I was first introduced to Robert Kiyosaki’s books by a good friend of mine — a CEO from Las Vegas. His parents were both business owners so he pretty much had a good head start in his financial education — suffice it to say I took his recommendations in full confidence.

At the time I had been heavily involved in leading an organization I had created from scratch. Puzzled by the amount of energy I had contributed to my pet projects, my friend suggested that I would do really well in business and did his best to push me in that direction. To be completely honest, I was not interested in business.

After numerous attempts to convert me to his “religion”, I finally gave in and took some of his advice to heart. Speaking with him I realized that I would never be happy working as a cubicle monkey for another company; the options before me were limited. My CEO friend said that if I really wanted to be independent, I needed to blaze my own path. I knew that, I just didn’t know how. He then handed me his copy of Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

First Impressions

The purple and black cover was reminiscent of a sleazy strip joint or sleazy easy money - strike 1; I took the book almost reluctantly. Still, I thumbed through a couple of pages expecting to learn something profound. Reading the first few pages, the tone of the author was surprisingly simple - strike 2; certainly not what I expected from a book about money.

I let the book marinate on my dresser for a couple of weeks before I decided to give it a chance to strike out. It wasn’t until chapter two, “Why Teach Financial Literacy?”, that I began to take the book seriously. Robert made a point that neither schools nor parents adequately prepare kids for life because they don’t teach them about finances. This was painfully true. I could recall a brief time in my 5th grade math class that my teacher was attempting to teach us about banking and how to write checks; that’s about where my financial education ended.

All I knew was how to spend money. The climax of financial education before Rich Dad included how to write checks to spend even more money.

As I continued reading Rich Dad, I realized there were so many things that had been hard-wired into my thinking that simply were not true. Even more unsettling was the possibility that all I had learned in life was simply some vast conspiracy to brainwash me and keep me trapped in the rat race. Rich Dad seemed to finally put the pieces together in a way that made perfect sense.

Fight the System?

Most of my friends from college spent their time protesting and rallying against what they perceived to be systematic oppression by “the system.” They seemed to have only one part of the equation right though:“the system” is setup by rich people to keep them rich and in control. They stay rich by keeping you stupid about money and addicted to paychecks. What my college friends failed to understand was that while protesting on campus is nice as a gesture of solidarity, the real way to “fight the system” is to educate yourself about money — know the things that the rich know so you can play in their field on your terms. I’m no activist though — I just want to be successful in life and empower other motivated individuals to do the same.

Rich Dad is There For the People Who Need It

Motivating people to learn about money and finances is perhaps the most powerful aspect of Rich Dad Poor Dad. What makes it so popular are the simple yet fundamental ideas that help people to reassess their priorities.

While there are many critics who have bad things to say about Robert Kiyosaki’s recent attempts to branch out into other areas of finance, the ideas he shares in Rich Dad are essential. Some people criticize Rich Dad for being too generic and giving bad advice, but I believe they either don’t understand the power of the basic knowledge shared in the book, or they have no need for it. I consider it a must read for people who have not had the opportunity to learn the important lessons of finances found in the book.

Rich Dad motivated me to challenge ideas I had taken for fact, and in time as my perspective matured I took action into my own hands by fighting my financial battles. Everything from fixing my credit score to helping my mom start her own side business were in direct result of the changes inspired by the book I read.

I’d like to thank my good CEO friend for sharing it with me so many years ago, as it really is the catalyst that changed the way I think about money.