A lot of people have read Robert Kiyosaki's books (and
he has a lot of them), but this is the one that started
them all.
I think what endears people to Rich Dad, Poor Dad is the
story. It seems to me that whenever a non-fiction book
teaches with stories, it does very well. So, if you're going to write a non-fiction book,
weave your info into a story.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad is the story of Robert learning the habits
of the rich from his best friend's dad. Richard's own dad
was a highly paid, highly educated government official,
but who ended up poor (this is his "poor dad").
His best friend's dad was not highly educated, but he started
lots of businesses, bought lots of real estate, and invested
in stocks. He is "rich dad".
Some lessons or themes that keep coming up:
-
School prepares you for a job while financial education
prepares you for better financial habits that lead to a
more prosperous life
-
The rich invest in ways that the poor and middle class
do not
-
The rich invest in assets that produce class flow, and
then reinvest that cash flow into other assets
-
The poor invest in liabilities, or things that take money
out of your pocket
-
The middle class tend to go to school, get a job, buy everything
on credit, get raises, then buy bigger houses and nicer
cars, under-save and under-invest, and then retire on less
than what they should have.
-
There are 3 kinds of income:
-Earned income (what you make when you're there)
-Passive income (money that comes to you when you're not
there...that can come through businesses, real estate income,
intellectual property, etc)
-Portfolio income (money that also comes when you're not
there...but specifically from stocks, mutual funds, and
other such paper investments)
As it turns out, Robert didn't go on to become a rich guy
too soon into his adult years, like his buddy did. Robert
went into the Navy to learn how to sail ships, then to the
Marines to fly helicopters in the Vietnam war. I might have
the timeline wrong, but he went on to start a successful
business importing/selling those Velcro nylon surfer wallets
from the eighties. Remember those? After a few years, that
business went bust. AND then he was a top-selling Xerox sales rep
for several years.
Eventually he made the jump into buying assets...income
producing real estate...and within 8 to 10 years, he and
his wife retired. Then six months later he came out of retirement
to start his financial education business...which includes
his books, board games, tapes, seminars, etc. In reality,
it sounds like he's started a whole ton of other businesses
too, but that's what I've pieced together from other books
of his that I've read.
It's a great and easy read and should shock you out of
your usual way of looking at money. Another one of his
books that I like a lot is one he didn't even write...aptly
named "Success Stories". It's
a collection of stories by many
of Robert's students that have taken his advice and
started businesses or collecting assets that produce cash
flow.
There's so much more
that can be said, but it's time for you to start the
adventure of reading a new book.
Read more at amazon.com
Read more at Amazon.ca
