Meet the Author
John J. Snyder
Author of Timeless Principles for Modern Challenges
John J. Snyder is a financial professional. He is the Chief Financial Officer and co-founder of Station Capital, a wealth management firm based in Washington, Pennsylvania. He has over 40 years of experience in the financial services industry and is a Certified Retirement Income Specialist. John is married to Julie, and they have 2 children, Hannah Rose and John Michael. John learned the value of the 19 principles through family influences, Grandpap Snyder, his parents, John W and Mary Jane Snyder, and his wife, Julie Snyder. He hopes to change as many lives as possible by sharing the collected wisdom of the original book, Safe Methods of Business, and the modern ideas, wisdom, and stories he gathered for Timeless Principles for Modern Challenges.
For more than four decades, I have worked alongside John J. Snyder. Over the years, I have observed him consistently apply the timeless principles outlined in this book. The clear result is that John has become not only successful in business but also in life.
F. Joseph Marsh
-President, Station Capital, Inc.
Daniel Barringer
-Retired Program Manager
John and I have been close friends since he was in the ninth grade. Even then, he had a perspective on life and the world well beyond his years, and this perspective has only grown more insightful in the years since. I’ve often used the word “serendipitous” to describe events in John’s life, and his discovery of Safe Methods of Business is a perfect case in point. The “19 timeless principles” fit his worldview very neatly and are as timely today as they were when the book was first written. John’s insights, based on years of experience, enhance the principles, making this an important addition to any library. Read this book!
I first met John when we were both in our 20s. Meeting through his wife, Julie, we formed an unbreakable bond that lasted a lifetime. John was four years into his career at a reputable regional investment firm, where he learned to manage his clients’ assets. He knew there had to be a better way. I had just moved to Baltimore to manage a shopping mall. I also knew there had to be a better way for me to do my best work. After many discussions, we both left the relative comfort of our corporate positions to form our own companies. No safety net, steep odds, limited capital. I created Aaardvark Concepts, and John and two partners began Station Capital more than three decades ago. We agreed to go into “The Jungle” together, to support each other through good and bad times and to never compromise on our standards.
We had many late-night phone calls offering support or discussing problems and solutions! John was a best friend, coach, and steady guide. He taught me to be patient and stay the course, especially with my finances. He talked me out of the “BOLD” moves my friends were making, which almost always ended badly. The steady growth and limited risk enabled me to retire at 52 and to hand over the business debt-free and profitable. It was the best choice I ever made! I live a fairly simple but happy life, exactly because of the principles John’s book emphasizes. Being retired has allowed me to spend more time changing lives, in big and small ways, as I have witnessed John do over the last 40 years. I watch many young people today who can’t seem to save and who live well beyond their means. Maybe it’s time for us to help young people manage their lives and finances for the long run. Honestly, John’s book is the best guide to living a complete life, especially when it comes to real wealth!
Russ Roda
Dr. Christopher Webb
As a physician, I spend my life earning people’s trust, so I recognize it when I see it in someone else. I have known John Snyder both personally and professionally for many years, and he is the person I trusted with my parents’ financial well-being—a trust he has honored with the same care, integrity, and steadiness I’ve seen in him in every setting where I’ve known him. The timeless principles Nichols laid out 140 years ago are alive and well in John—not as slogans, but as a way of living. This book could not have a better steward.
I have known John most of my life, and in our formative years I knew him to be a fantastically motivated person. When he was learn-ing to drive, he would travel to clients’ houses to paint and repair their homes. What was curious to me at that age was that although John always MADE time to succeed financially, he always HAD time for a worthwhile hobby or a fun activity. Although we have always been great friends, I was envious back then of his mature, yet bal-anced work-life ethic. John became a great self-made success in his early adult life. Even while in college, he was making his way in the business world.
But even though he was happy—and content with his success—he was always willing to do more in the service of increasing his returns on his endeavors. It is remarkable how he has “made it” in this world. His is a “bootstraps story,” but it has been his indefatigable drive and the overwhelmingly positive attitude that have seen him through his ascent to great financial and life goals. He has not only become well-off, but has also devoted much of his time, energy, and money to help-ing many, many people—young and old—through his generosity and guidance. He always makes time to raise others.
Indeed, although he is remarkable for all of this, what he knows and can inspire in others—the essence of this book—is utterly invalu-able. This book ties together advice I have seen in many corners of the self-help world, and lays this on top of the framework put forth in the 140-year-old book by Nichols. The result is that Mr. Snyder stands on the shoulders of this age-old work to help us see more clearly how to live a successful, happy life in modern times.
Paul S, Carter, Ph.D.
-Professor of Music and Music Business, SUNY College at Oneonta