Friday, December 19, 2014

Excerpts from Rich Dad Poor Dad [Chapter Six]

LESSON 6: WORK TO LEARN— DON'T WORK FOR MONEY

Job security meant everything to my educated dad.
Learning meant everything to my rich dad.


He was speaking on
motivation, and I was speaking on “The Secrets of the Rich.”


It was this business consultant who gave me the phrase: “They
are one skill away from great wealth.”


What this phrase means is that most people need only to learn
and master one more skill and their income would jump exponentially.


I have mentioned before that financial intelligence is a synergy of
accounting, investing, marketing, and law. Combine those four
technical skills and making money with money is easier than most
people would believe. When it comes to money, the only skill most
people know is to work hard.


So
I chose a title that would get me on more TV and radio shows, simply
because I was willing to be controversial. Many people thought I was a
fruitcake, but the book sold and sold.


In school and in the workplace, the popular opinion is the idea of
specialization: that is, in order to make more money or get promoted,
you need to specialize.


“You want
to know a little about a lot” was his suggestion.

He wanted us to know a
little about every aspect of his empire.


While most of my classmates, including Mike, were partying at
their fraternity houses, I was studying trade, people, business styles, and
cultures in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam,
Korea, Tahiti, Samoa, and the Philippines. I was partying also, but it
was not in any frat house. I grew up rapidly.


I told him I wanted to learn to fly, but really
I wanted to learn to lead troops.


Rich dad explained to me that the
hardest part of running a company is managing people.


The reason so many talented people are poor is because they
focus on building a better hamburger and know little to nothing
about business systems.


The world is filled with talented poor people.

All too often, they’re poor or struggle financially or earn less than they are capable of, not  because of what they know, but because of what they do not know.

He
never understood that the more specialized you become, the more
you are trapped and dependent on that specialty.


The main management skills needed for success are:
1. Management of cash flow
2. Management of systems
3. Management of people


The most important specialized skills are sales and marketing.

The ability to sell—to communicate to another human being, be it
a customer, employee, boss, spouse, or child—is the base skill of
personal success.


Communication skills such as writing, speaking,
and negotiating are crucial to a life of success.


Rich dad encouraged Mike and me to know a little about a lot.

I know of no other skills to be more important than
selling and marketing.


The better you are at communicating, negotiating, and handling your fear of
rejection, the easier life is.


The more they gave, the more they received.