Category: Book Club (Big Books & Short Books)

Rich Dad, Poor Dad goes over the ways that you can make money work for you, and learn to stress less over financial security

Chapter 1:

Chapter 1, is about how cash flow works and how you can make it work for yourself. This is the main focus of this chapter. Robert considers himself having two Dads, one his real father who was educated and highly intelligent but always struggled financially while the other one who was his friend Mike’s father, who never finished eighth grade but left tens of millions of dollars for his family. Having two Dads offered him the choice of contrasting points of view: one of rich and one of a poor man.

Chapter 2 :

Robert shares his story that how he and his friend was not invited to a beach house party considering them as poor kids. This led him to ask real dad a question that “How to make money?” and he replied “Use your head” as he himself was not clear about what to answer. Robert and his friend started a business which was termed illegal by his father and he suggested him to talk to Mike’s father as he knew a lot about money.

He then worked at mike’s father’s place earning 10 cents per hour which he felt is less but his desire was to learn from him how to make money. Seeing his efforts he decided to teach him in his own ways. A few learning that he has are:

• The poor and the middle-class work for money. The rich have money to work for them.
• For poor people, the rich dad said “They have a pattern, the pattern of get up, go to work, pay bills; get up, got to work, pay bills. This is what I called the Rat Race.
• The main cause of poverty or financial struggle is fear and ignorance, not the economy or the government, or the rich.
• Most people don’t see opportunities as they are always looking for money and a secure job to pay bills.
• You should not allow your emotions i.e fear and greed to overcome you while thinking for money.

Using these learning’s, he started a comic book library which did not last for much time but Rich dad was happy to see that used his mind and was able to see opportunities.

Rich Dad and Poor Dad:

Financial literacy is not taught in schools . The old philosophy with which we are still adhering to is get a degree and land yourself in a safe and a secure job. As years passed by toil hard to gain scholastic skills earn more money only to pay more taxes, purchase a palace only to pay more real estate taxes. Financial literacy is all about identifying the power vested in investments which will help money work for you rather than you working for money. Rich and Poor is in the context of the financial wisdom possessed by two dads. The context hovers around your ability to manage your finances. Rich becomes more richer and poor becomes more poorer as they struggle to take judicious decisions when it come to wealth management. An analogy works well here if you sit on the couch you are compromising the physical health , on the contrary if you forbade the understanding of financial literacy and don’t exercise your brain to deal with finances at an early age you are compromising your wealth. The author since childhood has always faced contradictions in terms of recommendations and suggestions provided by his two dads. He also analysed how the thoughts of the person influences the risk taking ability of an individual. I cant afford it , this statements hooks you off and you will be convinced there is no way out. On the contrary asking yourself a question why cant I afford it?? challenges your brain and will give you the kick start to make it a reality . Also instead of complaining I don’t have money because I have you kids needs to be substituted with I have money because I have you kids. Rather than gaining skills to prepare a resume to get a job learn to draft impressive business and financial plans to offer jobs. The book is a summary of 6 principles or guidelines which was dictated by the author’s Rich Dad. The very first principle being the Rich do not work for money. The curiosity of Mike and Robert to be rich and make more money sort of died when the very first day of the business turned out the be the last one. Robert’s dad advised to meet Mike’s dad to get few lessons on how to be rich?? Both the boys chose the offer to work for 10 pence an hour during Saturdays. For three consecutive weeks they hold the patience and lastly they thought they are being exploited as per the labor laws the minimum wage which they deserve is 25 cents. Robert was frustrated as three weeks lapsed and he did not receive any lessons from Mikes Father which can help him grow rich. He thought he was exploiting him and went on to confront his father by stating he is an insensitive crooked man. His father tested them by agreeing to pay $2 per hour .Their hearts pounded with a rapid pace and they could imagine how they could be the richest kids in Hawaiie by earning this much. When the Rich dad offered $5 the greed penetrated in their souls calm down . Rich dad explained the difference between poor people and Rich people. Poor People think money can eliminate all their fears and hence they quit the job and find better paying job , however this does not end their fear. The greed and desire provokes them to work more hard and get the raise in the salary to enjoy all the comforts of life. The vicious cycle of fear and greed seems never ending. In fact at times the more rich you get you are grappled with more fear , now the fear is of loosing all the money you have earned. The rich dad explained how his employees behave out of fear and greed. Fear makes them run to get the job and greed makes them beg to increase the pay. He gave an example of a Donkey and his owner. The owner flash dangling carrot in front of donkey’s nose. Donkey does what his master commands with an illusion of having this carrot. If donkey might have sensed a real picture he might not have chosen to chase the carrot. The self inflicted emotions of fear and greed make us chase for money . We become slaves of money , however the real power resides in being the Master of Money and not letting your money control your desires and fears and consecutively your thinking.The rich dad  want to help them see what others cant . Money is an illusion and not a reality. Getting tremors in the middle of the night just in the worry of earning money and paying the bills is the horrible way of living life. Before rushing to work and working hard one needs to ask question will this short term efforts alleviate  the long term pain?? One day Robert was gazing a book store and was lamenting about not even having 30 cents for comic books. He saw Mrs Martin discarding the comic books in large cardboard box. They asked the comic book store owners can they use this comic books to which he replied yes they can but they cant resell them . One room of Mike’s house was turned into a Comic Book Library and Mikes sister was assigned the position of a librarian. Children need to pay 10 cents for 2 hours and can read as many books as they want. In over three months they earn $9.50. They realized how opening their own business Comic Book Library helped them take charge of their finances even in their absence. This was a perfect example of how they made money work for them. The second principle lay emphasis on financial literacy : Lack of financial literacy will incapacitate a person to handle his own finances. After earning money the biggest question is how to manage money so that it is not taken away from you. The biggest question to ask before incurring any expense is will this be an asset or a liability ?sounds pretty simple , however it is the profound way of improving one ‘s cash flow. Raise in an income will provoke people to purchase new big home which will drive them to pay more property tax resulting in blowing of money from the expense column. The cash flow of middle class people does not have any scope of investing in asset as their income is equal to their expenses. They consider their house as the biggest investment , however they don’t have any asset which could pour more money for them . On the contray the rich man’s financial statement has Assets greater than liability and their income is greater than their expenses . The balance is again reinvested and this is how rich gets riches and poor gets poorer. Thinking wisely how to spend money is considered as Financial Aptitude.Rich buy assets , Poor have more expenses and middle class buy liabilities which they think are assets. How much rich you are is in the eyes of the beholder. According to Buckminster Fuller calculate how many days you can survive without your pay check and that will speak volumes regarding the financial independence and financial survivability of an individual. A financially illiterate person will earn an income for the employer , will have to shed the major chunk of their income to the government in the form of taxes and will pay banks in terms of liabilities. The share of your greater efforts are distributed amongst the above mentioned key stakeholders leaving you struggling with expenses and liabilities and this is what they refer  to as being in the rat race.

Title of the book: Rich Dad Poor Dad

Author: Robert T. Kiyosaki

Genre of the book : Self-help

Why was this title selected: It talks about the story of Robert who grew up with two dads — his real father and the father of his best friend, his rich dad — and the ways in which both men shaped his thoughts about money and investing and hence the title. Chapter 1 and 2 reflection: Chapter 1 begins with an interesting statement “The poor and the middle-class work for money. The rich have money work for them.” The chapter focuses on his story as a nine-year-old and how he starts learning about money from his friend’s father. The inspiration to learn more about managing money links to an incident when the author and his friend Mike feels bad when their friends don’t take them to a party calling them poor and how this father whom he calls poor dad advises him to go and meet Mike’s father to learn about money and it’s handling. Mike’s father believes in hands-on teaching and not lecture method and gives challenges to both the boys and how in the process they learn to use their thinking is the most interesting part.

Few statements were spoken by Mike’s father whom the author now calls Rich Dad are worth pondering upon.

1. Opportunities come and go. Being able to know when to make quick decisions is an important skill.

2. Deep down you were terrified of taking risks.

3. The main cause of poverty or financial struggle is fear and ignorance, not the economy or the government or the rich.

4. Human life is a struggle between ignorance and illumination.

5. Confronting fear, weakness and neediness by choosing our own thoughts is the way out.

 

Chapter 2 focuses on why is it important to teach financial literacy. This chapter explains the difference between assets and liabilities using simple sketches. This chapter drives home the point that it’s not about how much money you make, but about how much money you keep. An asset puts money in the pocket and a liability takes money out of the pocket.

Can’t wait to read more.

 

Regards,

Bhargavi.

हमारी शिक्षा प्रणाली हमें धन कमाने के लिए पढ़ने और डिग्री हासिल करके अच्छी नौकरी पाने के लिए प्रोत्साहित करती है। वास्तव में धन को अपने लिए प्रयोग में लाना हमें नहीं सिखाया जाता, यही कारण है कि इंसान बिना सोचे समझे धन पाने की अंधाधुंध दौड़ में फंस कर रह जाता है। ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ में लेखक ने अपने दो पिताओं के नजरिए को सुना, समझा और उन दो अलग अलग नजरियों से अपने लिए सही को चुना। उन्होंने बताया कि हारने का डर जीतने की ख़ुशी पर भारी पड़ता है। यही डर और हमारी आकांक्षाएँ हमें धन के सही उपयोग करने से रोकती हैं। उनके अनुसार हमें अपने डर और आकांक्षाओं को अपनी सोच पर हावी नहीं होने देना चाहिए। जिस तरह स्वास्थ्य पाने के लिए शारीरिक व्यायाम की जरुरत है उसी तरह धनवान बनने के लिए मानसिक व्यायाम जरुरी है।
उन्होंने यह सोचने पर मजबूर कर दिया कि नौकरी करना सही है या नहीं ? बहुत सोचने पर मुझे यही लगता है कि जिस काम से आप शांतिपूर्वक जीवन जी सकें वही सही है। पैसा बहुत कुछ है पर सब कुछ नहीं। लेखक का कहना बिलकुल सही है, ‘ Don’t work for money, let money work for you.’

यहाँ उन्होंने सम्पति और दायित्व (जिम्मेदारी ) के अंतर को भी स्पष्ट किया है। इंसान को बहुत सोच विचार कर अपने धन को सही जगह निवेश करना चाहिए।

The happiness project by Gretchen Rubin has helped me to introspect the real sense of happiness within me. We touched many topics while reading books- friends, families, traveling, spirituality, etc and dived deep into each one of them through discussions within groups. DIscussions lead to discovering new perspectives from each one of us shaping our own understanding in a newer way. We also reflected on our past lives, especially childhood and adolescence cherishing the old memories. We had wonderful group members who expressed themselves generously.

Overall it was a blissful experience reading this book, making connections, and sharing. As shared before on the bog would like to continue working on my happiness project– exercise, dinner time, Mediation, Prayers.

Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions – Dalai Lama.

Reading books has always been an integral part of my life and has always helped me grow. The Happiness Project helped me reflect on my day-to-day experiences. I could very well resonate with the author and some of the examples that she shared, really hit me hard. What impacted me the most was the difference between a goal and a resolution. Quoting from the book, ‘You hit a goal, you keep a resolution.’ When I read this, I decided to make resolutions, rather than goals. 

The book was very inspiring and some of the messages that I got from the book are: 

Be yourself.

Try and work out what makes you happy.

One of the best ways to be happy is to make others happy.

One of the best ways to make others happy is to be happy myself.

Ideas and thoughts articulated in a lucid language in Gretchen’s The Happiness Project did strike the right chord in me. There were instances about which I had heard and read a lot. For example, give proofs of love, clear the clutter, don’t expect appreciation and many such day-to-day life commandments. Nevertheless, it also had instances that made me introspect and explore the dormant me in me.

Reading this book followed by interesting discussions, I realised that I should resume my writing habit. Make effort. What I always lacked was the intrinsic motivation to write. But seems Ms Gretchen did succeed in awakening Ms Rip Van Winkle in me. Thank you, Gretchen. You came into my life at the right time (seems so:); you didn’t wake me up after 20 years 😉 God bless you!

My poem.

 

Namaste & Hello!

I hope you are Happy!

This life class journey has come a long way. I have been associated with FS for more than 9 years now. Every year, I have learnt several ways to improve myself in personal as well as professional area. Some Amazing things happened during this “Happiness Project” Book Club Sessions. While going through the book, I found few commandments very much relevant to me and the idea of keeping a track of our resolutions just became stronger. I really loved one of the commandments – “There is only love!” Such a wonderful statement. For long time I have been struggling to tolerate people around with differences. I did try and still try to apply what I learnt from spirituality that “Everyone is a soul, Everything is one. The entire universe is just one life”.  In the midst of this practice, this wonderful statement “There is only love” has made a significant difference in developing tolerance. I also revised one of the things that we should do the most difficult task first and I came up with my own commandment – “Do Hard Things First!”. I have kept this as my post it in my laptop. I read it everyday and I am getting better at it. Thanks to Gretchen, FS, Scott Peck, my mentors and TLs. During discussing Happiness projects, one of our participant Mrs Kavita Agarwal shared her learnings from various sources she had – “Happiness is a choice!” I have been listening to be proactive, to take charge of my life, take actions but I was struggling to deal with my emotions many times. This statement – “Happiness is a choice!” was like the culmination of all the learnings that I had in the past to have control over my feelings. Thank You Kavita Mam – You have made a lasting impact in my life! Thanks to all the other participants Anish, Nikita  Mam and Manisha Mam for your invaluable sharings. And ofcourse, thanks to Subhalaxmi Mam as well for always being there as my mentor whenever I needed in some or the other way.

One who lives in peace would live in peace and happiness with the community & the world. Hence, it is very very important to find peace and happiness. There is nothing wrong in taking care of self and only if you yourself will be healthy and happy, you will be able to take care of near and dear ones.

It was a wonderful experience going through the book Happiness project and discussing as well as sharing the content with the book club members. Also, we had a very amazing group who did not hesitate in sharing their view points and experiences in relation to the book content. Due to the sharing and discussion, we were able to do the reality check and do the self analysis. I found that I find happiness in even small things and that really matter. One of the takeaways was friendship and good friendship can definitely lead to happiness.

” All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. This proverb needs to be taken seriously as leisure is also equally important for a peaceful and happy mind. There is nothing wrong in finding more fun, sometimes being silly and even slightly go off the path.

As I would like to get more into reading and gain the benefits of reading, would like to take it as a happiness project along with fitness activities (continue with Cricket & badminton, walking, gym & cycling occasionally).

 

Regards…..

Gretchen Reuben’s book “The Happiness Project” has helped me discover my original simpler self – someone who had a lot of clarity was able to let go of things, was spiritual and content; someone who appreciates their peace of mind more than anything else. But somehow as I grew older, I lost sight of that side of me. I am glad to have read the book in that sense. Over the course of reading this book, I have been able to reawaken the writer in me as part of my happiness goals. I have realised that reading and writing are what give me joy and I need to necessarily make time for both despite the rut of life.

It has been a very pleasant experience – sharing with colleagues about their lives in an unstructured manner. Essentially reading the book seems to have helped all of us – more or less – reflect on our lives and speak about those reflections, connect it with other things we have seen or read and bring those connections to the discussions. I have really had a good time discussing the book with all my colleagues in the group and I appreciate all of them for the support they showed each other during the course of the discussions.