Tag Archives: making money

Tycoon – Peter Jones Book Review

Tycoon Peter JonesI do not know how well known Peter Jones is in the US but here in the UK Peter Jones is an Entrepreneur who is part of the Dragons Den TV series. Dragons Den is an investment business show shown on the BBC.

I love Dragons Den, although I must admit that the last series has been turning more into a media circus with more “just for TV” business ideas being aired.

I read and reviewed “Anyone Can Do It“, the book from fellow Dragon, Duncan Bannatyne back in the early days of this blog.

I have had Tycoon, the book by Peter Jones for quite a while and eventually got around to reading it.

For some reason, I never really took to Peter Jones when watching him on Dragons Den. He reminds me of somebody that I do not like so maybe this is the reason. I also sometimes disagree with his actions and opinions on Dragons Den but one thing you cannot argue with is the fact that he has amassed a great wealth on his own from his Mobile Phone companies.

Peter Jones has also endured the hard times when his first company went under. This makes me realize that Peter Jones has really earned the wealth that he now enjoys.

So, what about his book. Well, to be honest I was pleasantly surprised with the book and actually enjoyed it. It was one of those books which I thought I would not like so had pre-conceived ideas about it even before I had started it.

I do have a problem with the word “Tycoon“. It does not really strike me as a positive word when referring to wealth. The word drums up images of an overpaid sleazy businessman and the use of the word Tycoon in the book is in my opinion over the top. Each time I read about the “Tycoon Mindset” I cringed.

The book is split into eight chapters:

  1. The Ten Golden Rules
  2. Put Your Imagination to Work
  3. What’s the Big Idea?
  4. Planning and Pitching
  5. Ignition, Making it Happen
  6. Building Your Future
  7. My Time on TV
  8. Final Word

Now, being an entrepreneur myself, involved in a 2 year old start up business a lot of what this book promoted was what I was going through and it did offer some good advice.

The book started off quite weak and then greatly improved to the point where I really was getting benefit from the book. It is a book which I would recommend to anybody looking at starting a business.

I think this book will really only appeal to you if you are looking to make the jump into your own business or if you are already running your own small business and toying with the idea of looking for investment.

I would not rank this book in the same inspirational league as How to Get Rich by Felix Dennis but it is worth the read if you fall into the categories that I just mentioned.

Keeping on the theme of Dragons Den I am currently reading the book from James Caan. Review will follow and I am enjoying the book so far.

have you read this or other books from any of the Dragons Den investors? Would love to hear if you have.

How to Get Rich – Felix Dennis Book Review


One of the books I read whilst away in Portugal was the How to Get Rich book by Felix Dennis.

I bought this book a few months ago following an Amazon suggestion. The title intrigued me as wealth is something that I am constantly striving for and I read many books on the subject.

I must admit that I had not heard of Felix Dennis before reading the book although I had come across Dennis Publishing. Dennis Publishing has published magazines such as Maxim, Micro Mart, PCW and others including a range of Kung Fu magazines and books on people such as Bruce Lee. Felix has amassed a fortune of over $700,000,000 from his publishing empire and he now spends most of his time writing poetry on the island of Mustique in the Caribbean.

Now, when you look into Felix, the word eccentric comes to mind. He also slightly reminds me of George Best, and the way he led a lot of his life. Felix admits to spending around $100,000,000 on sex, drugs, and rock and roll. He was addicted to cocaine and high class whores for a good part of his life. Luckily, he has put all of this behind him.

The story goes that he wrote this book after reviewing “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell, which he thought was utter bunkum and snake oil, just like every other self-help book he had ever wrote. He has an extremely low opinion of the self improvement lot and you can tell that a lot of his comments are directed towards Tony Robbins. So, he set about writing an anti-self-help book, one that told people how hard it was to make it and “bugger the glib insights!”.

The opening chapter proclaims that the book will improve your sex life!. It claims that if you make more money, it acts as an aphrodisiac and people are attracted to this so yes, it will improve your sex life.

The opening chapter really intrigues you to see what else is going to come later on in the book and I will tell you that it is all good.

Comments like “Teamwork is the glue that binds losers together” pretty much sets the scene for this book. It is a hard hitting no-nonsense guide that will scare the living daylights out of the majority of people who succumb and accept a life of wage slavery. However, the more entrepreneurial of us will nod our heads in agreement to many of Felix’s statements.

Now, I totally loved this book and have already read it twice. There are many truths in the book that ring true and the book was ideal reading for the place where I am at in my life right now.

So, if you are unhappy with the drudge of wage slavery and think you fancy taking the risks of going alone, then the book is definitely for you and I urge you to stop what you are doing and buy it right now. If not, it probably equates to a slouch potato reading a commando training manual!

Here are a couple of videos from Felix that I found on YouTube about the book, Check them out.

Felix on How to Get Rich

Reviews of How to Get Rich