FINANCIAL EDUCATION 

By Robert Kiosaki

Not knowing what you are really worth can lead you to believe that you have value only because you have made some money. It is often said that the people you surround yourself with will influence your future, and if you are content with an average life in America,  with 2 to 4 kids and a dog, then you will never achieve anything beyond your highest aspirations.  However, if you set your sights on making a million dollars, you must strive for that exact amount, not settling for anything less. The same goes for aiming for ten, or even a hundred million dollars. But if your goal is to positively impact the lives of a billion people, then you have a formula for becoming a billionaire while also changing the world.  

Ultimately, time is precious, and it is crucial to surround oneself with the right kind of people if one hopes to achieve great things.  Ted Turner recently celebrated his 75th anniversary party on CNN, during which he made a couple of comments. He mentioned that in the first 10 years of starting CNN, he slept on his couch, as he didn't have an apartment. He also said that this sacrifice is not unique to him, as other successful people like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs also slept in their offices in the past.  This suggests that, if you want to achieve success, you need to do things that you may not necessarily want to do. Like making sacrifices such as sleeping in the office or hanging around with people who are NOT bums.  Such sacrifices are necessary if you want to achieve your desired goals.      

When I die, my children aren't getting any of my money. Not one penny. And two of my kids are cool with it, one of them is not cool with it. But I'm not going to force my ideas on anybody. When I think of Andrew Carnegie, as arguably the richest, most successful entrepreneur of all time. He said the best thing for a child, is for him to be born into poverty, and I agree. You were  only  born  poor, but not to stay and end up poor in life.  This isn't something that is typically taught in school. Instead, people are taught to go to school, get a job, and receive a steady paycheck. However, that  paycheck can be damaging as it creates a mindset of being an employee. Instead, he encourages entrepreneurship as a means of financial independence. 

My rich dad refused to pay me because he believed that the paycheck was a form of slavery to money. This idea drove my poor dad, who was a government employee, crazy. My rich dad was not against paying people but rather didn't want to be a slave to money. As an entrepreneur, I  don’t need a steady paycheck or anyone to take care of me. If my government doesn't support me, then I  move to another country where entrepreneurs are needed.   The idea of going to school, getting a job, working hard, saving money, getting out of debt, and investing for the long-term in the stock market is outdated. The argument against saving money is that with trillions of dollars being printed, it may not be worthwhile. Additionally, the wealth gap between the 1% and the 99% is significant. To succeed financially, it's necessary to step back and look at the bigger picture.  

The entrepreneur is not just the business, but rather the mindset and skills ran with a different set of rules. The rules for small businesses are not the same as those for big businesses. Primarily its mindset, followed by a skill set and rules that differ depending on whether you are an employee or a small business owner.   If you are thinking of taking the leap of faith and becoming an entrepreneur,  the same thing happened to me. My last paycheck, which was actually a bonus check, was one of the worst and best days of my life. I was working for Xerox in Puerto Rico at the time, and my boss handed me a check for about $30,000 (taxable, unfortunately). I was excited, but also disturbed.