More About Wealth

My journey into this realm of business opportunity came from reading Robert Kiyosaki’s incredible book Rich Dad Poor Dad. He describes the thought processes that distinguished his poor but well-educated biological father, and the wealthy father of one of his friends down the street. His “Rich Dad” taught him to use the power of his “financial imagination” to bring wealth. So when he found a “toy” that he wanted, his Poor Dad would say, “We can’t afford that” while his Rich Dad would encourage him to think “How can I afford that?” The difference is a mindset that distinguishes the wealthy from the poor. You can focus on lack, and by god, you’ll have it. Or, you can assume abundance, and your amazing mind will figure out a way to make it happen.

A powerful story from this book involves Rich Dad hiring Robert and his friend (the man’s son) to work at his convenience store for a pittance. Finally tiring of the grueling work at pitiful wages, he complained to his Rich Dad. His Rich Dad said that he could raise their pay rate a bit, but it wouldn’t help them change their situation. He suggested they use their imagination, and observe what’s going on around them to see opportunities. Armed with this scant guidance, they returned to work. Robert noticed that the clerk was ripping the covers off of comic books he usually paid dear money to read, and throwing them into a bin. Robert asked what happened to them. The clerk said the comics were old – that they were going to be destroyed. Robert asked if he could have them, and set up a lending library where his friends could come in and read as many comics books as they wanted for what it would normally cost them to buy ONE of the books. It was the sheer imagination of this child that began rocking my foundations, and I hope that simply reading this anecdote provides the impetus for you to acquire the book yourself. What might be possible in your life if you used your God-given imagination?

I was studying real estate at the time, and was encouraged to set up an LLC to protect my investments and maximize my earnings (more about this later). Reading 7 Habits of Highly Effective People around this same time, I settled on the name “The First Habit, LLC” as I described in an earlier post. I began educating myself about passive revenue streams, a key component of “Rich Dad” wealth. His point: the poor buy liabilities that generate expenses. The wealthy buy assets that generate income passively. While the poor buy toys with their salaries, creating a never-ending “rat race,” the wealthy pay for their toys using that passive income. The difference is night and day. When your passive income equals your monthly expenses, you achieve financial independence. This is a very simplistic summary of the information in the book. By all means, I recommend that you buy the book and read it from cover to cover, multiple times if necessary.

The “Rich Dad” company produces a game that teaches the fundamentals of accounting and finance, and reinforces the passive income lesson – it’s called Cashflow 101. It’s a terrifically fun game, and although a tad expensive, it serves to train the players in ways of thinking like the wealthy that can change one’s perspective profoundly and permanently. You might just find yourself moving from lack to abundance – just by playing a game! (A little hint: Although I’ve included a link for the game on Amazon.com above, you may find it for less other places on the ‘Net, including here. But check with Amazon.com - sometimes you can get a "used" game for less.)

Back to the library: I was introduced to a book called Harmonic Wealth, by James Arthur Ray. He describes in detail the “Five Pillars of Wealth” – Financial, Mental, Physical, Relational, and Spiritual. He says that if each of these five pillars is not supported adequately, the entire edifice will fall. But if they are each carefully nourished and nurtured, they will act harmoniously to create a synergistic quality of Wealth. All Wealth begins with our thinking, and only by correcting our thinking can we move from lack and inadequacy to Wealth and Abundance. Keys to this process are in knowing one’s goals, and aligning one’s thoughts, feelings, and actions to achieve those goals. Again, this is a very simplistic rundown on a book that might change your life: I recommend sincerely that you spring a few bucks to get the real thing.

Money does not buy Happiness. Wealth buys Happiness. And Wealth is created by our thinking. These are key concepts that I’m sure I’ll revisit in future postings – stay tuned!