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Uncle Eric #1

Uncle Eric Talks About Personal, Career, and Financial Security

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In this extensively revised and expanded second edition of "Uncle Eric Talks About Personal, Career, and Financial Security", Uncle Eric introduces the concept of model. Models (or paradigms) are how people think; they are how we understand our world. Models help us recognize and use the information that is important and bypass that which is not. To achieve success in our careers, investments, and every other part of our lives, we need sound models. In this book, Mr. Maybury introduces the models he has found most useful (Economics and Higher Law). This is the first book in the Uncle Eric series and, while designed to stand alone, provides an excellent foundation for Maybury's other books. To improve the student's learning experience, also purchase the student study guide for "Uncle Eric Talks About Personal, Career, and Financial Security" titled "A Bluestocking Building a Personal Model for Success", which is also available from Amazon.

Table of Contents for "Uncle Eric Talks About Personal, Career, and Financial Security
Uncle Eric's Model of How the World Works"

Study Guide Availble
Author's Disclosure

Part How the Mind Works
1. How We Understand Our World
2. Building Mental Pictures
3. Sorting Data
4. Where is the Evidence?
5. How to Learn or Teach Models
6. Two Highly Important Models
7. History Without Models
8. A Model for Selecting Models
9. Does it Predict?
10. A Way to Test a Model You Are Not Qualified to Test
11. Beware of Tautology
12. How to Control People
13. Cognitive Dissonance
14. How to Stop Learning
15. Automatic Evil
16. Models Tend to Merge
17. How to Get Started Learning Models

Part The Best Model for Success
18. What is Success?
19. A Short History of Models for Success
20. Another Mouth to Feed
21. A Model Born of Desperation
22. Making Your Model Work
23. How to Acquire a Business
24. What Kind of Millionaire Do You Want to Be?
25. Savings and Investments
26. Social Security
27. Real Estate and Debt
28. Investment Advisors
29. Negative Real Interest Rates
30. How to Keep What You Have Earned
31. Summary
Appendix
Bibliography and Suggested Reading
Glossary
About Richard J. Maybury
Index

For more on the Economic model, read "Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?" The clearest and most interesting explanation of economics around. Explains the Austrian economic model, the most free-market of all economic models, and the one that is most in agreement with the ethical principles on which America was founded.

For more on the Legal model, read "Whatever Happened to Justice?" Explains the common law model. Underlying common law are two basic 1) do all that you agreed to do and 2) do not encroach on other persons or their property. Maybury says, "In my opinion, you and your family and friends will avoid a lot of trouble, and find success of every kind easier to achieve, if you adopt these two models, Austrian economics and common law."

187 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

17 people are currently reading
413 people want to read

About the author

Richard J. Maybury

35 books106 followers
Richard Maybury, also known as Uncle Eric, is the publisher of U.S. & World Early Warning Report for Investors. He has written several entry level books on United States economics, law, and history from a libertarian perspective. He writes the books in epistolary form, usually as an uncle writing to his nephew, answering questions.

Maybury was a high school economics teacher. After failing to find a book which would give a clear explanation on his view of economics he wrote one himself. Some of his books include Uncle Eric Talks About Personal, Career & Financial Security, Higher Law, Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? and Whatever Happened to Justice? .

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
Profile Image for Lisa.
543 reviews
February 1, 2021
SUMMARY:
2 models crucial to learn are:
1) economics -- Austrian economics (most free market of all; economy is an ecology made up of biological organisms/humans)
2) law -- British Common Law (2 rules underlying common law and common to all religions: do all you have agreed to do, and do not encroach on other persons or their property)

Models should be able to predict; when you see people being harmed, question the underlying model; it's hard to see facts that disagree with your model -- leads to cognitive dissonance

4 models to study deeply
1) Business model
2) Economics model
3) Legal model
4) Foreign policy model

How best to achieve financial success? Own a business (a good way to do this is to buy a franchise, read E-Myth by Michael Gerber; International Franchise Association; Barron's Dictionary of Business and Finance Terms; Start Your Own Business, by Lesoksky; Entrepreneur Magazine; the Millionaire Nextdoor, by Stanley)

Use your business to earn money and your investments to keep the money

Investment advice: maximum low-risk real return should be 4% per year; how much income will I need after I retire?: add up all your expenses -- this is the 4% you need; plan to be dependent on retirement savings for 30 years (from age 70 to age 100)

Read in this order: 1) Whatever Happened to Penny Candy, 2) Whatever Happened to Justice?, 3) Are you Liberal? . . . , 4) Ancient Rome . . ., 5) Evaluating Books . . ., 6) Money Mystery, 7) Clipper Ship, 8) Thousand Years War, 8) World War I, 9) World War II

After reading these books, get experience and continue learning these things:
1) hire yourself out for lots of different jobs/internships, learn as much as you can (view them as courses of study), then move on
2) take business degree courses
3) Learn accounting
4) personal finance (so you can allocate your portfolio without help of others)
5) personal selling (get a job selling, especially big items like pools, cars . . .; try selling to businesses; read the book Spin Selling by Neil Rackham)
6) advertising (read "How to Write a Good Advertisement, by Victor O. Schwab; get a part time job in an ad agency)
7) printing (get part-time job in print shop)
8) photography (how to use a basic, 35 mm single-lens reflex camera)
9) computer spread sheets and databases
10) algebra
11) statistics (read "How to Lie with Statistics" by Darryll Huff)
12) business law (be familiar with Uniform Commercial Code, Black's Law Dictionary, Handbook of Everyday Law, by Gordon Coughlin, Jr., other laymen's guides to law; courses in Business Law)
13) public speaking (Toastmasters, community theatre)
14) business writing (learn to write letters, reports, and proposals)
14) geopolitics (can study this yourself, read The Economist)
15) military affairs (can self-study):
- Dirty Little Secrets, by James F. Dunnigan and Albert A. Nofi
- The Oxford Book of Military Anecdotes, ed. by Max Hastings
- Supplying War, by Martin van Creveld
- Shadow Warriors, by Tom Clancy
- The Complete Idiot's Guide to the U.S. Special Ops Forces, by Marc Cerasini
- Tom Clancy's books: Armored Cav, Carrier, Submarine, Fighter Wing, Marine, Airborne
- Vietnam, a History, by Stanley Karnow
- Blowback, by Chalmers Johnson
- A History of Warfare, by John Keegan
- The Prince, by Machiavelli
16) constitutional law and some criminal law (can self-study)
17) economics
18) economic history (Mainspring of Human Progress, by Henry Grady Weaver)
19) house construction (get a job building houses with a small builder)
20) automobile engines, guns, tools, sports equipment -- spend time talking to people who know about them so you can talk about these things
21) football: learn the language
22) team sports (get into a team sport for a while so you can learn about teamwork)
23) personal skills like how to dress, smile, poise, vocabulary (Complete Guide to Executive Manners, by Letitia Baldridge), how to network, read How to Read a Person Like a Book, by Gerard I. Nierenberg and Henry H. Calero, debate)
Profile Image for LeeAnn.
380 reviews6 followers
November 26, 2013
I am really enjoying treading this book alongside my kids. It is understandable, pithy, and a great starting point for understanding economics. The purpose of this book is, in large part, to explain models. Why we have them, how we form them, and how we use them to make sense of the world. For example, we begin to understand geography as small children with a very limited frame of reference including our immediate surroundings inside our home, but then we learn the neighborhood, then the neighborhood and the way to school. As we learn about other places and travel further, these mind maps expand and eventually overlap so we understand a map of the world. This is a model. We do the same thing in almost everything we do whether we realize it or not.

One of the issues that he addresses in this book is the idea of cognitive dissonance, which is simply people rejecting information without consciously realizing it because it doesn't fit in their model. One such example of cognitive dissonance was people's belief that the world was flat. Every single day they saw the horizon and things appearing over the horizon--a ship sailing into view, a long-anticipated guest walking up a long road--but they rejected the idea that the earth might be round. One of the hardest things to realize is that your model, or paradigm might be incorrect and changing it. Therefore it is powerful to realize that you have a model of the world that applies to whatever situation you might be considering and be willing to examine it as to its applicability and validity. This single concept is amazing to consider. If can be terrifying as well because then you must consider what else in your life is out of step because of an incorrect model that has affected all else. I have personally found that the more history I study and place into context, the more I have learned and revised my frame of reference. Often it has verified things I have believed but usually it has strengthened me.

This book is the first Uncle Eric book in the series, and originally I was not going to use it in our study of economics. However, I think it is worth the extra time because it introduces the concepts he uses throughout the series. He reintroduces the concept of a model and gives a quick overview in each succeeding book, but not in depth. I have learned so much through reading this simple book.
Profile Image for Andy.
13 reviews
August 19, 2012
Fantastic book to share with the young adults in your life. Maybury makes learning the fundamental principles on said book enjoyable and fun. The chapters (letters) are short, interesting and flow nicely into the next subject. His Uncle Eric books are a must for any parent who wants to educate their children on basic fundamental socio-economic-political theories while emphasizing "individual" success.
Profile Image for Delsa.
93 reviews12 followers
March 24, 2008
While I understand why he doesn't like them, I still would have to disagree a bit with his view of LLC's. His discussion on it is a whole chapter, but in this lawsuit happy society, I would have to see what other options are possible. He doesn't list any options. It was easy reading and I would recommend it for basic foundation for everyone-it should be in the high schools.
Profile Image for Walter Weston.
131 reviews3 followers
November 26, 2017
I reread this as an adult-this book had a profound impact on me as a child. I enjoyed reading it as an adult as well. This set me up for decisions I made regarding my career and my real estate investment strategy. I also found my way toward a libertarian philosophy. I highly recommend this short book.
Profile Image for Joel Everett.
174 reviews3 followers
July 16, 2020
An excellent introduction, if a bit outdated and polemic at points, to what would be termed life skills; certainly a book that would be a good read, with discussion, for any Middle to High School student.
5 reviews
July 11, 2012
Ah, finally a book on finance that makes sense to me!
Profile Image for Emma.
236 reviews
October 15, 2018
Great book- letter form made it more personal and I liked his thoughts about models in our lives. One of those books that sticks with you.
Profile Image for Melissa.
30 reviews
June 10, 2024
The eleven volume Uncle Eric series provides a great, in-depth introduction to economic, history, and government as you've never seen them taught before. They are fascinating. I found them hard to put down!

These books are written by Richard Maybury aka "Uncle Eric" as a series of letters to his nephew Chris and deal with the topics of economics and government. But there is so much more you can learn from them. For instance, in this first volume Mr. Maybury also touches on educational theory, ethics, and history.

Mr. Maybury introduces the concept of models as "the way we think and understand the world." I really enjoyed what he said in chapter five about how to learn or teach models. I think it sums up pretty well the way I prefer to teach my children and why it works so well.

"Experience creates models automatically . . .This is why classroom instruction via lecture is the least effective way to teach and hands-on learning by doing is the most effective. We are made in such a way that we build models automatically by doing. Typically, classroom instruction is like teaching someone to play Monopoly just by making him memorize the rules and then giving him a test on those rules. . . Unfortunately, some models are impossible to learn using hands-on process, so one method humans use to substitute for real world experience is telling stories. Stories are used to demonstrate and illustrate ideas."

There were a couple of things I disagreed with, but I see them as opportunities for additional discussion. For instance, at one point, Mr. Maybury states, "Beware of certainty. Certainty stops inquiry. " In another place he warns to always be open minded because we are humans who make mistakes and we can never be 100% certain of anything. While I understand what he is saying and agree UP TO A POINT, as a Christian I do believe that some things ARE 100% certain. I will be sure to point this out to the children.
Profile Image for Ember.
178 reviews
March 18, 2021
I agree with much of his assessments but there are several that I have personally experienced that he raves about that I disagree with him on.

I purchased this thinking I could read to my kids as an intro to economics but I think it'd be over their heads - written for the high school level and above comprehension.

Despite these cons for me, I will read at least 2 more of his books in the series. There's a chance they could be stand alone books that I can read with my kids. I plan on reading Whatever Happened To Penny Candy & Whatever Happened to Justice. Depending on how those go I'll read Are you Liberal? Conservative Or Confused? Hoping this intro book to the series is a fluke for me & I'll love the others. I've read many good things about them & I'm hopeful.
Profile Image for Michael Tildsley.
Author 2 books8 followers
May 31, 2021
This was a very good introduction to the series.

I have previously read the second entry, Whatever Happened to Penny Candy, which is fantastic. This wasn’t quite as detailed as that volume, but it did a good job of laying out a basic philosophy and way of viewing life through the use of models. It has made me rethink the way I view some things already, while strengthening my resolve on other areas.

I am hopeful the rest of the series is as decent.
Profile Image for Eowyn Bolivette.
9 reviews5 followers
November 25, 2022
This book is a literal mind-changer. It is sooo good! The writing style is amazing, and Uncle Eric describes things so well that you can't help but understand!
I have been writing about mindsets etc for a very long time, and i was so happy to see that someone else had thought the same before me! ignore the title and cover, READ THE BOOK!!!
15 reviews1 follower
February 23, 2024
A fantastic overview of worldly concepts a teen should understand. Common sense topics that they definitely don't teach in schools and as a parent we may not always "get around to". As a homeschool mom, this book and the second Uncle Eric book (Whatever Happened to Penny Candy) count as the launchpad to economics.
779 reviews1 follower
February 8, 2021
Can be read as a standalone but is 1st in a series of 11. I am on the last book of the series and have learned a lot about economics and history. I recommend these books for teens and adults who don't know much about economics.
Profile Image for Dave.
112 reviews
April 19, 2023
I agree with what this book says about models and the importance of understanding economics and common law. I don't agree with what it says about career and financial security. His one size fits all approach simply won't work for everyone.
Profile Image for Teresa.
286 reviews
May 31, 2017
another great one! I sure wish that I had this sort of adice and education 30 yrs ago.
Profile Image for Zeke.
89 reviews
March 26, 2020
Though it seemed long, this book taught me a lot.
602 reviews5 followers
August 28, 2021
I really liked this book. It had new thoughts and ideas that I have not considered in this way before. He has a great list of things you should be educated in and I liked that too.
Profile Image for Alex.
363 reviews10 followers
December 3, 2023
The first of the Uncle Eric books. They are worth checking out.
1 review
May 14, 2025
I first read this book in sixth grade for school. It’s still one of my greatest assets.
Profile Image for JP.
1,163 reviews51 followers
May 18, 2013
Uncle Eric's primary point is about models and their importance. Early in this transcript of his speaking notes, he conveys what a model is and how underused they are in education, policy evaluation, and personal decision making.[return][return]Models are refined through evidence and doing. The more important the topic, the more evidence one should require. He cites Austrian economics as an example of a model he accepts over the Keynesian and monetarist views so prevalent in policy debate. Regarding history, he points out that it would be much better taught as a series of models involving higher law vs. common law. Instead it is taught as a disjointed set of facts and dates. Regarding career, his main point is that the employee model was only successful from about 1900 to 1970, based on accumulated capital in advance of the more rapid pace now enabled by technology. He claims that teaching children to be employees is probably teaching them to fail in the future.
Profile Image for Sarah Welton-Lair.
95 reviews
May 23, 2014
Although I really liked Richard Maybury's other book, World War II: The Rest Of The Story And How It Affects You Today, 1930 To September 11, 2001, I was fairly disappointed in this. The book didn't have very much practical advice about personal, career, and financial security, and instead spent a lot of time talking about "Uncle Eric's" personal views on life. Although his other books are like that too, at least in those cases it's clearly an opinion piece. From the outside, this book likes a practical guide, but unfortunately it's not. Also, some of the things he said really grated on my nerves. But at the very end, he did talk about one model for investments that he said is fairly secure. So that bit of advice I might actually end up using.
12 reviews3 followers
April 6, 2009
Very insightful book into the pattern of human thinking, and it rings true. some may scoff or disregard it, but I think that none could dissagre with me whan I say that the Mr Maybury's inights are truely uniqe and well thought through. I feel confidant in proclaiming that though small, this book contains more revolutionary insights than can be found in entire series of books.

A book well read.
Profile Image for Spencer.
42 reviews
February 14, 2011
This is Richard Maybury's first book in his Uncle Eric series and is a great overview and introduction into the other books. Although the other books can stand by themselves I recommend following the author's advice and read this book first. We truly would have a greater, more prosperous and secure nation if every person read this series.
341 reviews
May 20, 2009
Gives excellent, useful insight into "model", what I would call point-of-view, belief window, or worldview. Especially interesting is his discussion of "cognitive dissonance" and how to decrease it, by building the potential for change into your worldview.
Profile Image for Delona.
48 reviews
July 7, 2009
This is a read-in-a-few-hours as well. My dad has been trying to tell me most of this stuff my whole life. I guess I should listen. Maybury has a great plan written out for those who want to become entrepreuners (did I spell that right?). I hope my children will read this when they are older.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews

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