The 6 Hours that Changed How I Think!

I know, probably an overdramatic title, but it’s somewhat fitting. For the Audible recording of ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ by Robert T. Kiyosaki is just over 6 hours, and it’s in that time that the way I thought about the future changed.

And yes, we drank the kool-aid, or at least some of it. It wasn’t a month after finishing the book, we were off to a Rich Dad, Poor Dad seminar, and two till we were at the longer paid-for classes. However, that’s where it stopped; as two recent college grads still trying to land that first real job, the full experience packages at its $50K price tag just didn’t seem like the best idea for us at that time. And, who knows, maybe it would have been a good idea, a way to spring ourselves forward into the life of financial freedom, but no, it was not an option and we needed to find another way.

So we did! The Rich Dad, Poor Dad classes had given us enough information and inspiration to start on our own educational journey. Because thinking back now, it wasn’t so much the how we needed, but rather the why. Since the information on how to invest in your future through real estate and stocks is widely available in books and online, it was the why we needed to find and the key to this whole journey.

Like anyone who has grown up in a pretty traditional setting, with pretty traditional values and thoughts, it has been conditioned in us to go to school, get a degree, find a good job, get married, buy a house, have 2.5 kids, and work till you retire. Which for us isn’t an option, and not because we’re special or anything, but because we don’t want to work forever! For let’s face it, that’s the way it’s going. We want to do what we want when we want, which we know sounds selfish, but think about it; if you never have to worry about choosing between doing something that makes you happy and a job you need for the money, you could do so much more with your life.

I’ve seen it first hand. The person I work for spends nearly every waking moment of their days thinking about and working on some of the world's greatest problems, which I believe would not be possible if they had to spend time worrying about their basic needs.

But coming back to my point, your why for getting up in the morning, whether it’s to make the world a better place or just live a happy life, can only be achieved if you believe and think it. That is why I accredit those 6 hours of listening to Rich Dad, Poor Dad to changing how I think. Because for the first time, after years of schooling, I saw the other side of the coin and knew that if I ever wanted to make a difference in the world, I was going to need to change my thinking.

I’m going to end here for now, as to not ramble on, but plan to continue another time.

~Stuart (Original post on personal blog)