Title: Guns, Drugs, or Wealth
Author: Jerry Ford
Publisher: Beast Publications
ISBN: 978-1-5445-0094-2
Pages: 168
Genre: Finance
Reviewed by: Ella Vincent
Pacific Book Review
Jerry Ford’s Guns, Drugs, or Wealth is an inspirational and informative book about how to build wealth. Ford’s three simple steps to earning more money will inspire readers to achieve their financial dreams. Ford details how he went from being a struggling child in the inner city of Detroit to a personal trainer to some of the biggest celebrities and most prominent financial experts in America. Ford absorbed the wisdom of his clients and went on to build a successful business and lucrative investment strategy. He details how readers can earn extra money through owning real estate, investing wisely, and working hard at places of employment.
Ford’s advice is so relatable that any reader will be able to understand his advice. As he wrote, Ford’s financial advice mixes the old-school business savvy of Warren Buffett with the modern relentless hustle of Jay-Z. Both used their own unique ways to become billionaires, and Ford encourages readers to use their strengths to build wealth. He writes so vividly about how he built his personal training business, readers will feel that they’re working out with him as he uses his connections to build his clientele and his wealth. Ford also writes honestly about he learned from his financial mistakes of buying flashing cars to impress people in the short-term and went on to save money for his long-term goals. Ford’s advice is easy to follow with real-life examples, tables, and bullet points of the main themes in each chapter.
Guns, Drugs, or Wealth is part financial advice book, part searing memoir. The title of the book comes from the stark choices Ford had to make as he was growing up as an economically disadvantaged youth in Detroit. After the death of his brother, Ford decided to break the cycle of violence that surrounded him and improve his life. Though the book is for any reader, Ford has a poignant afterword specifically for African-American readers about how they can earn more money despite systemic racial discrimination.
Guns, Drugs, or Wealth would be best for readers who want to read about people who found unorthodox ways to build wealth, like Daymond John’s Rise and Grind or Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad. The text would also be best for middle-class readers who want to earn more money, but want guidance on where to start. Guns, Drugs, or Wealth could be read in financial literacy classes or given to people who are starting their own businesses. Guns, Drugs, or Wealth is a powerful and insightful book that will help readers not only earn more money, but gain financial freedom.