Stuff I wish they’d taught us in school

My brother clocked the book, Money, newly added to my collection. He reckoned the author’s name was an apt pun. I don’t think Rob Moore has made his name up. If he did hats off to his audacity. Like it. What got my attention was firstly the title, and Rob’s career starting point - he was an artist. Ok, straightaway you’re talking about a loaded subject for the vast majority of creative people: moolah, dough, bacon, dosh. However you affectionately nickname it, money is difficult to ignore. The sooner creative peeps can get comfortable discussing this subject, the more primed and set for financial success and creative sustainability and cruicially, the time to make great work. It’s a tricky topic that elicits a range of emotions and opinions, often set from a very early age. Aging and our relationship with money can, more often than not, get worse. Which seems a very sad scenario to me.

What’s so brilliant about this book? Rob gives the long shot view of key financial forces and ideas, and drills down deeply into specific tactics and use cases for what results your hard earned cash can achieve. This book is all about empowerment, knowledge and giving you confidence to work out your options based on earnings, time and your age. Rob is direct and honest from the start - you’ll be asked, do you carry negative feelings and attitudes towards money? Shaking these things off can enable a much healthier and buoyant relationship with finance. I read this and then, How to Own the World by Andrew Craig, straight after. These two books are like rocket fuel for your business plans and long term financial goals. And if you’re a freelancer, it can help you identify more efficiency and profit in your design business. Frequently, that’s the missing jigsaw piece for designers - I know these books enabled me to make the passive streams of my creative business happen sooner. I recommend them.