Rich Dad Poor Dad

by Robert T. Kiyosaki

“There is a difference between being poor and being broke. Broke is temporary. Poor is eternal.”

The Road Not Taken Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads onto way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence; Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

Hence, I choose to take the road less travelled by. the difference it makes will make of break me. But whatever doesn't break you, makes you stronger.

“The main cause of poverty or financial struggle is fear and ignorance, not the economy or the government or the rich. It’s self-inflicted fear and ignorance that keep people trapped.

Most people use fear and greed against themselves. That’s the start of ignorance. Most people live their lives chasing paychecks, pay raises and job security because of the emotions of desire and fear, not really questioning where those emotion-driven thoughts are leading them. It’s just like the picture of a donkey dragging a cart with its owner dangling a carrot just in front of its nose. The donkey’s owner may be going where he wants to, but the donkey is chasing an illusion. Tomorrow there will only be another carrot for the donkey.”

“A fool and his money is one big party.”

my real estate strategy is to start small and keep trading up for bigger properties and, therefore, delay paying taxes on the gain. This allows the value to increase dramatically. I generally hold real estate less than seven years.

Rich dad constantly reminded Mike and me that the biggest bully was not the boss or the supervisor, but the tax man. The tax man will always take more if you let him. The first lesson of having money work for you, as opposed to you working for money, is all about power. If you work for money, you give the power to your employer. If money works for you, you keep the power and control it.

you

your

It is what you know that is your greatest wealth. It is what you do not know that is your greatest risk.

“They are one skill away from great wealth.”

“You want to know a little about a lot” was rich dad’s suggestion.

“Workers work hard enough to not be fired, and owners pay just enough so that workers won’t quit.”

In the movie Jerry Maguire starring Tom Cruise, there are many great one-liners. Probably the most memorable is: “Show me the money.” But there is one line I thought most truthful. It comes from the scene where Tom Cruise is leaving the firm. He has just been fired, and he is asking the entire company, “Who wants to come with me?” And the whole place is silent and frozen. Only one woman speaks up and says, “I’d like to, but I’m due for a promotion in three months.” That statement is probably the most truthful statement in the whole movie. It is the type of statement that people use to keep themselves busy, working away to pay bills.

Beautifully put.

Many corporations do the same thing. They find a young bright student just out of business school and begin grooming that person to someday take over the company. So these bright young employees do not specialize in one department. They are moved from department to department to learn all the aspects of business systems. The rich often groom their children or the children of others. By doing so, their children gain an overall knowledge of the operations of the business and how the various departments interrelate.

For most people, the reason they don’t win financially is because the pain of losing money is far greater than the joy of being rich.

WARNING: Don’t listen to poor or frightened people. I have such friends, and while I love them dearly, they are the Chicken Littles of life. To them, when it comes to money, especially investments, it’s always, “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” They can always tell you why something won’t work. The problem is that people listen to them. But people who blindly accept doom-and-gloom information are also Chicken Littles. As that old saying goes, “Birds of a feather flock together.”

If you do not like financial pressure, then find a formula that works for you. A good one is to cut expenses, put your money in the bank, pay more than your fair share of income tax, buy safe mutual funds, and take the vow of the average. But this violates the pay-yourself-first rule.

Whenever you feel short or in need of something, give what you want first and it will come back in buckets. That is true for money, a smile, love, or friendship. I know it is often the last thing a person may want to do, but it has always worked for me. I trust that the principle of reciprocity is true, and I give what I want.