Rich Dad, Poor Dad
"Physical exercise improves health,
mental exercise improves wealth,
laziness destroys both."
Imagine going to work tomorrow and
telling your boss that this will be your last day, or better yet,
just stop showing up completely.
Some may call that irresponsible; others may call that a drastic
measure; but for some, it is a viable option after reading the
"Best Selling" book Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert
Kiyosaki (photographed to the right).
Don't get too excited, this book isn't going to show or tell you
how to make a million dollars tomorrow, but why would it? If
someone could tell you how to make a million dollars tomorrow
then everyone would be doing it and your million dollars would be
useless.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad takes a different approach. It will
describe a way of doing, a mentality, if you will. Once you adopt
the mentality described in this book you won't need someone to
tell you how to become rich.
The title will seem misleading to a lot of readers
because the person he describes as his Poor Dad is his real
father who has a very high level of education, makes a lot of
money working for the government, but is enslaved in the "rat
race".
On the other hand, his Rich Dad is actually a friends' dad who
has almost no education in the form of college, but is very
business-minded and goes on to become one of the richest men in
Hawaii while being completely reliant upon himself
As the storyline progresses, the author will contrast and compare
the lifestyles of both his Rich Dad and his Poor Dad and express
his difficulties in choosing which footsteps he will follow in.
He talks about his struggles, his learning experiences, and
explains why he chose the way he did.
"Remember the Golden Rule. He who
has the gold makes the rules."
Major Lessons
The author presents lessons which he
discusses throughout the book:
The rich don't work for money
The importance of financial literacy
Minding your own business
Taxes and corporations
The rich invent money
The need to work to learn and not to work for money
Themes in Rich Dad, Poor
Dad
One theme that's apparent in this book is that
for an individual to be wealthy, he must aim to own the
system or means of production, rather than work for
another individual. The author stresses that there is obviously
something confining about being an employee; it shuts the mind to
other possibilities and it stunts initiative.
Financial intelligence is the most powerful asset. By
studying the precepts of accounting and investing, the author
believes that individuals will be able to see the
difference between an asset and a liability; in fact it
is the more concrete application of learning what's right and
what's wrong. Generating a string of expenses is wrong, building
assets is right.
Unlike individuals who earn and then pay taxes on what they earn,
corporations earn, spend what they want to spend, and pay taxes
on what's left. Corporations, therefore, hold a certain degree of
power. The rich know how to use this power, the poor don't.
The author also believes that true luxuries are experienced when
they are the outward manifestations of intelligent investing and
asset building. He cites the example of his wife purchasing a
Mercedes Benz because it was the car she liked and worked hard to
be able to purchase it. The author cautions however about keeping
up with the Joneses and getting into debt because of this human
frailty.
The book's theme reduces to two fundamental concepts: a
can-do attitude and fearless
entrepreneurship. The author highlights these two
concepts by providing multiple examples for each and focusing on
the need for financial literacy, how the power of corporations
contribute to making the wealthy even wealthier, minding your own
business, overcoming obstacles by not fostering laziness, fear,
cynicism and other negative attitudes, and recognizing the
characteristics of humans and how their preconceived notions and
upbringing hamper their financial freedom goals.
"The trouble with the rat-race is
that even if you win, you're still a
rat."
This book is a mind altering and life-changing
experience, but only if you are open-minded to change. If not,
you will most likely throw this book in a pile of other "get
rich" books you have already read and not acted on. I personally
give this book a 10/10.
Reference / Image Credits:
WikiSumarries
Success Magazine, phonono
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