Steve Harvey “Jump,” Napoleon Hill, “Think and Grow Rich,” Robert Kiyosaki, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”
This may sound weird to some, but I am in the process of reading three books. Each are listed above. I would put all of these books in the category of self-help/inspirational. I know that many of you do not have the love for reading that I have and I thought it would be cool if you could get the same knowledge I’m getting without having to pick up a book.
As I read chapter one of each book (well, reread chapter one of Rich Dad, Poor Dad), I couldn’t help but notice some similarities.
All three men tell a story of someone, mostly themselves, setting out to have a better life. Each man had a goal in their heads that they wanted to achieve, and they set out in life to accomplish those goals. Rather it be Robert Kiyosaki with a dream of becoming rich, Steve Harvey with a goal to become a comedian or Edwin C. Barnes with a desire to work WITH Thomas Edison without even knowing him. Each of these men planted a seed in their minds that eventually grew into a fully blossomed plant.
I would like to start this portion of the series talking about the main theme of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, written by Robert Kiyosaki.
For Robert, at a young age he was determined to figure out how to become rich. His biological father (Poor Dad) was highly educated and worked for the government. He had student loan debt, mortgage debt and a family and he wasn’t paid well. They struggled financially because of this. However, he always told Robert to go to school, get a good job with benefits. THAT is how you become successful. But Robert noticed that his father had done those things and yet they were still struggling and that wasn’t the life that Robert wanted to live. When he asked his poor dad how to get rich, he pointed him in the direction of his best friends father. “Rich Dad” as he told him taught him many important lessons.
- The poor and the middle class work for money. The rich have money work for them
- Most people have a fear of being without money, which motivates them to work hard and then when we/they get a pay check, greed or desire starts us to thinking about all the wonderful things money can buy. This is how we get set in a pattern of getting up, going to work, paying bills. (THE RAT RACE)
- So many people that work for others lie and say they aren’t interested in money, yet they/ we get up everyday and work a job we don’t love for 8 hours a day.
So at the end of this chapter, Robert had realized that he had to stop looking at a job like a shiny new penny. He was taught that it is easier to work for money and that fear keeps people working jobs they don’t want. They have the fear of not being able to pay their bills, fear of being fired, fear of not having enough money, and the fear of having to start over.
I couldn’t and can’t help but to relate this to my own life. I have such big dreams of living a life that doesn’t involve me waking up and going in to work for someone else. Dreams of being my own boss, creating an empire worth millions of dollars, perhaps even billions of dollars. But I am so afraid of losing the security of that little bitty bi-weekly check that barely pays all of the bills.
This book, each time I read it, reminds me of just had fearful I am. I have done the traditional thing and sometimes I feel successful when I look around at the people I surround myself with. I have two degrees, a job, benefits, a house, a decent car and I am still able to save a little bit after all of my bills are paid. But for some reason, I just do not fill fulfilled. There has always been something inside of me that has told me that my life could be so much more successful, if only I were to give myself a chance.
Even when I talk to my mother, she reminds me that I have NEVER wanted to be the person that wakes up every day and goes to work for someone else. Don’t get me wrong, I do it/ have always done it because I feel like it is a necessity, but wow I can only imagine that life that is waiting for me should I allow myself to full invest in my own businesses and stop worrying about someone else’s. Imagine if I lived a life where I worked as hard for myself as I worked for someone else? My life would have no option but to be a success.
Do you feel stuck in the “Rat Race” as Robert’s rich dad coined it? As though there is no way to change your life? Like you’re stuck? I know I definitely do. I have so many co-workers and friends that have these goals of opening businesses and living a more comfortable life, not working for any one else. And it seems as though we are all trying to balance too much.
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Today’s task is to set aside time each day for you. Time to think of what it is you want your life to look like 5-10 years from now and start creating a list of ideas on how to get there. You don’t necessarily have to start writing a plan on how you want to achieve these things, but if you want to, obviously feel free.
Some of us know exactly what it is that we want to do, we just don’t know how to do it. Many of us have no idea what we want to do every day and need time to figure that out.
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