Rich Dad

A true tale of two dads, one dad is a highly educated professor, the other, an eighth grade dropout. The educated dad left his family with nothing, except a few unpaid bills. The dropout later became one of Hawaii's richest men and left his son a fortune. The educated dad would say, "I can't afford it" while the other, asked, "How can I afford it?" Rich dad teaches the boys priceless lessons on money, by making them learn through experience. The most important lesson he teaches is to free yourself from the "rat race" of life and learn to make money work for you, and not be its slave. He knew that financial literacy would help prepare the boys for their life. Though one must have a job, Rich Dad taught the boys to eventually use your day job to begin minding your own business.

The first lesson the two boys learned was that the rich do not work for money. One should work to learn, not make money. At age 9, Robert Kiyosaki and his best friend Mike asked Mike's father to teach them how to make money. After 3 weeks of dusting cans in one of Rich Dad's convenience stores at 10 cents a week, Kiyosaki was ready to quit. Rich Dad pointed out this is exactly what his employees sounded like. Some people quit a job because it doesn't pay well. Others see it as an opportunity to learn something new.

Next Rich Dad put the two boys to work, this time for nothing. Doing this forced them to think up a source of income, a business scheme. The opportunity came to them upon noticing discarded comic books in the store. The first business plan was hatched. The boys opened a comic book library and employed Mike's sister at 1$ a week to mind it. Soon they were earning $9.50 a week without having to physically run the library, while kids read as much comics as they could in two hours after school for only a few cents.

The second lesson Rich Dad taught the two boys was the importance of financial literacy. The growing gap between rich and poor is rooted in the old-fashioned educational system. The system trains people to be good employees, and not employers. The obsolete school system also fails to provide young people with basic financial skills rich people use to grow their wealth.

Rich Dad also gave the two boys advice of how to get out of the "rat race." He taught them to first understand