At this very moment, I am at work watching a program on KCTS. It's a public television channel with intriging and educational seminars. Often these seminars would normally cost you an arm and a leg, but when the station is doing pledges, it airs some of the best shows.
Right now, it is showing The Rich Dad's Guide to Wealth with Robert Kiyasaki. He is the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and so far the seminar is pretty interesting. He is funny, charismatic, and explains financial knowledge in a simple way.
Here are some of his key points.
E,S,B,I
E = Employee
S = Self-employed
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B = Business/Entrepreneur
I = Investor
Point 1: Be a "B" or "I". The key is to have other people and money work for you, instead of working hard for someone else or working hard for your own business. Also, being an "E" or "S", you will pay the government first through taxes, and it's only through being a "B" or "I" can you actually legitimately pay zero in taxes.
Poor, Middle Class, Rich (Diverse Views on Money)
Point 2: The poor spend money, the middle class bury money, and the rich create/make money.
The Definition of Assets
Point 3: An asset is something that puts money in your pocket whether you work or not. So, having a house is not necessarily equal to having an asset. If the house is making you money, then it's an asset. The problem is a lot of people tend to think that having a house and a car (mortgage/loan) is the same as having assets. That's not the case. A mortgage/loan is a liability, and it is an asset for the bank. Along the same line, an equity loan is not an asset, and a lot of people treat their house as an ATM machine. A funny thing he said was the word "mortgage" is derived from the French word "Mort", which means "death"...hehe
Financial Education
Point 4: There are three types of education: Academic, Professional, and Financial. Schools give us academic and professional education, and they do not teach us Financial education. In order to be wealthy, you need financial education. In fact, when you leave school, your financial statement is equivalent to your report card.
Risk
Point 5: A lot of people consider investments to be risky. Risk is equal to a lack of control. The analogy he used was driving a car. You would not get into the car without your driver's licence, insurance, checking the oil, steering, gas pedal, etc. Likewise, you cannot invest smartly without control.
Don't Wait
Point 6: Your life is like a football game, there is the 1st quarter, half time, no time, over time etc....don't wait no time or over time. Start young!
Your Inner Genius
Point 7: Don't do what other people tell you to do, find your inner genius.
Overall, the seminar contained some very simple, common-sense information. He did not go into specifics about anything, but I guess that's where reading his books comes in. Sometimes, simple information can be very powerful, as we are often blind to what's clearly in front of us. It's good to have someone point those things out once in awhile.
Robert Kiyasaki is a huge fan of creating wealth through being a business man and investor. The old style of working hard, saving money, invest long term and diversify is not his style.
Unfortunately for me, I was brought up on the old philosophy, and it is the only way that I have seen people become wealthy. I understand his points, I can visualize them, but changing my entire view will be hard. I can only do what works for me and what I have seen work for other people.
