Rich Dad, Poor Dad
by Robert Kiyosaki
Chapter One
In the first chapter of this book Robert Kiyosaki sets up the premise of the idea of Rich Dad, Poor Dad. He grew up with two fathers - one rich and the other poor. Initial the rich dad was not rich and the poor dad was not poor. Both dads taught him conflicting ideas about money. One said to go to school and get a safe and secure job with a corporation. The other said to own the corporation. This unique perspective gave the author an oppurtunity to choose what he thought for himself.
One simple idea that differentiated the two dads was the his poor dad had the habit of saying "I can't afford it." And his dad that would soon to be rich would ask himself "How can I afford it?". His rich dad was saying that stating that you can't afford something shuts your brain off and keeps it from looking for answers. By asking yourself how you can afford it, it opened up possibilities and made his brain stronger.
His poor dad tried to avoid risks while his rich dad tried to manage them. His rich dad said his house was his biggest liability while his poor dad claimed it as his biggest asset. His poor dad believed the government should take care of you and the rich dad spoke against entitlement mentality. His rich dad showed him how to make financial and business plans while his poor dad showed him how to make resumes.
His rich dad alwasy referred to himself as rich even in times of major financial setbacks. "There is a difference between being poor and being broke. Broke is temporary, and poor is eternal."
His poor dad told him to get a MBA to earn good money. His rich dad told him to study money so money can work for you. He then quotes "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. The poem accentuates his choice to choose his less educated but eventually rich dad.
His rich dad believed that money by itself is not power. Financial education harnessed the true power to any sort of freedom. Over a period of thirty years, Kiyosaki learned 6 basic lessons. He will teach these lessons in the remainder of the book. He fashions them as guideposts to financial education. The beginning of financial independence.
Josh:
The first chapter is a real hook. It sets up the idea of why the book is called "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", and it gives a taste of what the book has to offer. The two conflicting ideas of each father really couldn't have been a better fit for a movie. One is less educated and studies money and becomes rich, the other has college degrees and his on the State Education Board of Hawaii but ends up poor.
As a reader, you do feel a sense of loss for the poor dad. Not only because he lost out after working so hard but because he reminds me of my parents and myself. I did exactly that went to school because all the adults around told me to. Now my seasonal job just ended and my permanent job decided to close down its facility in my town. The jobs I had were less than glamorous to begin with. Now I am left with a choice of getting unemployment or eventually not having a place to live.
Is it possible from my position to even make any progress on my way to financial independence? The answer has to be yes, but I have no idea how. The idea that the answer has to be yes is actually coming from the idea in this chapter of asking how you could afford it versus just saying you can't. How can I increase my financial outlook? What can I do to make it happen? The idea of thinking of yourself rich even when the money is not in your account must have played a pivotal role in the rich dads life when he went through some hard lessons.
So, lets take a look at the first of six lessons Kiyosaki's rich dad taught him...
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