A Review of Asha Tyson's "How I Retired At 26!"

I sometimes take the opportunity of my Alumni Association to talk about financial literacy. I recollect vividly the reaction of this august gathering on the day I held up a copy of Robert Kiyosaki's "Retire Young,Retire Rich!" by way of recommendation.Most of the people in attendance were in the 40-60 year bracket, graduates of not less than 15-20 years on the average. They shouted back in a chorus "I am too young to retire!" and did not want to as mush as take a look at the book.

You and I can then imagine what their reaction would have been to a book titled "How I Retired at 26"

Alas, there are very few places in the world in which these reactions would have been different.

Now, there is a book of precisely such title. Written by Asha Tyson, it is descriptively subtitled: " a step-by-step guide to accessing your FREEDOM and WEALTH at any age"

One of the things I like about the book is that it proves the point that you do not need money to make money, though that is a subject for another day. It is reported that, in any generation, in any country, usually about 80% of those who become rich come from a poor background, having to commence their journey to wealth from zero.

Asha comes from this societal bracket. As the back-cover to the Nigerian edition states : " she was homeless at 17......retired at 26!" What a feat!. That back-cover states further -and I agree absolutely- that " Asha Tyson's own rise from homelessnes to prominence deems her an expert on personal achievement"

Another thing that I find exciting about the book is Asha's approach to the issue of FREEDOM. She refuses to narrow it down to financial freedom.She does talk extensively about financial freedom: she has chapters on " How and Where To Find Your Wealth"(8), "Discovering the #1 Ingredient to Success"(9) and one simply titled "Money"(10) but she spends the first part of the book giving her readers a holistic perception of FREEDOM. Thesis: you need to be free on other frontiers in order to be free in your finances"

Asha touches on another finance-related matter- the issue of borrowing. If it interests you, her rather informative perspective on the subject is found in Chapter 6: "How To Cope with Difficult Circumstances " under the sub-section on " Rising To The Challenge" pp. 134-136 of the Nigerian edition.

If you have read my earlier piece on " Retirement and its new age meaning", you will know that Asha is of course talking of herself retiring precisely in that sense. She thereby became free to serve the world on the dictates of her interests and not under pressure for money.

The final thing to say about this beautiful book is that it is part of a post-retirement mission by Asha Tyson to help people across the globe develop success strategies and attain personal and professional achievement.She therefore maintains a VIP Club which you may join free at www. Ashatyson.com.

Asha bares her soul in this book and leaves you feeling that you have just had a one-on-one discussion with her.

PS: You can beat Asha's record. Permit me to draw your attention to the fact that , even if like me you are well past 26, you should not allow Asha's record to intimidate you. Rather, you should seek to beat it. Did I hear you laugh and say " by turning back the hand of the clock?". I say "No; by seeing things from a positive angle -this: Asha was homeless at 17 and retired at 26, meaning that she did it in 9 years. Irrespective of your age, you can match or beat Asha's record by achieving your own turnaround in 9 or less years.

To your success.