Jerry Foster, chief executive of the Foster Group, local financial management company, has written a book, “lifeFocus: Achieving a Life of Purpose and Influence.” Foster is a financial adviser and life coach.

“As I worked with successful clients, I found it was one thing to help them amass financial capital,” Foster said. “It was another to help them look at wealth from a total perspective. I began asking them to finish the statement ‘Wealthy is the person who…’ Their answers were about relationships, health and spiritual issues.”

Foster says he helps his clients achieve “lifeWealth – the accumulation of relational, spiritual and financial capital.” Foster decided to write a book on the topic a few years ago. Another topic of the book is the vector principal, an aeronautical concept.

“If you change direction by one degree while flying from New York to L.A., it doesn’t seem like much, but given enough time, you end up in Portland,” Foster said. “Moving in the right direction … is about incremental changes moving you toward what you want in life.”

Foster began making notes for “lifeFocus” three years ago. Eighteen months ago, he started writing. He then found an experienced writer, Ed Stewart, to help him storyboard, assemble and polish the project. In March 2003 the book was done, and by May, it had been purchased by Fleming H. Revell, a division of Baker Book House.

This May, “lifeFocus” will arrive in stores and Foster will take part in book signings at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in West Des Moines and Wellspring in Urbandale.