Myth: If you save for decades and invest in 401(k)s, IRAs, and a home, these investments will grow steadily, allowing twenty to thirty years of secure, peaceful retirement. Reality: Though this might have been true at some point in the last century, it is not true any longer. If you want to get ahead and enjoy a life of prosperity, you must invest in the last safe investment: yourself, and your own skills, value to others, relationships, health, and overall happiness. Michael Ellsberg, co-author of “The Last Safe Investment: Spending Now to Increase Your True Wealth Forever” (Penguin, 2016, with Bryan Franklin), presents a blueprint for building “True Wealth”: the ability to generate not just financial value but also the experiences you cherish most–security, freedom, creative expression, and love. This talk will change the way you think about money, wealth, investment, and spending forever.

Michael Ellsberg is the author of “The Education of Millionaires: Everything You Didn’t Learn in College About How to Be Successful” (Penguin, 2011), “The Power of Eye Contact: Your Secret for Success in Business, Love and Life” (HarperCollins, 2010), and is the co-author of “The Last Safe Investment: Spending Now to Increase Your True Wealth Forever” (Penguin, 2016). His writing has been published on CNN.com, Time.com, and on the op-ed page of the New York Times. He is the editor-in-chief of 7-time New York Times bestselling author Neil Strauss.