A favorite parable of mine is the story of a poor farmer who owned a horse.  One day the horse broke free and galloped away.  All of his neighbors witnessed the calamity and rushed to his side to sympathize with him for this misfortune.  He simply responded with a shrug and said, “Maybe yes. Maybe no.”  That story illustrates just one of the valuable points made in the book The Geometry of Wealth – How to shape a life of money and meaning by author and investment educator Brian Portnoy, Ph.D.  While most of us are familiar with the assertion that beyond a base level, money doesn’t make a person happier, Portnoy offers a more thorough perspective.  At the same time, he reminds us that there are usually at least two sides to every situation.  And it appears that money may be exactly the same. [Read more…]