The book “Why “A” Students Work for “C” Students and “B” Students Work for the Government” is the best book I have ever read. It was written by Robert Kiyosaki, of “Rich Dad Poor Dad” fame. This book is hardcore in its approach. If you are not serious in your drive to become rich, this book is not for you. He challenges every entitlement program there is including; social security, medicare, military retirement, and 401k. If you are not starting businesses and buying assets, then you are behind the power curve. I actually thought that I was doing pretty well in life before I read this book. Now I am hungry to prove myself in the real world. The challenge is to use leverage to build wealth. Another challenge is to start a business from scratch and have it produce income to buy more assets. These are tough challenges and 85-90% of the population can not do these things. But if you are hungry for more in life, then this book will open up something inside of you. Let’s get into my 5 takeaways from the book.
1) Americans want to be entrepreneurs however our school system is training our kids to be employees. This is the main point of the book. He feels education is important. But getting a college degree, or advanced degree, will not necessarily lead to financial success. Learning the language of money is how we become successful in life.
2) “If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime.” Most of us know this quote. In this context, he is speaking of entitlement programs. The author feels that these programs (including military pensions) make people weak and dependent on the government. The only person who is in charge of your finances should be you.
3) “Once upon a time, all a person had to do was go to school, get a job, work hard, and retire. Today that is a fairytale.” For those of us that are parents, these words need to be burned into our brains. Our children are being set up for disaster and misery. They need to know how money works and how to buy and control assets. Otherwise, they will always be work slaves.
4) A parent is a teacher for life. It is our responsibility to teach our children about money, finances, and assets. We can prevent our children from being controlled by the “rat race”. The rat race is going to work to pay for expenses. Some people are trapped in the rat race for their entire lives.
5) “Cash Flow” are the two most important words in the world of money. Cash flow is how everything happens in your home and business. A savings account does not generate cash flow. Rental houses generate cash flow. A car payment is a negative cash flow. If you can keep the cash flowing in, chances are you will be successful.
I will read this book at least once a year. Whenever I have fear about a certain asset purchase or financial decision, this book is a great read. In order to become rich, you need to make mistakes. You have to be bold and head first. Mistakes are how we learn and become stronger individuals and team members. Again, this book is not for everyone. If you are in love with your military pension, then he will offend you. If you can’t wait for social security, then he will offend you. He believes that people should not depend on the government for retirement and financial cash flow. I loved every page of this book. If you want to become rich, this is a must-read.
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https://www.pinterest.com/kingmarine/military-family-investing/Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
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