Ian Mann: I am always concerned about what authority authors have, so I check their credentials first.

In the case of Kiki Theo, I couldn't find a thing - not even in the page in the book titled "About the Author" nor on the website to which the reader is referred.

The book appears to be premised on two notions: "holism" and humanistic psychology. But there are no references, save for the likes of Richard Branson's Screw It, Let's Do It.

With the plethora of demands on our time, few people need to be told what books not to read, so I have always written this column with the intention of encouraging people to read a particular work. This time, I kept asking myself, Why am I reading every page of this 257-page book? The answer lies in the number of interesting thoughts scattered about the book, hopefully intentionally.

In the section titled "The 9 Levels of Wealth Consciousness", the author asserts that people's attitude to money will, to a large extent, inhibit their ability to maximise their earning potential. At the most simplistic level this is about not having a firm grasp of the reality of one's financial situation. But at a deeper level, Theo asserts: "Ultimately, all journeys, including the Wealth Journey, are about exploration and deepening knowledge of who we are and what we want from life."

Early in the book, the author deals with the question of "struggle", and many people feeling that you have to struggle to make money, and that if it were not a struggle, it would in some way be "wrong". Making money the easy way, through enjoying your work and being paid, is felt to be "unworthy".

Each section, this included, has good questions to ponder, ones that should lead the reader to clarity or insights into their thinking. The questions will be useful to anyone caught in the particular section's emotional or cognitive bind.

"I have watched grown men in coffee bars allow their aged mothers to pay the bill," Theo recalls. This is blatant "dependence". Raised to a higher level, you get the curse of the wealthy child who knows dad is there to bail him out.

A similar rationale plagues the artist or musician who refuses to advertise or work full days in the belief that the universe will take care of things.

She also cautions against the earn-to-spend treadmill that keeps so many in servitude throughout their lives as they pursue the trappings of wealth rather than real wealth.

The end of the Wealth Journey is the state of "affluence" where you "definitely know you are wealthy". In this state "you feel appreciation and gratitude" and are in a position to make things happen that matter to you and make a contribution to bettering the world. I wonder why anyone in this state would be reading this book, but this is a worthy thought - what would you be doing for the world if making a living was not your issue? (Perhaps you can start doing something about that now?)

In the section titled "The Nine Wealth Challenges," there is advice on how to deal with issues that may well be holding you back. The first challenge is avoiding or confronting issues. "If you cannot bear to hear the word NO without wilting, if you cannot bear to say the word NO without cringing, then stay at home," says Theo. She asserts that the ability to confront is a foundation skill of wealth creation. And then there are the questions about how you are avoiding doing what is required.

Challenge six is complicating versus simplifying. The root of this challenge is knowledge. If you lack knowledge, it is difficult to simplify situations and it is easy to be fooled by those who purport to have knowledge. Complication, she says, is not a sign of intelligence.

The last section is subtitled "The 11 Secrets of Wealth Creation."

The first secret is self-assertion. Academic studies confirm that the feeling of self-assertion explains why so many are resigned to live on under $2 a day when others in similar circumstances are busily engaged in clawing their way out. The second secret is to challenge - ask why and why not. This is a skill that can be developed and that would most certainly be valuable on the journey to wealth.

Secret three is to believe you can do it even if others would consider it "hare-brained." Wasn't a story about a boy wizard that adults could read (Harry Potter) or a themed hotel complete with make-believe jungles and a man-made beach (Sun City) "hare-brained", she asks?

Actually, they weren't. JK Rowling had proven that and Sol Kerzner was a second-generation hotelier with deep understanding of the leisure industry. Hare-brained all too often is just that - hare-brained - and no amount of believing can make it otherwise.

While the book is thought-provoking and interesting in parts, it needs to be read with eyes wide open.