Rich Dad Poor Dad: Did I Miss Something?

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Rich Dad Poor Dad: Did I Miss Something?

Brian Volland
Property Manager · Peoria, AZ · Member since 2016 · 117 posts · 50 votes

So I just finished reading "Rich Dad Poor Dad What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That The Poor And Middle Class Do Not" and I feel like I must have missed out on something given how often this book as cited as THE GO TO beginner book for real estate investment. I also just finished reading "The Book On Rental Property Investing". 

The latter book gave me approx. 3 pages of short notes and tips covering all of the page; information that I'll want to make sure I internalize and make sure I put to good use. The former book gave me three sentences and, I personally feel, could be summed up thusly: Make money work for you (not vice versa), Fear holds you back (learn to control it and act), Educate yourself continuously and find experts to learn from (failure is a form of learning).

As someone spending money on investment books and real estate, I feel like I must have missed the point of Rich Dad Poor Dad because it seems to me to have basically boiled down to a pre-game pep talk from coach letting you know that you can do it if you try. I know I need to make money work from me. I clearly chose to do this through investing because I'm reading a book on how to do it. I know I'm going to be scared of losing my money until I can control my risks. That's how we, humans, feel every time we ever try to do something for the first time. Educate yourself. Really? If that isn't the biggest "Duh" when trying to figure out how to do something new I'd love to hear what is. The reason I bought the book was that I was trying to educate myself and gain useful information that will help me succeed in this game. Information like, "Watching commercial building trends can direct you towards new growth areas." I was not looking for platitudes and pick me ups. I was hoping for tangible, usable information that I could apply to my business strategy and mitigate risk.

So did I miss something? Is the book supposed to be a pep talk? Or did I miss something major? I truly want to know if somebody got something more out of the book as I'm eager to learn and chewing through as many books as I can. 

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David GreeneBusiness Member
Real Estate Broker · San Francisco Bay Area, CA · Member since 2012 · 225 posts · 266 votes
10y

As crazy as this may sound, remember how this feels. When you are an accomplished investor and come across clients or new folks, make sure to give them specific, valuable information. They will appreciate it the same way you wish you could be finding the same. You'll stand apart from the majority.

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  • Frank Eimiller
    Rental Property Investor · Fond Du Lac, WI · Member since 2015 · 261 posts · 78 votes
    10y

    I read RDPD after listening to probably 60 Bigger Pockets podcasts.. I assumed it was a real estate book and when i read it I didn't really see it.. 

    What I took away from it is that you need to change your thinking and how you look at money if you ever want to retire the way you want to or if you want to be rich 

    Money is nothing more than employees and you choose if you send them away to die or if they are going to work for you!

    1Reply
  • Scott Pigman
    Austin, TX · Member since 2014 · 139 posts · 89 votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Troy Fisher:

    If you want specifics look to the biggerpockets books, Frank Gallinelli's, "What Every Real Estate Investor needs to know about Cashflow ..."

    I second the nomination for Gallinelli's book. I picked it up last month and it's full of practical information on how to "run the numbers". Just the chapter on how to use the IRR/MIRR functions was worth the cost.

    Then again, if you have a background in accounting it's probably kid stuff.

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  • Scott Pigman
    Austin, TX · Member since 2014 · 139 posts · 89 votes
    10y

    I've often wondered what @Brandon Turner and @Joshua D. really think about Kiyosaki. On the one hand he's written probably the most popular book for real estate investors. On the other hand he's about par with Charlton Sheets in the Guru racket.

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  • Ali Boone
    Real Estate Coach · Venice Beach, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    10y

    I don't think you are off-base at all. It may not have been put out as a pep talk specifically, but I think more of the point of it and why it's gotten so much popularity is because it explains a different way of thinking about money than most people were taught growing up. You may understand all those things, but not everyone does. And even the people who get it conceptually, may not understand how to apply it more practically. 

    It's definitely not a 'how-to' book, by any means. But if there were only how-to books out there, they would lose half the crowd because they were in the wrong mindset for investing in the first place. So I'd call it more like a "thought-provoking" book and then also as "supportive material". Not a how-to.

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  • Jeff V.
    Investor · Deridder, LA · Member since 2014 · 298 posts · 185 votes
    10y

    Brian,

    RDPD for many was the book that gave that original context shift to even be able to see anything other than the 9 to 5 lifestyle.  It's not that it provided top notch investing advice, it just allowed your knowledge glass to expand so that you could fit more content in.

    His next book Casflow Quadrant had more detailed information that expands the knowledge glass once again and gives enough information to decide whether you wanted to be Employee, Self Employed, Business Owner or Investor.

    Then his game Cashflow allows you to practice digging yourself out of the rat race using the broad concepts from the books.

    They were never meant to provide THE blueprint for success.  They were meant to offer the average person a chance to alter their trajectory in life.  That's why people hold these books in such high regard.  In many cases this is in fact what spurred people to make a change in their mind and choose a different path.

    I can see how if you are beyond that point in your life how they can be uninspiring and fall short of the hype that you expected.

    Hope this helps to understand where people are coming from when giving reviews on this book.

    On a side note, in college they said there are 3 buckets of information.  

    Things you don't know you don't know, 

    things you know that you don't know and 

    things you know that you know.  

    This book brings to light many things the average person "Don't know that they don't know" and moves them to the bucket of "Things they know they don't know"  This allows them to research and turn "Things they know they don't know" into "The things they know that they know".   Such is the journey in life, but this book is a big reason that many people get the first opportunity to start them on their path.

    Jeff

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  • Don KonipolBusiness Member
    Investor · The Woodlands TX / Avon, CT · Member since 2009 · 6k+ posts · 10k+ votes
    10y

    My objections to the content of RDPD are many.  However, I find the MOST fault in the way hard working and highly educated people are belittled, while examples of "successful" dad is this guy who no longer has to work.  First of all, all success is not monetary.  Many hard working people who are not rich work for another purpose, not the least of which is self actualization.  Secondly, the most successful people I know have worked long and hard AND are highly educated.  

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  • JD MartinBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    10y

    Don't discount the idea of pep talk. Most of the greatest leaders you can think of didn't tell anyone how to do anything, they inspired them to do what they already knew how to do. Vince Lombardi wasn't a playbook genius - he was a motivator who got his guys to believe they were the baddest-*** team in the NFL. MLK didn't come up with the idea of non-violent protest or equal rights - he gave people faith that if they took the walk, there would be others walking with them. 

    I know a pretty good deal about investing in real estate and I still go back and listen (I spend much time driving, so have little time for sitting and reading) to many of my go-to "simpleton" books that help me keep faith when I may be feeling a bit overwhelmed or worn out from the grind. I have never done anything more than skim through RDPD but, given its cult status, suspect it's a great motivation tool, and that's probably the sum of it. But I don't think it advertises itself as a playbook. 

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  • Eleena de Lisser
    Rental Property Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2014 · 130 posts · 77 votes
    10y

    LOL, I love this thread! I thought I was the only person who thought RDPD was overrated. Good to know I'm not alone. RDPD is always the go-to book mentioned in podcasts when investors are asked for book recommendations.

    As someone else already said up thread, financial literacy in our country is so abysmal, it doesn't take much for a lightweight book about money to be hailed as a masterpiece. The only good thing about RDPD is that for many people, reading it marked a turning point for them in how they viewed their financial lives. So, in that case, the book has had a very positive impact. 

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  • Wilson Adams
    Nashville, TN · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 3 votes
    10y

    I found it fell a bit flat for the expectations I had. He had some thought-provoking ideas. But I had a really hard time with him seeming to belittle his educated dad for a good chunk of the book. It didnt seem like he wanted to address much of what he learned that was positive from his educated dad. I would have like to see more of that. 

    For all the hype, I was expecting more out of it. But nonetheless,  I'm glad I read it. 

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