Imagine My Surprise...

Dennis O'Keefe |

A few weeks ago, I received a letter from Amazon. In my opinion, Amazon is spectacular at two things.  First, it’s very good at sending me and my family numerous packages a week.  And second, it is incredibly adept at sending me multiple emails each day.

I get emails regarding orders placed, orders shipped, orders arrived on top of the 1-3 emails they send me a day telling me about products that I might be interested in buying based on my purchase history or something I was searching for on Google last night.

So imagine my surprise when I got a live letter in the mail from Amazon.  It didn’t look like an advertisement.  It was a legitimate envelope.  Despite its professional appearance, I still assumed it was an advertisement of some sort.

Inside the envelope was the check pictured above. Imagine my surprise. 

As you likely know, I wrote a book 12 years ago called The Biggest Financial Mistakes Retirees Make.  When I wrote Biggest Mistakes, I never intended it to be a best-seller. I didn’t intend it to be a seller at all, really.  The first edition was printed at a local printing company.  I believe I ordered 500 books. 

My goal was two-fold.  First, to introduce people to me and how I do business.  Second, and more important, was to actually inform people of the hidden dangers of retirement.  Everyone talks about the benefits of retiring.  So few people talk of its pitfalls. 

When I updated the book two years ago, I used Amazon’s publishing arm to print the book. Automatically, it was placed on Amazon’s website. 

The above check means that in the past few months, three people have purchased my book through the retailer. 

I’m a real live published author!

But I’m both happy and dismayed. I worry that a reader of my blog paid for a copy of my book.  Worse, I worry that a dear client paid for the book instead of asking me for a copy.  I proudly keep several copies on hand in case a client needs one for themselves or a friend, relative or co-worker.

So if you are reading this and did order a copy via Amazon, let me know and I’ll be sure to thank you properly.  

If you haven’t even read the book yet, just send me an email and we will get a copy out to you.  Summertime is the best time to have a good book.  There is something about sitting on a beach and reading that refreshes me.

Finally, if you have a friend or relative in their 50’s or 60’s and could use a roadmap to retirement, please contact us and we can send a copy out to you to give, or we can send it right to them.  Our ultimate goal is to help you and the folks you care about retire successfully.  We are excited to help.

Thanks for taking the time to read our blog this week. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to email us at info@successfulmoney.com or call us at (800) 453-3209.  If you don’t already have a copy of my book, The Biggest Financial Mistakes Retirees Make, you can order it on Amazon or click here and we will get a copy out to you, free of charge!  

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