Mike's sister would check the kids as they left, to make sure they weren't borrowing any comic booksShe also kept the books, logging in how many kids showed up each day, who they were, and any comments they might haveMike and I averaged $90 per week over a threemonth periodWe paid his sister $1 a week and allowed her to read the comics for free, which she rarely did since she was always studying
Mike and F kept our agreement by working in the store every Saturday and collecting all the comic books from the different storesWe kept our agreement to the distributor by not selling any comic booksWe burned them once they got too tatteredWe tried opening a branch office, but we could never quite find someone as dedicated as Mike's sister we could trust
At an early age, we found out how hard it was to find good staff
Three months after the library first opened, a fight broke out in the roomSome bullies from another neighborhood pushed their way in and started itMike's dad suggested we shut down the businessSo our comic-book business shut down, and we stopped working on Saturdays at the convenience storeAnyway, rich dad was excited because he had new things he wanted to teach usHe was happy because we had learned our first lesson so wellWe had learned to have money work for usBy not getting paid for our work at the store, we were forced to use our imaginations to identify an opportunity to make moneyBy starting our own business, the comic-book
rolex ladies watches library, we were in control of our own finances, not dependent on an employerThe best part was that our business generated money for us, even when we weren't physically thereOur money worked for usInstead of paying us money, rich dad had given us so much more
CHAPTER THREE
Lesson Two:Why Teach Financial Literacy?
In 1990, my best friend, Mike, took over his father's empire and is, in fact, doing a better job than his dad didWe see each other once or twice a year on the golf courseHe and his wife are wealthier than you could imagineRich dad's empire is in great hands, and Mike is now grooming his son to take his place, as his dad had groomed us
In 1994, I retired at the age of 47, and my wife, Kim, was 37Retirement does not mean not workingTo my wife and me, it means that barring unforeseen cataclysmic changes, we can work or not work, and our wealth grows automatically, staying way ahead of inflationI guess it means freedomThe assets are large enough to grow by themselvesIt's like planting a treeYou water it for years and then one day it doesn't need you anymoreIt's roots have gone down deep enoughThen, the tree provides shade for your enjoyment
Mike chose to run the empire and I chose to retire
Whenever I speak to groups of people, they often ask what I would recommend or what could they do? "How do they get started?" "Is there a good book I would recommend?" "What should they do to prepare their children?" "What is the secret to
gucci monogram wallet success?" "How do I make millions?" I am always reminded of this article I was once given
THE RICHEST BUSINESSMEN
In 1923 a group of our greatest leaders and richest businessmen held a meeting at the Edgewater Beach hotel in ChicagoAmong them were Charles Schwab, head of the largest independent steel company; Samuel Instill, president of the world's largest utility; Howard Hopson, head of the largest gas company; Ivar Kreuger president of the International Match Co one of the world's largest companies at that time; Leon Frazier, president of the Bank of International Settlements; Richard Whitney, president of the New York Stock Exchange; Arthur Cotton and Jesse Livermore, two of the biggest stock speculators; and Albert Fall, a member of President Harding's cabinetTwenty five years later nine of them (those listed above) ended as followsSchwab died penniless after living for five years on borrowed moneyInstill died broke living in a foreign landKreuger and Cotton also died brokeWhitney and Albert Fall were just released from prisonFraser and Livermore committed suicide
I doubt if anyone can say what really happened to these menIf you look at the date, 1923, it was just before the 1929 market crash and the Great Depression, which I suspect had a great impact on these men and their livesThe point is this: Today we live in times of greater and faster change than these men didI suspect there will be many booms and busts in the next 25 years
white chanel purse that will parallel the ups and downs these men facedI am concerned that too many people are focused too much on money and not their greatest wealth, which is their educationIf people are prepared to be flexible, keep an open mind and learn, they will grow richer and richer through the changesIf they think money will solve problems, I am afraid those people will have a rough rideIntelligence solves problems and produces moneyMoney without financial intelligence is money soon gone
Most people fail to realize that in life, it's not how much money you make, it's how much money you keepWe have all heard stories of lottery winners who are poor, then suddenly rich, then poor againThey win millions and are soon back to where they startedOr stories of professional athletes, who, at the age of 24, are earning millions of dollars a year, and are sleeping under a bridge by age 34In the paper this morning, as I write this, there is a story of a young basketball player who a year ago had millionsToday, he claims his friends, attorney and accountant took his money, and now he works at a car wash for minimum wageHe was fired from the car wash because he refused to take off his championship ring as he was wiping off the cars, so his story made the newspaperHe is appealing his termination, claiming hardship and discrimination and that the ring is all he has leftHe claims that if you take that away, he'll crumble
In 1997, I know so many people who are
tiffany silver becoming instant millionairesIt's the Roaring '20s one more timeAnd while I am glad people have been getting richer and richer, I only caution that in the long run, it's not how much you make, it's how much you keep, and how many generations you keep it
So when people ask, "Where do I get started?" or "Tell me how to get rich quick," they often are greatly disappointed with my answerI simply say to them what my rich dad said back to me when I was a little kid"If you want to be rich, you need to be financially literate
That idea was drummed into my head every time we were togetherAs I said, my educated dad stressed the importance of reading books, while my rich dad stressed the need to master financial literacy
If you are going to build the Empire State Building, the first thing you need to do is dig a deep hole and pour a strong foundationIf you are going to build a home in the suburbs, all you need to do is pour a 6-inch slab of concreteMost people, in their drive to get rich, are trying to build an Empire State Building on a 6-inch slab
Our school system, having been created in the Agrarian Age, still believes in homes with no foundationDirt floors are still the rageSo kids graduate from school with virtually no financial foundationOne day, sleepless and deep in debt in suburbia, living the American Dream, they decide that the answer to their financial problems is to find a way to get rich quick
Construction on the skyscraper
canvas gucci bags begin