Rich Dad Poor Dad, if you didn’t already know, is one of the books written by Robert Kiyosaki. The idea for the book came from his experiences with two ‘fathers’ growing up. One father was a traditionally educated man who went to college and had a corporate-style career in education. The other father figure, who was actually a friend’s father, never graduated from college or did well in school overall, but he created and ran successful businesses that made him wealthy. The lessons learned from each parent were invaluable in making the book a success because people are rarely able to see both sides of the financial spectrum at the same time. His experiences help him explain the differences in mentality between rich and poor in a way that most people can understand.
Go to school, get good grades, get a well-paying job… Maybe.
As times change, so does the way we earn money. The classic advice from our parents and grandparents is ‘get a good education, find a good job at a good company and the company will take care of you’. The sad part about that is that a lot of people still believe that! Times have changed, which also changes the way we earn money. The problem with that is that the advice on how to make money hasn’t changed.
Why the rich don’t work for money
This is probably the most important step in beginning to understand how to create wealth in your life. Robert Kiyosaki explains that most people fall into a trap fueled by fear and greed. It is the trap of exchanging your life for money and almost everyone has their price. Once the correct price is offered, for a company or job that the person is trying to get, the trap is set. The fear of not having money to buy the necessities of life is the emotion that makes people look for work. It’s the greed to finally get the money and start thinking about all the things you can buy with it that gets a person. Fear and greed keep the person waking up early and wasting their life on a job they probably don’t even like. And all it takes to keep them in the trap is a measly raise each year that probably won’t change a thing in their life. So working hard for money will never change your life. A job is actually a short-term solution to a lifelong problem. It only fixes the problem for now because as soon as you stop working the money stops and the problem persists.
Why Just Being Rich Doesn’t Solve Everything
Since fear and greed are an emotion, having money in and of itself doesn’t always solve the problem. If a mental change is not made and we cannot change our emotions so that they do not control us, the problems will continue. Problems like being afraid of not having enough money will persist. In addition to these problems, the rich man is also afraid of losing his money, what people will think of him if he doesn’t stay rich, of not being able to earn more and buy even more beautiful things. The emotions of fear and greed are still present even though money and abundance are present. That mind shift has to happen.
Don’t be the donkey chasing the carrot
Robert Kiyosaki compares most people’s lives to a donkey chasing a carrot. People are so focused on chasing that next paycheck that they never take the time to step back and see where it’s taking them. It is like the donkey chasing the carrot on a string in front of him. It is taking the rider where he wants to go, but the donkey is only chasing an illusion. If the donkey knew what was going on, he might reconsider chasing that carrot and decide it’s not worth it. We have to do the same and take a step back.
“Living our lives in fear, never achieving our dreams, working hard for money, waking up in the middle of the night terrified to pay the bills is no way to live.” says Robert Kiyosaki. Realizing a job is only a temporary solution to money problems and learning to ‘use our emotions to think instead of thinking with our emotions’ is an important step in getting out of the trap. He kept asking himself ‘Is working harder really going to solve my financial problems?’ Once you realize that it will not solve your problems, your conscious and subconscious mind will start looking for ways to solve this problem. Start researching rich people, what they do, and how they do it. Ask questions, read books, listen to audios and attend seminars. Find out what the rich are doing and how you can emulate them instead of your coworkers chasing carrots.