The other day, you sat down and took a serious look at your financial matters.

It wasn’t pretty.

You have more fiscal responsibilities than you have funds. So now what?

You could take on another job, but you just don’t have time. You could win the lottery, but you were born under an unlucky star. You could become famous, but flying to the moon on a purple bus seems more likely.

Instead of cursing your lot in life, how about using your talents to live better and make more money? If you’ve got confidence and courage, you’re two-thirds there, as you’ll learn in “Get Real, Get Rich” by Farrah Gray.

While growing up in the projects on the south side of Chicago, Farrah Gray saw his mother working hard at three jobs to keep the family afloat. He decided he needed to contribute, too. His first entrepreneurial idea was to literally sell rocks. By age 10, Gray had an office on Wall Street.

That’s great, you’re saying. But you’re well past 10 years old. Isn’t it a little late to be switching gears now?

First, Gray says, ask yourself three questions: What comes easy to you but harder to others? What would you do nonstop, even if you never got paid for it? How can you be of service and give back to others? The answer to those questions will show you the way to personal and financial wealth, no matter what your age.

But before you can go on to conquer the world, Gray says there are seven lies that, if believed, will keep you from your dreams. The Born-Lucky Lie falsely says that luck is real. The Work-Hard Lie states that you can be anything you want, if you only work harder. The Celebrity Lie claims that you need to be famous to be rich. The Money Lie leads you to believe that you have to have money to make money. The Debt Lie says that you should get rid of all debt. The Google-and-Gates Lie says that wealth is achieved by creating a product the entire world needs. And the Wall Street Lie says you must play the stock market to achieve wealth.

None of them is true, Gray says. In order to get rich, you need to get real. Put the lies aside and pay attention to YOU.

“Get Real, Get Rich” isn’t bad. Author Farrah Gray has lots of thought-starting ideas here, and while this book reads like a go-get-’em script to a motivational class, he offers plenty of great pointers — but only for anyone who wants a goose to get them going in the right direction. For seasoned businesspeople or successful professionals, Gray’s gung-ho-ness and incessant analogies will just be irritating.

If you’re pondering going into business for yourself or if you’re tired of having more month than money, brown-bag your lunch and invest a few bucks in this book. If you’ve already got a successful business, though, “Get Real, Get Rich” really isn’t worth your time.