Rich Dad

I first heard about Robert Kiyosaki and his book, "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" in a brochure I had received from Nightingale Conant. Being an avid reader of business books, I decided to look into it. I found that the complete title was "Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!"

I read a true story of a young boy learning the conflicting life and financial lessons taught by his two dads, one his biological father (Poor Dad), the other, his best friend's father (Rich Dad). His Poor Dad was a Ph.D. and Superintendent of Education who died broke and his Rich Dad dropped out of school at the age of 13 and eventually became one of the wealthiest men in the state of Hawaii. This boy grew to be a young man, graduated college, joined the Marines, returned home to work for Xerox and formed his first company in 1977. In his story he teaches about the rules of wealth and how you can use them to retire rich. This amazing individual is, Robert Kiyosaki.

What Robert Kiyosaki teaches in his book is not terribly technical or even new. What makes his book powerful is how he challenges our core beliefs and everyday mindset by taking things we are familiar with such as cars, houses, mortgages, banks, taxes, businesses, and shows us what they really mean in our lives and to our personal wealth. Most of us grew up with the same set of rules: go to school; get good grades; get a safe secure job; work hard; build you 401K; etc. We've all been taught that this is the way to the American Dream.

The rich do not follow these rules. They have their own rules, and in fact live in a world most of us know little about and it is their rules that make them rich. The rich are getting richer, and the middle class are getting deeper in debt trying to keep up with the lifestyle of the rich...which makes the rich even richer.

If you are not willing to have your core beliefs rocked, your values challenged and your sacred cows killed then you do not need to read these books. However if you are looking for bold new ideas about money and are ready to make financial changes in your life; this information is what you are looking for.

Robert Kiyosaki

A fourth generation Japanese-American. After graduating from college he joined the Marine Corps. and went to Vietnam as an officer and helicopter gunship pilot. Returning from the war, he went to work for Xerox and in 1977 formed the first company to bring Nylon and Velcro wallets to the market. In 1985 he founded an international education company teaching business and investing to tens of thousands of students throughout the world. In 1994 Robert sold his business and retired at the age of 47.  Shortly afterward, he wrote Rich Dad, Poor Dad and recorded the breakthrough audio program, Rich Dad's Secrets of Money, Business and Investing. And How You Can Profit From Them. He currently lives in Phoenix with his wife Kim.