“There’s nothing new under the sun.” That comes from Ecclesiastes. But it’s a piece of wisdom we tend to neglect. It's often said that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. But what if a poor understanding of history does something else too: leaving us less grounded and giving us unrealistic expectations about how life used to be? It’s time for a history lesson today, but not just for the sake of memorizing names, dates, and events. Drawing on countless examples from history, national bestseller Joseph Moore argues that while we're constantly looking back with nostalgia at the "good old days," we may actually be living through the greatest era of prosperity. The books is How To Get Rich In American History, and today we unpack:
- Why Americans misunderstand the past and over-romanticize earlier eras
- The American Dream has been declared dead for centuries
- Optimism and an internal locus of control matter financially
- Why “stocks for the long run” is a modern idea
- Early Americans were often told not to save money
- Real estate myths: it does not always go up and it is not passive
- FIRE as the CrossFit of personal finance
- Women’s income has long been central to family wealth
- Five takeaways from history: solve problems, take risks, move, marry well, believe you can do it
- And much more!
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