“The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way,” says Robert Kiyosaki.

With 18 books under his belt, and 26 million copies sold combined around the world, this millionaire self-help investment guru must have had a very strong dream. Indeed, three of his books have been on the best sellers lists of The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and the New York Times simultaneously.

From his humble beginnings in Hawaii, Kiyosaki has today become one of the most respected – and controversial – businessmen and motivational speakers in the world.

“I still consider myself a little, fat kid from Hawaii,” says Kiyosaki. He may still be from Hawaii, but Kiyosaki’s impact on the world of personal finance has been anything but little.

Today, as one of the leading authors and motivational speakers in America on strategies of achieving personal financial freedom, Kiyosaki has achieved a cult-like in the millions. Rober Kiyosaki also came in at #18 in our list of the Top The 21 Celebrity Entrepreneurs.

How did this little, fat kid from Hawaii become a big, strong player in the extremely competitive industry?

“We go to school to learn to work hard for money. I write books and create products that teach people how to have money work hard for them. The poor and middle class work for money. The rich have money work for them The rich buy or create assets that work for them so they don’t have to.

You need to understand the difference between an asset and a liability. An asset puts money in your pocket and a liability takes money from your pocket. The rich understand the difference and buy assets, not liabilities.

In the Industrial Age the ticket for success was to go to school, get good grades, and find a safe secure job for life. You did not have to worry about your financial education because the company and the government would take care of you financially once your working days were over. The rules have changed. You can no longer rely on your employer or your government to take care of you.

Today, we are in the Information Age and more than job security we all need financial security. Unfortunately, our school system teaches us little about the subject of money. Our children will be required to learn much more than we ever did, and much more than schools are prepared to teach them. Cash flow management is an essential life skill and a skill that will require more and more sophistication as we move further into the Information Age.

The single best piece of advice I can give is this: Be careful what financial advice you listen to. Most financial advice—such as “save money,” “get out of debt,” “invest for the long term” and “diversify”—is fine for the middle class or the poor. It’s not good advice if you want to be rich because it is obsolete advice. For example, in 1971 the U.S. went off the gold standard and the U.S. dollar became a currency and . . . currencies are designed to lose money. That’s why today, “save money” is bad advice.

Your business revolves around your asset column, as opposed to your income column. The rich focus on their asset columns while the poor and middle class focus on their income columns.

The Tax Code of the United States provides many vehicles for people to save on their taxes. Most of these vehicles are available to anyone but it is the rich who usually look for them and use them because they have learned to “mind their own business.” For example an individual can utilize the tax advantages and protection provided by a corporation to get rich much faster than someone who is an employee or a small-business sole proprietor.

Work to learn–don’t work for money. To become successful you must learn how to manage cash flow, systems and people. Being in the Marines taught me leadership and working in sales for Xerox taught me how to sell and how to accept rejection. All of these skills were important for my success. Look for jobs that can help you develop the skills of managing cash flow, systems and people rather than just pay you well.

Many entrepreneurs fail to grow because they lack leadership skills. And rather than look in the mirror, they find it easier to blame others. Blame is short for be-lame, and you can’t be an effective leader if you’re lame.

Most people never get wealthy simply because they are not trained financially to recognize opportunities right in front of them. The rich have learned to recognize opportunities as well as how to create them.

Remember to dream big, think long-term, underachieve on a daily basis, and take baby steps. That is the key to long-term success. If you aren’t practicing and playing to be first, then maybe you shouldn’t be an entrepreneur.“

Evan Carmichael
YoungEntrepreneur.com Blog Manager

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