The Story of Rich: A Financial Fable of Wealth and Reason During Uncertain Times

Chapter 1

Meet the Vivas

“What now?” Rich glanced at his reflection in the rearview mirror of his silver SUV as he backed out of the parking garage at his attorney’s office. He had just inked the deal of a lifetime: the sale of his company—the fruit of his years of hard work—to a competitor. His profit: $12 million after tax. “Who’d have thought a mechanical engineer with a knack for building air compressors could have pulled this off?” Rich was on top of the world, but also felt a sense of doubt about whether he was making the right decision.

Richard Viva, 58, was a true success by almost any measure. He’d prospered in business, raised a healthy family, and built a strong reputation in the community. But on this day, the person he saw in the rearview mirror almost startled him.

He stepped on the brake and scanned his face. For some reason, for perhaps the first time in years, he took a hard look at himself. “I had no idea my hair had turned so gray,” he almost said out loud. “And those creases on my forehead and face—when did they dig in?”

The fact that he had visibly grown older concerned him, and the fact that he had done so without noticing bothered him even more. After all, this transformation didn’t exactly occur overnight.

“Man, if I didn’t even recognize my own physical appearance changing in front of me, what else did I miss out on over the last 20 years?” Rich pondered. Interesting the things we focus on when we no longer have to worry about the day-to-day responsibilities ...