Fact: the vast majority of us have been trained to follow a very specific road map to our lives; go to school and get good grades so you can get a good job, buy a house, get married and have kids. Work hard at that good job so you can earn a promotion, buy a bigger house and send your kids to university so that they can get a good job, get married, have kids… and so on, as the cycle repeats itself. We do it almost on autopilot, going through the motions and pursuing that vague ideal of “happiness”. Has anyone ever bothered to stop and ask “WHY”? Who created this cycle, this rat race? And for what purpose?
Based on the belief that there is a class of “super-wealthy” who run our banking system, government structure, education platform and the Federal Reserve, Robert T. Kiyosaki has created Conspiracy of the Rich as an eye opener; a pulling back of the curtain, with the belief that with a proper education on how the financial world works, we can take better control of our own financial destiny.
The Big Idea
The Third Education
"In today's world, you can be an academic genius but still be a financial imbecile."
80% of all lottery winners are bankrupt within five years. Why is that? Kiyosaki believes that it has to do with the type of education we’re receiving (and not receiving) in our public education system. Today there are three crucial types of education:
- Academic education – reading, writing and basic math
- Professional education – the skills to work for money
- Financial education – the skills to have money work for you
Which of the three were you taught during your formal education? Here’s the real danger of our education system: we believe in it to a fault. So many of us are filled with the false belief that what we’re taught is valuable, and that most of what is omitted from the curriculum is not terribly important… otherwise, why wouldn’t they teach it to us in school?
In Conspiracy of the Rich, Kiyosaki argues that the education system deliberately avoids teaching financial education because the system is designed by the wealthy to create skilled employees, not entrepreneurs or business owners. It’s a fascinating case he presents, and well worth the read.
Whether you believe in the “conspiracy” or not, the fact is that while the traditional education system does a reasonably good job of teaching the first two types of education, it completely leaves off the third. Which leaves it up to us to educate ourselves.
Insight #1
Learn the Language
"Words are the most powerful tools created by humans."
I joined a football league this summer, just for fun. Even in a recreational, Sunday morning pickup league, I still needed to learn some of the jargon; slant, post, button hook and fly are all now part of my vocabulary. If I didn’t understand the basic language of the sport, I’d be totally ineffective in playing the game.
I opted in to football; it was something I chose to be a part of. Money is not something we have a choice in. Whether we like it or not, “finance”, particularly our own, personal finances is a game we’re all playing.
There’s a power to words. The power to empower, or the power to alienate and confuse. Kiyosaki would argue that there has been a conspiracy for years to keep the “non-elite” confused and in the dark about most of the financial world. Terms like bailout, ponzi scheme, inflation, recession, and depression are all over the news. We hear them so often, and yet how many among us can explain even one of those terms clearly? I mean really clearly. Do you know what a bailout is? Who gets the money? Why? Where does the money come from? Is a bailout a solution to the problem? What is the real problem?
Learning the language of money is the first step to playing the game of wealth.
Commit to reading one or two books on finance this year, and get yourself in the game. (For some starting points, you can try Rich Dad, Poor Dad, or The Automatic Millionaire.)
Insight #2
SELL is Not a Four Letter Word
"The secret to my success has been the word sell. In 1974, I went against my poor dad's values and became a student of the word sell. In the world of money, it is a very important word."
The simple truth of the financial mess in which we now find ourselves is that North America has reached a point where it can no longer sell as much as it buys. The same can easily be true with your own life.
What are you selling (i.e., what puts money in your pocket) and what are you buying (what takes money out of your pocket)? While many financial “experts” focus almost exclusively on reducing your “buying”, Kiyosaki suggests that life’s too short to live below your means. Not that he endorses reckless spending. Rather, he reminds us not to forget the importance of what we’re selling, and how we’re selling it.
What do you offer to the world, and how are you selling it? Are there ways to leverage or maximize what you’re capable of contributing? Ways that aren’t currently being explored? Perhaps more importantly, is what you’re selling generating capital gains, or cashflow? In other words, are you trading hours for dollars, or are you trading knowledge for dollars?
Understanding the difference between capital gains and cashflow could be the single greatest insight into the financial world that you can gain. And, thankfully, Kiyosaki has made it easy (and inexpensive) to learn the difference. This is a unique book and, as he says, “If I had taken this book through the traditional channels, the final copy wouldn’t even be worth reading.”
Possibly one of the greatest insights into the current economic climate, Conspiracy of the Rich is a must read for anyone interested in controlling their own financial future. It’s time to get the third type of education.
