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A. Absolutely. Try this simple exercise: For the next three days, notice and write down five good things happening in your world. It might be that the trees are especially beautiful this spring day, or that your child's teacher told you that your kid has really nice manners. After three days, you'll see that good things are part of a pattern in your life. You'll notice more good things, and that perpetuates the pattern. This will make you more optimistic, and optimism is a wealth magnet. Study after study shows that people with faith in themselves and in the future get more jobs and keep more jobs. They save for tomorrow rather than spend for today because they're convinced there will be a tomorrow.
Q. You include a lot of exercises in your book. What are some others we should try?
A. Most of them come from conversations I've had with academics who spend their days dissecting risk taking, gratitude, and resilience, qualities that the wealthy seem to have. The exercises are valuable because they help make changes real and they give you a goal and focus. Most involve keeping a journal or asking yourself challenging questions. One that's really valuable is writing about yourself in the third person. New research shows that when you write about yourself as "he" or "she," it takes away some of the self-consciousness. You can see if you're emphasizing positive or negative attributes and understand how others see you. From there, you can start to make changes.
Q. You say that playing Sudoku can make you wealthy. How so?
A. It keeps your brain agile. Word puzzles, number games, brainteasers—they all help stimulate the growth of nerve cells, which makes your mind sharper over time. Having more mental clarity makes you a more flexible thinker, and that's essential for wealth. It's also important to do things that put you in a good mood. Alice Isen, a professor of psychology at Cornell, found that subjects in a positive mood were much better at the sort of flexible thinking and problem solving associated with wealth.
Q. Were you the girl in fifth grade making a fortune at lemonade stands and reading the stock pages?
A. I was an avid saver. My father was a college professor. My mother worked on and off, and when she was working, she was teaching. But my parents definitely did it right. For instance, if we went on vacation and I wanted a souvenir, I'd have to come up with the money myself. That gave me a strong work ethic and taught me to take care of my money.
Q. Did you change any of your own money habits while writing this book?
A. Yes. I'm keeping a journal now.
I didn't before. The research being done by psychologist Bob Emmons on gratitude made a difference. His idea is that grateful individuals lead happier, more successful lives. I'm a pretty optimistic person, but being in and around New York City, I sometimes get cranky. Bob got me to appreciate the everyday more-to stop comparing, to do things for others, to use visual cues to trigger me, like the sign I put up in my house that says "Breathe." In this economy, it's something everyone needs to remember.
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