I have completed reading the book *RICH BROTHER RICH SISTER* _by Robert Kiyosaki and Emi Kiyosaki_
*Lessons Learnt:*
1. This book focuses on simply who wanted to be rich which meant being rich mentally, physically, emotionally & spiritually.
2. Authors rich dad often said, "Give what you want. If you want a smile, smile. If you want a punch in the mouth, throw a punch. If you want money, give money." He also said,"Poor people are often poor because they do not give enough. They often say, "I'll give money when I have money." That is why they don't have much money. If you want money, give money. If you want more, give more."
3. In relation to finding your life's purpose and giving your gift: In some of the churches and some of the seminars Robert attended during the years, I learned that God or a higher power has given each of us a gift. Our job as human beings was to discover and give our gift to humanity. Even though I did not know if I had a gift at the time, I kept an open mind to the possibility that I had something to give
and focused on giving rather than praying that God
would provide or a Post-it note with affirmations on my bathroom mirror would manifest my dream.
Today, I realize that many people do not give their gift for two reasons: First they do not recognize it and two, if they do recognize their gift they do not work at giving it. Many people seem to think that a gift should come easy. For example, Tiger Woods is a gifted golfer. Although gifted, he works very hard at developing and giving his gift to the world. Many golfers may be just as gifted, but they fail to
work as hard as Tiger does at developing and giving their gift.
4.Many people have very strong personal financial statements. But the way they make their money is not doing much good for the world.
Then there are people who have done a lot of good and are very strong in social accounting terms, but their personal financial statement is weak. This is my sister, and that's why we got
together.
5 Improvement happens by going beyond the limits.To make steel stronger, the metal is often heated to red hot, then dropped into cold water. It's the stress between hot and cold that strengthens the metal. Just like steel, humans are capable of becoming stronger through stress.
6.Dr. Fuller said that a life of specialization can easily become a life of obsolescence. And the more specialized you are the fewer people you can serve. He thought it was better to be a generalist than a specialist. Specialists look at the world from a narrow point of view while generalists look at life from the big picture. Our schools actually train us to be specialists, not generalists.
Entrepreneurs are often generalists and they usually are the richest people because they have served the most people. This theory has played out in my life. As a generalist I can assemble great teams of people who are more expert than me to make things happen. In the process, we all learn together, we become
passionate about the impact we are making and we all grow together, make money, and serve others. The entrepreneurial mission is a spiritual mission that is usually about much more than money.
7. The Dalai Lama says "...money is good. It is important. Without money daily survival, not to mention further development is impossible. ...In fact Buddhist texts mention the fruition of eight qualities including health, wealth and fame that define a fortunate
existence."
8.Living a life of simplicity, as Emi had defined it, worked when life was relatively uncomplicated by things like illness. But when life became more challenging and medical bills, health insurance and ongoing care became realities, I had to expand my definition of "simple" if I wanted to survive I had to find a way to integrate my monastic life and my own well being in 21 st century America.
It took getting cancer to wake me up to the reality that money is useful not just for the nice things in life, but even for the basics like health and wellness. It showed how my physical life constantly informs my emotional, mental and spiritual life. What I do not pay attention to is going to manifest one way or another.
9. It is remarkable to
think how our same roots and upbringing propelled us into such different directions; Robert toward financial wealth, freedom and happiness, and me toward inner freedom and happiness.
NIRVANA:Nirvana has a deeper meaning of "freedom from suffering and delusions." Nirvana is a mental state, not a physical place. It is seeing things as they are, without the filters of attachment, aversion and ignorance.
Enlightenment is greater than Nirvana; it is a state attained by purifying all delusions such as hatred, anger, jealousy, and ignorance and completely cultivating all excellent qualities, such a loving-kindness, generosity, ethics and compassion, as well as gaining complete understanding of the nature of reality.
10.The question is can we pick ourselves up and start again when our world has collapsed around us? Can we transform our problems so that we can rise out of devastation and turn our suffering into wisdom and compassion? Can we find and live our path? These
are the essential questions that Buddhism addresses. In short, the answer is yes if we make an effort to use our intelligence and emotional strength to analyze our life, our situation, our behavior.
11.Often, we do not fully appreciate something until we lose it or nearly lose it. Being so close to dying and killing was a powerful
experience for Robert. It gave Robert a deep appreciation for this precious *GIFT called LIFE*.
Today instead of living with a fear of death, I do my best to live life and really live. I believe that on of the reasons I donot succumbed to the fears of job security, fear of failing, fear of criticism and fear of having enough money is because to me. Those fears are not worth my time.
*THANK YOU*