If you are listening to this investment guide, it means you are within reach of ample wealth, which you will earn in a surprisingly short period of time. Some of you may already have achieved this. The word “earn” is important, for you have put in years of hard work and fierce devotion to build yourself into a proud member of one of the most admired professions in America. You are a professional athlete. One of the few people lucky enough to get paid fat sums for doing something you love to do.

Great riches can reward your achievement—and, with that, great opportunities will arise. Earning it is only the start. Now you must preserve and protect it. You also must learn how to invest it and make it grow. Do it right, and you can build a fortune that will last you and your family for a lifetime and beyond. Do it in the wrong way and you could end up in financial trouble. This guide will show you how to reduce risks, take money off the table and lock it away, and invest it safely to get the highest payback without having to make wild bets.

That is our No. 1 priority at Chapwood Investments. I founded the firm in 2005 in Plano, Texas, near the home of the Dallas Cowboys, after almost 20 years of serving clients at Morgan Stanley & Co.

I have spent the past ten years highlighting the problem of athletes going broke. Sports Illustrated featured me in a cover story on the issue in 2009, as did ESPN in 2012 for a “30 for 30” documentary called Broke.

At Chapwood, we focus on the fixes. We have helped more than 75 professional athletes secure and grow their fortunes. I have trained a hundred more in financial boot camps.

We can help you, too, in keeping your money safe and growing it to last for the next generation. The lessons you learn here can help you live a better life.