Rich Dad Poor Dad is a starting point for anyone looking to gain control of their financial future

particularly about money, was so extreme that I grew curious and 
intrigued. I began to start thinking for long periods of time about 
what each was saying.
Much of my private time was spent reflecting, asking myself 
questions such as, “Why does he say that?” and then asking the same 
question of the other dad’s statement. It would have been much 
easier to simply say, “Yeah, he’s right. I agree with that.” Or to simply 
reject the point of view by saying, “The old man doesn’t know what 
he’s talking about.” Instead, having two dads whom I loved forced 
me to think and ultimately choose a way of thinking for myself. As a 
process, choosing for myself turned out to be much more valuable in 
the long run than simply accepting or rejecting a single point of view.
One of the reasons the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and 
the middle class struggles in debt is that the subject of money is 
taught at home, not in school. Most of us learn about money from 
our parents. So what can poor parents tell their child about money? 
They simply say, “Stay in school and study hard.” The child may 
graduate with excellent grades, but with a poor person’s financial 
programming and mindset.
Sadly, money is not taught in schools. Schools focus on scholastic 
and professional skills, but not on financial skills. This explains how 
smart bankers, doctors, and accountants who earned excellent grades 
may struggle financially all of their lives. Our staggering national debt 
is due in large part to highly educated politicians and government 
officials making financial decisions with little or no training in the 
subject of money.

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Rich Dad Poor Dad
3
Today I often wonder what will soon happen when we have 
millions of people who need financial and medical assistance. They 
will be dependent upon their families or the government for financial 
support. What will happen when Medicare and Social Security run
out of money? How will a nation survive if teaching children about 
money continues to be left to parents—most of whom will be, or 
already are, poor?
Because I had two influential fathers, I learned from both of 
them. I had to think about each dad’s advice, and in doing so, I 
gained valuable insight into the power and effect of one’s thoughts on 
one’s life. For example, one dad had a habit of saying, “I can’t afford 
it.” The other dad forbade those words to be used. He insisted I ask,
“How can I afford it?” One is a statement, and the other is a question. 
One lets you off the hook, and the other forces you to think. My
soon-to-be-rich dad would explain that by automatically saying the 
words “I can’t afford it,” your brain stops working. By asking the 
question “How can I afford it?” your brain is put to work. He did
not mean that you should buy everything you want. He was fanatical 
about exercising your mind, the most powerful computer in the
world. He’d say, “My brain gets stronger every day because I exercise 
it. The stronger it gets, the more money I can make.” He believed that 
automatically saying “I can’t afford it” was a sign of mental laziness.
Although both dads worked hard, I noticed that one dad had a 
habit of putting his brain to sleep when it came to finances, and the 
other had a habit of exercising his brain. The long-term result was 
that one dad grew stronger financially, and the other grew weaker. It 
is not much different from a person who goes to the gym to exercise 
on a regular basis versus someone who sits on the couch watching 
television. Proper physical exercise increases your chances for health, 
and proper mental exercise increases your chances for wealth. 
My two dads had opposing attitudes and that affected the way 
they thought. One dad thought that the rich should pay more in 
taxes to take care of those less fortunate. The other said, “Taxes 
punish those who produce and reward those who don’t produce.” 

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Introduction
4
One dad recommended, “Study hard so you can find a good 
company to work for.” The other recommended, “Study hard so you 
can find a good company to buy.”
One dad said, “The reason I’m not rich is because I have you 
kids.” The other said, “The reason I must be rich is because I have 
you kids.”
One encouraged talking about money and business at the dinner 
table, while the other forbade the subject of money to be discussed 
over a meal.
One said, “When it comes to money, play it safe. Don’t take 
risks.” The other said, “Learn to manage risk.”
One believed, “Our home is our largest investment and our 
greatest asset.” The other believed, “My house is a liability, and if your 
house is your largest investment, you’re in trouble.”
Both dads paid their bills on time, yet one paid his bills first while 
the other paid his bills last.
One dad believed in a company or the government taking care 
of you and your needs. He was always concerned about pay raises, 
retirement plans, medical benefits, sick leave, vacation days, and 
other perks. He was impressed with two of his uncles who joined the 
military and earned a retirement-and-entitlement package for life 
after twenty years of active service. He loved the idea of medical 
benefits and PX privileges the military provided its retirees. He also 
loved the tenure system available through the university. The idea
of job protection for life and job benefits seemed more important, 
at times, than the job. He would often say, “I’ve worked hard for the 
government, and I’m entitled to these benefits.”
The other believed in total financial self-reliance. He spoke out 
against the entitlement mentality and how it created weak and financially 
needy people. He was emphatic about being financially competent.
One dad struggled to save a few dollars. The other created 
investments. One dad taught me how to write an impressive resumé 
so I could find a good job. The other taught me how to write strong 
business and financial plans so I could create jobs.

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Rich Dad Poor Dad
5
Being a product of two strong dads allowed me the luxury of 
observing the effects different thoughts have on one’s life. I noticed 
that people really do shape their lives through their thoughts.
For example, my poor dad always said, “I’ll never be rich.” And 
that prophecy became reality. My rich dad, on the other hand, always 
referred to himself as rich. He would say things like, “I’m a rich man, 
and rich people don’t do this.” Even when he was flat broke after a 
major financial setback, he continued to refer to himself as a rich man. 
He would cover himself by saying, “There is a difference between 
being poor and being broke. Broke is temporary. Poor is eternal.”
My poor dad would say, “I’m not interested in money,” or
“Money doesn’t matter.” My rich dad always said, “Money is power.”
The power of our thoughts may never be measured or appreciated, 
but it became obvious to me as a young boy that it was important 
to be aware of my thoughts and how 
I expressed myself. I noticed that my 
poor dad was poor, not because of the 
amount of money he earned, which was 
significant, but because of his thoughts 
and actions. As a young boy having two 
fathers, I became acutely aware of being 
careful about which thoughts I chose to adopt as my own. Should I 
listen to my rich dad or to my poor dad?
Although both men had tremendous respect for education and 
learning, they disagreed about what they thought was important to 
learn. One wanted me to study hard, earn a degree, and get a good job 
to earn money. He wanted me to study to become a professional, an 
attorney or an accountant, and to go to business school for my MBA. 
The other encouraged me to study to be rich, to understand how 
money works, and to learn how to have it work for me. “I don’t work 
for money!” were words he would repeat over and over. “Money works 
for me!”
At the age of nine, I decided to listen to and learn from my rich 
dad about money. In doing so, I chose not to listen to my poor dad, 
even though he was the one with all the college degrees.