Rich Dad Poor Dad: How To Convert Ideas Into Reality
Are you among the several millions who have been exposed to the advice offered by Kiyosaki in his “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” best-selling book and support materials?
If so, are you among the 90% who the statistics suggest are not in a position to identify with the “rich Dad experience” shared in the book?
As a Poor Dad from Kiyosaki’s S-quadrant – Self-employed/Small business group, I want to apply “Step 10 of his process of developing our God-given powers: “Teach and you shall receive.””
I have drawn some important insights from “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” that I share in this article.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad is heavily skewed towards presenting an alternative view to the philosophy of “study hard so that you can get a good job or profession and achieve financial security.” It highlights the advantages of following the path of developing financial intelligence so as to effectively operate in the right-side quadrants of being an Investor or Big Business Owner.
A great deal of emphasis is placed on pointing to the inadequacies of being committed to striving for a good job or profession and working hard to accumulate savings. Kiyosaki actually makes a good case to show that “savers are losers”.
I come to Rich Dad, Poor Dad late – 6th decade and small business owner for over 3 decades. I could be excused for believing that Rich Dad, Poor Dad is not directly relevant for me. However, I want to share some valuable insights that I take from Kiyosaki.
New beginnings can start at any time
I was inspired by the reminder of the Colonel Saunders story of perseverance in selling his business idea. This came at a time when he could be deemed to have a failed career and at an age when others are focused on retirement.
This is good news for the increasing throngs who have been displaced from “secure” employment. The fact that there is hope and precedence for new beginnings is empowering.
I identify totally with the Mom & Pop operators and small business owners who have escaped the employment trap but have not been able to achieve financial independence after years of tireless work.
What does Rich Dad, Poor Dad have to offer to them?
We have changed bosses not our status
A powerful realization is that for many small business owners, the term “self-employed” is really descriptive of our true status. We are still “employed”. We have only changed bosses. In fact, I bet that like me you have actually taken on a far more demanding boss. We have become slaves to the business.
The Rich Dad, Poor Dad philosophy is that we should identify investments that do not consume a lot of our time. If the operations need to be managed then hire talented people to drive the process.
If you reflect on any time that you have spent being employed to others you can immediately see many benefits from having someone steering your ship while you provide the direction and monitor progress.
The spin-off benefits go beyond providing the business with objective and professional management. It also frees you up to develop your financial intelligence and to identify and manage other investment opportunities.
If you make the point that the business cannot afford to pay for professional management then you will be guilty of breaking two of Rich Dad, Poor Dad’s fundamental principles.
Delete: I can’t afford it
The first one is to delete the term “I can’t afford it” from your vocabulary. Replace it with the Rich Dad question “How can I afford this?”
If I may insert an empowering thought outside of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad content, it is the value of the concept of Afformations – the power that comes from asking “Why questions”.
So, “Why am I able to engage professional management and grow my investments?” replaces “I can’t afford to pay a manager.”
The sub-conscious mind actually determines our future. Our minds are designed to find answers. So by asking empowering questions we put our minds to work to find the answers. Start asking your sub-conscious to find answers for outcomes that you desire and watch for a transformation in those areas of your life.
Pay yourself first
The other reason why many small business owners become slaves to their operations is because they are subsidizing the business with their free labour. Self-imposed slavery!
Rich Dad, Poor Dad pointedly insists that to make the shift to financial independence we have to pay ourselves first. In fact, the more scary the owners of your debt or liabilities are the greater the benefit of paying yourself first.
The reason is simple. If you face terrible consequences for not paying up on time, you are going to be forced to find creative ways to make that happen. However, you are not going to be scared of yourself so if you can’t ante up when it is your turn to collect you will just let it slide.
Paying self goes beyond just a salary. It means investing in assets – income generating resources. To move to financial independence, we must add and sustain income generating resources BEFORE taking care of liabilities.
The logic is clear for anyone who has been caught up in the throes of running a marginal small business. There is a recurrence of the cycle of funds coming in and immediately going out to clear pending expenses and debt. There is nothing left to fund growth activities or to even think of diversifying the investment portfolio.
The lack of investment in growth leads to stagnation and a deepening of the vicious cycle. It is clear that one way to break free is to develop nerves of steel and heightened creativity. Take those into the decision to consistently make payments that are income generating before settling liabilities.
Take care not to neglect the need for additional creativity. The objective is not to build up a poor credit rating. The goal is to settle all bills on time. This approach just means that having taken care of the income generating activities off the top, you now have to find some way to get enough to take care of the wolves that are camping at your door.
I will share further insights in the next installment. This will include how to build up the Assets column when the business is being strangled by liabilities. I am really keen to get your feedback and to engage you in discussion – either in this forum or by direct contact with me at: trevor.smith@