photo credit: Tenor.com
When my poor dad said to me, "Go to school, get good grades, and find a safe secure job," he was recommending I work for earned income. When my rich dad said, "The rich don't work for money. They have their money work for them," he was talking about passive income and portfolio income. -Robert T. Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Poor Dad
I read the book Rich Dad Poor Dad about a year ago when my boyfriend and I decided we wanted to learn how to manage money. The book made me uneasy as I was reading it because, unfortunately, I had come to the realization that I was raised with the poor mentality that the author was advising his readers not to have. I am thankful for my parents and all that they taught me; I attribute all of my accomplishments to the upbringing they gave me. However, my parents had different goals than I do now and in order to achieve my goals I have to change the mindset that was instilled in me from birth ! Talk about a life-changing task....
Today, I will share with you how this book was my introduction to a different mindset. I have only just started my journey and it has not been easy (more on that in other posts), but I share this because I want to empower others by sharing my own experiences in hopes to let you know, you are not alone ! It helps to surround yourself with those who build you up. So, if you feel you are drowning on your own, believe me my friend most of us are swimming with you, all of us trying to attain the freedom to float.
My mother, a single mother of 5, immigrated to the United States from El Salvador at the age of 18 escaping a civil war. At that time in her life she had 3 children, only a primary school level of education and no money. At the age of 25, she had 5 children and worked two jobs to provide financial stability for her children in a foreign country. My mother would say to me the same things Kiyosaki's poor dad said to him, to get an education and a good job. Kiyosaki's dad, contrasted to my mother, graduated from 3 different American universities and had a PhD, but his teachings were still the same. Kiyosaki's poor dad was not poor in the literal sense, so, if my mother was giving me the same advice a successful and influential man was giving his own son, how could that advice be wrong?
As I read on, the fallacies in their reasoning became clear. Kiyosaki's rich dad never finished 8th grade, but the advice he gave to his son was fruitful and led him to financial freedom. With all respects to our parents and their wisdom, some of us have got it all wrong. Here are the three things I took away from this book:
- I have to change my mentality
- I fall under the category of people who seek stability, security, who fear failure, who try to minimize risk and who up until now though the only way to get "rich" was to earn money by getting a good education and finding a well paying secure job. I am one of those people who limit my own possibilities because I focus too much on my reality and not enough on how to change it. I hated the topic of money and talking about it. In my family it was always about not having enough. I had strong negative thoughts about money and the people who had a lot of it. I was raised to think this way, I was raised to follow rules, to be a part of the system and frown upon those at the top. I am now trying to exercise my brain and train it to think differently. One small ways I am doing this is first by reading. Reading the advice of others who have attained what I am working towards. Another way I am working to change my mentality is by reflecting, I have become aware of the thoughts I have and why. When it comes to money, many of us have preconceived judgments and unless you are willing to unravel yourself, you will not allow yourself to have wealth.
- I need to develop financial literacy
- Whether it is by taking workshops, by reading, by watching videos, through a mentor, or through whatever learning technique, I need to develop a basic understanding of money and how it works. This book was one great tool for that. I learned to view money as an idea, a tool, not a tangible item with worth. There will always be more of where it came from, money flows and I should focus on making money instead of earning it. I learned about assets and liabilities and the idea of having different streams of income. Basically put, I am working to learn and not learning to work.
- I must have a strong reason
- Currently, I see myself swimming to keep myself from drowning and I have become a very strong swimmer. I followed my mothers advice. Those who read my introduction know I went to school, I got good grades and now have a secure well-paying job. I am happy and am not struggling financially. I am definitely not rich and don't feel I need more money to be happy. So what is my reason, what is my purpose? What will keep me going against all odds and adversities? Without a good reason, I will not be persistent, I will not put in the hard work and I will be defeated. I learned from Kiyosaki, that ones purpose or reason to trying to be financially free can be a mixture of wants and don't wants. I want to have children and be able to spend time with them and have the liberty to spend my time with the people I love most. I want to be in a position to provide for others, to help others. I want to make a bigger difference in this world than I already have. I don't want my mother to have to work her entire life, I don't want to be poor and not be in a position to able to help my family in times of need. Imagine spending your entire life learning how to swim, only to be told you didn't have to and that you could float and still get where you want instead? I don't want to tire myself swimming, when I could be floating, letting money work for me instead of working for it.
Kiyosaki's book opened my mind and personally, I highly recommend it for anyone who related to me in this post. I encourage you to keep your mind open. It's hard to learn that you have the wrong mentality or that you are uneducated on a certain topic you wish to master. It's incredibly difficult to learn that what you are doing or have been doing is not leading you down the right path. The wonderful thing is we all have the power to change. Your life is yours, start taking charge of it !
Wishing you all the best with much love my fellow people, until next time !