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 the ways in which 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 in order 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. According to him, It’s not about how
much money you make, but about how much money you keep. An asset is
something that is 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 in order
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 their own financial management. It makes several good points and
includes simple diagrams and details to explain just that. Although it does not
give you an absolutely 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.
Conclusion:- It is overall a great book. It not only gets you excited to improve
your financial situation but actually 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 with mediocrity in life. We at
Little
scholars gives emphasis on financial education of children from the
initial stage of education.