All in all, be judicious with what you read. The point is are you reading from a wide variety of sources. Are you spending the time to educate yourself and find out what works for you.

“Work hard. Don’t buy a new car or ipod or whatever steals your extra cash.
Research what the best return will be on your money.
Invest.
Repeat.
This is what made him rich?
Wow.”

I especially recommend: “Work hard. Don’t buy a new car or ipod or whatever steals your extra cash.” Especially new cars, the amount of money burnt everytime someone buys a new car… Then again I’ve bought 3 new cars since 1994, and two ipods (that I never even use). Do as I say, not as I do.

RDPD – I was obsessed with wanting to know “the truth” about the RD, was he real? How important it is really? Please do not discredit a book just because it’s a best-seller.
I found a lot of good ideas in his writing and I believe in saying “when a student is ready a teacher will appear” and “take what you like and leave the rest”. Too many clichés? all for free.
Yes I invested in RE and yes I had to learn a lot of lessons along the way. Of course, that’s why I read what I can about money, including this blog, because I am willing to learn and learn to discriminate.

Rob West

What makes this book different that others? There are thousands of books that teach you how to get rich. What makes RD/PD different? He teaches you to let go of fears put in place though society. He doesn’t tell you to stupidly take a bold risk.

I am a PUA (if you know what this means kudos to you!) and what I learned is that there are readers and that their are do’ers. Both are the same, but the difference in both is FEAR. One becomes good while the other just reads and questions because the do’er controls his fear and succeeds. Sure failure is a big part of it, but he succeeds in the long run. The core values in his book are control your fears and trust in “real” education.

I am a by product of a second generation home, and like all second generation families we were taught to goto school and get a good education. But the whole time I went through traditional schooling I didn’t learn about money. My friends who knew about money didn’t learn in school, they learned through their parents. Well what about the people who can’t learn from their parents? This book was catered to those who let “society” teach them about money, thus instilling their FEARS.

The only true “how to get rich” guru I’ve ever come across who actually practices what he preaches is Art Hamel, who teaches people step-by-step how to buy multi-million dollar companies (good companies that are successful, not turnarounds) with none of your own money.

I would highly recommend anyone looking for concrete advice to get rich should check out Art Hamel. You can buy his complete, step-by-step business buying system at Michael Senoff’s hardtofindseminars.com (and no, I am not an affiliate of the site).

Marcus

this book changed my life. my thinking changed. i began reading not only RK, but other investment books as well. the key words was that i began reading. i “mentored” with many millionaires through their books when before i just listened to employees like myself that just “survived”. i knew i had to leave the left quadrant. i just didn’t know how. their “mentorship” gave me the map out of the minefield.

i moved to texas in 2004 in direct obedience to God. I became a business partner in TEAM in 2006. we not only use RK in our biz presentations, but believe his common sense strategies work if applied. i have become a 5% thinker, practice delayed gratification, long term vision and have become debt free. i am a mentor to many and now help single parents get out of the rat race.

there is nothing wrong with RDPD being used in an organization. RK was very smart in doing this.
we have a “book of the month” as a part of our training system and many authors benefit from their books being chosen. when over 200 thousand books are sent out monthly, they are happy!
our top 1% earners that read over 40 books to determine which 1 book will be sent down. (their names are listed in the recent forbes survey on MLM’s. our org had 40 of the top 100 listed)
since they have the fruit on the tree and the results i want, i read the books. i also contact the authors and let them know how much their books have impacted my life. i have used many of them in sunday school sharing with others that may never get the opportunity to read that particular book. the ripple effect is amazing.

using a system works…..look at mcdonalds org. they are brilliant and if not mistaken, one of the most successful franchises in the world still to this day. their “system” is not how to make burgers, shakes, and fries…..it is how to be a “b” biz owner. of course you can read…behind the arches and find that out.

there will always be controversy, heresay and popular opinions. critics are your best cheerleaders because if you succeed, it gives them hope. i follow the people that have the results that i want. i surround myself with winners.

while i am not a real estate investor-yet-it is a buyers market. i support RK. after playing CFQ i am convinced i need to learn more about stocks.

whether RK’s RD was real or not….there are millions of bookshelves of fictitious characters that are most loved. look at many of our movies in the last few years…..they have touched our hearts and lives deeply because a man or woman chose to put pen to paper and write.

i am not an author…yet. i am inspired to become one because of the books i have read. i think charlie “tremendous” jones said it best. my life in 5 years will be determined by the people i meet and the books i read.
i associate with winners. or even as les brown says…winners that have not discovered how to win yet. this is my passion and assignment. to sow into their lives what has been sown into mine. direction from men like RK. instead of getting a job, after losing everything he had, slept in the back seat of his car and then in a basement of a friend refusing to succumb to what he believed was 95% thinking. he proved himself.

thanks for listening.

The reason why John T. Reed is acting that way is because he is a loser himself and the way for him to give himself a profile is picking on Robert.

Let me explain:

Many times when peoples are saying “you can’t do it” or “he will not make it” they are actually saying that THEY cannot do it. Let me give some examples:

1) When I was 13 years old, I talked about becoming an engineer studying at the university Leuven (hardest uni here in Belgium). Teachers said I was too stupid and lazy and would not make it. Next year I will finish my second and last master year in mathematical engineering.

2) Thanks to robert kiyosaki I became a very succesfull options trader (realizing I had to be in the top 10%), starting with a small acount I am now starting to live my dreams because I convert my capital gains by trading calls/puts into passive income by writing covered calls on anheuscher busch inbev.

(off course I am insured, I hedged myself at 16 euro the first time I bought shares and now the hedge expires I am going to hedge at 26 euro for another half year: 2-3% cashflow per month from covered calls AND +50% capital gains !!!). So if someone tells you 8% is a good ROI, that’s just crap.

Before I started trading a lot off peoples told me that I would not make it, parents from friends etc., peoples who lost tons off money by using the buy-hold-pray method. (no covered calls, unhedged, buying at P/E = +20, buying technology i.o. inbev, colruyt (food-beer), etc).

THE POINT I AM MAKING IS THIS:

Those parents and teachers were projecting that part off their lifes onto mine. So that’s why you must always make up your own mind.

Robert K. just tries to tell peoples that there is another way for peoples than just working 60 hours a week to pay the bills in the rat race and getting ripped off by mutual funds. He never said anyone can get out.

It’s a book to tell you that you must think rich, and that REALLY is true. People suspect to get a hot stock tip or something when they read a book about becoming rich, but it is more doing what you like doing and you have a gift for and becoming the best in it. Some like to build businesses, some like to play tennis, I like to trade options.

MY CONCLUSION:

- there are many peoples who cannot stand that other peoples are more succesfull than them, so they pick on them (John T. Reed or those parents or my teachers in high school)

- do what you like doing and are good at and become the best in it (you need to be in the top 10% to make 90% o.t. money)

- always keep an open mind, and sometimes try to see things different

WHO AGREES ????

Greetz from Belgium,

Robert, you rule man !!!!

Clearly your work is helping people, as evidenced by several consecutive YEARS of people posting responses just to this post of yours alone!

It seems a lot of people’s take on Kiyosaki hinges on the “risk” issue. Some people think he downplays it, others that he ignores it, etc. But what Kiyosaki really does is REDEFINE risk. He believes people think of risk as a kind of “absolute,” when risk is really relative to the person. (e.g. driving a car is riskiER for a child than an adult, and riskiER for someone learning to drive than for a veteran).

Some examples:

Which of these sound riskier, assuming inflation is 3%:
(1) An index fund that averages 12% per year over time, but during a particular year or two might be down as badly as 40%;
OR
(2) A bank account making 1% interest and guaranteed by FDIC?

If you need to access the money IMMEDIATELY, then #1 is riskier. But you are GUARANTEED TO LOSE 2% of your money on #2, after inflation. So over time, #2 is not only risky, but guaranteed to lose you money.

Also, which seems riskier:
(1) Starting a business in a context that has 80% of people failing;
(2) Starting a job in a context such that your lower seniority gives you an 80% chance of being laid off?

Answer: #2 sounds safer, AND IT IS…if you don’t know how to run a business. But the 80% chance of job loss is something you have no control over, whereas if you work hard and educate yourself, you actually have the ability to reduce the risk involved in #1. So again, the risk is relative.

Kiyosaki is definitely too attached to the idea of real estate, which is highly volatile (compare a few years ago to now!) and requires far too much work to be considered a “passive” source of income. (A healthy balanced portfolio of appropriate bonds, stocks, precious metals, and high-yielding money accounts is a far “safer” source of revenue than simply using a bank account OR investing in real estate.)

I do have to say Kiyosaki’s crowning achievement is the Cashflow Quadrant (ESBI). His goal is NOT to argue that E and S (Employee/Self-employed) are “wrong,” but rather to show that too many people believe being an Employee is simply “the obvious path to take in life.” His goal is to deconstruct that myth.

He argues that all societies need many of all four types (ESBI), but that too much modern culture is WAAAAAY too dominated by a “just shut up and become a good employee” assumption. People can by one type of a combination.

I myself make most of my income as an E (I’m a teacher), but also some as an S (I write, edit, and proofread) and some as an I (I actively manage a portfolio of assets). My goal is to increase the S and I over time, so that I am *less* dependent on my teacher’s salary with every year that passes. That is not “risky.” That is SAFER than leaning entirely on my salary.

In closing, yes, trying to invest or start a business is risky — and if you mess up badly enough, IT WILL ABSOLUTELY RUIN THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.

Know what else will?Trying to drive a car when you’re a child. You crash and are paralyzed. Ruins your whole life permanently.

So we should never learn to drive…right? Too risky. =)

(I’ll let everybody figure the implications out on their own.)

I’m noticing that his critics make several key mistakes. For example, he’s a salesman. He admits this openly and yet he draws criticism as though he’s been trying to hide that fact. His critics often seem bent on implying that because he uses sales and marketing tactics he must be evil somehow.

Another example: he didn’t say education is bad. He says the school systems don’t teach proper money management, and he’s right. They don’t. They teach you to find a good college and learn how to punch a clock. That’s fine for some people, but it’s not for everyone. His critics make it sound like he teaches that you’re stupid if you seek higher education. Funny, I don’t recall reading that anywhere in RDPD.

As for John T. Reed’s criticism’s, I found those earlier today. He made some very interesting points, many speculative. He also made some mistakes and misrepresented some things said in that book. Given the fact that he’s trying to peddle his own books on the same pages that he’s ripping into Kiyosaki, whom he obviously considers to be a competitor, I’d take those criticisms with a huge spoonful of salt.

Just some food for thought…

Everyone should read “The Captain” reply… # 45 and # 319 Greg’s reply.
100% Right!

He’s making millions, has an advisor in each area of investment, and is buddies with Trump. RK does not write books on HOW-TO. He writes books to change your mind-set. Motivational books, if you will. He’s trying to get you to understand that you can’t rely on everyone and everything else in today’s world. YOU have to become your own financial advisor if you want to be financially free. He has a team in place that he can call any time of day to get an answer. This is not the life for everyone. If everyone owned a business, there would be no employees. If everyone owned rental houses, no one would be renting.

There are pyramind schemes, and then there are network marketing businesses. There is a difference, most people just automatically tune out when a direct selling idea comes to the table because they are so influenced by what society thinks…aka pyramid scheme. There are many different ways to becoming financially free, but each path has its own characteristics that each person has to look at to decide if they want that path or not.

RK critics – Most of you have read the Bible, most of you believe most of what’s written in it. But how come none of you have ever questioned who wrote those books which are now included and compiled into the Bible we know today, why some books are left out, the background story of the authors, etc.? What matters is the message. Same thing about RK’s books. He never said that he’d teach you “how” to be rich, he never said that RDPD is about a step-by-step guide to being wealthy. He said quiet the opposite. He frequently said in the books, that he wants people to understand the reason why most people are not rich. And he and Donal Trump genuinely want you to be rich, because your being wealthy helps the nation.

Also, some people ask why RK and Donald give seminars and ask people who wants to attend those seminars to pay money if making people rich is their intention. Some of you say, because they want more money. Some say, because they give those money for charity or something. Well, here in Indonesia, a personal motivator once told me the reason: they ask people to pay, because when people pay, that is an action. An action that tells Donald and RK that these people want to change their lifes and that they have taken steps to achieve what they see as “better” life. And yes, those money are given for charity.

Instead of seeing RK as your personal financial adviser, see him as what he declares himself to be, a mentor / teacher. Consider reading RDPD as reading a book by Tony Robbins. The book is meant to open your eyes and motivates you to be more financially aware. In fact, Tony and RK have a lot in common. They are both motivators, they are both mentors, and they both don’t see wealth as something that makes them happy, instead they see wealth as something that gives them liberty. Liberty to choose, liberty to live. And they give examples and use metaphors because they work better for the general readers as opposed to telling the readers what to do specifically. Because when they ask you to do something specifically, they know that it will only work for a certain group of people, not everyone.

I’m a 3D artist who worked in television commercial industry. I quit my job just to test how RDPD works. And it works beautifully. Without a steady income, I was and still am encouraged to find other ways to get money and figure out ways to make my money work for me. If this book can help me, I’m sure it can help millions others. And if it didn’t work for you critics, is because you have yourself an idea of how to get rich with your own knowledge and experience. But that still doesn’t mean that this book is b/s. Just because you disagree doesn’t mean it’s wrong, and it goes both ways. You can agree to wrong ideas as well now, can’t you?

Anyone can write a book — if it’s worthless it won’t sell. The fact that it sells means that it works. may not work all the time for all people, but whoever said it had to. he’s just telling us what works for him, take it or leave it.

I have been in restaurant before but it didn’t succeed, but, I am glad I tried it not because I lose money but because I learned new things that I may/may not use in my future investment. There are tools we will be needing to be financially free, just like in school. We studied everything that we think will help us finding a job after we left college, but in reality only few of those what we study will be used. This is the same thing in business, we tried to learn everything in order for us to be equip in challenges that we might encounter. I knew the risk involved in dwelling into a restaurant, but i will never learned the things I’ve learned experiencing it firsthand, just by reading books..

The risk will always be there, everything we do there is a risk. Even just being an employee, there is a risk of being fired or being lay-off. Same with the business, it is just the worth the risk if you want to be rich and you love the game. Money will come and go, but, it is how you handle your money that will matter at the end..

The guides in the book are great, I used most of it but not everything. I also do something in my own that I think will help me strengthen my financial intelligence. In the book, GUIDES ARE GUIDES, it is for you if you follow, it is your chose how you think will help you strengthen the foundation of your intellectual..

These are just my opinions, I would be glad to hear yours, if any..godbless to all