My guide to life (contd.)

A LOT of rich people I know seem to be thoroughly miserable.

Money defines who they are to people who don’t really matter, often at the cost of everything that’s really important.

I was caught in this trap for a while, one of the reasons I went fruit-da-loop for ten years.

When I was a kid, we never had money. That’s why I always wanted to get my hands on some.

Fortunately, I also discovered early on in life that going out to work was something I enjoyed. Since the by-product of that was money, my financial dilemma began to work itself out pretty much from the moment I became a teenager.

Little did I know back then how big my pile would end up. From a £1.25-a-week paper round to being hunted down by the stock-

Money? It sent me fruit-da-loop. What will you do with yours?

market wolves to the tune of hundreds of millions of pounds.

So here’s what my experience has taught me. Not only can money not buy you happiness, it can’t buy you a good time.

I believe almost anyone can become stinking rich if they are prepared to lead a dull existence, have barely any friends and end up divorced or in a dead marriage. The general rule is, however: Moderate talent + the right attitude = success. Bags of talent + the wrong attitude = failure.

Making the most of what you have is what counts. Look at Posh and Becks: they are richer and more famous than ever.

Working is actually what David and Victoria do best.

That’s why they will always have my ultimate respect.

Death, the video: Or why, at your funeral, tell them you loved them

WE’RE all going to die, yet it’s the one thing most of us least like to think about. If you host a dinner party, you’ll think about who to invite, where they should sit and what to eat. So why do we fail to apply common sense to our last opportunity to let people know how much we loved them and what our life stood for?

Sure, it’s great to have people stand up and declare what the deceased meant to them, but he or she can’t exactly hear what’s being said. Far more inspiring is for the deceased to have their say.

Forget making a will, our priority should be making our funeral video. I went to a funeral where a letter from the deceased rendered the congregation spellbound. It was assured, funny, wise and honest. What a marvellous thing if letters, videos and even holograms became the norm at funerals.