Introduction - Rich Dad Poor Dad
Having two dads offered me the choice of contrasting points of view: one of a
rich man and one of a poor man.
I had two fathers, a rich one and a poor one. One was highly educated and intelligent. He
had a Ph.D. and completed four years of undergraduate work in less than two years. He then
went on to Stanford University, the University of Chicago, and Northwestern University to
do his advanced studies, all on full financial scholarships. The other father never finished
the eighth grade.
Both men were successful in their careers, working hard all their lives. Both earned
substantial incomes. Yet one always struggled financially. The other would become one of
the richest men in Hawaii. One died leaving tens of millions of dollars to his family,
charities, and his church. The other left bills to be paid.
Both men were strong, charismatic, and influential. Both men offered me advice, but they did
not advise the same things. Both men believed strongly in education but did not recommend
the same course of study.
If I had had only one dad, I would have had to accept or reject his advice. Having two dads
offered me the choice of contrasting points of view: one of a rich man and one of a poor
man.
Instead of simply accepting or rejecting one or the other, I found myself thinking more,
comparing, and then choosing for myself. The problem was that the rich man was not rich
yet, and the poor man was not yet poor. Both were just starting out on their careers, and both
were struggling with money and families. But they had very different points of view about
money.
For example, one dad would say, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” The other said,
“The lack of money is the root of all evil.”
As a young boy, having two strong fathers both influencing me was difficult. I wanted to be a
good son and listen, but the two fathers did not say the same things. The contrast in their
points of view, 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 mind-set.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
There is a difference between being poor and being broke. Broke is temporary. Poor is
eternal.
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