4 min read · Jun 5, 2023
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Bestselling author Robert Kiyosaki was so broke that he and his wife lived out of their car. He was able to transform his life through the power of investing — bankrupt at age 30 and financially free at 47.
He chronicled his remarkable journey in the groundbreaking book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad.” You may have read it or know someone who has.
I will take you through five invaluable lessons from Kiyosaki and his Rich Dad series of books.
I hope you take his blueprint to build wealth and achieve financial independence.
Let’s dive right in.
Lesson 1: Invest in Assets, Don’t Buy Doodads
Kiyosaki challenges the traditional definition of assets. He asserts that something is not an asset if it doesn’t generate income.
He comes out guns blazing in his book, attacking the notion that your home is an asset. The reason is logical — you have to pay the mortgage and taxes with a house, and it doesn’t give you any income.
That last part is the critical differentiator. According to Kiyosaki, something is an asset if it puts money in your pocket — everything else is a liability.
Kiyosaki encourages readers to buy income-generating assets like real estate, stocks, and businesses. These kinds of investments can appreciate and generate passive income.
Lesson 2: Wealth is Measured in Time, Not Money
You become financially free when your passive income surpasses your expenses.
According to Kiyosaki, the measure of true wealth lies not in how much money you have but in how long you can maintain your desired lifestyle without doing active work.
A New Way to Calculate Your Wealth
The traditional way to determine your wealth is to calculate your net worth. You add up everything you own (house, stocks, other assets) and subtract what you owe (mortgage, student, and car loans) to calculate your net worth.
Kiyosaki shared a different way — your “years of wealth.”
To calculate it, you divide the total value of your retirement accounts and savings by your annual expenses.
The resulting figure represents the number of years you can sustain your current lifestyle without working.
Let’s go through an example.
Suppose you have accumulated $1,000,000 in assets, and your yearly expenses are $50,000.
By dividing the total assets ($1,000,000) by the annual expenses ($50,000), you discover that you have 20 years of wealth.
In this example, you could sustain your desired lifestyle for 20 years without relying on active employment.
How cool is that?
[Note that the number of years is longer because your investments would grow, but let’s ignore that for now].
Lesson 3: Get a Financial Education (No Degree Needed)
Financial literacy plays a crucial role in making informed decisions. Kiyosaki advocates for continuous learning about money, investing, and financial markets.
You don’t need to get a finance degree to learn about money.
Build a network of mentors who can provide guidance based on their experiences. They can significantly speed up your financial growth.
Lesson 4: Surround Yourself with Like-Minded People
Kiyosaki acknowledges the influence of his supportive wife and partner, his “rich” dad, and his advisors in his journey to financial success.
Creating a network of individuals who share your goals and aspirations is essential.
Learning from their experiences, avoiding their mistakes, and joining forces through joint investments increases your chances of achieving financial independence.
Lesson 5: Build a Strong Personal Brand
Identifying and leveraging your unique qualities is critical to building a strong personal brand.
Kiyosaki’s contrarian thinking and memorable frameworks, such as challenging the notion of houses as assets and emphasizing the importance of the rich working to acquire time freedom, have helped him establish a powerful brand under the Rich Dad umbrella.
Developing your distinct voice and using memorable tools and visuals can set you apart in your financial journey.
Conclusion:
Robert Kiyosaki’s incredible transformation from being broke to attaining financial freedom serves as an inspiration to all.
By applying the lessons he shares in “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” anyone can build wealth that generates passive income and buys us freedom.
The Five Lessons Recap: Investing in income-generating assets, understanding that wealth is measured in time, acquiring financial education, surrounding oneself with like-minded individuals, and building a strong personal brand are the stepping stones to financial independence.
Start implementing these principles today and unlock a future of abundance and financial well-being.
