I would like to take the opportunity to review and recommend to you this magnificent book that personally adds new perspective in my career as an entrepreneur.

The book is titled The Flow of Time and Money: How to Create a Full and Prosperous Life, written by Lloyd Watts, PhD – a successful investor in real estate, stocks and intellectual property licensing that is also the Founder, Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of Audience, Inc.

I am suggested this book (I’m not sure whether it’s available in digital format) by a colleague, and at first I thought it was an analytical with full of financial jargons trying to define time and money.

I was wrong.

Why you should read this book?

Reading through Part I, and then Part II, and so on… I can’t stop reading because this is the type of book that I am automatically willing to practice what is written – This book is excellent if you want to achieve a financial independence through the right understanding of how you manage your time, money and life.

Lloyd stated in his book, that if you want to achieve financial independence, you need to understand how time and money work, as time and money are fundamentally linked.

Understanding how time and money works is not as hard as I thought – The main strength of Lloyd’s book is his use of diagrams to explain his concepts and thinking. Take the following example to describe.

Lloyd explains, “For most people in the middle class, their financial lives are like a leaky bucket” (Image 1.) He then use a diagram to picture what a middle class financial standing looks like (Image 2.)

© Lloyd Watts

He then uses the diagram to illustrate why the middle class struggles so much – their possessions are not assets, but liabilities. A house is technically an asset, but it is potentially triggering expenses that lead to bad debt. The root of all evil of this: As income goes up, luxury spending goes up, thus expense goes up – A very clear explanation to understand where your standing is right now, and what to expect if you want to achieve financial independence.

In later part of Lloyd’s book, he explores the traps and caveats that people are often stumbling into, resulting in lifetime financial struggle. He then advises you how to identify the traps and caveats before you step on them and how to overcome them with some practical tips from his very own experience.

A conclusion: I fave Robert Kiyosaki and his Rich Dad Poor Dad series, and Lloyd Watts’ book will rest on the same top shelf where I put Robert’s books after I read it thoroughly – the place for books that change me and my financial standing. I highly recommend you to find the book in your favourite book stores and buy one. It could be your best investment so far.

Ivan Widjaya
Following a roadmap to financial independence

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