Lessons From Rich Dad Poor Dad

One of my favorite books is Rich Dad Poor Dad

This is the book to read if you want to learn how money works and how to get a rich mindset .

The writer Robert Kiyosaki tells a story about his two fathers, his rich father and his poor father.

Through this story, you will learn how the rich think and how non-wealthy people see the same situation.

Important Lessons From Rich Dad Poor Dad

Below I share how both fathers think. The ‘poor’ mindset and the rich mindset.

That’s what Poor Dad (and most people) think

These are the thoughts and beliefs of the average person.

1. Go to school and get good grades

Going to school is not necessarily wrong. On the contrary.

But you don’t learn the skills and knowledge to become rich and successful.

You learn to be a good employee. And yes, employee experience is certainly useful as an entrepreneur, but it mainly concerns the executive skills.

If you want to be successful (as an entrepreneur) you have to think and look at things differently.

Elon Musk previously said “Go to school for fun and not for learning” .

2. Get a permanent job for security

A permanent job is a false sense of security. We have noticed this in the past year with the onset of the corona crisis.

Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost in here in Nigeria alone. And that included plenty of permanent contracts.

3. Work hard and save

There is, of course, nothing wrong with hard work. And not with savings either. But..

If you only work hard and put your hard-earned money in a savings account, you’re making a bad choice. Thanks to inflation alone, this money is worth less every year.

4. Work for money

Working for money is fine.

Especially when you are still young and still have to build everything up. But don’t keep doing this for the rest of your life. Because then you are always dependent on your salary or monthly payments.

5. Pay your bills and debts first

Sounds logical and responsible (it is) but the rich dad does that just a little differently (read more about this later in this article).

So this is a typical thought and belief of someone with no knowledge of money . If you first pay all bills and debts, you immediately ‘destroy’ part of your cash. And you will have to live with the amount left over until your next paycheck.

That can be smarter ..

6. Don’t buy anything you can’t afford

Also a pretty logical view. To a certain extent.

Because even if you can’t pay for something you want now, nobody is saying that you can’t later on. Think “How can I pay for this?” and make a plan based on that. Think in possibilities and opportunities.

7. Investing is a risk

Someone with limited knowledge of how money works and what you can do with it sees investments as risks. 

You would lose your hard earned money..

8. Your owner-occupied home is an asset

Even people who have less limited beliefs about money fall for this myth. An asset is an asset that gives you money instead of cost every month or fixed period.

If you live in your owner-occupied house, it costs you money (mortgage) every month without it yielding you more money. Even if you later sell your house with a profit, it has not been an asset.

9. The rich are stingy

I hear this very often. My parents in particular criticize people with money a lot.

People with money are scammers, they cannot be trusted, they are rich only because they screwed others and you name it.

And they are not entirely wrong: there are certainly these types of people among the rich. But that is a small percentage , just like with society as a whole .

10. Money is the root of all evil

And this belief follows the previous one nicely. Thinking that all the evil in the world is a result of too much money. While it is often ideals that make people do strange (evil) things.

Poverty is precisely the root of evil. If you have a great lack of money, many principles fall away and people start doing strange things with all the consequences that entails.

That’s how Rich Dad (and all the other rich ones) thinks

Now you know how people with a poor/limited mindset think. Time to get inside Rich Dad’s head. How does he look at these things?

1. Learn how money and finance work

Knowledge about how money and finances work ensures that you can make smart choices. This always gives you an edge over the majority of people (where this knowledge is lacking).

2. Build companies and businesses

Keep building and improving. With one or more companies you provide multiple sources of income and your wealth grows.

3. Not investing is a risk

Saving money and not investing it is a big risk. Do it the other way around.

4. Invest instead of save

I have already explained that with saving money loses value. By investing in all kinds of assets, you ensure that this money will work for you.

And you can get dividend/profits as income from these assets. In addition, your assets grow in value, making them worth much more when you sell them.

5. Make money work for you

So you do that by investing your money . In any case, in assets that generate recurring income. But also invest in people who can do certain tasks better than you.

This ensures that the end result is better, but more importantly: you buy back your time.

Example: John works 8 hours a day and earns 5000 dollars per month. Peter only works 4 hours a day and earns 3000  dollars a month. Who is really richer (more prosperous) here?

6. Pay yourself first

This is a tricky one for a lot of people (I’ve struggled with this too). But the rich dad’s thought is simple:

If you pay yourself last, you feel little satisfaction with your earned money. You have to make do with what’s left. This can cause you immediate stress and your motivation drops enormously.

If you pay yourself first, this is the other way around. You will feel a boost of energy from your freshly earned money and you will be able to meet your needs. Which in turn ensures that you can earn more money with full motivation.

Please note: this does NOT mean that you should not take your responsibilities with bills and debts. You will have to pay this left or right anyway.

7. Ask yourself “how can I pay for this?”

Instead of thinking “I can’t afford this”. This is related to number 7 from Poor Dad.

But instead of thinking that you can’t afford it (and therefore don’t buy it or with a sense of guilt) you start looking at how you can pay it.

8. Your house is a liability

You could already read this with conviction 9 of the poor dad. A house that you live in yourself is not an asset if this house does not yield more than you pay in mortgage.

9. The rich are generous

And so it is. Most rich people are thankful, humble and generous. They also use their wealth to make the world a better place and help others. Something that is much easier with a lot of power.

Buy Rich Dad Poor Dad

If you haven’t read this book yet, I recommend ordering it right away . The book is easy to read and is guaranteed to give you new insights about money.

• Learn to think in abundance about finances
• Learn to see money as a resource and not as an asset
• How money is going to work for you (instead of you for money)
• Find out the difference between being rich and being prosperous (greatest insight for me!)