If happiness was measured in money there would be very few millionaires. This is a story about Dan Parker, a young man who starts his life as an adult with the odds stacked against him. Follow his journey of self discovery as he tries to achieve happiness. His story might make you wonder if you live next door to a millionaire. {Edit cleaned and reposted by TeNderLoin}
Size: 1474 KB (287,103 words)
Genre: Romantic
Sex Contents: No Sex
Tags: Ma/Fa, Romantic, Rags To Riches
Review by burka_oz [other reviews by burka_oz]
Reviewed: - (Review Updated: )
I first started reading the story back in 2007. Now that tenderloin has done a full review and edit of the story I thought it was time to have a look over it again. It is still one of the best stories I have read. I do not say that lightly.
This is not an adventure story, there are no exciting escapes, no wonderful science fiction battles, you will not find the shoot out of the OK Corral and it is certainly not a steamy story where the sex is that detailed that your screen starts to melt.
What it is is a simple story of a young man who had a terrible time at school due to his dyslexia and generally the school community failed him treating him as a dummy and someone that would not achieve very much in his life. So what he had to do was make his future. He had to learn how to plan, how to make sensible choices, how to discipline himself through hard work and how to reach out to others. Through all of these 66 chapters, we travel with him on his life's journey and along the way we learn the "Facts of Life". No, nothing to do with genders and sexual intercourse. This is all about the facts of life on your expectations, your desires, your goals and how you define success.
Let me share with you the "Facts of Life" as shared by the author, Lazlo:
The Facts Of Life
(c)2008 By Lazlo Zalezac
1) Life is not fair.
2) No one is exempt from death.
3) Physics rules the universe and biology rules life.
(or "Physics is King and Biology is Queen")
4) The universe does not care.
5) The only constant in life is change.
6) There is always a choice.
7) Wishing never makes it so.
8) A person can't exceed their limits.
9) A person is responsible for their own happiness.
10) It is impossible to change the character of another.
As you read this tale you will find each of those is explained and expanded and built into the story and along the way you just might pick up something that helps you bring about some change in your understanding of your life and the lives that others lead.
That is why this is one of the best stories I have read because this story has the possibility to bring about change in the countless thousands who have read it over the last 13 or so years. If not bring about change it might at least bring some self-enquiry to their life as it is at present. This is not a psychological treatise but a great story and something that every reader should find something of interest along the way.
Read it, see if I am right.
(Note that the original blogs where Laszlo expanded on these and added quite a bit more to the list have been lost in time and not even the Wayback Machine has a copy of his original blogs.
If you do a search on "Facts of Life", including the quotes and add the author's name, "Lazlo Zalezac" you will find a number of places where these are listed and one, in particular, in a similar way expands each of the lines as the author intended.)
Review by manddscott [other reviews by manddscott]
Reviewed:
I don't often give perfect scores. This story, with no evident sex (although much is implied) hit all the right notes for me. Excellent character development, good back story, and well thought out issues and conclusion.
Review by Teloz [other reviews by Teloz]
Reviewed:
I fear Andrew Johns isn't going to like my review of The Millionaire Next Door, he's probably not going to like me much either. Though there was one aspect of his review I agreed with absolutely.
Quote: "Technically, there were 3 typos I noticed, and one sentence that seemed to be missing a few pieces. A few times the author forgot which character was speaking and used the wrong name as the indicator, making the story more difficult to read. These errors were few, but noticeable, and the distraction of trying to put the story back together was a distraction." Unquote.
From my point of view, Andrew missed Lazlo's point altogether. The ten Facts Of Life were undoubtedly the product of Lazlo Zalezac's tortured mind, but they are very close to the truth, if not fundamental truths in themselves. The three articles he discusses don't exist, unless he's written them himself and I don't know about it!
Lazlo uses a fairly broad brush to paint a picture that tells us that being able to set personal goals, and to treat others with respect and love, are two of the the most important things in our lives. He also makes a point that heterosexuality, and monogamy, are human constructs, not the natural order of human relationships.
This is a powerful story, and there were at least six times that I needed to brush away a tear, and several others where I laughed out loud, so not the story to read on a long flight or train journey! Lazlo Zalezac carries it all off with his own inimitable style, and I heartily recommend this story.
Read, and enjoy!
Review by Andrew Johns [other reviews by Andrew Johns]
Reviewed:
In "The Millionaire Next Door", we have the story of a H.S. senior with dyslexia that is the subject of derision from many of his fellow students. He is given a few articles to read by his best friend, and he starts to focus his life based on what he learns from the articles. Read along as he finds his way through life.
This story has no stroke value, despite it being coded for “Some Sex”. The closest the reader gets to any eroticism is a picture-taking scene where an artist is taking some stills for a future painting. Since the story advertised that sex would be present, and the nature of the relationships that form in the story, the lack of sex was a negative factor to my overall impression.
The plot for this story was quite good. Most of the characters were entertaining. The whole “girl who hates the main character for no decent reason and is nearly criminally insane with it” aspect felt forced, and while the very early story seemed to indicate that this animosity would be the central theme, it wasn’t. That time spent on her character felt wasted, and didn’t make the story better.
Technically, there were 3 typos I noticed, and one sentence that seemed to be missing a few pieces. A few times the author forgot which character was speaking and used the wrong name as the indicator, making the story more difficult to read. These errors were few, but noticeable, and the distraction of trying to put the story back together was a distraction.
Overall, the story was interesting. I liked the main character, though he was a little too altruistic, and I liked the women in his life. I was disappointed that sex was “advertised” by the coding, and there wasn’t anything remotely erotic about the whole tale.
If you are interested in stroke, don’t bother reading this one. If you are looking for an interesting story with no sexual content but with non-traditional relationships, consider giving this one a try.
Review by smoss [other reviews by smoss]
Reviewed:
This is not a stroke story and sometimes I wonder if Lazlo should maybe publish some of his stories. He is a great writer and this story prove that.
I really think everyone should read this story because everything is not about money, but happiness.
Review by fuzzywuzzy [other reviews by fuzzywuzzy]
Reviewed: - (Review Updated: )
This is a convoluted tale of a young man with a dream; not of wealth, but of happiness. Dan had a hobby, making the perfect pizza, and Tom his lifelong friend wanted nothing more than the perfect root beer. How they succeeded and their influence on each other made them richer than just money ever could.
One thing amongst many stands out is Lazlo's philosophy about a way of life in three simple suggestions first given to Dan by Tom, at least they can be copied down from the chapters as you read them.
They're good!
I was so impressed with this story, that I broke my rule never to Review an unfinished story, but as you read it you'll see why.
Enjoy!
