The Sunday before Christmas, I woke up to a Christmas gift I was not really expecting. My in-box contained an email that I honestly almost deleted, as I thought it was spam. After going through some normal verification steps - just to make sure I didn't unwittingly download a virus (which is a habit I hope all of you have) - I opened the email and learned that my book, Evidence-Based Investing, has won an award. My book is now a Literary Global Book Award Winner!
While I never set out to be an author - and, no, I'm not trying to transition to being a full-time author - once I decided to start writing my book, I wanted to write something worth reading. One of my life verses is Colossians 3:23 which reads, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working unto the Lord, not man." If I'm going to do something, it has always been my view that I should do my very best. So, for the book to win an award is quite gratifying.
That said, the feedback that I've been receiving ... well, that's truly gratifying.
Yes, I suspected some of my financial nerd friends would enjoy the book. A friend of mine - Well, he's a friend now. Prior to the book I had never met him. - posted a review to Amazon that said something to the extent, "I always love a good take-down of Modern Portfolio Theory." I have gotten similar feedback from many financial professionals who chose to read the book - either because they are just supporting me or because they saw a mutual connection post about it on social media.
But, what's really gratifying is the feedback from clients and those who ordinarily would never read a book on investing.
You might recall, back in October, we had a book launch party. As the date approached, my wife was talking to a friend. Her husband had published his first book earlier in the year. So, she asked my wife, "What did you think of Ted's book?" My wife sheepishly admitted that she had not read it. The next day, Felicia told me the story and said she was going to read it before the book launch party. If you've seen the book, you know it's a short read, so it only took Felicia a week to read it. When she was done, she came to me and said "I actually understood it." I've heard others state, "I actually enjoyed reading it."
If you've read the book, you know that the project got started as a personal challenge. I never set out to win awards. I just wanted to see if I could write something that was worth publishing.
If you have not yet read the book, and you are a client, let me know and I'll have a hardcover copy of the book sent to you. That said, I would be remiss if I also didn't encourage you to get a copy on Amazon (found here) and then read it. If you purchase a copy on Amazon (and, FYI, there is a $3.99 Kindle version available), you can then leave a verified review after you've read it. These reviews are incredibly important if the book is going to have any staying power.
To those of you who have already read the book, thank you for taking the time to read it. Thank you for your kind words of praise.
All that said, this week, I will be reviewing economic data and preparing the first Market & Economic Update video for the New Year. I expect that the video will be published to our YouTube channel no later than Monday, January 5th at noon. As far as a preview is concerned, here's one thing I know I will be discussing: the unemployment rate. This is not a positive trend. Return next week for the full explanation.
In the meantime, thank you to all who have read my book. From all of us at Hicks & Associates Wealth Management, we hope you had a great Christmas and we pray for a very Happy New Year for all of us.
P.S. All proceeds from the book will be donated to organizations that have been helping Western North Carolina recover from Hurricane Helene.
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