Last year I made a commitment to write a book. Everyone I knew was told, so there was no going back. I should probably also thank modern communications technology even if it isn’t conscious of its own existence, because this is helping me to spread the word around more quickly than I could ever have anticipated.

The ‘Six degrees of separation’ refers to the idea that if a person is one step away from each person they know and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people they know, then everyone is at most, six steps away from any other person on Earth.

I am not sure if the sixth degree has made the Dalai Lama aware of my writing, but he should know that my book, ‘How to invest better than the average primate’ is now available for pre-order, with publication due later in March 2010.

Under all normal circumstances I would love to give all my clients a free copy and an extra one to pass to a friend as it will be a valuable gift. However, I feel this would be a missed opportunity to do some good. I am asking for help raising funds for two life-changing charities. I know that many of you actively raise funds for your own good causes, so there will also be an opportunity to raise donations for these on the book reservation form.

When it comes to raising money for charity some very fit people run marathons, the tough ones climb mountains, while those who are mad enough decide to swim the Channel. I leave you to work out if I have either reached an age when I am no longer capable of enduring such hardships or if I have acquired a certain degree of common sense over the years!

Please pass the information to your friends and colleagues and in turn ask them to do the same before 20th March 2010 to benefit from the pre-launch order discount.

“This is a fascinating read. Michael Barr has certainly gone to great lengths to dispel some of the mysteries of investing. I really enjoy the way he uses analogies from everyday life to explain in simple language ideas that can quite easily be hideously complex to understand. Well done.”
D James Martineau FIFP
Certified Financial PlannerCM
Director, Morton-Wilson Limited