What exactly distinguishes a rich person from a poor one?
Why is that poor individuals die indebted and in poverty,
whilst the rich get richer and leave behind means of financial support for their offspring?
How to get started on a path to a prosperous life?
Book Summary of Robert Kiyosaki’s all-time classic: “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”
Let’s be frank with each other: “The rich get richer, the poor get poorer,
and the middle class never get out of debt”. Robert Kiyosaki asserts that this situation
is a direct result of a failure in education.
He notes that “we learn about money from our parents, and not from school.”
Rich Dad, Poor Dad is based on Robert Kiyosaki’s own childhood experiences.
There were two fathers in Robert’s life: his own father who was a highly educated, clever man,
and yet continuously struggling with financial difficulties, and his best friend’s father
who dropped out of school at age 13 but became ‘one of the richest men in Hawaii’.
As a child, it was incredibly fortunate to have grown up in the context of two these Dads. Each
one of them had their own, diametrically different to one another, view of the world.
Most importantly, as a child, he felt the type of impact each mindset had
on one’s outcomes in life. What is it that the rich uniquely
teach their children, that the poor don’t? Both Dads were strong individuals, and both worked
assiduously-hard throughout their lives. The key factor differentiating them was their respective
view of (& relationship to) money. For example, one would say “Love of money
is the root of all evil”. The other would say “Lack of money is the root of evil”.
Of critical importance was HOW they reacted to different life situations. My Poor Dad would say:
“I can’t afford that”. My Rich Dad, on the other hand, forbade the use of that expression. Instead,
he advised me to ask myself the question: “How can I obtain this or that?”
or in other words “What do I need to do, so as to obtain this or that?”
The phrase expressed by Poor Dad is a means of justifying inaction,
and the brain shuts down in congruence with it. In other words, it provokes laziness. In contrast,
the phrase articulated by Rich Dad forces one to think about how to resolve the issue at hand.
There are parallels here to physical exercise. What do you think: which of the two expressions
is likely to lead to the achievement of desirable outcomes more quickly?
My Poor Dad would always say: “Study more, so that you can find a good company to work at”.
My Rich Dad had a different slant on things, and would say “Study more, so that you can
find a good company and buy it.” My ‘First’ Dad would say: “The reason
that I am not rich is that I have children.” My ‘Second’ Dad would say: “The reason that I am
obliged to become rich is that I have children.” My Poor Dad would always warn me: “With respect to
money, only act if you have absolute certainty. Don’t take risks!” My Rich Dad in contrast would
always say: “Learn how to take calculated risks!” My First Dad was convinced that: “Our home is our
biggest investment, and our largest asset.” My Second Dad in contrast, would say that “My
home is a liability; and if your home is your largest investment, then you are in trouble!”
But the most amazing was that the poor dad always said: “I will never be rich”,
and he was right. The rich dad always said: “I’m a rich person”, he also was right.
He was convinced as well, that rich people never would say words like: “I’ll never be rich”.
Even when the rich dad was bankrupt, he kept on behaving like he was not. “There’s
a difference between being poor and being broke. Being broke is temporary, but being
poor - that’s everlasting”. In the end, it’s quite straightforward really:
“My Poor Dad was not poor because he earnt little, but rather because of his mindset
and because of the consequent actions taken (& not taken) in light of his mindset.”
We have a tendency to forget the power of our thoughts. We need to be more careful
with our thought patterns. We need to move forward with well-founded
thoughts, and to control ourselves. Live with an empowering mindset, and build
a future that has financial freedom as a part of it!