Wisdom of Rich Dad

Recent studies show that start-up businesses fail at an alarmingly high rate. This is the foundation for the fear that paralyzes would-be entrepreneurs, keeping them behind their day-job desks. Robert Kiyosaki, successful entrepreneur, investor and co-author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, offers new strategies that can potentially turn the start-up failure rate on its head.

While there are many books that tell you how entrepreneurs built their companies, Kiyosaki—for the first time ever—provides the steps would-be entrepreneurs need to take before they quit their jobs. He believes that a start-up business is destined for success or failure even before the new entrepreneur leaves his 9-to-5 job. And, while many people are convinced that the entrepreneurial path is the way to go, the fear of failing keeps them from taking the first step.

In RICH DAD’S BEFORE YOU QUIT YOUR JOB: Ten Real-Life Lessons Every Entrepreneur Should Know About Building A Multimillion-Dollar Business (Warner Business Books Trade Paperback Original/$16.95/Publication Date: September 14, 2005), Robert Kiyosaki, with co-author Sharon Lechter, reveals the ups and downs of becoming an entrepreneur through first-hand accounts of his own start-up companies, and shows how his earlier struggles provided the foundation for his hard-won financial freedom. What sets this book apart from other books on entrepreneurialism is how Kiyosaki courageously reveals his business failures and uses them to illustrate the ten key lessons that made him and The Rich Dad Company a worldwide phenomenon.

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- Robert Kiyosaki

Rich dad said, “The most successful people in life are the ones who ask questions. They’re always learning. They’re always growing. They’re always pushing.”

Conversely, rich dad said, “The losers in life think they have all the answers. They can’t learn because they’re too busy telling everyone what they know. They can’t grow because they’re too busy telling everyone else where they need to grow. They can’t push because they think they’ve already arrived.”

Over the years, I’ve taken rich dad’s lesson to heart and tried my best to always ask questions so that I can learn, grow, and push myself to become more successful. I do not take where I am in life for granted and I do not think I have all the answers.

This is why even though I hold financial education seminars, write books and articles, and speak with the media, I still go to many seminars, read many books, and pay attention to the news. I always have something to learn, and the world is full of teachers.

Over the years, I’ve learned that there are five questions in particular that the most successful people ask themselves. These are foundational questions that lead to all the other important questions we ask. You may recognize them, but I’m guessing you may not have asked them for a while — at least not deliberately.

The five questions are: Who, What, Where, When, and Why?

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In this speech, investor, businessman and author of the personal finance book series ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ Robert Kiyosaki discusses the number one skill an entrepreneur can have in today’s economy. He sees being able to raise steady cash flow as the most valuable and beneficial skill in business today.

Discussing the success of his own business, namely his book series and brand ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad,’ Robert Kiyosaki explains how to design a business that is capable of raising its money automatically, without any input from the entrepreneur behind a company or business. According to Robert Kiyosaki, sophisticated investors will only invest in well-designed businesses. Well-designed businesses will run on a model that boasts numerous sources of incomes and assets. It is necessary that a business have sources of income outside the entrepreneur who created the company in order to be successful and profitable.

~ Kim Kiyosak i~

Are we training our kids today to be quitters? Are we teaching them when a tough problem arises or when things don’t go as planned, to simply quit?

How often in your life would you like a “do-over”? “Wow, I really screwed up on that, I think I’ll take a do-over and start again.” Wouldn’t that be handy?

Enter the “reset button”. Many of the video games you and your kids are playing come equipped with a reset button. When you’re about to lose, can’t figure out how to get to the next level, or the solution to the puzzle takes too much brain power, what do you do? You hit the reset button – you quit and start again. The reset button makes quitting easy… over and over and over.

Are we programming our kids to accept quitting as an acceptable answer to life’s problems?

“Children who learn to bounce back and not let setbacks get them down have gained a valuable skill for life,” says Michele Borba, psychologist and author of the Today.com article, “How Not to Raise a Quitter. “If our children are to succeed in this competitive world, they must learn to hang in there and not quit.”

We all know there is no reset button in real life, so what happens when life kicks you in the butt? We all have different coping mechanisms, ways to handle adversity, stress and challenges. Quitting is not a way to cope. It is a way to avoid and run away from your problems. It’s a way to not be accountable for your life. And it’s not the way to obtain financial freedom.

It’s handling the pressures, the difficulties and the setbacks that make you who you are.

Triumphing against bad odds is invaluable. Overcoming great obstacles makes you stronger and smarter. How one handles adversity determines a person’s level of success in life.

Do you take it on, create new solutions and face your fears… or do you reach for the reset button

Robert Kiyosaki

Years ago I had a conversation with a young man about 401(k)s. “I have a question for you,” he said. “I’ve read that you say 401(k)s are the worst investments, but I don’t understand why you say that.”

“What is it that you don’t understand?” I asked.

“Well,” said the young man. “Most employers match your contribution. For instance, my employer matches up to four percent of my salary. Isn’t that a hundred percent return? Why is that a bad investment?”

“It’s a bad investment,” I said, “because it’s your money to begin with.”

He looked puzzled and perplexed.

“Listen,” I said, “if it weren’t for 401(k)s, your employer would have to pay you that money as part of your salary. As it is, they still pay it, but only if you give up four percent of your existing salary in to a retirement account where you have no control. And if you don’t, well the employer comes out ahead. It’s your money, but they’re in control.”

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~Kim Kiyosaki~

I’m working out at my gym last week and I notice one of the trainers, Mark, talking to a police officer dressed in full uniform, gun and all. I asked him if she was going to train with him. He shook his head in frustration and said, “She’s been coming in and talking to me for months. She wants to lose about thirty pounds, but she’s just not willing to do what she needs to do to lose the weight.”

Then he laughed and added, “I guess as long as she has her gun and her Taser she doesn’t need to be too fit or too fast.” I asked Mark, “Why do you think she won’t commit to train with you?” “I don’t know.” was all he said.

About a half hour later, Mark came up to me in the middle of my crunches and said, “I think the main reason why people don’t commit to exercise is that they don’t want to be uncomfortable. They don’t want to work hard. They don’t want to push themselves.” Then he made a statement that I think is the key to success in anything you take on. He said,

“You have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.”

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