My next book after The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts is written by a famous writer, Robert Kiyosaki.
Photo taken by me
You guessed it right, it's Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I had no interest in Financial Education at all. Budgeting was a hassle. Expense tracking was a fad. Finance was totally foreign.
Fate has designed to me up with my boyfriend, who is also financially educated. He taught me how to manage my expenses and savings. That was 4 months ago.
One fine day, I've realized ONE thing.
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It doesn't makes sense at all!
What I do know now and not know then, is I know where I spent my money and I know the limit on every category that I spend on. Ever since, I think thrice before spend and think of other ways to make money, a.k.a multiple sources of income.
Now I know the importance of being educated financially.
This book is really idiot-friendly, because the lessons were taught by Robert's rich dad to Robert and Mike when they're 9 years old. I fell in love with this book immediately because a finance-idiot like me understood money!
So does Robert really have 2 dads? And who's Mike?
Robert has 1 biological dad, his real dad who he regard as "Poor Dad". Robert's "Rich Dad" is Mike's real dad. And Mike is Robert's childhood friend. 20 years ago, Robert's "Poor Dad" is not poor and "Rich Dad" is not rich. But the way they teach Robert is totally different.
His poor dad wants him to study and get a job. His rich dad wants him to study and create jobs.
His poor dad wants him to study in university.
His rich dad wants him to study how to make money work for him.
2 dads who taught him different things in life. In turn, he got to decide which one is good for him and created his own understanding about money.
5 Key Learning Points from Lesson 1: The Poor and Middle Class Work for Money. The Rich Have Money Work for Them
LIFE IS YOUR BEST TEACHER
Most of the time, life pushes you around. Each push in life says "Wake up, there's something for you to learn." It is your choice whether you learn it or not. Generally, humans will react in 3 different ways,
- Give up and let life push you around
- Get angry and push back, to their bosses and surrounding people/things
- Learn and move on
If you give up and let life push you around, you'll always play it safe, never take any risks. You will always look for jobs with security and lotsa benefits. You'll save for events that will never happen. You'll die a boring death. But deep down, you've wanted to win big but fear dominated you.
If you get angry and push back, and push back to other people, you're blaming others for your own problem. In Robert's case, he was paid 0.30$ per hour to work for his rich dad. He fought back, saying his rich dad should pay him more or else he'll quit. Rich dad said, "That's exactly how most people do. They quit, looking for a higher salary or a better job, thinking those will solve their problems. In reality, it won't."
It is easier to change yourself than change your boss to raise your salary
Few people learn from their life and turn them into lessons. They welcome life lessons because they get to learn and improve. They use their brains to think how to be better than they were, think for other solutions that will make and keep money.
Tips: One way to turn your life into lessons is to do Private Reflection.
MOST PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THE TRAP THEY'RE IN
There are 2 parts of emotions or soul within us. First is weak and needy that can be bought with a price. Second is resilient and could never be bought. It's just matter of which wins.
It is fear and greed that controlled your lives.
It is the fear of lack of money that makes you you get up, go to work. Then you get your paycheck, your greed shows the new stuffs that you can buy with your hard-earned money. When your money are spent on paying bills, buying stuff, savings, and etc., your fear of without money sets in. Then you get up, go to work, and get your paycheck, and the endless cycle repeats. Then, a pattern then sets in.
This is what Rich Dad calls The Rat Race, a trap that most people don't realize they're in.
Why most people don't realize this?
Perhaps we are too busy working, paying the bills and keep complaining about our salaries. Or we are controlled by fear and greed, and we're used to using emotions to think, not to think using emotions.
And we refuse to believe that money is controlling our lives.
HAVING MORE MONEY DOES NOT SOLVE PROBLEMS
Most people go to school and university, finished their 4 years of study and think eudcation is done. Rich dad always knew that his study of money is a lifetime process because the more he finds out, the more he needs to know. They don't study money. They go to work, get their paychecks, balance their bills and repeat. Then they realize they have money problems, and think having more money solves the problem.
Imagine, back to the point where your current salary is raised by 3000 dollars. You will think of all the things that you want to buy. Phone, camera, books, computer, clothes, travelling and more. You desire more things that may make you happier, temporarily. You spend and then realize you're back to square one, money problems.
This is why having more money does not solve the problems.
It is having financial literacy that will solve money problems.
USE YOUR EMOTIONS TO THINK, NOT TO THINK WITH EMOTIONS
I deserve a pay raise.
I need to get a job.
I need to work.
Money is the root of all evil.
These are statements and way of thoughts that are driven by emotions called fear. And how to think with emotions?
What am I missing here?
What do I need to learn so that I can make money work for me?
How to make more money instead of working a 9-5 job?
Why is this not working for me?
Why is this happening?
You realized you fear the lack of money and you desire things when you get the paycheck, and this keeps repeating. You realized this isn't right and you start finding your way out of the trap.
A month ago, I've started to view emotions as an indicator that something hidden is happening and I need to find out what's happening and why is that happening. The question I asked in Ron's picture is the result of being aware my life, my emotions and asking myself to find out why.
A JOB IS A SHORT-TERM SOLUTION TO A LONG-TERM PROBLEM
This is sadly, true. Most of us are working on a job, that we think is secure. Then we job hop to a higher paying salary, and we're still keep on working. We work to pay our bills, and our bills are our short-term problems.
When you take a step back and look at your lives from a 3rd person point of view, you'll realize paying our bills is not what we should focus on. Yes, it's necessary but focussing on it will take you nowhere. You gotta find a long-term solution to a long-term problem.
For me, my long-term problem is getting stuck in the Rat Race. And I now know, working on a job will not get me out. Thus, Steemit is one of my stepping stone for me to get out, slowly. At the same time I am also learning financial education from Robert's book and my boyfriend. I am also taking up any opportunity to learn new skills (some may seem irrelevant right now) and meeting new people.
Bonus Knowledge: Edgar Dale's Cone of Learning
Robert introduced Edgar's Cone of Learning. Because Rich Dad taught them by simulating life and they learn from experiences and doing.
This methodology is the total opposite of what most schools are doing.
How many of you remember the lessons learned in classrooms? Probably 10 - 30 %
How many of you remember the presentations you did? Probably 50 - 80%
How many of your remember what you've learned in your interships or practical trainings? Probably 70 - 100%
Instead of lecturing, teach your kids by doing. If you're teaching about life lessons, a simulation of what life tastes like is the most effective method to pound those lessons into their head and body.
Which key learning points resonated with you the most? And why?
@tifaong writes simple and positive practices and ideas that you can learn (or re-learn) and apply in your life immediately. She covers life lessons, self-help, relationships, and motivational contents. Her mission is to spread positivity so that we can live a happier, fulfilling life.
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