Rich Dad Poor Dad What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki

Rich Dad Poor Dad What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki

CHAPTER ONE
Rich Dad, Poor Dad
As narrated by Robert Kiyosaki
I had two fathers, a rich one and a poor one. One was highly
educated and intelligent; he had a Ph.D. and completed four years of
undergraduate work in less than two years. He then went on to
Stanford University, the University of Chicago, and Northwestern
University to do his advanced studies, all on full financial
scholarships. The other father never finished the eighth grade.
Both men were successful in their careers, working hard all their
lives. Both earned substantial incomes. Yet one struggled financially
all his life. The other would become one of the richest men in Hawaii.
One died leaving tens of millions of dollars to his family, charities and
his church. The other left bills to be paid.
Both men were strong, charismatic and influential. Both men
offered me advice, but they did not advise the same things. Both men
believed strongly in education but did not recommend the same course
of study.
If I had had only one dad, I would have had to accept or reject his
advice. Having two dads advising me offered me the choice of
contrasting points of view; one of a rich man and one of a poor man.
Instead of simply accepting or rejecting one or the other, I found
myself thinking more, comparing and then choosing for myself.
The problem was, the rich man was not rich yet and the poor man
not yet poor. Both were just starting out on their careers, and both were
struggling with money and families. But they had very different points
of view about the subject of money.
For example, one dad would say, “The love of money is the root of
all evil.” The other, “The lack of money is the root of all evil.”
As a young boy, having two strong fathers both influencing me
was difficult. I wanted to be a good son and listen, but the two fathers
did not say the same things. The contrast in their points of view,
particularly where money was concerned, was so extreme that I grew
curious and intrigued. I began to start thinking for long periods of time
about what each was saying.
Much of my private time was spent reflecting, asking myself
questions such as, “Why does he say that?” and then asking the same
question of the other dad's statement. It would have been much easier
to simply say, “Yeah, he's right. I agree with that.” Or to simply reject
the point of view by saying, “The old man doesn't know what he's
talking about.” Instead, having two dads whom I loved forced me to
think and ultimately choose a way of thinking for myself. As a
process, choosing for myself turned out to be much more valuable in
the long run, rather than simply accepting or rejecting a single point of
view.
One of the reasons the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and the
middle class struggles in debt is because the subject of money is taught
at home, not in school. Most of us learn about money from our parents.
So what can a poor parent tell their child about money? They simply
say “Stay in school and study hard.” The child may graduate with
excellent grades but with a poor person's financial programming and
mind-set. It was learned while the child was young.
Money is not taught in schools. Schools focus on scholastic and
professional skills, but not on financial skills. This explains how smart
bankers, doctors and accountants who earned excellent grades in
school may still struggle financially all of their lives. Our staggering
national debt is due in large part to highly educated politicians and
government officials making financial decisions with little or no
training on the subject of money.
I often look ahead to the new millennium and wonder what will
happen when we have millions of people who will need financial and
medical assistance. They will be dependent on their families or the
government for financial support. What will happen when Medicare
and Social Security run out of money? How will a nation survive if
teaching children about money continues to be left to parents-most of
whom will be, or already are, poor?
Because I had two influential fathers, I learned from both of them.
I had to think about each dad's advice, and in doing so, I gained
valuable
insight into the power and effect of one's thoughts on one's life. For
example, one dad had a habit of saying, “I can't afford it.” The other
dad forbade those words to be used. He insisted I say, “How can I

Rich Dad Poor Dad What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki