Section 1 - Think Like The Rich

Introduction

THINK Like the Rich

L

ife is about choice. When I was just nine years old, I made my
choice to be rich. I had two fathers, a rich one and a poor one.
My real father, my poor dad, was highly educated and intelligent with a PhD. My
best friend’s father, my rich dad, never finished the eighth grade. Both men were
successful in their careers, working hard all their lives.Both earned substantial
incomes, yet one always struggled financially. The other would become one of
the richest men in Hawaii. One died leaving tens of millions of dollars to his family,
charities, and church. The other left bills to be paid. Both men offered me advice,
but they did not advise the same things. Both men believed strongly in education
but did not recommend the same course ofstudy.
If I had had only one dad, I would have had to accept or reject his advice. Having
two dads offered me the choice of contrasting points of view: one of a rich man
and one of a poor man.
Instead of simply accepting or rejecting one or the other, I found myself thinking
more, comparing, and then choosing for myself. The problem was that the rich
man was not rich yet, and the poor man wasnot yet poor. Both were just starting
out on their careers, and both were struggling with money and families. But they
had very different points of view about money.
At the age of nine, I chose not to listen to my poor dad, even though he was the
one with all the college degrees. I decided to listen to and learn from my rich dad
about money. In other words, I chose to be rich. The lessons thatI learned from
him are the lessons that I share with you now.
When we are young, choices are generally made for us. As we grow and mature,
we learn to make our own choices, a slow, steady process fraught with both joy
and frustration.
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Now it’s time to make one of the most critical decisions of your life—whether to
take control of your finances. Why critical? Because if you takecontrol of your
finances, it will empower you to shape a new life for yourself. This choice is really a
series of smaller decisions. The decision to change your financial future is a mere
preliminary. The decision to follow up, renewed each day you open your eyes, is the
more critical choice. Will you see your choice through to the end?
This program is a road map to your new life. You’ll benavigating through three
books, a varied terrain of rich ideas, practical information, and exercises designed,
not to determine your direction, but rather to light your way. In Book 1, “Think
Like the Rich,” you’ll shed old ways of thinking and adopt new ideas that have the
power to propel you up the entrance ramp to financial freedom. In Book 2, “Learn
What the Rich Know,” you’ll absorb theknowledge required to keep you moving
down the road. And in Book 3, “Do What the Rich Do,” you’ll follow a detailed
program intended to help you reach your destination.
But first things first. It’s time to take stock of your financial situation. In the pages
that immediately follow, you’ll be confronting your fears, your stale habits of
thinking, and other hidden obstacles that, until now, haveprevented you from
getting ahead. You’ll be making an inventory of your strengths and your passions,
those things you’ve always possessed but never acknowledged, whose power can
lead you out of your financial maze. And you’ll encounter new thoughts on the idea
of money, thoughts meant to harness those inner strengths and steer you on the
road to your dreams.
Rich dad said, “All of us have thepower of choice. I choose to be rich, and I
make that choice every day.” Congratulations! You’ve made the choice to achieve
financial freedom. The time has come for the effort.

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
–Robert Frost

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BOOK 1 • THINK LIKE THE RICH

Chapter 1

Change Your Mind

CHANGE YOUR LIFE...