A Gift to My Children: A Father's Lessons for Life and Investing [Hardcover]

Jim Rogers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2009

He’s the swashbuckling world traveler and legendary investor who made his fortune before he was forty. Now the bestselling author of A Bull in China, Hot Commodities, and Adventure Capitalist shares a heartfelt, indispensable guide for his daughters (and all young investors) to find success and happiness. In A Gift to My Children, Jim Rogers offers advice with his trademark candor and confidence, but this time he adds paternal compassion, protectiveness, and love. Rogers reveals how to learn from his triumphs and mistakes in order to achieve a prosperous, well-lived life. For example:

• Trust your own judgment: Rogers sensed China’s true potential way back in the 1980s, at a time when most analysts were highly skeptical of its prospects for growth.
• Focus on what you like: Rogers was five when he started collecting empty bottles at baseball games instead of playing.
• Be persistent: Coming to Yale from rural Alabama, and in over his head, Rogers never stopped studying and wound up with a scholarship to Oxford.
• See the world: In 1990, Rogers traveled through six continents by motorcycle, gaining a global perspective and learning how to evaluate prospects in rapidly developing countries such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China.
• Nothing is really new: anything deemed “innovative” or “unprecedented” is usually just overhyped, as in the case of the Internet or TV, airplanes, and railroads before it
• And not a bit off the subject, and very important: Boys will need you more than you’ll need them!

Wise and warm, accessible and inspiring, A Gift to My Children is a great gift for all those just starting to invest in their futures.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Legendary investor Rogers cofounded the Quantum Fund with George Soros in 1970, retired at the age of 37 in 1980, and spent a number of years traveling through China and six continents by motorcycle. He recently fathered two daughters in his sixties and wrote this small memoir to share with them some of the insights that he has garnered from his experiences. He advises to make your own decisions in life rather than listening to others, to figure out what you love to do and focus on that rather than what is expected of you, and to have a dream and to live your dream. In the area of finances, he says to save and invest early on rather than spending frivolously, so that you will be able to afford the important things in life later, and to do your own research, draw your own conclusions, and look to the future—not the past—for great ideas. These and other nuggets of wisdom from this self-made man are worth reading several times over. --David Siegfried

Review

Praise for A GIFT TO MY CHILDREN
Hey Jim!
What a lovely, lovely book! (A Gift to My Children). Though I've read all you've written, this one really touched me. It is, of course, a love letter to your daughters, which is not only a wonderful, meaningful thing to do, but it was filled with exactly the kind of advice all fathers should give. Your new book will stay on my shelf for a long, long time, and I'll be giving it to my own kids to read. --Nicholas Sparks: Author of The Notebook, Dear John, and The Last Song

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Random House; First Edition edition (April 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400067545
• ISBN-13: 978-1400067541
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 0.6 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in 1942, Jim Rogers had his first job at age five, picking up bottles at baseball games. Winning a scholarship to Yale, Rogers was coxswain on the crew. Upon graduation, he attended Balliol College at Oxford. After a stint in the army, he began work on Wall Street. He cofounded the Quantum Fund, a global-investment partnership. During the next ten years, the portfolio gained more than 4,000 percent, while the S&P rose less than 50 percent. Rogers then decided to retire-at age thirty-seven-but he did not remain idle.Continuing to manage his own portfolio, Rogers served as a professor of finance at the Columbia Univer-sity Graduate School of Business and as moderator of The Dreyfus Roundtable on WCBS and The Profit Motive on FNN. At the same time, he laid the groundwork for his lifelong dream, an around-the-world motorcycle trip: more than 100,000 miles across six continents. That journey became the subject of Rogers's first book, Investment Biker (1994), now available from Random House Trade Paperbacks. While laying plans for his Millennium Adventure 1999-2001, he continued as a media commentator at Worth, CNBC, et al., and as a sometime professor.He now contributes to Fox News, Worth, and others as he and Paige eagerly await their first child.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not an investment book, but good advices to fathers and their children, May 28, 2009

By 

X. Li "Lee" (NC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gift to My Children (Hardcover)

I have never read any of Jim Rogers prior books, but I am pleasantly surprised to find this little book insightful and enjoyable to read. He provided his answers to questions such as how to best prepare our children for the future. As a father of a five year old daughter, I fully appreciate a book just like this.

Each chapter is a lesson on a major quality of character or "virtue"; and each chapter is about several pages long. Each lesson is elaborated and explained with real events in Jim Rogers' life - his childhood in rural AL and his investment decisions.

This book is definitely NOT an investment book, but I am more than happy to learn about personal stories of this legendary investor, particularly about his thought process, mindset, and insights about being a father and investor.

Obviously he writes with his unique set of values and ideas about where to live (don't live in a country involved in any kind of war), what to become (a world citizen), and what to learn (philosophy and history), but in this little book I have found gems of wisdom common to a few very successful people I personally know. They universally credit their success to: 1)think on your own, 2) hard work and never quit, 3) read as much as you can, 4) always prepare for the worst, 5) save and don't carry debt, and 6) start your child early.

If you write a book for your child, what would you include and exclude? Under this premise I think Jim Rogers has done an excellent job so I rate this book with five stars.

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very entertaining read!. Thanks, Jim, for sharing...All Mums & Dads must read!..., August 3, 2010

By 

Lee Say Keng "KNOWLEDGE ADVENTURER/TECHNOLOGY... (Ho Chi Minh City/Singapore) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Gift to My Children: A Father's Lessons for Life and Investing (Hardcover)

'A Gift for My Chidren: A Father's Lessons for a Life & Investing',
by Jim Rogers

What follows is just my quick list of interesting takeaways from the book, 'A Gift to My Children: 'A Father's Lessons for Life & Investing', by American investor extraordinaire Jim Rogers, now based in Singapore, who is acknowledged by Time as 'The Indiana Jones of Finance'.

Frankly, all the stuff from the book has nothing much to do with finance &/or investing.

They are essentially pearls of wisdom from his world of "hard knocks", which Jim wants to share with his two beautiful daughters, respectively nicknamed in Chinese as 'Happy' (7) & 'Babe Bee' (2).

* Swim your own races

- do not let others do your thinking for you;

- rely on your own intelligence;

- it's important to decide for yourself what's important to you and what you want before you turn to others;

- if anyone laughs at your idea, view it as a sign of potential success;

- be who you are; be original; be bold;

- above all, be ethical;

- save ~ you must avoid the trap of spending $ willy nilly simply because you can;

* Focus on what you like

- Age is irrelevant when you are passionate about a goal;

- when you find something that interests you, just do it!

- The quickest way to success is to do what you like and give your best;

- Dedicate yourself to what you feel passionate about;

- Try as many things as you can, then pursue the one about which you're passionate;

* Good habits for life

- Be a self-starter;

- Attention to details is what separates success from failure;

- However trivial it may seem, you must research and check each and ever piece of information you need to make a decision... Only through meticulous research will you obtain the knowledge necessary for success... it requires abundant work and diligence...

- There is no such thing as "enough". No finish line!

- Live your life with a dream;

- If you continue to be passionate and work hard at what you truly love to do, you eventually find that dream;

* Uncommon Sense

- Always consider alternative interpretations;

- Seek out multiple perspectives on the same story will always help you figure out the truth;

* Your education ~ Let the world be a part of your perspective PART 1

- Do not rely on books; go and see the world;

- Experience life as they do; see the world from the ground up. By observing ordinary life... you will forever be stumbling upon experiences that will raise important question in your mind ;

- Understand the significance of BRICs;

- Be open to people who are different whether at home or abroad;

- Keep an open mind and be a world citizen;

- Be eager to move if you see opportunities;

* Your education ~ Learn philosophy and learn to think PART 2

- Philosophy will teach you how to think for yourself;

- You must learn to think at a profound level if you want to understand yourself and what's important to you. You must know yourself if you want to accomplish anything in life...;

- To think outside the established framework, to examine things independently this is true philosophy...;

- Draw conclusions from your observations as well as on the basis of logic;

- As an investor, look for the bull and the bear;

* Your education ~ Learn history PART 3

- An interest in history, politics, and economics will help you see the world with clearer perspectives;

- Nothing is really new: what is happening now has happened before and will happen again;

* Your education ~ Learn languages (make sure that Mandarin is one of them) PART 4

- Mandarin will be the next global language;

- Pay attention to the major changes taking place in the world now, especially China;

* Know thyself by understanding your weaknesses and acknowledging your mistakes

- Know who you are;

- To be a successful investor you really need to understand psychology, history, and philosophy;

* Recognise change and embrace it

- Everything changes. Everything;

- Embrace the principle of supply and demand;

- Change can be a catalyst;

- Adapt or die;

* Look to the future

- Read the newspapers, but think differently;

- Pay attention to what everyone else neglects;

- If you are looking for success, be quick to start something new, something that no one else has tried;

- The more certain something is, the less likely it is to be profitable;

- Do not think in terms of what you wish (ergo, wishful thinking versus willful doing);

- Know when not to do anything;

* Lady Luck smiles on those who continue in their efforts

- Do your homework'

- If you let vanity and self-importance (ego) take over, you will lose all that you have achieved;

- Never let yourself become arrogant. Study hard. The more you learn, the more you will realise how little you know - armed with this humility, you will never lose sight of the distance between self-confidence and self-importance;

- Do not stop when you are working towards your dream;

* Epilogue

- The devil of life is always in the details;

- Anything that is a must-see, must-try, must-read, must almost certainly be avoided, especially if it is popular;

- Use good manners no matter where you are or whom you meet;

- Learn to do as much arithmetic and figures as possible in your head;

- Take care of yourself;

- Learn to stay calm;

- Once you do get to know and understand yourself, remember who you are and stay with it;

- Don't be greedy;

A very entertaining read! Thanks, Jim, for sharing!

All Mums & Dads must read, especially the end part about BGR (Boy-Girl Relationship) & DOM (Dirty Old Man), on top of the foregoing. BGR & DOM do not fall under my purview of interest.

[Reviewed by Lee Say Keng, Knowledge Adventurer & Technology Explorer, Optimum Performance Technologies, Singapore, August 2010]

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another good Jim Rogers book, June 5, 2009

By 

Yunsum S. Yu (Huntington Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: A Gift to My Children: A Father's Lessons for Life and Investing (Hardcover)

I've read all of Jim Rogers' books. All his books are well-written, entertaining, and easy to read. This one is no exception. It is filled with simple, good-ol-fashion advice for both adults and children. However, some of the examples Rogers uses to explain his idea may be hard for children to grasp, e.g. shorting stocks! Unless you plan to educate your kids about finance and economics early on, this book may be more appropriate for college-bound age teenagers or older.