Quite the title huh?  As I’ve shared before the game of football changed my life.  Let me quickly tell you another way football changed my life, then I’ll get to the point of this post.

In the summer of 1989, a young man named Scott Ford decided he was going to play football for his high school team.  This meant leaving his job at the local magic shop.  Scott’s decision to play football had a tremendous impact on me.  Why?  Because I ended up getting hired to take his place.  Not only did this ultimately become my career for many years (6 at the shop and a total of 11 years out performing), but it was at the magic shop that I ended up meeting my wife Lisa, who in turn helped me come into a relationship with Jesus…and well you know the rest.

So think about it.  What if Scott doesn’t decide to play football?  I don’t get the job…I may have never have met Lisa…I may have never met Jesus…and of course that means I wouldn’t be a pastor today doing and having done all the awesome stuff for HIM that I’ve been able to do.  Weird huh?  In any case, Scott and I got to know each other through the years and one of the things I discovered about him was he is also a follower of Christ.

Until a few days ago, it had been a few years since Scott and I had last talked.  I’ve of course moved to Harrisburg and pastor a church.  He lives in Maryland and is now the founder and President of Cornerstone Wealth Management Group.  The reason for our talk was to discuss a book he has just written called, Financial Jiu-Jisu:  A Fighter’s Guide to Conquering Your Finances. It turns out that Scott has been involved in Jiu-Jitsu for a number of years now and it dawned on him one day that the principles and disciplines he was learning could also be applied to how people can best handle their personal finances.

Myself being someone who likes to study finances and teach on the subject myself (See 4 week series “Mind Your Own Business”), I quickly devoured the 192 page book.  I’m not just saying this because Scott is a friend, but I loved it!  Not only did the tie-in between Jiu-Jitsu and money make sense but the book will give you practical, everyday advice you can apply right now.  Scott includes great chapter summaries at the end of each chapter that will make it easy for you to go back to the book, time and time again for reference on various subjects, tips and techniques.

Now let me be honest.  If you’re already fabulously wealthy and have a good handle on finances then this is not the book for you.  Scott writes this for the every day guy or gal who wants the intimidating world of finances and investing to be spoken in simple, easy to understand terms.  That’s where his analogies to Jiu-Jitsu  come in handy.  The best part is not only will you understand at the end of this book…you’ll have a plan!

Even without all the above, let me say that Chapter 2, “Balance and Base:  What is True Wealth to You?” is worth the entire price of the book all by itself.  In this chapter Scott will give you a paradigm shift in your thinking about wealth that makes for not just a better financial life for you but a better life and legacy as a whole.

Published by Wiley with the forward written by MMA legend Renzo Gracie, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of this book.  Thanks Scott for writing and it and oh yeah, “Thanks for playing football…I got a wife and eternal life out of it!”