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who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad
By Robert T. Kiyosaki
V1.0(9-9-2002)
If you find and correct errors in the text, please update the version number by 0.1 and
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INTRODUCTION
There is a Need
Does school prepare children for the real world? "Study hard and get good
grades and you will find a high-paying job with great benefits," my parents used
to say. Their goal in life was to provide a college education for my older
sister and me, so that we would have the greatest chance for success in life.
When T finally earned my diploma in 1976-graduating with honors, and near the
top of my class, in accounting from Florida State University-my parents had
realized their goal. It was the crowning achievement of their lives. In
accordance with the "Master Plan," I was hired by a "Big 8" accounting firm, and
I looked forward to a long career and retirement at an early age.
My husband, Michael, followed a similar path. We both came from hardworking families, of modest means but with strong work ethics. Michael also
graduated with honors, but he did it twice: first as an engineer and then from
law school. He was quickly recruited by a prestigious Washington, D.C., law firm
that specialized in patent law, and his future seemed bright, career path welldefined and early retirement guaranteed.
Although we have been successful in our careers, they have not turned out
quite as we expected. We both have changed positions several times-for all the
right reasons-but there are no pension plans vesting on our behalf. Our
retirement funds are growing only through our individual contributions.
Michael and I have a wonderful marriage with three great children. As I
write this, two are in college and one is just beginning high school. We have

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
spent a fortune making sure our children have received the best education
av; ailable.
One day in 1996, one of my children came home disillusioned with school.
He was bored and tired of studying. "Why should I put time into studying
subjects I will never use in real life?" he protested.
Without thinking, I responded, "Because if you don't get good grades, you
won't get into college."
"Regardless of whether I go to college," he replied, "I'm going to be
rich."
"If you don't graduate from college, you won't get a good job," I
responded with a tinge of panic and motherly concern. "And if you don't have a
good job, how do you plan to get rich?"
My son smirked and slowly shook his head with mild boredom. We have had
this talk many times before. He lowered his head and rolled his eyes. My words
of motherly wisdom were falling on deaf ears once again.
Though smart and strong-willed, he has always been a polite and respectful
young man.
"Mom," he began. It was my turn to be lectured. "Get with the times! Look
around; the richest people didn't get rich because of their educations. Look at
Michael Jordan and Madonna. Even Bill Gates, who dropped out of Harvard, founded
Microsoft; he is now the richest man in America, and he's still in his 30s.
There is a baseball pitcher who makes more than $4 million a year even though he
has been labeled `mentally challenged.' "
There was a long silence between us. It was dawning on me that I was
giving my son the same advice my parents had given me. The world around us has
changed, but the advice hasn't.
Getting a good education and making good grades no longer ensures success,
and nobody seems to have noticed, except our children.
"Mom," he continued, "I don't want to work as hard as you and dad do. You
make a lot of money, and we live in a huge house with lots of toys. If I follow
your advice, I'll wind up like you, working harder and harder only to pay more
taxes and wind up in debt. There is no job security anymore; I know all about
downsizing and rightsizing. I also know that college graduates today earn less
than you did when you graduated. Look at doctors. They don't make nearly as much
money as they used to. I know I can't rely on Social Security or company
pensions for retirement. I need new answers."
He was right. He needed new answers, and so did I. My parents' advice may
have worked for people born before 1945, but it may be disastrous for those of

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
us born into a rapidly changing world. No longer can I simply say to my children,
"Go to school, get good grades, and look for a safe, secure job."
I knew I had to look for new ways to guide my children's education.
As a mother as well as an accountant, I have been concerned by the lack of
financial education our children receive in school. Many of today's youth have
credit cards before they leave high school, yet they have never had a course in
money or how to invest it, let alone understand how compound interest works on
credit cards. Simply put, without financial literacy and the knowledge of how
money works, they are not prepared to face the world that awaits them, a world
in which spending is emphasized over savings.
When my oldest son became hopelessly in debt with his credit cards as a
freshman in college, I not only helped him destroy the credit cards, but I also
went in search of a program that would help me educate my children on financial
matters.
One day last year, my husband called me from his office. "I have someone I
think you should meet," he said. "His name is Robert Kiyosaki. He's a
businessman and investor, and he is here applying for a patent on an educational
product. I think it's what you have been looking for."
Just What I Was Looking For
My husband, Mike, was so impressed with CASHFLOW, the new educational
product that Robert Kiyosaki was developing, that he arranged for both of us to
participate in a test of the prototype. Because it was an educational game, I
also asked my 19-year-old daughter, who was a freshman at a local university, if
she would like to take part, and she agreed.
About fifteen people, broken into three groups, participated in the test.
Mike was right. It was the educational product I had been looking for. But
it had a twist: It looked like a colorful Monopoly board with a giant welldressed rat in the middle. Unlike Monopoly, however, there were two tracks: one
inside and one outside. The object of the game was to get out of the inside
track-what Robert called the "Rat Race" and reach the outer track, or the "Fast
Track." As Robert put it, the Fast Track simulates how rich people play in real
life.
Robert then defined the "Rat Race" for us.
"If you look at the life of the average-educated, hard-working person,
there is a similar path. The child is born and goes to school. The proud parents
are excited because the child excels, gets fair to good grades, and is accepted

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
into a college. The child graduates, maybe goes on to graduate school and then
does exactly as programmed: looks for a safe, secure job or career. The child
finds that job, maybe as a doctor or a lawyer, or joins the Army or works for
the government. Generally, the child begins to make money, credit cards start to
arrive in mass, and the shopping begins, if it already hasn't.
"Having money to burn, the child goes to places where other young people
just like them hang out, and they meet people, they date, and sometimes they get
married. Life is wonderful now, because today, both men and women work. Two
incomes are bliss. They feel successful, their future is bright, and they decide
to buy a house, a car, a television, take vacations and have children. The happy
bundle arrives. The demand for cash is enormous. The happy couple decides that
their careers are vitally important and begin to work harder, seeking promotions
and raises. The raises come, and so does another child and the need for a bigger
house. They work harder, become better employees, even more dedicated. They go
back to school to get more specialized skills so they can earn more money. Maybe
they take a second job. Their incomes go up, but so does the tax bracket they're
in and the real estate taxes on their new large home, and their Social Security
taxes, and all the other taxes. They get their large paycheck and wonder where
all the money went. They buy some mutual funds and buy groceries with their
credit card. The children reach 5 or 6 years of age, and the need to save for
college increases as well as the need to save for their retirement. .
"That happy couple, born 35 years ago, is now trapped in the Rat Race for
the rest of their working days. They work for the owners of their company, for
the government paying taxes, and for the bank paying off a mortgage and credit
cards.
"Then, they advise their own children to `study hard, get good grades, and
find a safe job or career.' They learn nothing about money, except from those
who profit from their naïveté, and work hard all their lives. The process
repeats into another hard-working generation. This is the `Rat Race'."
The only way to get out of the "Rat Race" is to prove your proficiency at
both accounting and investing, arguably two of the most difficult subjects to
master. As a trained CPA who once worked for a Big 8 accounting firm, I was
surprised that Robert had made the learning of these two subjects both fun and
exciting. The process was so well disguised that while we were diligently
working to get out of the "Rat Race," we quickly forgot we were learning.
Soon a product test turned into a fun afternoon with my daughter, talking
about things we had never discussed before. As an accountant, playing a game
that required an Income Statement and Balance Sheet was easy. So I had the time

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
to help my daughter and the other players at my table with concepts they did not
understand. I was the first person-and the only person in the entire test groupto get out of the "Rat Race" that day. I was out within 50 minutes, although the
game went on for nearly three hours.
At my table was a banker, a business owner and a computer programmer. What
greatly disturbed me was how little these people knew about either accounting or
investing, subjects so important in their lives. I wondered how they managed
their own financial affairs in real life. I could understand why my 19-year-old
daughter would not understand, but these were grown adults, at least twice her
age.
After I was out of the "Rat Race," for the next two hours I watched my
daughter and these educated, affluent adults roll the dice and move their
markers. Although I was glad they were all learning so much, I was disturbed by
how much the adults did not know about the basics of simple accounting and
investing. They had difficulty grasping the relationship between their Income
Statement and their Balance Sheet. As they bought and sold assets, they had
trouble remembering that each transaction could impact their monthly cash flow.
I thought, how many millions of people are out there in the real world
struggling financially, only because they have never been taught these subjects?
Thank goodness they're having fun and are distracted by the desire to win
the game, I said to myself. After Robert ended the contest, he allowed us
fifteen minutes to discuss and critique CASHFLOW among ourselves.
The business owner at my table was not happy. He did not like the game. "I
don't need to know this," he said out loud. "I hire accountants, bankers and
attorneys to tell me about this stuff."
To which Robert replied, "Have you ever noticed that there are a lot of
accountants who aren't rich? And bankers, and attorneys, and stockbrokers and
real estate brokers. They know a lot, and for the most part are smart people,
but most of them are not rich. Since our schools do not teach people what the
rich know, we take advice from these people. But one day, you're driving down
the highway, stuck in traffic, struggling to get to work, and you look over to
your right and you see your accountant stuck in the same traffic jam. You look
to your left and you see your banker. That should tell you something."
The computer programmer was also unimpressed by the game: "I can buy
software to teach me this."
The banker, however, was moved. "I studied this in school-the accounting
part, that is-but I never knew how to apply it to real life. Now I know. I need
to get myself out of the `Rat Race.' "

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
But it was my daughter's comments that most touched me. "I had fun
learning," she said. "I learned a lot about how money really works and how to
invest."
Then she added: "Now I know I can choose a profession for the work I want
to perform and not because of job security, benefits or howmuch I get paid. If I
learn what this game teaches, I'm free to do and study what my heart wants to
study. . .rather than study something because businesses are looking for certain
job skills. If I learn this, I won't have to worry about job security and Social
Security the way most of my classmates already do."
I was not able to stay and talk with Robert after we had played the game,
but we agreed to meet later to further discuss his project. I knew he wanted to
use the game to help others become more financially savvy, and I was eager to
hear more about his plans.
My husband and I set up a dinner meeting with Robert and his wife within
the next week. Although it was our first social get-together, we felt as if we
had known each other for years.
We found out we had a lot in common. We covered the gamut, from sports and
plays to restaurants and socio-economic issues. We talked about the changing
world. We spent a lot of time discussing how most Americans have little or
nothing saved for retirement, as well as the almost bankrupt state of Social
Security and Medicare. Would my children be required to pay for the retirement
of 75 million baby boomers? We wondered if people realize how risky it is to
depend on a
pension plan.
Robert's primary concern was the growing gap between the haves and have
nots, in America and around the world. A self-taught, self-made entrepreneur who
traveled the world putting investments together, Robert was able to retire at
the age of 47. He came out of retirement because he shares the same concern I
have for my own children. He knows that the world has changed, but education has
not changed with it. According to Robert, children spend years in an antiquated
educational system, studying subjects they will never use, preparing for a world
that no longer exists.
"Today, the most dangerous advice you can give a child is `Go to school,
get good grades and look for a safe secure job,' " he likes to say. "That is old
advice, and it's bad advice. If you could see what is happening in Asia, Europe,
South America, you would be as concerned as I am."

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
It's bad advice, he believes, "because if you want your child to have a
financially secure future, they can't play by the old set of rules. It's just
too risky."
I asked him what he meant by "old rules?" .
"People like me play by a different set of rules from what you play by,"
he said. "What happens when a corporation announces a downsizing?"
"People get laid off," I said. "Families are hurt. Unemployment goes
up."
"Yes, but what happens to the company, in particular a public company on
the stock exchange?"
"The price of the stock usually goes up when the downsizing is announced,"
I said. "The market likes it when a company reduces its labor costs, either
through automation or just consolidating the labor force in general."
"That's right," he said. "And when stock prices go up, people like me, the
shareholders, get richer. That is what I mean by a different set of rules.
Employees lose; owners and investors win."
Robert was describing not only the difference between an employee and
employer, but also the difference between controlling your own destiny and
giving up that control to someone else.
"But it's hard for most people to understand why that happens," I said.
"They just think it's not fair."
"That's why it is foolish to simply say to a child, `Get a good
education,' " he said. "It is foolish to assume that the education the school
system provides will prepare your children for the world they will face upon
graduation. Each child needs more education. Different education. And they need
to know the rules. The different sets of rules."
"There are rules of money that the rich play by, and there are the rules
that the other 95 percent of the population plays by," he said. "And the 95
percent learns those rules at home and in school. That is why it's risky today
to simply say to a child, `Study hard and look for a job.' A child today needs a
more sophisticated education, and the current system is not delivering the goods.
I don't care how many computers they put in the classroom or how much money
schools spend. How can the education system teach a subject that it does not
know?"
So how does a parent teach their children, what the school does not? How
do you teach accounting to a child? Won't they get bored? And how do you teach
investing when as a parent you yourself are risk averse? Instead of teaching my

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
children to simply play it safe, I decided it was best to teach them to play it
smart.
"So how would you teach a child about money and all the things we've
talked about?" I asked Robert. "How can we make it easy for parents especially
when they don't understand it themselves?"
"I wrote a book on the subject, " he said.
"Where is it?"
"In my computer. It's been there for years in random pieces. I add to it
occasionally but I've never gotten around to put it all together. I began
writing it after my other book became a best seller, but I never finished the
new one. It's in pieces."
And in pieces it was. After reading the scattered sections, I decided the
book had merit and needed to be shared, especially in these changing times. We
agreed to co-author Robert's book.
I asked him how much financial information he thought a child needed. He
said it would depend on the child. He knew at a young age that he wanted to be
rich and was fortunate enough to have a father figure who was rich and willing
to guide him. Education is the foundation of success, Robert said. Just as
scholastic skills are vitally important, so are financial skills and
communication skills.
What follows is the story of Robert's two dads, a rich one and a poor
one, that expounds on the skills he's developed over a lifetime. The
contrast between two dads provides an important perspective. The book is
supported, edited and assembled by me. For any accountants who read this book,
suspend your academic book knowledge and open your mind to the theories Robert
presents. Although many of them challenge the very fundamentals of generally
accepted accounting principles, they provide a valuable insight into the way
true investors analyze their investment decisions.
When we as parents advise our children to "go to school, study hard and
get a good job," we often do that out of cultural habit. It has always been the
right thing to do. When I met Robert, his ideas initially startled me. Having
been raised by two fathers, he had been taught to strive for two different goals.
His educated dad advised him to work for a corporation. His rich dad advised him
to own the corporation. Both life paths required education, but the subjects of
study were completely different. His educated dad encouraged Robert to be a
smart person. His rich dad encouraged Robert to know how to hire smart people.
Having two dads caused many problems. Robert's real dad was the
superintendent of education for the state of Hawaii. By the time Robert was 16,

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
the threat of "If you don't get good grades, you won't get a good job" had
little effect. He already knew his career path was to own corporations, not to
work for them. In fact, if it had not been for a wise and persistent high school
guidance counselor, Robert might not have gone on to college. He admits that. He
was eager to start building his assets, but finally agreed that the college
education would also be a benefit to him.
Truthfully, the ideas in this book are probably too far fetched and
radical for most parents today. Some parents are having a hard enough time
simply keeping their children in school. But in light of our changing times, as
parents we need to be open to new and bold ideas. To encourage children to be
employees is to advise your children to pay more than their fair share of taxes
over a lifetime, with little or no promise of a pension. And it is true that
taxes are a person's greatest expense. In fact, most families work from January
to mid-May for the government just to cover their taxes. New ideas are needed
and this book provides them.
Robert claims that the rich teach their children differently. They teach
their children at home, around the dinner table. These ideas may notbe the ideas
you choose to discuss with your children, but thank you for looking at them. And
I advise you to keep searching. In my opinion, as a mom and a CPA, the concept
of simply getting good grades and finding a good job is an old idea. We need to
advise our children with a greater degree of sophistication. We need new ideas
and different education. Maybe telling our children to strive to be good
employees while also striving to own their own investment corporation is not
such a bad idea.
It is my hope as a mother that this book helps other parents. It is
Robert's hope to inform people that anyone can achieve prosperity if they so
choose. If today you are a gardener or a janitor or even unemployed, you have
the ability to educate yourself and teach those you love to take care of
themselves financially. Remember that financial intelligence is the mental
process via which we solve our financial problems.
Today we are facing global and technological changes as great or even
greater than those ever faced before. No one has a crystal ball, but one thing
is for certain: Changes lie ahead that are beyond our reality. Who knows what
the future brings? But whatever happens, we have two fundamental choices: play
it safe or play it smart by preparing, getting educated and awakening your own
and your children's financial genius. - Sbaron Lecbter

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
For a FREE AUDIO REPORT "What My Rich Dad Taught Me About Money" all you
have to do is visit our special website at www.richdadbooki.com and the report
is yours free.
Thank you
Rich Dad, Poor Dad

1. CHAPTER ONE
Rich Dad, Poor Dad
As narrated by Robert Kiyosaki
I had two fathers, a rich one and a poor one. One was highly educated and
intelligent; he had a Ph.D. and completed four years of undergraduate work in
less than two years. He then went on to Stanford University, the University of
Chicago, and Northwestern University to do his advanced studies, all on full
financial scholarships. The other father never finished the eighth grade.
Both men were successful in their careers, working hard all their lives.
Both earned substantial incomes. Yet one struggled financially all his life. The
other would become one of the richest men in Hawaii. One died leaving tens of
millions of dollars to his family, charities and his church. The other left
bills to be paid.
Both men were strong, charismatic and influential. Both men offered me
advice, but they did not advise the same things. Both men believed strongly in
education but did not recommend the same course of study.
If I had had only one dad, I would have had to accept or reject his advice.
Having two dads advising me offered me the choice of contrasting points of view;
one of a rich man and one of a poor man.
Instead of simply accepting or rejecting one or the other, I found myself
thinking more, comparing and then choosing for myself.
The problem was, the rich man was not rich yet and the poor man not yet
poor. Both were just starting out on their careers, and both were struggling
with money and families. But they had very different points of view about the
subject of money.
For example, one dad would say, "The love of money is the root of all
evil." The other, "The lack of money is the root of all evil."
As a young boy, having two strong fathers both influencing me was
difficult. I wanted to be a good son and listen, but the two fathers did not say

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
the same things. The contrast in their points of view, particularly where money
was concerned, was so extreme that I grew curious and intrigued. I began to
start thinking for long periods of time about what each was saying.
Much of my private time was spent reflecting, asking myself questions such
as, "Why does he say that?" and then asking the same question of the other dad's
statement. It would have been much easier to simply say, "Yeah, he's right. I
agree with that." Or to simply reject the point of view by saying, "The old man
doesn't know what he's talking about." Instead, having two dads whom I loved
forced me to think and ultimately choose a way of thinking for myself. As a
process, choosing for myself turned out to be much more valuable in the long run,
rather than simply accepting or rejecting a single point of view.
One of the reasons the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and the
middle class struggles in debt is because the subject of money is taught at home,
not in school. Most of us learn about money from our parents. So what can a poor
parent tell their child about money? They simply say "Stay in school and study
hard." The child may graduate with excellent grades but with a poor person's
financial programming and mind-set. It was learned while the child was young.
Money is not taught in schools. Schools focus on scholastic and
professional skills, but not on financial skills. This explains how smart
bankers, doctors and accountants who earned excellent grades in school may still
struggle financially all of their lives. Our staggering national debt is due in
large part to highly educated politicians and government officials making
financial decisions with little or no training on the subject of money.
I often look ahead to the new millennium and wonder what will happen when
we have millions of people who will need financial and medical assistance. They
will be dependent on their families or the government for financial support.
What will happen when Medicare and Social Security run out of money? How will a
nation survive if teaching children about money continues to be left to parentsmost of whom will be, or already are, poor?
Because I had two influential fathers, I learned from both of them. I had
to think about each dad's advice, and in doing so, I gained valuable
insight into the power and effect of one's thoughts on one's life. For
example, one dad had a habit of saying, "I can't afford it." The other dad
forbade those words to be used. He insisted I say, "How can I afford it?" One is
a statement, and the other is a question. One lets you off the hook, and the
other forces you to think. My soon-to-be-rich dad would explain that by
automatically saying the words "I can't afford it," your brain stops working. By
asking the question "How can I afford it?" your brain is put to work. He did not

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
mean buy everything you wanted. He was fanatical about exercising your mind, the
most powerful computer in the world. "My brain gets stronger every day because I
exercise it. The stronger it gets, the more money I can make." He believed that
automatically saying "I can't afford it" was a sign of mental laziness.
Although both dads worked hard, I noticed that one dad had a habit of
putting his brain to sleep when it came to money matters, and the other had a
habit of exercising his brain. The long-term result was that one dad grew
stronger financially and the other grew weaker. It is not much different from a
person who goes to the gym to exercise on a regular basis versus someone who
sits on the couch watching television. Proper physical exercise increases your
chances for health, and proper mental exercise increases your chances for wealth.
Laziness decreases both health and wealth.
My two dads had opposing attitudes in thought. One dad thought that the
rich should pay more in taxes to take care of those less fortunate. The other
said, "Taxes punish those who produce and reward those who don't produce."
One dad recommended, "Study hard so you can find a good company to work
for." The other recommended, "Study hard so you can find a good company to buy."
One dad said, "The reason I'm not rich is because I have you kids." The
other said, "The reason I must be rich is because I have you kids."
One encouraged talking about money and business at the dinner ,table. The
other forbade the subject of money to be discussed over a meal.
One said, "When it comes to money, play it safe, don't take risks." The
other said, "Learn to manage risk."
One believed, "Our home is our largest investment and our greatest asset."
The other believed, "My house is a liability, and if your house is your largest
investment, you're in trouble."
Both dads paid their bills on time, yet one paid his bills first while the
other paid his bills last.
One dad believed in a company or the government taking care of you and
your needs. He was always concerned about pay raises, retirement plans, medical
benefits, sick leave, vacation days and other perks. He was impressed with two
of his uncles who joined the military and earned a retirement and entitlement
package for life after twenty years of active service. He loved the idea of
medical benefits and PX privileges the military provided its retirees. He also
loved the tenure system available through the university. The idea of job
protection for life and job benefits seemed more important, at times, than the
job. He would often say, "I've worked hard for the government, and I'm entitled
to these benefits."

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
The other believed in total financial self-reliance. He spoke out against
the "entitlement" mentality and how it was creating weak and financially needy
people. He was emphatic about being financially competent.
One dad struggled to save a few dollars. The other simply created
investments.
One dad taught me how to write an impressive resume so I could find a good
job. The other taught me how to write strong business and financial plans so I
could create jobs.
Being a product of two strong dads allowed me the luxury of observing the
effects different thoughts have on one's life. I noticed that people really do
shape their life through their thoughts.
For example, my poor dad always said, "I'll never be rich." And that
prophesy became reality. My rich dad, on the other hand, always referred to
himself as rich. He would say things like, "I'm a rich man, and rich people
don't do this." Even when he was flat broke after a major financial setback, he
continued to refer to himself as a rich man. He would cover himself by saying,
"There is a difference between being poor and being broke. - Broke is temporary,
and poor is eternal."
My poor dad would also say, "I'm not interested in money," or "Money
doesn't matter." My rich dad always said, "Money is power."
The power of our thoughts may never be measured or appreciated, but it
became obvious to me as a young boy to be aware of my thoughts and how I
expressed myself. I noticed that my poor dad was poor not because of the amount
of money he earned, which was significant, but
because of his thoughts and actions. As a young boy, having two fathers, I
became acutely aware of being careful which thoughts I chose to adopt as my own.
Whom should I listen to-my rich dad or my poor dad?
Although both men had tremendous respect for education and learning, they
disagreed in what they thought was important to learn. One wanted me to study
hard, earn a degree and get a good job to work for money. He wanted me to study
to become a professional, an attorney or an accountant or to go to business
school for my MBA. The other encouraged me to study to be rich, to understand
how money works and to learn how to have it work for me. "I don't work for
money!" were words he would repeat over and over, "Money works for me!"
At the age of 9, I decided to listen to and learn from my rich dad about
money. In doing so, I chose not to listen to my poor dad, even though he was the
one with all the college degrees.

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
A Lesson From Robert Frost
Robert Frost is my favourite poet. Although I love many of his poems, my
favorite is The Road Not Taken. I use its lesson almost daily:
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And
be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it
bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear Though as for that the passing there Had
worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh,
I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads onto way, I doubted
if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence; Two
roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, And that has made
all the difference.
Robert Frost(1916)
And that made all the difference.
Over the years, I have often reflected upon Robert Frost's poem. Choosing
not to listen to my highly educated dad's advice and attitude about money was a
painful decision, but it was a decision that shaped the rest of my life.
Once I made up my mind whom to listen to, my education about money began.
My rich dad taught me over a period of 30 years, until I was age 39. He stopped
once he realized that I knew and fully understood what he had been trying to
drum into my often thick skull.
Money is one form of power. But what is more powerful is financial
education. Money comes and goes, but if you have the education about how money
works, you gain power over it and can begin building wealth. The reason positive
thinking alone does not work is because most people went to school and never
learned how money works, so they spend their lives working for money.
Because I was only 9 years old when I started, the lessons my rich dad
taught me were simple. And when it was all said and done, there were only six
main lessons, repeated over 30 years. This book is about those six lessons, put
as simply as possible as my rich dad put forth those lessons to me. The lessons

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
are not meant to be answers but guideposts. Guideposts that will assist you and
your children to grow wealthier no matter what happens in a world of increasing
change and uncertainty.
Lesson #1 The Rich Don't Work for Money
Lesson #2 Why Teach Financial Literacy?
Lesson #3 Mind Your own Business
Lesson #4 The History of Taxes and the

Power of Corporations

Lesson #5 The Rich Invent Money
Lesson #6 Work to Learn Don't Work for Money

2. CHAPTER TWO
Lesson One: The Rich Don't Work For Money
"Dad, Can You Tell Me How to Get Rich?"
My dad put down the evening paper. "Why do you want to get rich, son?"
"Because today Jimmy's mom drove up in their new Cadillac, and they were
going to their beach house for the weekend. He took three of his friends, but
Mike and I weren't invited. They told us we weren't invited because we were
`poor kids'."
"They did?" my dad asked incredulously.
"Yeah, they did." I replied in a hurt tone.
My dad silently shook his head, pushed his glasses up the bridge of his
nose and went back to reading the paper. I stood waiting for an answer.
The year was 1956. I was 9 years old. By some twist of fate, I attended
the same public school where the rich people sent their kids. We were primarily
a sugar plantation town. The managers of the plantation and the other affluent
people of the town, such as doctors, business owners, and bankers, sent their
children to this school, grades 1 to 6. After grade 6, their children were
generally sent off to private schools. Because my family lived on one side of
the street, I went to this school. Had I lived on the other side of the street,
I would have gone to a different school, with kids from families more like mine.
After grade 6,these kids and I would go on to the public intermediate and high
school. There was no private school for them or for me.
My dad finally put down the paper. I could tell he was thinking.
"Well, son," he began slowly. "If you want to be rich, you have to learn
to make money."

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
"How do I make money?" I asked.
"Well, use your head, son," he said, smiling. Which really meant, "That's
all I'm going to tell you," or "I don't know the answer, so don't embarrass me."
A Partnership Is Formed
The next morning, I told my best friend, Mike, what my dad had said. As
best I could tell, Mike and I were the only poor kids in this school. Mike was
like me in that he was in this school by a twist of fate. Someone had drawn a
jog in the line for the school district, and we wound up in school with the rich
kids. We weren't really poor, but we felt as if we were because all the other
boys had new baseball gloves, ,,,y
new bicycles, new everything.
Mom and dad provided us with the basics, like food, shelter, clothes. :,
But that was about it. My dad used to say, "If you want something, work for it."
We wanted things, but there was not much work available for 9- , year-old boys.
"So what do we do to make money?" Mike asked.
"I don't know," I said. "But do you want to be my partner?"
He agreed and so on that Saturday morning, Mike became my first business
partner. We spent all morning coming up with ideas on how to 1'make money.
Occasionally we talked about all the "cool guys" at Jimmy's beach house having
fun. It hurt a little, but that hurt was good, for it inspired us to keep
thinking of a way to make money. Finally, that afternoon, a bolt of lightning
came through our heads. It was an idea Mike had gotten from a science book he
had read. Excitedly, we shook hands, and the partnership now had a business.
For the next several weeks, Mike and I ran around our neighborhood,
knocking on doors and asking our neighbors if they would save their toothpaste
tubes for us. With puzzled looks, most adults consented with a smile. Some asked
us what we were doing. To which we replied, "We can't tell you. It's a business
secret."
My mom grew distressed as the weeks wore on. We had selected a
site next to her washing machine as the place we would stockpile our raw
materials. In a brown cardboard box that one time held catsup bottles, our
little pile of used toothpaste tubes began to grow.
Finally my mom put her foot down. The sight of her neighbors' , messy,
crumpled used toothpaste tubes had gotten to her. "What are you boys doing?" she
asked. "And I don't want to hear again that it's a business secret. Do something
with this mess or I'm going to throw it out."

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
Mike and I pleaded and begged, explaining that we would soon have enough
and then we would begin production. We informed her that we were waiting on a
couple of neighbors to finish using up their toothpaste so we could have their
tubes. Mom granted us a one-week extension.
The date to begin production was moved up. The pressure was on. My first
partnership was already being threatened with an eviction notice from our
warehouse space by my own mom. It became Mike's job to tell the neighbors to
quickly use up their toothpaste, saying their dentist wanted them to brush more
often anyway. I began to put together the production line.
One day my dad drove up with a friend to see two 9-year-old boys . in the
driveway with a production line operating at full speed. There was fine white
powder everywhere. On a long table were small milk cartons from school, and our
family's hibachi grill was glowing with red hot coals at maximum heat.
Dad walked up cautiously, having to park the car at the base of the
driveway, since the production line blocked the carport. As he and his friend
got closer, they saw a steel pot sitting on top of the coals, with the
toothpaste tubes being melted down. In those days, toothpaste did not come in
plastic tubes. The tubes were made of lead. So once the paint was burned off,
the tubes were dropped in the small steel pot, melted until they became liquid,
and with my mom's pot holders we were pouring the lead through a small hole in
the top of the milk cartons.
The milk cartons were filled with plaster-of-Paris. The white powder
everywhere was the plaster before we mixed it with water. In my haste, I had
knocked the bag over, and the entire area look like it had been hit by a
snowstorm. The milk cartons were the outer containers for plaster-of-Paris molds.
My dad and his friend watched as we carefully poured the molten lead
through a small hole in the top of the plaster-of-Paris cube.
"Careful," my dad said.
I nodded without looking up.
Finally, once the pouring was through, I put the steel pot down and smiled
at my dad.
"What are you boys doing?" he asked with a cautious smile.
"We're doing what you told me to do. We're going to be rich," I said.
"Yup," said Mike, grinning and nodding his head. "We're partners."
"And what is in those plaster molds?" dad asked.
"Watch," I said. "This should be a good batch."
With a small hammer, I tapped at the seal that divided the cube in

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
half. Cautiously, I pulled up the top half of the plaster mold and a lead
nickel fell out."
"Oh, my God!" my dad said. "You're casting nickels out of lead."
"That's right," Mike said. "We doing as you told us to do. We're making
money."
My dad's friend turned and burst into laughter. My dad smiled and shook
his head. Along with a fire and a box of spent toothpaste tubes, in front of him
were two little boys covered with white dust and smiling from ear to ear.
He asked us to put everything down and sit with him on the front step of
our house. With a smile, he gently explained what the word "counterfeiting"
meant.
Our dreams were dashed. "You mean this is illegal?" asked Mike in a
quivering voice.
"Let them go," my dad's friend said. "They might be developing a natural
talent."
My dad glared at him.
"Yes, it is illegal," my dad said gently. "But you boys have shown great
creativity and original thought. Keep going. I'm really proud of you!"
Disappointed, Mike and I sat in silence for about twenty minutes before we
began cleaning up our mess. The business was over on opening day. Sweeping the
powder up, I looked at Mike and said, "I guess Jimmy and his friends are right.
We are poor."
My father was just leaving as I said that. "Boys," he said. "You're only
poor if you give up. The most important thing is that you did something. Most
people only talk and dream of getting rich. You've done something. I'm very
proud of the two of you. I will say it again.
Keep going. Don't quit."
Mike and I stood there in silence. They were nice words, but we still did
not know what to do.
"So how come you're not rich, dad?" I asked.
"Because I chose to be a schoolteacher. Schoolteachers really don't think
about being rich. We just like to teach. I wish I could help you, but I really
don't know how to make money."
Mike and I turned and continued our clean up.
"I know," said my dad. "If you boys want to learn how to be rich, don't
ask me. Talk to your dad, Mike."
"My dad?" asked Mike with a scrunched up face.

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
"Yeah, your dad," repeated my dad with a smile. "Your dad and I have the
same banker, and he raves about your father. He's told me several times that
your father is brilliant when it comes to making money."
"My dad?" Mike asked again in disbelief. "Then how come we don't have a
nice car and a nice house like the rich kids at school?"
"A nice car and a nice house does not necessarily mean you're rich or you
know how to make money," my dad replied. "Jimmy's dad works for the sugar
plantation. He's not much different from me. He works for a company, and I work
for the government. The company buys the car for him. The sugar company is in
financial trouble, and Jimmy's dad may soon have nothing. Your dad is different
Mike. He seems to be building an empire, and I suspect in a few years he will be
a very rich man."
With that, Mike and I got excited again. With new vigor, we began cleaning
up the mess caused by our now defunct first business. As we were cleaning, we
made plans on how and when to talk to Mike's dad. The problem was that Mike's
dad worked long hours and often did not come home until late. His father owned
warehouses, a construction company, a chain of stores, and three restaurants. It
was the restaurants that kept him out late.
Mike caught the bus home after we had finished cleaning up. He was going
to talk to his dad when he got home that night and ask him if he would teach us
how to become rich. Mike promised to call as soon as he had talked to his dad,
even if it was late.
The phone rang at 8:30 p.m.
"OK," I said. "Next Saturday." And put the phone down. Mike's dad had
agreed to meet with Mike and me.
At 7:30 Saturday morning, I caught the bus to the poor side of town.
The Lessons Begin:
"I'll pay you 10 cents an hour. "
Even by 1956 pay standards, 10 cents an hour was low.
Michael and I met with his dad that morning at 8 o'clock. He was already
busy and had been at work for more than an hour. His construction supervisor was
just leaving in his pickup truck as I walked up to his simple, small and tidy
home. Mike met me at the door.
"Dad's on the phone, and he said to wait on the back porch," Mike said as
he opened the door.
The old wooden floor creaked as I steppedacross the threshold of this
aging house. There was a cheap mat just inside the door. The mat was there to

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
hide the years of wear from countless footsteps that the floor had supported.
Although clean, it needed to be replaced.
I felt claustrophobic as I entered the narrow living room, which was
filled with old musty overstuffed furniture that today would be collector's
items. Sitting on the couch were two women, a little older than my mom. Across
from the women sat a man in workman's clothes. He wore khaki slacks and a khaki
shirt, neatly pressed but without starch, and polished work books. He was about
10 years older than my dad; I'd say about 45 years old. They smiled as Mike and
I walked past them, heading for the kitchen, which lead to the porch that
overlooked the back yard. I smiled back shyly.
"Who are those people?" I asked.
"Oh, they work for my dad. The older man runs his warehouses, and the
women are the managers of the restaurants. And you saw the construction
supervisor, who is working on a road project about 50 miles from here. His other
supervisor, who is building a track of houses, had already left before you got
here."
"Does this go on all the time?" I asked.
"Not always, but quite often," said Mike, smiling as he pulled up a chair
to sit down next to me.
"I asked him if he would teach us to make money," Mike said.
"Oh, and what did he say to that?" I asked with cautious curiosity.
"Well, he had a funny look on his face at first, and then he said he would
make us an offer."
"Oh," I said, rocking my chair back against the wall; I sat there
perched on two rear legs of the chair.
Mike did the same thing.
"Do you know what the offer is?" I asked.
"No, but we'll soon find out."
Suddenly, Mike's dad burst through the rickety screen door and onto the
porch. Mike and I jumped to our feet, not out of respect but because we were
startled.
"Ready boys?" Mike's dad asked as he pulled up a chair to sit down
with us.
We nodded our heads as we pulled our chairs away from the wall to sit in
front of him.
He was a big man, about 6 feet tall and 200 pounds. My dad was taller,
about the same weight, and five years older than Mike's dad. They sort of looked
alike, though not of the same ethnic makeup. Maybe their energy was similar.

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
"Mike says you want to learn to make money? Is that correct, Robert?"
I nodded my head quickly, but with a little intimidation. He had a lot of
power behind his words and smile.
"OK, here's my offer. I'll teach you, but I won't do it classroom-style.
You work for me, I'll teach you. You don't work for me, I won't teach you. I can
teach you faster if you work, and I'm wasting my time if you just want to sit
and listen, like you do in school. That's my offer. Take it or leave it."
"Ah... may I ask a question first?" I asked.
"No. Take it or leave it. I've got too much work to do to waste my time.
If you can't make up you mind decisively, then you'll never learn to make money
anyway. Opportunities come and go. Being able to know when to make quick
decisions is an important skill. You have an opportunity that you asked for.
School is beginning or it's over in ten seconds," Mike's dad said with a teasing
smile.
"Take it," I said.

`

"Take it," said Mike.
"Good," said Mike's dad. "Mrs. Martin will be by in ten minutes. After I'm
through with her, you ride with her to my superette and you can begin working.
I'll pay you 10 cents an hour and you will work for three hours every Saturday."
"But I have a softball game today," I said.
Mike's dad lowered his voice to a stern tone. "Take it or leave it," he
"I'll take it," I replied, choosing to work and learn instead of playing
softball.
30 Cents Later
By 9 a.m. on a beautiful Saturday morning, Mike and I were working for Mrs.
Martin. She was a kind and patient woman. She always said that Mike and I
reminded her of her two sons who were grown and gone. Although kind, she
believed in hard work and she kept us working. She was a task master. We spent
three hours taking canned goods off the shelves and, with a feather duster,
brushing each can to get the dust off, and then re-stacking them neatly. It was
excruciatingly boring work.
Mike's dad, whom I call my rich dad, owned nine of these little superettes
with large parking lots. They were the early version of the 7-11 convenience
stores. Little neighborhood grocery stores where people bought items such as
milk, bread, butter and cigarettes. The problem was, this was Hawaii before air
conditioning, and the stores could not close its doors because of the heat. On

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
two sides of the store, the doors had to be wide open to the road and parking
lot. Every time a car drove by or pulled into the parking lot, dust would swirl
and settle in the store.
Hence, we had a job for as long as there was no air conditioning.
For three weeks, Mike and I reported to Mrs. Martin and worked our three
hours. By noon, our work was over, and she dropped three little dimes in each of
our hands. Now, even at the age of 9 in the mid-1950s, 30 cents was not too
exciting. Comic books cost 10 cents back then, so I usually spent my money on
comic books and went home.
By Wednesday of the fourth week, I was ready to quit. I had agreed to work
only because I wanted to learn to make money from Mike's dad, and now I was a
slave for 10 cents an hour. On top of that, I had not seen Mike's dad since that
first Saturday.
"I'm quitting," I told Mike at lunchtime. The school lunch was miserable.
School was boring, and now I did not even have my Saturdays to look forward to.
But it was the 30 cents that really got to me.
This time Mike smiled.
"What are you laughing at?" I asked with anger and frustration.
"Dad said this would happen. He said to meet with him when you were ready
to quit."
"What?" I said indignantly. "He's been waiting for me to get fed up?"
"Sort of," Mike said. "Dad's kind of different. He teaches differently
from your dad. Your mom and dad lecture a lot. My dad is quiet and a man of few
words. You just wait till this Saturday. I'll tell him .you're ready."
"You mean I've been set up?"
"No, not really, but maybe. Dad will explain on Saturday."
Waiting in Line on Saturday
I was ready to face him and I was prepared. Even my real dad was angry
with him. My real dad, the one I call the poor one, thought that my rich dad was
violating child labor laws and should be investigated.
My educated poor dad told me to demand what I deserve. At least 25 cents
an hour. My poor dad told me that if I did not get a raise, I was to quit
immediately.
"You don't need that damned job anyway," said my poor dad with indignity.
At 8 o'clock Saturday morning, I was going through the same rickety door
of Mike's house.

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
"Take a seat and wait in line," Mike's dad said as I entered. He turned
and disappeared into his little office next to a bedroom.
I looked around the room and did not see Mike anywhere. Feeling awkward, I
cautiously sat down next to the same two women who where there four weeks
earlier. They smiled and slid across the couch to make room for me.
Forty-five minutes went by, and I was steaming. The two women had met with
him and left thirty minutes earlier. An older gentleman was in there for twenty
minutes and was also gone.
The house was empty, and I sat out in his musty dark living room on a
beautiful sunny Hawaiian day, waiting to talk to a cheapskate who exploited
children. I could hear him rustling around the office, talking on the phone, and
ignoring me. I was now ready to walk out, but for some reason I stayed.
Finally, fifteen minutes later, at exactly 9 o'clock, rich dad walked out
of his office, said nothing, and signaled with his hand for me to enter his
dingy office.
"I understand you want a raise or you're going to quit," rich dad said as
he swiveled in his office chair.
"Well, you're not keeping your end of the bargain," I blurted out nearly
in tears. It was really frightening for a 9-year-old boy to confront a grownup.
"You said that you would teach me if I worked for you. Well, I've worked
for you. I've worked hard. I've given up my baseball games to work for you. And
you don't keep your word. You haven't taught me anything. You are a crook like
everyone in town thinks you are. You're greedy. You want all the money and don't
take care of your employees. You make me wait and don't show me any respect. I'm
only a little boy, and I deserve to be treated better."
Rich dad rocked back in his swivel chair, hands up to his chin, somewhat
staring at me. It was like he was studying me.
"Not bad," he said. "In less than a month, you sound like most of my
employees."
"What?" I asked. Not understanding what he was saying, I continued with my
grievance. "I thought you were going to keep your end of the bargain and teach
me. Instead you want to torture me? That's cruel. That's really cruel."
"I am teaching you," rich dad said quietly.
"What have you taught me? Nothing!" I said angrily. "You haven't even
talked to me once since I agreed to work for peanuts. Ten cents an hour. Hah! I
should notify the government about you.
We have child labor laws, you know. My dad works for the government, you
know."

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
"Wow!" said rich dad. "Now you sound just like most of the people who used
to work for me. People I've either fired or they've quit."
"So what do you have to say?" I demanded, feeling pretty brave for a
little kid. "You lied to me. I've worked for you, and you have not kept your
word. You haven't taught me anything."
"How do you know that I've not taught you anything?" asked rich dad calmly.
"Well, you've never talked to me. I've worked for three weeks, and you
have not taught me anything," I said with a pout.
"Does teaching mean talking or a lecture?" rich dad asked.
"Well, yes," I replied.
"That's how they teach you in school," he said smiling. "But that is not
how life teaches you, and I would say that life is the best teacher of all. Most
of the time, life does not talk to you. It just sort of pushes you around. Each
push is life saying, `Wake up. There's something I want you to learn.' "
"What is this man talking about?" I asked myself silently. "Life pushing
me around was life talking to me?" Now I knew I had to quit my job. I was
talking to someone who needed to be locked up.
"If you learn life's lessons, you will do well. If not, life will just
continue to push you around. People do two things. Some just let life push them
around. Others get angry and push back. But they push back against their boss,
or their job, or their husband or wife. They do not know it's life that's
pushing."
I had no idea what he was talking about.
"Life pushes all of us around. Some give up. Others fight. A few learn the
lesson and move on. They welcome life pushing them around. To these few people,
it means they need and want to learn something. They learn and move on. Most
quit, and a few like you fight."
Rich dad stood and shut the creaky old wooden window that needed repair.
"If you learn this lesson, you will grow into a wise, wealthy and happy young
man. If you don't, you will spend your life blaming a job, low pay or your boss
for your problems. You'll live life hoping for that big break that will solve
all your money problems."
Rich dad looked over at me to see if I was still listening. His eyes met
mine. We stared at each other, streams of communication going between us through
our eyes. Finally, I pulled away once I had absorbed his last message. I knew he
was right. I was blaming him, and I did ask to learn. I was fighting.
Rich dad continued. "Or if you're the kind of person who has no guts, you
just give up every time life pushes you. If you're that kind of person, you'll

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
live all your life playing it safe, doing the right things, saving yourself for
some event that never happens. Then, you die a boring old man. You'll have lots
of friends who really like you because you were such a nice hard-working guy.
You spent a life playing it safe, doing the right things. But the truth is, you
let life push you into submission. Deep down you were terrified of taking risks.
You really wanted to win, but the fear of losing was greater than the excitement
of winning. Deep inside, you and only you will know you didn't go for it.

You

chose to play it safe."
Our eyes met again. For ten seconds, we looked at each other, only pulling
away once the message was received.
"You've been pushing me around" I asked.
"Some people might say that," smiled rich dad. "I would say that I just
gave you a taste of life."
"What taste of life?" I asked, still angry, but now curious. Even ready to
learn.
"You boys are the first people that have ever asked me to teach them how
to make money. I have more than 150 employees, and not one of them has asked me
what I know about money. They ask me for a job and a paycheck, but never to
teach them about money. So most will spend the best years of their lives working
for money, not really understanding what it is they are working for."
I sat there listening intently.
"So when Mike told me about you wanting to learn how to make money, I
decided to design a course that was close to real life. I could talk until I was
blue in the face, but you wouldn't hear a thing. So I decided to let life push
you around a bit so you could hear me. That's why I only paid you 10 cents."
"So what is the lesson I learned from working for only 10 cents an hour?"
I asked. "That you're cheap and exploit your workers?"
Rich dad rocked back and laughed heartily. Finally, after his laughing
stopped, he said, "You'd best change your point of view. Stop blaming me,
thinking I'm the problem. If you think I'm the problem, then you have to change
me. If you realize that you're the problem, then you can change yourself, learn
something and grow wiser. Most people want everyone else in the world to change
but themselves. Let me tell you, it's easier to change yourself than everyone
else."
"I don't understand," I said.
"Don't blame me for your problems," rich dad said, growing impatient.
"But you only pay me 10 cents."
"So what are you learning?" rich dad asked, smiling.

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
"That you're cheap," I said with a sly grin.
"See, you think I'm the problem," said rich dad.
"But you are."
"Well, keep that attitude and you learn nothing. Keep the attitude
that I'm the problem and what choices do you have?"
"Well, if you don't pay me more or show me more respect and teach me, I'll
quit."
"Well put," rich dad said. "And that's exactly what most people do. They
quit and go looking for another job, better opportunity, and higher pay,
actually thinking that a new job or more pay will solve the problem. In most
cases, it won't."
"So what will solve the problem?" I asked. "Just take this measly 10 cents
an hour and smile?"
Rich dad smiled. "That's what the other people do. Just accept a paycheck
knowing that they and their family will struggle financially. But that's all
they do, waiting for a raise thinking that more money will solve the problem.
Most just accept it, and some take a second job working harder, but again
accepting a small paycheck."
I sat staring at the floor, beginning to understand the lesson rich dad
was presenting. I could sense it was a taste of life. Finally, I looked up and
repeated the question. "So what will solve the problem?"
"This," he said tapping me gently on the head. "This stuff between your
ears."
It was at that moment that rich dad shared the pivotal point of view that
separated him from his employees and my poor dad-and led him to eventually
become one of the richest men in Hawaii while my highly educated, but poor, dad
struggled financially all his life. It was a singular point of view that made
all the difference over a lifetime.
Rich dad said over and over, this point of view, which I call Lesson No. 1.
"The poor and the middle class work for money." "The rich have money work
for them."
On that bright Saturday morning, I was learning a completely different
point of view from what I had been taught by my poor dad. At the age of 9, I
grew aware that both dads wanted me to learn. Both dads encouraged me to study...
but not the same things.

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
My highly educated dad recommended that I do what he did. "Son, I want you
to study hard, get good grades, so you can find a safe, secure job with a big
company. And make sure it has excellent benefits." My rich dad wanted me to
learn how money works so I could make it work for me. These lessons I would
learn through life with his guidance, not because of a classroom.
My rich dad continued my first lesson, "I'm glad you got angry about
working for 10 cents an hour. If you had not gotten angry and had gladly
accepted it, I would have to tell you that I could not teach you. You see, true
learning takes energy, passion, a burning desire. Anger is a big part of that
formula, for passion is anger and love combined. When it comes to money, most
people want to play it safe and feel secure. So passion does not direct them:
Fear does."
"So is that why they'll take a job with low par?" I asked.
"Yes," said rich dad. "Some people say I exploit people because I don't
pay as much as the sugar plantation or the government. I say the people exploit
themselves. It's their fear, not mine."
"But don't you feel you should pay them more?" I asked.
"I don't have to. And besides, more money will not solve the problem. Just
look at your dad. He makes a lot of money, and he still can't pay his bills.
Most people, given more money, only get into more debt."
"So that's why the 10 cents an hour," I said, smiling. "It's a part of the
lesson."
"That's right," smiled rich dad. "You see, your dad went to school and got
an excellent education, so he could get a high-paying job. Which he did. But he
still has money problems because he never learned anything about money at school.
On top of that, he believes in working for money."
"And you don't?" I asked.
"No, not really," said rich dad. "If you want to learn to work for money,
then stay in school. That is a great place to learn to do that. But if you want
to learn how to have money work for you, then I will teach you that. But only if
you want to learn."
"Wouldn't everyone want to learn that" I asked.
"No," said rich dad. "Simply because it's easier to learn to work for
money, especially if fear is your primary emotion when the subject of money is
discussed."
"I don't understand," I said with a frown.

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
"Don't worry about that for now. Just know that it's fear that keeps most
people working at a job. The fear of not paying their bills. The fear of being
fired. The fear of not having enough money. The fear of
starting over. That's the price of studying to learn a profession or trade,
and then working for money. Most people become a slave to money... and then get
angry at their boss."
"Learning to have money work for you is a completely different course of
study?" I asked.
"Absolutely," rich dad answered, "absolutely."
We sat in silence on that beautiful Hawaiian Saturday morning. My friends
would have just been starting their Little League baseball game. But far some
reason, I was now thankful I had decided to work for 10 cents an hour. I sensed
that I was about to learn something my friends would not learn in school.
"Ready to learn?" asked rich dad.
"Absolutely," I said with a grin.
"I have kept my promise. I've been teaching you from afar," my rich dad
said. "At 9 years old, you've gotten a taste of what it feels like to work for
money. Just multiply your last month by fifty years and you will have an idea of
what most people spend their life doing."
"I don't understand," I said.
"How did you feel waiting in line to see me? Once to get hired and once to
ask for more money?"
"Terrible," I said.
"If you choose to work for money, that is what life is like for many
people," said rich dad.
"And how did you feel when Mrs. Martin dropped three dimes in your hand
for three hours' work?"
"I felt like it wasn't enough. It seemed like nothing. I was
disappointed," I said.
"And that is how most employees feel when they look at their paychecks.
Especially after all the tax and other deductions are taken out. At least you
got 100 percent."
"You mean most workers don't get paid everything?" I asked with amazement.
"Heavens no!" said rich dad. "The government always takes its share
first."
"How do they do that." I asked.
"Taxes," said rich dad. "You're taxed when you earn. You're taxed when you
spend. You're taxed when you save. You're taxed when you die."

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
"Why do people let the government do that to them?"
"The rich don't," said rich dad with a smile. "The poor and the middle
class do. I'll bet you that I earn more than your dad, yet he pays more in
taxes."
"How can that be?" I asked. As a 9-year-old boy, that made no sense to me.
"Why would someone let the government do that to them?"
Rich dad sat there in silence. I guess he wanted me to listen instead of
jabber away at the mouth.
Finally, I calmed down. I did not like what I had heard. I knew my dad
complained constantly about paying so much in taxes, but really did nothing
about it. Was that life pushing him around?
Rich dad rocked slowly and silently in his chair, just looking at me.
"Ready to learn?" he asked.
I nodded my head slowly.
"As I said, there is a lot to learn. Learning how to have money work for
you is a lifetime study. Most people go to college for four years, and their
education ends. I already know that my study of money will continue over my
lifetime, simply because the more I Find out, the more I find out I need to know.
Most people never study the subject. They go to work, get their paycheck,
balance their checkbooks, and that's it. On top of that, they wonder why they
have money problems. Then, they think that more money will solve the problem.
Few realize that it's their lack of financial education that is the problem."
"So my dad has tax problems because he doesn't understand money?" I asked,
confused.
"Look," said rich dad. "Taxes are just one small section on learning how
to have money work for you. Today, I just wanted to find out if you still have
the passion to learn about money. Most people don't. They want to go to school,
learn a profession, have fun at their work, and earn lots of money. One day they
wake up with big money problems, and then they can't stop working. That's the
price of only knowing how to work for money instead of studying how to have
money work for you. So do you still have the passion to learn?" asked rich dad.
I nodded my head.
"Good," said rich dad. "Now get back to work. This time, I will pay you
nothing."
"What?" I asked in amazement.
"You heard me. Nothing. You will work the same three hours every

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
Saturday, but this time you will not be paid 10 cents per hour. You said
you wanted to learn to not work for money, so I'm not going to pay you
anything."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"I've already had this conversation with Mike. He's already working,
dusting and stacking canned goods for free. You'd better hurry and get back
there."
"That's not fair," I shouted. "You've got to pay something."
"You said you wanted to learn. If you don't learn this now, you'll grow up
to be like the two women and the older man sitting in my living room, working
for money and hoping I don't fire them. Or like your dad, earning lots of money
only to be in debt up to his eyeballs, hoping more money will solve the problem.
If that's what you want, I'll go back to our original deal of 10 cents an hour.
Or you can do what most people grow up to do. Complain that there is not enough
pay, quit and go looking for another job."
"But what do I do?" I asked.
Rich dad tapped me on the head. "Use this," he said. "If you use it well,
you will soon thank me for giving you an opportunity, and you will grow into a
rich man."
I stood there still not believing what a raw deal I had been handed. Here
I came to ask for a raise, and now I was being told to keep working for nothing.
Rich dad tapped me on the head again and said, "Use this. Now get out of
here and get back to work."
LESSON #l: The Rich Don't Work For Money
I didn't tell my poor dad I wasn't being paid. He would not have
understood, and I did not want to try to explain something that I did not yet
understand myself.
For three more weeks, Mike and I worked for three hours, every Saturday,
for nothing. The work didn't bother me, and the routine got easier. It was the
missed baseball games and not being able to afford to buy a few comic books that
got to me.
Rich dad stopped by at noon on the third week. We heard his truck pull up
in the parking lot and sputter when the engine was turned off. He entered the
store and greeted Mrs. Martin with a hug. After finding out how things were
going in the store, he reached into the ice-cream freezer, pulled out two bars,
paid for them, and signalled to Mike and me.
"Let's go for a walk boys."

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
We crossed the street, dodging a few cars, and walked across a large
grassy field, where a few adults were playing softball. Sitting down at a remote
picnic table, he handed Mike and me the ice-cream bars.
"How's it going boys?"
"OK," Mike said.
I nodded in agreement.
"Learn anything yet?" rich dad asked.
Mike and I looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders and shook our
heads in unison.
Avoiding One of Life's Biggest Traps
"Well, you boys had better start thinking. You're staring at one of life's
biggest lessons. If you learn the lesson, you'll enjoy a life of great freedom
and security. If you don't learn the lesson, you'll wind up like Mrs. Martin and
most of the people playing softball in this park. They work very hard, for
little money, clinging to the illusion of job security, looking forward to a
three-week vacation each year and a skimpy pension after forty-five years of
work. If that excites you, I'll give you a raise to 25 cents an hour."
"But these are good hard-working people. Are you making fun of them?" I
demanded.
A smile came over rich dad's face.
"Mrs. Martin is like a mother to me. I would never be that cruel. I may
sound cruel because I'm doing my best to point something out to the two of you.
I want to expand your point of view so you can see something. Something most
people never have the benefit of seeing because their vision is too narrow. Most
people never see the trap they are in."
Mike and I sat there uncertain of his message. He sounded cruel, yet we
could sense he was desperately wanting us to know something.
With a smile, rich dad said, "Doesn't that 25 cents an hour sound good?
Doesn't it make your heart beat a little faster."
I shook my head "no," but it really did. Twenty five cents an hour would
be big bucks to me.
"OK, I'll pay you a dollar an hour," rich dad said, with a sly grin.
Now my heart was beginning to race. My brain was screaming,
An
"Take it. Take it." I could not believe what I was hearing. Still, I said
nothing.

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
"OK, $2 an hour."
My little 9-year-old brain and heart nearly exploded. After all, it was
1956 and being paid $2 an hour would have made me the richest kid in the world.
I couldn't imagine earning that kind of money. I wanted to say "yes." I wanted
the deal. I could see a new bicycle, new baseball glove, and adoration of my
friends when I flashed some cash. On top of that, Jimmy and his rich friends
could never call me poor again. But somehow my mouth stayed silent.
Maybe my brain had overheated and blown a fuse. But deep down, I badly
wanted that $2 an hour.
The ice cream had melted and was running down my hand. The ice-cream stick
was empty, and under it was a sticky mess of vanilla and chocolate that ants
were enjoying. Rich dad was looking at two boys staring back at him, eyes wide
open and brains empty. He knew he was testing us, and he knew there was a part
of our emotions that wanted to take the deal. He knew that each human being has
a weak and needy part of their soul that can be bought. And he knew that each
human being also had a part of their soul that was strong and filled with a
resolve that could never be bought. It was only a question of which one was
stronger. He had tested thousands of souls in his life. He tested souls every
time he interviewed someone for a job.
"OK, $5 an hour."
Suddenly there was a silence from inside me. Something had changed. The
offer was too big and had gotten ridiculous. Not too many grownups in 1956 made
more than $5 an hour. The temptation disappeared, and a calm set in. Slowly I
turned to my left to look at Mike. He looked back at me. The part of my soul
that was weak and needy was silenced. The part of me that had no price took over.
There was a calm and a certainty about money that entered my brain and my soul.
I knew Mike had gotten to that point also.
"Good," rich dad said softly. "Most people have a price. And they have a
price because of human emotions named fear and greed. First, the fear of being
without money motivates us to work hard, and then once we get that paycheck,
greed or desire starts us thinking about all the wonderful things money can buy.
The pattern is then set."
"What pattern?" I asked.
"The pattern of get up, go to work, pay bills, get up, go to work, pay
bills... Their lives are then run forever by two emotions, fear and greed. Offer
them more money, and they continue the cycle by also increasing their spending.
This is what I call the Rat Race."
"There is another way?" Mike asked.

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
"Yes," said rich dad slowly. "But only a few people find it."
"And what is that way?" Mike asked.
"That's what I hope you boys will find out as you work and study with me.
That is why I took away all forms of pay."
"Any hints?" Mike asked. "We're kind of tired of working hard, especially
for nothing."
"Well, the first step is telling the truth," said rich dad.
"We haven't been lying." I said.
"I did not say you were lying. I said to tell the truth," rich dad came
back.
"The truth about what?" I asked.
"How you're feeling," rich dad said. "You don't have to say it to anyone
else. Just yourself."
"You mean the people in this park, the people who work for you, Mrs.
Martin, they don't do that?" I asked.
"I doubt it," said rich dad. "Instead, they feel the fear of not having
money. Instead of confronting the fear, they react instead of think. They react
emotionally instead of using their heads," rich dad said, tapping us on our
heads. "'Then, they get a few bucks in their hands, and again the emotion of joy
and desire and greed take over, and again they react, instead of think."
"So their emotions do their thinking," Mike said.
"That's correct," said rich dad. "Instead of telling the truth about how
they feel, they react to their feeling, fail to think. They feel the fear, they
go to work, hoping that money will soothe the fear, but it doesn't. That old
fear haunts them, and they go back to work, hoping again that money will calm
their fears, and again it doesn't. Fear has them in this trap of working,
earning money, working, earning money, hoping the fear will go away. But every
day they get up, and that old fear wakes up with them. For millions of people,
that old fear keeps them awake all night, causing a night of turmoil and worry.
So they get up and go to work, hoping that a paycheck will kill that fear
gnawing at their soul. Money is running their lives, and they refuse to tell the
truth about that.
Money is in control of their emotions and hence their souls."
Rich dad sat quietly, letting his words sink in. Mike and I heard what he
said, but really did not understand fully what he was talking about. I just knew
that I often wondered why grownups hurried off to work. It did not seem like
much fun, and they never looked that happy, but something kept them hurrying off
to work.

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
Realizing we had absorbed as much as possible of what he was talking about,
rich dad said, "I want you boys to avoid that trap. That is really what I want
to teach you. Not just to be rich, because being rich does not solve the
problem."
"It doesn't?" I asked, surprised.
"No, it doesn't. Let me finish the other emotion, which is desire. Some
call it greed, but I prefer desire. It is perfectly normal to desire something
better, prettier, more fun or exciting. So people also work for money because of
desire. They desire money for the joy they think it can buy. But the joy that
money brings is often short lived, and they soon need more money for more joy,
more pleasure, more comfort, more security. So they keep working, thinking money
will soothe their souls that is troubled by fear and desire. But money cannot do
that."
"Even rich people?" Mike asked.
"Rich people included," said rich dad. "In fact, the reason many rich
people are rich is not because of desire but because of fear. They actually
think that money can eliminate that fear of not having money, of being poor, so
they amass tons of it only tofind out the fear gets worse. They now fear losing
it. I have friends who keep working even though they have plenty. I know people
who have millions who are more afraid now than when they were poor. They're
terrified of losing all their money. The fears that drove them to get rich got
worse. That weak and needy part of their soul is actually screaming louder. They
don't want to lose the big houses, the cars, the high life that money has bought
them. They worry about what their friends would say if they lost all their money.
Many are emotionally desperate and neurotic, although they look rich and have
more money."
"So is a poor man happier?" I asked.
"No, I don't think so," replied rich dad. "The avoidance of money is just
as psychotic as being attached to money."
As if on cue, the town derelict went past our table, stopping by the large
rubbish can and rummaging around in it. The three of us watched him with great
interest, when before we probably would have just ignored him.
Rich dad pulled a dollar out of his wallet and gestured to the older man.
Seeing the money, the derelict came over immediately, took the bill, thanked
rich dad profusely and hurried off ecstatic with his good fortune.
"He's not much different from most of my employees," said rich dad. "I've
met so many people who say, `Oh, I'm not interested in money.' Yet they'll work
at a job for eight hours a day. That's a denial of truth. If they weren't

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
interested in money, then why are they working? That kind of thinking is
probably more psychotic than a person who hoards money."
As I sat there listening to my rich dad, my mind was flashing back to the
countless times my own dad said, "I'm not interested in money." He said those
words often. He also covered himself by always saying, "I work because I love my
job."
"So what do we do?" I asked. "Not work for money until all traces of fear
and greed are gone?"
"No, that would be a waste of time," said rich dad. "Emotions are what
make us human. Make us real. The word `emotion' stands for energy in motion. Be
truthful about your emotions, and use your mind and emotions in your favor, not
against yourself."
"Whoa!" said Mike.
"Don't worry about what I just said. It will make more sense in years to
come. just be an observer, not a reactor, to your emotions. Most people do not
know that it's their emotions that are doing the thinking. Your emotions are
your emotions, but you have got to learn to do your own thinking."
"Can you give me an example?" I asked.
"Sure," replied rich dad. "When a person says, `I need to find a job,'
it's most likely an emotion doing the thinking. Fear of not having money
generates that thought."
"But people do need money if they have bills to pay," I said.
"Sure they do," smiled rich dad. "All I'm saying is that it's fear that is
all too often doing the thinking."
"I don't understand," said Mike.
"For example," said rich dad. "If the fear of not having enough money
arises, instead of immediately running out to get a job so they can earn a few
bucks to kill the fear, they instead might ask themselves this question. `Will a
job be the best solution to this fear over the long run?' In my opinion, the
answer is `no.' Especially when you look over a person's lifetime. A job is
really a short-term solution to a long-term problem."
"But my dad is always saying, `Stay in school, get good grades, so you can
find a safe, secure job.' I spoke out, somewhat confused.
"Yes, I understand he says that," said rich dad, smiling. "Most people
recommend that, and it's a good idea for most people. But people make that
recommendation primarily out of fear."
"You mean my dad says that because he's afraid?"

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
"Yes," said rich dad. "He's terrified that you won't be able to earn money
and won't fit into society. Don't get me wrong. He loves you and wants the best
for you. And I think his fear is justified. An education and a job are important.
But it won't handle the fear. You see, that same fear that makes him get up in
the morning to earn a few bucks is the fear that is causing him to be so
fanatical about you going to school."
"So what do you recommend?" I asked.
"I want to teach you to master the power of money. Not be afraid of it.
And they don't teach that in school. If you don't learn it, you become a slave
to money."
It was finally making sense. He did want us to widen our views. To . see
what Mrs. Martin could not see, his employees could not see, or my dad for that
matter. He used examples that sounded cruel at the time, but I've never
forgotten them. My vision widened that day, and I could begin to see the trap
that lay ahead for most people.
"You see, we're all employees ultimately. We just work at different
levels," said rich dad. "I just want you boys to have a chance to avoid the trap.
The trap caused by those two emotions, fear and desire. Use them in your favor,
not against you. That's what I want to teach you. I'm not interested in just
teaching you to make a pile of money. That won't handle the fear or desire. If
you don't first handle fear and desire, and you get rich, you'll only be a highpaid slave."
"So how do we avoid the trap?" I asked.
"The main cause of poverty or financial struggle is fear and ignorance,
not the economy or the government or the rich. It's selfinflicted fear and
ignorance that keeps people trapped. So you boys go to school and get your
college degrees. I'll teach you how to stay out of the trap."
The pieces of the puzzle were appearing. My highly educated dad had a
great education and a great career. But school never told him how to handle
money or his fears. It became clear that I could learn different and important
things from two fathers.
"So you've been talking about the fear of not having money. How does the
desire of money affect our thinking?" Mike asked.
"How did you feel when I tempted you with a pay raise? Did you notice your
desires rising?"
We nodded our heads.
"By not giving in to your emotions, you were able to delay your reactions
and think. That is most important. We will always have emotions of fear and

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
greed. From here on in, it is most important for you to use those emotions to
your advantage and for the long term, and not simply let your emotions run you
by controlling your thinking. Most people use fear and greed against themselves.
That's the start of ignorance. Most people live their lives chasing paychecks,
pay raises and job security because of the emotions of desire and fear, not
really questioning where those emotion-driven thoughts are leading them. It's
just like the picture of a donkey, dragging a cart, with its owner dangling a
carrot just in front of the donkey's nose. The donkey's owner may be going where
he wants to go, but the donkey is chasing an illusion. Tomorrow there will only
be another carrot for the donkey."
"You mean the moment I began to picture a new baseball glove, candy and
toys, that's like a carrot to a donkey?" Mike asked.
"Yeah. And as you get older, your toys get more expensive. A new car, a
boat and a big house to impress your friends," said rich dad with a smile. "Fear
pushes you out the door, and desire calls to you. Enticing you toward the rocks.
That's the trap."
"So what's the answer," Mike asked.
"What intensifies fear and desire is ignorance. That is why rich people
with lots of money often have more fear the richer they get. Money is the carrot,
the illusion. If the donkey could see the whole picture, it might rethink its
choice to chase the carrot."
Rich dad went on to explain that a human's life is a struggle between
ignorance and illumination.
He explained that once a person stops searching for information and
knowledge of one's self, ignorance sets in. That struggle is a moment-to-moment
decision-to learn to open or close one's mind.
"Look, school is very, very important. You go to school to learn a skill
or profession so as to be a contributing member of society. Every culture needs
teachers, doctors, mechanics, artists, cooks, business people, police officers,
firefighters, soldiers. Schools train them so our culture can thrive and
flourish," said rich dad. "Unfortunately, for many people, school is the end,
not the beginning."
There was a long silence. Rich dad was smiling. I did not comprehend
everything he said that day. But as with most great teachers, whose words
continue to teach for years, often long after they're gone, his words are still
with me today.
"I've been a little cruel today," said rich dad. "Cruel for a reason. I
want you to always remember this talk. I want you to always think of Mrs. Martin.

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
I want you always to think of the donkey. Never forget, because your two
emotions, fear and desire, can lead you into life's biggest trap, if you're not
aware of them controlling your thinking. To spend your life living in fear,
never exploring your dreams, is cruel. To work hard for money, thinking that
money will buy you things that will make you happy is also cruel. To wake up in
the middle of the night terrified about paying bills is a horrible way to live.
To live a life dictated by the size of a paycheck is not really a life. Thinking
that a job will make you feel secure is lying to yourself. That's cruel, and
that's the trap I want you to avoid, if possible. I've seen how money runs
people's lives. Don't let that happen to you. Please don't let money run your
life."
A softball rolled under our table. Rich dad picked it up and threw it back.
"So what does ignorance have to do with greed and fear?" I asked.
"Because it is ignorance about money that causes so much greed and so much
fear," said rich dad. "Let me give you some examples. A doctor, wanting more
money to better provide for his family, raises his fees. By raising his fees, it
makes health care more expensive for everyone. Now, it hurts the poor people the
most, so poor people have worse health than those with money.
"Because the doctors raise their rates, the attorneys raise their rates.
Because the attorneys' rates have gone up, schoolteachers want a raise, which
raises our taxes, and on and on and on. Soon, there will be such a horrifying
gap between the rich and the poor that chaos will break out and another great
civilization will collapse. Great civilizations collapsed when the gap between
the haves and havenots was too great. America is on the same course, proving
once again that history repeats itself, because we do not learn from history. We
only memorize historical dates and names, not the lesson.
"Aren't prices supposed to go up?" I asked.
"Not in an educated society with a well-run government. Prices should
actually come down. Of course, that is often only true in theory. Prices go up
because of greed and fear caused by ignorance. If schools taught people about
money, there would be more money and lower prices, but schools focus only on
teaching people to work for money, not how to harness money's power."
"But don't we have business schools?" Mike asked. "Aren't you encouraging
me to go to business school for my master's degree?"
"Yes," said rich dad. "But all too often, business schools train employees
who are sophisticated bean counters. Heaven forbid a bean counter takes over a
business. All they do is look at the numbers, fire people and kill the business.
I know because I hire bean counters. All they think about is cutting costs and

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
raising prices, which cause more problems. Bean counting is important. I wish
more people knew it, but it, too, is not the whole picture," added rich dad
angrily.
"So is there an answer?" asked Mike.
"Yes," said rich dad. "Learn to use your emotions to think, not think with
your emotions. When you boys mastered your emotions, first by agreeing to work
for free, I knew there was hope. When you again resisted your emotions when I
tempted you with more money, you were again learning to think in spite of being
emotionally charged. That's the first step."
"Why is that step so important" I asked.
"Well, that's up to you to find out. If you want to learn, I'll take you
boys into the briar patch. That place where almost everyone else avoids. I'll
take you to that place where most people are afraid to go. If you go with me,
you'll let go of the idea of working for money and instead learn to have money
work for you."
"And what will we get if we go with you. What if we agree to learn from
you? What will we get?" I asked.
"The same thing Briar Rabbit got," said rich dad. "Freedom from the Tar
Baby."
"Is there a briar patch?" I asked.
"Yes," said rich dad. "The briar patch is our fear and our greed. Going
into our fear and confronting our greed, our weaknesses, our neediness is the
way out. And the way out is through the mind, by choosing our thoughts."
"Choosing our thoughts?" Mike asked, puzzled.
"Yes. Choosing what we think rather than reacting to our emotions. Instead
of just getting up and going to work to solve your problems, just because the
fear of not having the money to pay your bills is scaring you. Thinking would be
taking the time to ask yourself a question. A question like, `Is working harder
at this the best solution to this problem?' Most people are so terrified at not
telling themselves the truth-that fear is in control-that they cannot think, and
instead run out the door. Tar baby is in control. That's what I mean by choosing
your thoughts."
"And how do we do that?" Mike asked.
"That's what I will be teaching you. I'll be teaching you to have a choice
of thoughts to consider, rather than knee-jerk reacting, like gulping down your
morning coffee and running out the door.
"Remember what I said before: A job is only a short-term solution to a
long-term problem. Most people have only one problem in mind, and it's short

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
term. It's the bills at the end of the month, the Tar Baby. Money now runs their
lives. Or should I say the fear and ignorance about money. So they do as their
parents did, get up every day and go work for money. Not having the time to say,
`Is there another way?' Their emotions now control their thinking, not their
heads."
"Can you tell the difference between emotions thinking and the head
thinking?" Mike asked.
"Oh, yes. I hear it all the time," said rich dad. "I hear things like,
`Well, everyone has to work.' Or `The rich are crooks.' Or `I'll get another job.
I deserve this raise. You can't push me around.' Or `I like this job because
it's secure.' Instead of, `Is there something I'm missing here?' which breaks
the emotional thought, and gives you time to think clearly."
I must admit, it was a great lesson to be getting. To know when someone
was speaking out of emotions or out of clear thought. It was a lesson that
served me well for life. Especially when I was the one speaking out of reaction
and not from clear thought.
As we headed back to the store, rich dad explained that the rich really
did "make money." They did not work for it. He went on to explain that when Mike
and I were casting 5-cent pieces out of lead, thinking we were making money, we
were very close to thinking the way the rich think. The problem was that it was
illegal for us to do it. It was legal for the government and banks to do it, but
not us. He explained that there are legal ways to make money and illegal ways.
Rich dad went on to explain that the rich know that money is an illusion,
truly like the carrot for the donkey. It's only out of fear and greed that the
illusion of money is held together by billions of people thinking that money is
real. Money is really made up. It was only because of the illusion of confidence
and the ignorance of the masses that the house of cards stood standing. "In
fact," he said, "in many ways the donkey's carrot was more valuable than money."
He talked about the gold standard that America was on, and that each
dollar bill was actually a silver certificate. What concerned him was the rumor
that we would someday go off the gold standard and our dollars would no longer
be silver certificates.
"When that happens, boys, all hell is going to break loose. The poor, the
middle class and the ignorant will have their lives ruined simply because they
will continue to believe that money is real and that the company they work for,
or the government, will look after them."
We really did not understand what he was saying that day, but over the
years it made more and more sense.

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
Seeing What Others Miss
As he climbed into his pickup truck, outside of his little convenience
store, he said, "Keep working boys, but the sooner you forget about needing a
paycheck, the easier your adult life will be. Keep using your brain, work for
free, and soon your mind will show you ways of making money far beyond what I
could ever pay you. You will see things that other people never see.
Opportunities right in front of their noses. Most people never see these
opportunities because they're looking for money and security, so that's all they
get. The moment you see one opportunity, you will see them for the rest of your
life. The moment you do that, I'll teach you something else. Learn this, and
you'll avoid one of life's biggest traps. You'll never, ever, touch that Tar
Baby."
Mike and I picked up our things from the store and waved goodbye to Mrs.
Martin. We went back to the park, to the same picnic bench, and spent several
more hours thinking and talking.
We spent the next week at school, thinking and talking. For two more weeks,
we kept thinking, talking, and working for free.
At the end of the second Saturday, I was again saying goodbye to Mrs.
Martin and looking at the comic-book stand with a longing gaze. The hard thing
about not even getting 30 cents every Saturday was that I didn't have any money
to buy comic books. Suddenly, as Mrs. Martin was saying goodbye to Mike and me,
I saw something she was doing that I had never seen her do before. I mean, I had
seen her do it, but I never took notice of it.
Mrs. Martin was cutting the front page of the comic book in half. She was
keeping the top half of the comic book cover and throwing the rest of the comic
book into a large brown cardboard box. When I asked her what she did with the
comic books, she said, "I throw them away. I give the top half of the cover back
to the comic-book distributor for credit when he brings in the new comics. He's
coming in an hour."
Mike and I waited for an hour. Soon the distributor arrived and I asked
him if we could have the comic books. To which he replied, "You can have them if
you work for this store and do not resell them."
Our partnership was revived. Mike's mom had a spare room in the basement
that no one used. We cleaned it out, and began piling hundreds of comic books in
that room. Soon our comic-book library was open to the public. We hired Mike's
younger sister, who loved to study, to be head librarian. She charged each child
10 cents admission to the library, which was open from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. every

who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.
day after school. The customers, the children of the neighborhood, could read as
many comics as they could in two hours. It was a bargain for them since a comic
costs 10 cents each, and they could read five or six in two hours.
Mike's sister would check the kids as they left, to make sure they weren't
borrowing any comic books. She also kept the books, logging in how many kids
showed up each day, who they were, and any comments they might have. Mike and I
averaged $9.50 per week over a threemonth period. We paid his sister $1 a week
and allowed her to read the comics for free, which she rarely did since she was
always studying.
Mike and F kept our agreement by working in the store every Saturday and
collecting all the comic books from the different stores. We kept our agreement
to the distributor by not selling any comic books. We burned them once they got
too tattered. We tried opening a branch office, but we could never quite find
someone as dedicated as Mike's sister we could trust.
At an early age, we found out how hard it was to find good staff.
Three months after the library first opened, a fight broke out in the room.
Some bullies from another neighborhood pushed their way in and started it.
Mike's dad suggested we shut down the business. So our comic-book business shut
down, and we stopped working on Saturdays at the convenience store. Anyway, rich
dad was excited because he had new things he wanted to teach us. He was happy
because we had learned our first lesson so well. We had learned to have money
work for us. By not getting paid for our work at the store, we were forced to
use our imaginations to identify an opportunity to make money. By starting our
own business, the comic-book library, we were in control of our own finances,
not dependent on an emplo