Oh, Rich Dad Poor Dad is such a classic financial tool!

No matter if you're usually not into finance, you've probably heard of this book. It's been around since 2000 and has been on the national bestseller list for 18 consecutive months! It's basically never been out of the top 10. The reason is probably because the book cover is purple. If you often visit the library, you'll probably notice that the library shelves are almost covered in purple. It's a very popular book! I'm not exaggerating when I say that this book is a bestseller – it's a real phenomenon! I'm happy to say that sales of this book are still going strong! It's still in the top 10 on the New York Times bestseller list, with nearly 30 million copies sold and distributed in 109 countries. It's amazing how this book has almost changed the financial concept of an entire generation!

Have you ever wondered why this book is such a bestseller? First of all, it's really well written. Most general financial books are basically full of complex figures and a variety of charts that you have to read up to a certain level to understand. This book is different. It's written in a way that's easy to understand, making it an ideal entry-level financial book. The reasoning is also understandable and thorough. Its aim is to change the wrong concept that most people have about financial management. So, it's perfect for people who are already literate and can easily read and understand it. There's a really special reason why this book is so popular. It's written in a really engaging way, inspired by the author's own experiences. The book explores two very different concepts, like watching a movie. There's a good and an evil, and eventually, the good side wins. It's a fascinating read, and it's not something many people get to experience.

The author of this book is Robert T. Kiyosaki. He was born in the United States to a very ordinary middle-class family. Like all children, he went to the same ordinary school and received the most traditional education. But there's one thing that sets him apart: he has two dads! One of his biological fathers is a highly educated education official. He's very well educated and extremely intelligent, with a PhD! D. has been studying at Stanford University and the University of Chicago. To most people, he's one of those high-class intellectuals who've got a great job, a fixed salary, and don't have to worry about food or clothing. He's living the dream! The other father is the father of a good friend of his. This father is an entrepreneur who has not even graduated from high school. He is an authentic businessman, although not knowledgeable, but has very skilful financial management skills.

Because he often hung out with his best friend when he was a kid, his best friend's dad also treated him as his own son. When he was imparting knowledge and reasoning to his best friend, he also educated Robert along with him, which was really great for him! So, there's a bit of a hiccup when Robert starts to see that his two dads have different values and that they have different views on money and values.

The biological father has had a pretty good life, but he knows his dad has been worrying about money all his life. He's always been busy trying to cope with a variety of bills and sometimes things got so tough that they had to file for bankruptcy. He's usually been particularly busy and doesn't have much time to spend with them. But he hasn't been able to change their financial situation, which has led to a lot of worry about money. The other entrepreneurial father, on the other hand, had a lot of time to spend with his family, while also saving hundreds of millions of dollars in assets belonging to one of the richest people in Chicago. When Robert saw these two different realities, he had to make a choice. He had to choose who to believe in, and he chose to embrace the values of his entrepreneurial father. And guess what? A few years later, he was a very rich man! He achieved financial freedom early on, living the life he had always dreamed of. He avoided the fate of having to work for money all his life, just like his own father.

So, what were this rich dad's values? What was it that he told Robert that changed his destiny forever? I'm really excited to share with you all the amazing insights from this book! I'll be talking about the differences between the values of these two dads and the two incredible lessons the rich dad taught Robert.

Let's dive into the differences in values between Robert's two dads! Both dads are actually very clever and work very hard, but they have very different attitudes towards money.

His real father, the highly educated doctor, always said, "Greed is the root of all evil, and people should know how to be moderate and not stink of money." And the other entrepreneurial dad always said, "Poverty is the root of all evil. It can make people do bad things and wear out their side of goodness. But money can help more people and eliminate more evil in the world." Eventually, when both dads had passed away, the biological father left behind a mountain of bank statements, while the entrepreneurial father had left hundreds of millions of dollars for charity and allowed his best friend to take over the business and create even more money.

His biological father was always so sensible! If he came across something expensive, he'd say, "Oh, I can't afford this," and then move on. We all know how it goes. You see a house in the north and think, "I can't afford this one for the rest of my life." His entrepreneurial father, on the other hand, would kindly but firmly forbid him to say such a thing or think that way. He would always tell Robert and his good friend to think: "If I were to buy this, how would I go about earning the money to be able to afford it?" One of these two dads used to speak in declarative sentences, skipping over all the thinking and frustration of not being able to afford it. The other used to speak in interrogative sentences, always looking for a solution to the problem and not being allowed to run away from it. So, the long-term effect of these two ways of thinking is that the biological father never uses his brain and his financial IQ is getting lower and lower. Meanwhile, the entrepreneurial father always uses his brain to try to solve problems and his financial IQ is getting higher and higher. It's like one always lies on the couch watching TV, while the other goes out to exercise every chance he gets! So, these two people's physiques are definitely not the same.

His biological father always said, "Oh, the government is so shady! They take a third of our paychecks in taxes." The entrepreneur's father always said, "I think the government should collect taxes." I'd love to know how we can create a fair market environment without taxes! Taxes are meant to be a way to encourage hard work and discourage laziness. His biological father always encouraged him, "You have to study hard so that you can get a good job later and be able to support yourself." Oh, don't you think it's a bit like what we hear from our parents in books? They say to study hard, because if you don't, you'll struggle to find a job later on. The entrepreneur father, however, always said, "You have to study hard so that later you can open your own company and create many jobs for others. It'll be so rewarding to be your own boss and help others at the same time!" "When you see good companies, you can buy them and give more people job opportunities, which is really great!" His two dads had very different ideas about what they wanted to achieve. One believed that if you didn't study well, you'd end up in a certain situation. The other was all about love and believed that if you studied well, you'd be able to help more people.

The biological father is not allowed to talk about money at the dinner table, and he has to be quiet while he eats. The entrepreneurial father, on the other hand, is always chatting about business. He'll talk about it from beginning to end, and he's very passionate about it! The biological father does sometimes talk about money, but he always does it very carefully. He thinks about spending money a lot, and it can be quite an emotional decision for him. He's afraid of spending money and not getting it back, like cutting his own piece of meat, so to speak. The entrepreneurial father was much more relaxed. He told Robert to learn to manage risks, and then to invest with confidence once he had done so. When bills came in, his biological father would always put them off until the deadline. The entrepreneurial father would always pay his bills in advance, never late, because he knows that late payment usually comes with penalties and affects his credit score. He believes that a small penalty is a very large unnecessary expense and simply an insult to his financial management skills.

His real father always had the utmost faith in the government and put all his trust in them when it came to his retirement plans. He was very concerned about things like pay raises, retirement policies, medical subsidies, sick leave and allowances. He would have been over the moon if the government had paid him money regularly in his old age. The dad who's an entrepreneur just doesn't believe in this at all, bless him. He believes that when we depend on others, we can lose our motivation and become weak. And these are the main reasons why people end up poor. It's so important to take responsibility for your financial situation. And the best way to do that is to keep learning!

The biological father spent his days teaching others how to put together an impressive CV, while the entrepreneurial father taught him how to put pen to paper and write his own business plan and financial plan. Both dads had their own experiences with bankruptcy. The biological father, bless his heart, tended to be a bit pessimistic when he encountered bankruptcy and would say, "Oh, I'll never be rich, I guess." Sadly, this led to him struggling with bankruptcy for years. The entrepreneur father, on the other hand, would say, "Bankruptcy, well, it's just temporary. I don't have any money in the bank, but I've got a brain, I've got a wealth of financial knowledge, and I'm still a rich man." So he kept doing things the way the rich people behaved and, in just a few months, he was back on his feet!

So, we can say that the two dads had different attitudes towards money. One of them avoided money at all costs, looked down on it, didn't pay it any attention and, of course, didn't get it in the end. The other treated money with care and attention, wanted it and set himself high goals, working hard to make sure that money kept flowing in. This sentence doesn't sound a little bit like some feel-good, inspirational chicken soup, does it? It's so important to be honest with yourself about money. There are lots of talented people out there who are living in poverty because they don't have the right mindset. It's actually the senior intellectuals with their high, arrogant temperament who are holding them back. It's a sad fact that many people have a low opinion of businessmen.

The author often meets such lovely people! Once, at the launch of his new book, he was signing autographs for some of his readers. Then, a lovely lady came to him and asked for an autograph. She said, "Mr. Robert, I have finished reading your book, and I think it is very well-written. However, I need some specific advice now." My situation is a bit tricky at the moment. I have a PhD in English Literature and I'm studying further at the university, but I recently got divorced with two children. My financial situation is a bit of a struggle at the moment, with the bank about to repossess my house. I really don't want my children to have to sleep on the streets, so I'm looking for ways to improve my financial situation. Robert heard that and said, "Well, a PhD in English Literature, right? Well, now you'd better get a job in sales, selling anything. The more grounded the better, selling cars and houses."

The lady was so shocked by this that she couldn't help but explode. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Could you repeat that?" I have a doctoral degree and senior attainments in the field of literature, and I'm really surprised you'd ask me to become a salesman! "I'm really hoping you can help me out with some advice. I'm not sure why you're being so harsh." Robert saw that the situation wasn't quite right and quickly explained, "What I mean is that you could learn a lot from sales about how to package yourself and sell yourself. You're at a really impressive level now, with your doctorate, and you've surpassed 99.9% of people in the U.S. There's no point in going deeper into this field, you could start selling yourself instead." I think you should go into sales during the day, stick to writing at night, and eventually make money by selling your work. "I'm sure it won't take long for you to become rich."

Despite all this, the lady was still completely deaf and had a lot to say. She told Robert that she was playing with literature and wasn't going to do any sales work. Robert saw no way forward. He was completely unable to communicate. He pointed to his book and said: Just look at this book on my name. What comes after the suffix? The lady said with a smile, "It's a best-selling author." Robert said, "Yes, I'm a best-selling author. I write things that might never win the Nobel Prize for Literature, but I also help a lot of people and earn a good living. "I'm not as good as you are, so now you know what you should do."

From this example, we can see at least two things. One is that lots of people have been farming in their own field. They know how to make products, but they don't know how to market them at all. Another thing I've noticed is that there are lots of people who have a real dislike of business. They see making money as something low-class, and they have this inner rejection and resistance to money. It's a common psychological pattern, and it's understandable why they feel this way.

I'd love to know why this way of thinking is so common! Ultimately, it boils down to a lack of financial education in schools. Have you noticed that, whether it's Robert's real father or that lovely lady with a doctorate in literature, they're all very clever people? They've got great IQs and they've had a complete and systematic school education. But, bless them, they often end up resisting money because the school never taught them otherwise. On the other hand, people who aren't highly educated, like Robert's entrepreneurial father, have spent their whole lives in the marketplace. They've been honing their financial IQs their whole lives and would never feel ashamed to make money legally. So, they often end up creating companies and jobs to accommodate the elites who come out of school.

I know it's a bit of a sweeping statement, but it's true that everyone can benefit from developing their financial IQ, whether they're in the marketplace or have had a full school education. It's not as easy to measure as IQ and isn't as universally valued as EQ, but it's one of the most important things someone can do to get out of a rut. It's a shame that it's not taught in school, but that doesn't mean it's not important! It's just a failure of the education system. It's never too late to start building your financial awareness! Once you've done that, you'll be well on your way to achieving financial freedom and taking control of your life.

So, how can we all get a little bit smarter when it comes to money? What did Robert's lovely dad, who was an entrepreneur, tell him? It was all summed up in two lovely little articles.

The first thing to remember is that rich people don't work for money. This means that rich people won't sell their time and energy for a little money. Poor people do things, but rich people focus on their own business. They're very valuable to their own time and energy, even if the work is only temporary. It can also be said to be in order to their own growth and happy work. They won't be in a hurry to sell their time cheaply just to survive.

Robert's entrepreneurial dad told him a lovely story about the rat race. He said that most traditionally educated people, while each individual is very different, if you look at them as a whole, they show some striking similarities. This means that they show the characteristics of the middle class. For example, they are encouraged from a young age to study hard and graduate in order to get a job. This can make them feel like a mouse running in a cage all the time! They get a stable job that they love, then they get married, have children, and become doctors or lawyers by profession. Their salaries are only enough to pay for the house and to send their children to school. But they work even harder for a better life! They work hard to improve their lives, and they do get promoted and a raise, but other expenses go up with them. They pay more taxes, have more expenses, swipe more credit cards, and go into more debt. So they work even harder! It's like a little mouse running fast in a round wooden cage, looking like it's working really hard and actually spinning in place.

So, how can we escape this endless rat race? The first thing you have to do is learn to face your fears and desires head on. It can be really hard, but you've got this! Be mentally unafraid and don't let petty cash motivate you. It's a sad fact that most people are motivated to go out and get a job because of fear. They're afraid of not being able to pay the bills, afraid of being fired, afraid of not having enough money, afraid of starting over. It's so sad to see how many people are slaves to money. To get over that fear, they often just sell their work at a very low price. In fact, many of them create much more value than the work they do.

Robert and his friends were given small amounts of money to work for early on, and they were happy to do so. They were just kids, after all! His entrepreneurial father said, "If you want to keep getting paid $1.00 an hour, that's fine, but you won't learn the real value of the work." That's okay! But you might not learn any real skills that way. "Would you like to learn how to make a lot of money?" The two kids said yes, and their father replied, "You can learn, but then you'll have to work for nothing. I won't even give you a penny, but you can choose any job from me. Each job corresponds to a skill, and these skills can be combined to make a business." "First, you must decide on your own careers." The two kids chatted about it together and came up with a great idea: they were going to open a bookstore where they could borrow comics for other people! Once they'd made up their minds, the two kids started learning by selling Coke.

While this was going on, this lovely entrepreneur father came to lure them in and said, "Now, the next-door neighbour's lawn needs to be mowed for $1 an hour. Would you guys like to go?" The two kids thought about it for half a day but didn't say anything. Oh, okay, how about two dollars an hour? Even at $5, the two kids still didn't say anything. Robert was really proud of them and said, "We still want to open the comic book house." The father looked at it and, while he was tempted, he resisted the urge and the hurdle was passed. Robert recalled that after this little hiccup, he realised that no matter how much money someone offered them, he only cared about what he really wanted and whether he could learn the skills he needed from the job. Learning and growing became the main motivation for the job, which was a totally different approach to the choices made by most people who still do things driven by fear and desire. That's the first thing his lovely entrepreneur father taught him: to always run for his growth and not to run like that poor mouse trapped in a cage.

The second thing is to learn to distinguish between assets and liabilities. You might think this is really simple, but the truth is that most people can't tell the difference between what is an asset and what is a liability. Let me give you an example. If you have a car, you might think that this is your asset, but it's not. The car is actually a liability because it costs you a lot of money to maintain it. Robert's rich dad taught him so much! The second lesson was the most important one, and it's still the only rule of money management: figure out the difference between an asset and a liability and keep buying assets!

This concept is so simple that it's surprising more people don't think about it. Most people think that earning more and spending more is the way to go. They buy up liabilities in large amounts and end up feeling like they're dragging themselves down financially. Let me give you an example. There are often things like this around us. A person gets a windfall, like suddenly winning a jackpot or getting an inheritance. They may be living a particularly dashing life in the beginning, but as long as this person's mind is in this mode of only spending and not investing, it won't take long for them to be knocked back to their original form. The more money they have at their disposal, the more obvious this mode in their mind will be brought to the surface. This is a typical way of thinking that many people who are struggling financially have. It's a mindset that says, no matter how much money you make, you're still poor.

Have you ever wondered how the rich consume? The rich are smart! They know that if they want to improve their quality of life or buy some luxury goods, they should use the money they've made from assets to buy those things. They'll do whatever it takes to build up their money-making abilities and then they can start thinking about consumption.

So, when it comes to buying assets, what exactly are assets? Things like real estate, stocks, funds, bonds – all of these count! And if you follow the market, you'll find a whole world of things that have the potential to appreciate in value. It's not that poor people don't want to buy assets. They just don't know where to start. They're often too busy to pay attention to all the information out there about investments. And they often feel like their capital is too small to make a difference. So they don't even try. This is the main reason why people who are less well-off stay that way. The rich are always looking for new ways to make money. They'll treat every dollar as if it's their own pawns, like building an army of their own. They're always looking for new ways to make money for themselves. They'll even go out and attack the city! It's so hard for the poor to wait and save up for something they really want. They just want to spend their money! That's the main difference.

So Robert learned a very important lesson: to distinguish between liabilities and assets, to restrain their consumption impulse, and to first pile up their assets so that they can generate their own money. This is the correct way to manage money!
I'll quickly run through the two most important things I've learned from this book. You might think it's a bit simple, but simplicity is often the best way to get to the heart of things. Many people think this book is a bit old-fashioned, but the author's method might have been effective at the time, but it's still relevant today. The right way to manage your finances will never go out of style, but the specific financial methods might change. This book has helped so many people to change their financial outlook and to get their finances back on track. If you used to pay no attention at all to your financial structure and were just bent on making more money, this book will gently guide you to understand that this idea is not the best for you. It will show you that you can achieve financial freedom as early as possible by developing a proper view of money, constantly purchasing assets, reducing liabilities, and figuring out how to make money grow.