DBC - “Multiple Streams of Income” by Robert G. Allen

Druid's Book Club

Quick Take: Dated. Much is only relevant to a US market. Too dense. But, the first four chapters are gold.

Longer Take:

This was a challenging read. It took me two years to power through “Multiple Streams of Income” by Robert G. Allen

The second edition was printed in 2004, so much of the information is dated. But there is still some great stuff in here. I wouldn’t recommend reading the whole book, but do yourself a favour and read the first four chapters and chapter 18. Great for anyone looking to improve their earning power. The other chapters go into a dense (and probably unnecessary) amount of detail on the various “streams of income.” Also, the book is written for a US audience.

I love the Money Seed/Tree and Income Stream/Reservoir concepts. In a nutshell, this is the idea that you use the money you have to create additional revenue streams that will lead to residual cash flow in the future. It is very similar to Robert Kiyosaki’s idea that you need to look at every dollar as an employee you need to put to work.

The idea that to prosper financially, we need to have multiple streams of income is as accurate today as it ever has been. So, again, just read chapters 1-4 and 18 (62 pages), and you’ll get enough.

Some of My Favorite Quotes:

“…prosperous people don’t think of money as just colored pieces of paper adorned with pictures of famous dead people. They imagine it as seeds—money seeds—with the power to grow into money trees. … Every dollar bill is a money seed. Just as a tiny acorn contains the power to grow into a mighty oak tree, each dollar bill has the power to grow into a mighty money tree.”

“Every day you wait—every hour you delay—is like burning up future money!”

“When you prematurely pick the fruit from your money tree, you stunt its growth and dramatically reduce the time it takes for you to enjoy a fully matured, fruit-bearing money tree.”

“Money grows on the trees of patience – Japanese proverb.”

“Most people have one simple stream (or main source) of income: their job. This income flows into the reservoir of their life, but the reservoir has leaks and the money flows out through them. Most everyone spends every penny they earn and then some. Obviously, the only way to have overflowing prosperity in your life is to plug up those leaks and to add more streams—to have multiple streams of income. It is critical to plug leaks and keep streams flowing. How many financial streams do you have flowing into your life? How many leaks are there in your reservoir?”

“Each wasted dollar destroys a forest of future money trees.”

“…the future is not something that happens. The future is something that you make happen.”

“Successful money managers know instinctively how much easier it is to save a dollar than to make an extra one.”

“With residual income, you work hard once, and it unleashes a steady flow of income.”

“Don’t even consider a business that doesn’t have expansion potential for additional streams of income.”

Druid’s Top Entrepreneurship Lesson: When choosing where to spend money in your business, only spend on those things that will directly lead to making money.