Customer Reviews

Cracking the Millionaire Code: Your Key to Enlightened Wealth

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

I picked up "Cracking The Millionaire Code" as I had read "The One Minute Millionaire" before, and enjoyed it. However upon reading "Cracking The Millionaire Code", I was left thinking, "What did I get out of this book?"

Essentially this book is about creating "Enlightened Wealth", or rather earning money to give it away to charities. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for philanthropy, but this book attempts to be both spiritual to all beliefs and be about wealth creation, and ends up doing neither.

Robert Allen and Mark Hansen's universalism is dripping out of this book. Plus they over utilize the "rely on the higher power" without really getting into how to go about it. Again, not that I believe contacting a "higher power" for seeking wisdom and understanding. However too much of this book is just repeating the statement, "Seek the higher power." Want a better marketing plan? Seek the higher power. Want to increase your sales? Seek the higher power.

There are a couple of good points in this book, but they are few and not worth the time and effort to search them out.

If you offended but the "higher power" idea, steer clear of this book. If you offended by "universalism", steer clear of this book. If you don't want to waste your time, steer clear of this book. 2 out of 5 stars.

As a reader, if this is your first look into enlightened wealth creation and the world of MV Hansen, then this is not a bad book to start with. However even as a first book it is incredibly light reading, and I would certainly recommend "One Minute Millionaire" over this book.

In a nutshell the book lacks flow, trys to employ too many "clever" techniques in writing and really only covers most of the ground covered in other books by the same authors.

Truly and unfortunate dissapointment

I listened to the audio CDs of this book (unabridged) and I have to say that I was feeling somewhat inspired about halfway through the CDs. They have a system for how to come up with ideas(million dollar ideas of course), and show how to flesh those ideas out. It really is helpful to be exposed to structured ways to make an idea into a money-maker. My thought processes were expanded by the list of questions and steps they led you through as you processed your idea(s).
The acronyms were over the top by the 5th CD, STAR, DIAMOND, ANGEL etc. (They have the "Chicken Soup" group to appease after all.) As said in other reviews, the use of the phrase "Higher Power" starts to wear after a while, whether you believe in God (as I do) or some other diety. They are trying to be everything to everyone, and they should lay off that.
In retrospect, the greatest value I've gained from these guys is thinking about the fine art of collaborating with other companies/individuals in search of mutual profit.
These guys think in an opportunistic way about everything: "How can I angle to get a buck out of everything I say or do?" They reference their website about a thousand times, which you must sign up to use; they promise to only use your personal information for reputable companies they have contracted with to offer you products you may find valuable. They are also masters of product placements for kickbacks (I'm assuming) from the companies they promote. For example they reference FedEx numerous times as an example company, but UPS not once. My tone may be a bit sarcastic, but I really am looking at the world in a different way in terms of thinking of cross-promotion opportunities where everybody profits.
If you can look past the cheesiness they had to include for the Chicken Soup folks and watch how these guys operate (as detailed in the book and also as they try to operate on you, the reader), you will likely walk away with a keener sense of how to spot money-making opportunities and know how to capitalize on them in an ethical way.

Too long. Too clever for its own good. The only saving grace are the handful of case studies. They provide great stories to share (as inspiration) with my marketing clients and workshop attendees. Much of the work has been outlined in other books by Robert Allen (ie Multiple Income Streams)

Both authors are talented and successful as info marketers. They did a good job pitching the book on Christian media outlets.Copy their niching strategy to sell your products and services. But as far as the book is concerned, wait for the deep discounts to begin.

I bought this book after reading the back cover, I did not flip through the pages first. It was a big disappointment. I think the core message is interesting and worthwhile but the book is full of so much garbage that it's hard to get to the message. If I want to solve word puzzles (some of them maximally inane-like the one where the words are simply printed upside down) I would buy a puzzle book. I think they had a great idea and it just got bogged down with so much clutter and nonsense that the message got lost. I definitely wish I had not purchased it.

This is an inspiring book which is a relatively good read for both dreamers and people who are on their path to making millions. There are many interesting anecdotes and in spite of the somewhat awkward layout, the flow of ideas is not interrupted. The concept of "enlightened wealth" may not be entirely new, but it's somewhat refreshing.

But for the real millionaire wannabe who is ready for some action, it offers little practical advice. How much are your connections worth? How much is your life history worth? Alas, we are not Bill Clinton and even if we analyse our worth and our opportunities in the way that is taught in the book, that merely offers consolation and not real money-making tips or advice. Buy or read it for leisure only.

I like some of the stuff these guys do but this thing is over the top in nonsense. they do know how to make any book a bestseller which in this case certainly takes the glitter off a bestseller. Mark has always been a lot of hype but he is successful i guess that says something about what we all read. I was so disappointed, I have some of their books and materials and learned a lot but I cant say that I did on this one that s for sure. If they gave refunds I'd be first in line, disappointed in this nonsense wouldnt do it. Awful

Fortunately, I didn't buy the book, I checked it out of the library. After reading Allen's "Multiple Streams of Income", I thought it would be worth a look. "Cracking the codes" feature was also intriguing. Unfortunately, I've already found a couple of the codes actually have "typos" in them. On code #13, I just assumed it was a "typo" and entered it on the website as it was supposed to be. I got the full number of "points" for it. Big deal. It was dissapointing to discover the editing was so poor that the actual "codes" themselves wouldn't be correct. Bottom line: the "codes" are just a gimmick to sell a book with little useful content. While I don't usually leave a book unfinished, I'm already returning this one to the library.

I wrote an entire review on my blog at http://startupguide.typepad.com (below is an excerpt)

Here are the good parts:
There are numerous true stories of individuals becoming successful within the book
Social responsibility and charity are recommended throughout the book as part of the pathway to becoming successful
They offer all sorts of additional benefits and information on their website CrackingingTheMillionaireCode.com
There are numerous valuable tips and information on idea generation, opportunity recognition, the importance of teams and advisory boards, networking, intellectual property business opportunities (books, software, etc.), residual income, and residual philanthropy.
Every page has motivational quotes around the border of the page (my favorite part of the book).

...and here are the not so good parts:
The book is littered with their own terminology (Serendestiny, Prism Code, Star Code, Enlightened Wealth, Wealth Codes, Destiny Code, WOW, Angel Code, Star Code, etc.) while these terms may help simplify concepts within the context of the book they do not effectively carry over to the real world afterwards
The website appears to still be a work in progress and is filled with all sorts of gimmicks.
A good portion of the information within the book is common sense.
Every few pages there are puzzles that are supposed to "crack the millionaire code" (the puzzles are tied into a contest on the website).
They convert business acronyms to a new meaning (i.e. CEO becomes Chief Enlightenment Officer, ROE is Return on Enlightenment, Leverage becomes loverage)

All in all I do not regret picking up the book and reading it through but I probably would not recommend it to anyone else (with the exception of a few pages on teams and idea/opportunity recognition).

By turning people away from a book that may be capable of strengthening someone's spirituality, nothing good comes as a result. If you think you are saving someone MONEY, consider that that someone that is reading all these posts may have a need for a very particular message being portrayed in this book. Yes, much focus is on God. I want to give everyone here a head's up on what happened to me.

I BEGAN TO READ THE BOOK. EARLIER, I HAD NOT BEEN VERY LOVING TOWARD SOMEONE BASED ON THE FINANCIAL STRUGGLE I'M FACING. ANTHONY ROBBINS HAD A QUOTE IN THE BOOK THAT STATES THAT IN ORDER TO ENJOY ABUNDANCE, YOU MUST BE THANKFUL. JOEL OSTEEN SAYS EXACTLY THE SAME THING. I PUT THE BOOK DOWN, TIRED-EYED AND READY FOR SLEEP. I HAD FELT GOD WAS TELLING ME SOMETHING. I PRAYED. I THANKED HIM FOR WHAT I HAD... I GAVE. I GAVE THANKS. THIS MORNING, I WENT OUT TO GET YESTERDAY'S MAIL. A DOCTOR BILL CAME IN FROM THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE. 3 ANONYMOUS PEOPLE FROM THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE HAD PAID MY BILL. CREDIT CARD RECEIPTS WERE INCLUDED AS PROOF (SWEAR ON IT). ABOUT A HALF HOUR LATER, I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL FROM A NEW CUSTOMER ASKING FOR MY SERVICES. THE COMPENSATION FROM HER WILL BE ABOUT $1000.00. DID I MENTION I'VE BEEN BORROWING MONEY FOR FOOD BECAUSE I'M IN A DEEP FINANCIAL STATE OF TROUBLE? SOON AFTER THAT PHONE CALL, A FRIEND CALLED ME. HE OFFERED ME A VERY EASY JOB OPPORTUNITY.... DECORATING HIS HOME. HE WILL BE PAYING ME $20.00/HR UNTIL FINISHED. SOON AFTER, MY CREDIT CARD COMPANY CALLED. I AM LATE ON 3 PAYMENTS DUE TO DEALS FALLING THROUGH IN MY JOB (REAL ESTATE). THE WOMAN ASKED ME IF I COULD PAY. I TOLD HER MY SITUATION NICELY. SHE DID NOT YELL. SHE EXCUSED ME FROM PAYING RIGHT NOW, NOTATING FINANCIAL HARDSHIP ON MY ACCOUNT.

WHAT EVERYONE MAY BE MISSING IS THE GOD PART. AVOID REFERRING TO IT AS SOMETHING NEGATIVE WHEN THE AUTHORS REPEATEDLY REFER TO GOD (WHETHER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY). THIS VERY WELL MAY BE THE OPPOSITE OF THE DIVINCI CODE. INSTEAD OF TURNING PEOPLE AWAY, IT MAY JUST BRING THE SAINTS FORWARD. SOMEDAY, I HOPE SOMEONE DOES SOMETHING WONDERFUL FOR EACH OF YOU WHO WROTE A BAD REVIEW. THERE IS A BIGGER POINT THAT NO ONE SEEMS TO BE SEEING. REFERRING TO GOD, THANKING GOD, AND GIVING AS JESUS DID. FORGET ABOUT BILL GATES. WE EACH HAVE TO ANSWER TO OUR CREATOR ON JUDGEMENT DAY. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO SAY TO JESUS WHEN HE LOOKS AT YOU AND SAYS, "WHY DID YOU TRY TO TURN PEOPLE AWAY FROM A BOOK THAT HAD ME IN IT?" GO AHEAD AND TELL GOD THAT YOU HAD YOUR REASONS.... OR.... IT WAS ONLY A BOOK....

THE REAL CODE IS SO EASY TO SEE THAT ALMOST ALL OF YOU "BAD REVIEWERS" HAVE MISSED THE POINT. THE CODE IS "TURN TO GOD AND WATCH WHAT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN".... JUST LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED TO ME TODAY. IT WAS NOT FROM A BOOK. IT WAS FROM GOD. IT JUST TOOK A BOOK TO REMIND ME TO BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT I DO HAVE AND BEGIN TO GIVE WHEN I FEEL I HAVE NOTHING LEFT.

GOOD BLESS. HOPE NO ONE IS OFFENDED.
-JILL FROM NEW YORK