which the young man learns
to have faith

In which the young man gets to know
the value of self-image

In which the young man discovers
the power of words

In which the young man is first shown
the heart of the rose

In which the young man learns to master
his unconscious mind

In which the young man and his mentor
discuss figures and formulas

In which the young man learns
about happiness and life

In which the young man learns
to express his desires in life

In which the young man discovers
the secrets of the rose garden

In which the young man and the old man
embark on different journeys

W ERE ALL STORYTELLERS . We tell each other our stories, and we all love a good tale, whether its in a movie, in a book, online, or whispered to us late at night.

We pass around our stories, and they include a vast number of fables. Fables are especially wonderful things because, as Webster defines it, they enforce a useful truth. This little book presents us with a powerful and original fable that reveals one of the most useful truths of all: financial prosperity, and a fulfilling life well lived, are goals we can all achieve if we understand and practice the principles of success.

Perhaps a fable is the finest form in which to present these truths, for in the childlike simplicity of a fable, we can communicate directly with the childlike simplicity of our subconscious minds. Once we get a message to our subconscious minds, we can create a great many positive changes in our lives.

has now been published in over thirty-seven editions all over the world, and over two million copies have been sold. The author is a genuine millionaire, and his little fable is not to be taken lightly.

This is a book to be read, reread, studied, and practiced. It is a brilliantly conceived book that can make you wealthy in many ways and some are far more satisfying and valuable than material riches.

Marc Allen
Author of Visionary Business and
The Millionaire Course

In which the young man consults
a wealthy relative

T HERE WAS ONCE A BRIGHT YOUNG MAN who wanted to get rich. He had had his fair share of disappointments and setbacks, it couldnt be denied, and yet he still believed in his lucky star.

While he waited for fortune to smile, he worked as an assistant to an account executive in a small advertising agency. He was inadequately paid and had felt for some time that his job offered him little satisfaction. His heart was simply no longer in it.

He dreamed of doing something else, perhaps writing a novel that would make him wealthy and famous and end his financial problems once and for all. But wasnt his ambition a bit unrealistic? Did he really have enough talent and technique to write a bestseller, or would the pages be filled with the bleak, unfocused ramblings of his inner misery?

His job had been a daily nightmare for more than a year. His boss spent most of each morning reading the newspaper and writing memos before disappearing to indulge in a three-hour lunch. He also changed his mind continually and gave contradictory orders.

But it wasnt only his boss he was surrounded by colleagues who were also fed up with what they were doing. They seemed to have abandoned any sense of vision; they seemed to have given up altogether. He didnt dare tell any of them about his fantasy of dropping everything and becoming a writer. He knew they would treat it as a joke. When he was at work he often felt cut off from the world, as if he was in a foreign country, unable to speak the language.

Every Monday morning he wondered how on earth he was going to survive another week at the office. He felt totally alienated from the files piled high on his desk, from the needs of clients clamoring to sell their cigarettes, their cars, their beer....

He had written a letter of resignation six months earlier and had walked into his bosss office a dozen times with the letter burning in his pocket, but he had never been quite able to go through with it. It was funny; he would not have hesitated three or four years ago, but now he seemed unsure of what to do. Some-thing was holding him back, some kind of force or was it simply cowardice? He seemed to have lost the nerve that had always helped him get what he wanted in the past.

He kept waiting till the time was ripe, finding all kinds of excuses for not jumping into action, wondering if he could ever really succeed. Has he turned into a perpetual dreamer?

Did his paralysis spring from the fact that he was saddled with debts? Or was it because he had simply started to get old, a process inevitably triggered the minute we give up our visions of the future?

One day, when he was feeling especially frustrated, he suddenly thought of visiting an uncle of his who had become a millionaire. Perhaps he might be able to give him some advice, or better yet, some money.

His uncle was a warm, friendly person who immediately agreed to see him. He refused to lend him any money, however, claiming he wouldnt be doing him a favor.

How old are you? his uncle asked, after listening to his tale of woe.

Thirty-two, the young man whispered timidly.

Do you know that by the time J. Paul Getty was twenty-three hed already made his first million? And that when I was your age, I had half a million? So how in the world is it that you are forced to borrow money at your age?

Beats me. I work like a dog, sometimes over fifty hours a week....

Do you really believe that hard work is what makes people rich?

I...I guess so...anyway, thats what Ive al-ways been led to believe.

How much do you make a year $35,000?

Yeah, about that much, replied the young man.

Do you think that someone who earns $350,000 works ten times as many hours a week as you do? Obviously not! So if this person earns ten times more than you do without working any more than you do, then he must be doing something quite differently than you. He must have a secret you are totally unaware of.