Rich Dad Poor Dad is a book written by Robert Toru Kiyosaki. It has sold over 32 million copies in more than 51 languages across more than 109 countries, been on the New York Times bestsellers list for over six years. It has also launched a series of books and related products. Famous Celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith have promoted this book.
Rich Dad Poor Dad is about Robert Kiyosaki and his two dads—his real father, whom he refers to as the poor dad in the title, and the father of his best friend whom he calls Rich Dad. This book is about how both men shaped his thoughts about money and investing and more precisely rich dad’s guide to investing. It talks about financial literacy and how it is essential to understand how money works to achieve great success in life.
Summary
According to the author, People are dominated by two main emotions everyone has which are fear and greed. Fear of losing the job, investments not being fruitful, or the greed of living a fancy but temporary life. He says that we should use our money to acquire assets instead of liabilities. Assets are stocks, bonds, real estate that you rent out and earn from, and anything that generates money and increases in value over time. The author considers houses, cars, electronics, etc. to be liabilities.
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According to him, It’s not about how much money you make, but about how much money you keep. An asset is something valuable, which produces income and can be bought and sold easily. On the other hand, liabilities take money to maintain. He talks about how people spend their whole lives making other people rich by working for them and not trying to be financially self-dependent. He says that you should work on income-producing assets as soon as possible and invest as much of your money as possible in assets.
In chapter 7 of Rich Dad Poor Dad, the author states that “the primary difference between a rich person and a poor person is how they manage fear. ”The fear he talks about is the fear of losing money and how to handle that fear. Apart from fear, there are four more obstacles people encounter when they try to become financially independent - Laziness, Bad habits, Arrogance, and Cynicism. In Chapter 9, Kiyosaki pulls the key lessons of the book together into a checklist of actions you can start taking today. He offers some crucial steps one must take to become financially successful.
Is Rich Dad, Poor Dad worth reading?
The simple and short answer is, yes.
Fairly easy to read and provides you with different perspectives. Great book for anyone wanting to learn about the importance of financial management. It makes several good points and includes simple diagrams and details to explain just that. Although it does not give you a detailed account of how one can immediately become rich, it does provide a blueprint and a mental approach.
Robert Kiyosaki opens up the world of the elite class and provides you a perspective on how the finically intelligent brain looks at problems and it’s far different than how the middle and lower classes are taught to think. He shows how rich people see failure as a motivation to put more effort and approach their problems wisely which is something poor and middle-class people need to learn. Most importantly, you will learn just how crucial financial literacy is if you want to achieve big success in life.
These are some points that I found to be particularly helpful -
It's not about how much money you have. It's about how much money you keep which truly determines how financially stable you are. Be in control of your emotions, don’t let fear stop you from achieving your goals, and don’t let greed govern your life. Work to acquire life skills rather than money. Financial literacy is the key to success. A person could be highly educated, and professionally successful but financially illiterate. Knowing how money works will help you manage your finances smartly.
Failure inspires winners and defeats losers. When something does not work out the way you planned, let it inspire you to try a different approach. Learn and move on. Investment is not risky, not knowing the investment is risky. If you want to reduce the risk, then increase your knowledge While keeping your daytime job, start building your assets which will generate income for you. In the real world, it's not the smart who get ahead, but the bold. Taking calculated financial risks is essential if you want to succeed in life. The single most powerful asset we all have is our minds. A well-trained mind can generate enormous wealth. Our mindset plays a vital role in our journey to success.
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Conclusion:- It is overall a great book. It not only gets you excited to improve your financial situation but also gives you guidelines on how to achieve it and helps you gain a new perspective on finance management. This book is a must-read for anyone who does not want to settle for mediocrity in life. We at Little Scholars emphasize the financial education of children from the initial stage of education.
