Authors: Mr. Gene Simmons

Me, Inc. (22 page)

BOOK: Me, Inc.

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So, what level of money should you invest in the stock market? Use your own judgment. Seek sound advice.

Consider all the times you went to a bar or restaurant and treated your friends. Think about all the trips and vacations you've taken. Afterward, you may have wished that you hadn't taken that trip or vacation. I would suggest that if you'd taken all the money that you spent on clothes/shoes/electronics/cars/houses (with after-tax dollars, remember), and
invested
it instead of spending it, you'd be a lot better off.

Remember, once you've spent money, you will never see it again.

But, if you invest money, you will probably see a profit, and pay tax only on the capital gain, meaning, the profit that you made on the money that you would have spent otherwise. See?

You will also have to invest in your individual retirement account (IRA), but your employer can help there.

You will also need to have insurance. Health insurance. All sorts of insurance.

These are things you need.

The shoes/electronic gadgets/cars are things you don't need. Not when you're starting out.

Invest in America.

Invest in what you know.

Invest in yourself.

THE ART OF MORE: PRINCIPLE #13

KNOW WHEN TO DOUBLE DOWN

The key to ascending to the highest heights of success is to know when to increase your efforts toward an already successful enterprise. This is what separates the men from the boys, the truly rich from the successful, and leads toward achievements beyond even your original hopes and dreams.

In Summary

“You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take.”

WAYNE GRETZKY

“the Great One,” widely considered the greatest hockey player of all time

I
hope this book has been a good kick in the pants.

I wrote this book because public school never taught me what I needed to know to succeed in life. School did give me some basics. I can read. I can write. I know historical facts. But remembering antiquated dates never helped me pay my bills, nor fulfill my entrepreneurial dreams.

I had to teach myself what I needed to know. So will you.

I had to reinvent myself. So will you.

I had to figure out what worked. So will you.

I hope this book has given you the ABC's of how to become an entrepreneur.

I know you want to become one. A successful one. That's why you bought this book in the first place.

By the time you get to this point in the book, you will have noticed that most of it focuses on YOU. And I will have said many things that might upset you. And I apologize to any whose feelings I have hurt.

But it's called
business
, not friends.

Friends tell you what you want to hear. And are kind.

Business doesn't care what you want to hear and doesn't care if you think it's kind.

In fact, business can fire you.

And often it does.

You know what you shouldn't do in life, but you keep on doing it.

I know I shouldn't eat carbs, but I sometimes do. And when I get fatter, I need a trainer to get me to the gym to work it off.

You know you shouldn't smoke, use drugs or drink, or get married young, or do any of the other stupid things you do. But the majority of you keep doing it anyway.

But if the only thing this book does is change what you take for granted, make you reassess your life decisions, and remind you that it's all up to YOU to make yourself successful, then I did my job.

In the real world, once you grow up and Mom or Dad isn't there to bail you out of trouble, there is no one there to help. And there will be no one there to force YOU to lead a smart life. And an economical life. And have a lifelong business plan.

YOU will have to do that for yourself.

But here's the good news: YOU will get all the rewards.

And take heed, regardless of your age: it's never too late to get started.

It's never too late to get started NOW.

Despite the fact that I just wrote a book about it, there are no hard rules for the secrets of success.

If there were, everyone would be successful, and we would all follow those clear-cut steps. What this book provides are guidelines, what worked for me, and what has worked for others.

But there are no shortcuts. Forget the “10 Rules for Success.”

You will
have
to educate yourself in areas public schools did not.

You will
have
to be your own taskmaster.

This book is the first step.

Keep it by your nightstand or by your toilet, wherever you do your reading.

Please come back to it to keep reminding yourself what you need to do.

This is certainly not all of it. There is more. And there will always be more.

And here's a happy thought: You don't have to be all that qualified to be a real entrepreneur. You can learn what you need to learn by doing. However, as in most things in life,
you'll
have to do it. No one else will do it for you.

Without core values, and self-determination and self-restraint (no drugs, booze, tobacco, and stay away from people who engage in that stuff), and just plain “street smarts,” you will get nowhere. Fast.

I wish you health. I wish you happiness. And, I wish you success in your journey to fulfilling your entrepreneurial goals.

This is not the end.

This is the beginning of the rest of your life.

Now, go get 'em.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To the KISS Army, who made it all possible. I hope you'll find tools in this book to improve your life.

To Paul Stanley, who stuck it out with me through thick and thin.

Thank you: Jud Laghi, Nick Simmons for your editorial help, and to you reading this book, for making my life possible.

Also by Gene Simmons

Nothin' to Lose: The Making of KISS (1972â1975)
, with Ken Sharp and Paul Stanley

KISS Kompendium,
with Paul Stanley

Ladies of the Night: A Historical and Personal Perspective on the Oldest Profession in the World

Sex Money Kiss

KISS: Behind the Mask

KISS and Make-up

KISS: The Early Years,
with Paul Stanley

ME, INC
. Copyright Â© 2014 by Gene Simmons. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

FIRST
EDITION

ISBN 978-0-06-232261-6

EPUB Edition October 2014 ISBN 9780062322623

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