My parents trained me to be poor. How about yours?

This week, my nieces showed me Robert Kiyosaki’s quadrant (below). They say that I shared that quadrant with them 15 years ago. It brought back reminiscences of when I first read the book, Rich Dad Poor Dad. I had graduated from college and still, I was lost when it came to working for a living. The fun was not there anymore. I found out that despite a college degree in hand, I would never have the quantity of money that I desired. Even if I worked 24h per day, I wouldn’t be able to get financial freedom. Funnily enough, after 15 years, I found out that I am on the right side of Robert’s quadrant thanks to his advice. When your heart desires something badly enough, it will happen.

When I finished college, I admired those who made more money than me and I said, “Wow, if I got a bigger diploma, I would be richer”. At that moment, I did plan to get a Masters degree. It was my way of reaching wealth.

It was totally understandable. I was trained that way. My parents told me to study hard, get good scores in school in order to get a good job, get married, have kids, teach the same things to your kids, work until 65 years old and retire. Does it sound familiar to you? Thanks to Robert, It discovered that I was in the rat race, and I should get out of there. Even when you win in the rat race, you are still a rat.

I love my parents, and I am not complaining at all. They transferred the best knowledge they had just like all parents do. And my parents had been trained that way by their parents and their parents by their parents, etc. For them, succeeding in school was equivalent to succeeding financially which is false. That’s why parents support their kids to become doctors, engineers, lawyers, dentists, pharmacists, accountants, etc. They mix up school and education together. Education is something that you could learn anywhere and most of the time, schools can’t teach. How could schools teach about wealth when they never have experienced it themselves?

I know some parents who owned a small business. They became entrepreneurs because probably they didn’t have other choices. When their business is not that successful, they encourage their kids to get a big diploma and to become a good employee. For those who have lost hope, remember that as long as your heart desires success, you will get it. Parents and their children could learn to become successful financially by surrounding themselves with mentors and others who inspire like Robert Kiyosaki, Richard Brandson, Warren Buffet, etc. It is not an accident that these people became successful. Previously, they were in good company with other outstanding people.

Most of the time, we get advice from family members such as, “Don’t invest your money in the stock market; you will lose all of it. … Don’t buy houses; you will have to handle tenant troubles. … Don’t have a business; it is very tough and you won’t succeed.”  You always have free advice from novices or from those who have never prospered. Those people live in fear and they transmit their fear to you. When was the last time you got advice from a wealthy person and applied it?

You don’t have to become an entrepreneur by the way. If you love what you do, then that is all it takes. However, don’t cover up with excuses. How many people chose to become doctors because they learned it is the best way to earn money? I know there are many doctors who truly embrace humanity. But there are many who adopt that profession because it is the highest paying job. I agree what they do is hard and they deserve a better wage. However, don’t do it for financial freedom because you won’t get it, excluding a few exceptional doctors. Don’t get me wrong. We all need money. But saving lives to make money is not as satisfying as making money to save lives.

Whatever the profession that you practice, combine it with business and invest your money to generate passive income. If you are an employee, you don’t have to leave your job and put everything at risk. You could begin by investing in real estate to generate passive recurrent income as Robert advised.

I strongly recommend reading Rich Dad Poor Dad so that you could make your money work for you. Robert has transformed my life, and you will get the same benefits too. I always share good things with those I love.