Reading Log 2011 - February

A Life on Gorge River by Robert Long


Thanks for the christmas gift Dad - it's a very fitting one!


Well this is a great book by a 'crazy hippy' (fondly said) called Robert.  He shares his life and how he ended up living (eventually with a family) in such a wild and remote spot on the west coast of South Island, NZ.   He mostly just followed his intuition, and has ended up living a life which he loves and is very fulfilled in. Which I find very inspiring!

Particularly memorable parts of his story for me are how he made bread from the grain of local grasses, how he made a living away from 'civilization' and that he lives beside a river (fresh water), the sea (salt water) and native bush (oh wow).  This sounds quite perfect to me!  Another was how he knew that his friends and family may not understand his choices at the time that he was making them, but believed that he had to do what was right for him and that in time they would understand/accept where those choices led him.

Snowdon and I plan to settle in the countryside once back in NZ - whether we're prepared to go quite this 'wild' I doubt - but it is very tempting sometimes.  For a start...

Robert mentions at the end of the story that you can walk in and visit him and his family in this beautiful, wild, remote abode.  It's on my list - it may not be for a few years, but I'd love to take him up on his offer  :)


Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

Well what a funny pair of books to have completed in February (and both written by 'Robert' I note.  This one was also wonderful, yet in a completely different way!  It was easy to read, made sense and is my starting point of becoming more financially literate.  Simple yet effective ideas that challenged my default settings of how to get along 'financially' in life.

Two memorable points for me:

- "Listening is more important than talking, which the majority of people don't understand.  If God intended you to talk all the time then he wouldn't have given you 1 mouth and 2 ears".

- He explained the term 'Indian Giver'.  I'd always found this term offensive (and I guess that is how it's used), but now I know where it came from, it could be a compliment - it begins with thoughtfulness and generosity!  This term stemmed from American Indians' practice of  giving (lending) someone something when they needed it eg. a blanket to a settler when they were  cold.  But the settlers were offended when the Indians wanted it back!  He recommends we follow this practice of being an 'Indian Giver' when investing, invest the money but get it back asap :)