富爸爸穷爸爸-第10部分

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times　of　greater　and　faster　change　than　these　men　did。　I　suspect　there　will　be　many　booms　and　busts　in　the　next　25　years　that　will　parallel　the　ups　and　downs　these　men　faced。　I　am　concerned　that　too　many　people　are　focused　too　much　on　money　and　not　their　greatest　wealth；　which　is　their　education。　If　people　are　prepared　to　be　flexible；　keep　an　open　mind　and　learn；　they　will　grow　richer　and　richer　through　the　changes。　If　they　think　money　will　solve　problems；　I　am　afraid　those　people　will　have　a　rough　ride。　Intelligence　solves　problems　and　produces　money。　Money　without　financial　intelligence　is　money　soon　gone。

Most　people　fail　to　realize　that　in　life；　it's　not　how　much　money　you　make；　it's　how　much　money　you　keep。　We　have　all　heard　stories　of　lottery　winners　who　are　poor；　then　suddenly　rich；　then　poor　again。　They　win　millions　and　are　soon　back　to　where　they　started。　Or　stories　of　professional　athletes；　who；　at　the　age　of　24；　are　earning　millions　of　dollars　a　year；　and　are　sleeping　under　a　bridge　by　age　34。　In　the　paper　this　morning；　as　I　write　this；　there　is　a　story　of　a　young　basketball　player　who　a　year　ago　had　millions。　Today；　he　claims　his　friends；　attorney　and　accountant　took　his　money；　and　now　he　works　at　a　car　wash　for　minimum　wage。

He　is　only　29。　He　was　fired　from　the　car　wash　because　he　refused　to　take　off　his　championship　ring　as　he　was　wiping　off　the　cars；　so　his　story　made　the　newspaper。　He　is　appealing　his　termination；　claiming　hardship　and　discrimination　and　that　the　ring　is　all　he　has　left。　He　claims　that　if　you　take　that　away；　he'll　crumble。

In　1997；　I　know　so　many　people　who　are　being　instant　millionaires。　It's　the　Roaring　'20s　one　more　time。　And　while　I　am　glad　people　have　been　getting　richer　and　richer；　I　only　caution　that　in　the　long　run；　it's　not　how　much　you　make；　it's　how　much　you　keep；　and　how　many　generations　you　keep　it。

So　when　people　ask；　〃Where　do　I　get　started？〃　or　〃Tell　me　how　to　get　rich　quick；〃　they　often　are　greatly　disappointed　with　my　answer。　I　simply　say　to　them　what　my　rich　dad　said　back　to　me　when　I　was　a　little　kid。　〃If　you　want　to　be　rich；　you　need　to　be　financially　literate。〃

That　idea　was　drummed　into　my　head　every　time　we　were　together。　As　I　said；　my　educated　dad　stressed　the　importance　of　reading　books；　while　my　rich　dad　stressed　the　need　to　master　financial　literacy。

If　you　are　going　to　build　the　Empire　State　Building；　the　first　thing　you　need　to　do　is　dig　a　deep　hole　and　pour　a　strong　foundation。　If　you　are　going　to　build　a　home　in　the　suburbs；　all　you　need　to　do　is　pour　a　6inch　slab　of　concrete。　Most　people；　in　their　drive　to　get　rich；　are　trying　to　build　an　Empire　State　Building　on　a　6inch　slab。

Our　school　system；　having　been　created　in　the　Agrarian　Age；　still　believes　in　homes　with　no　foundation。　Dirt　floors　are　still　the　rage。　So　kids　graduate　from　school　with　virtually　no　financial　foundation。　One　day；　sleepless　and　deep　in　debt　in　suburbia；　living　the　American　Dream；　they　decide　that　the　answer　to　their　financial　problems　is　to　find　a　way　to　get　rich　quick。

Construction　on　the　skyscraper　begins。　It　goes　up　quickly；　and　soon；　instead　of　the　Empire　State　Building；　we　have　the　Leaning　Tower　of　Suburbia。　The　sleepless　nights　return。

As　for　Mike　and　me　in　our　adult　years；　both　of　our　choices　were　possible　because　we　were　taught　to　pour　a　strong　financial　foundation　when　we　were　just　kids。

Now；　accounting　is　possibly　the　most　boring　subject　in　the　world。　It　also　could　be　the　most　confusing。　But　if　you　want　to　be　rich；　long　term；　it　could　be　the　most　important　subject。　The　question　is；　how　do　you　take　a　boring　and　confusing　subject　and　teach　it　to　kids？　The　answer　is；　make　it　simple。　Teach　it　first　in　pictures。
My　rich　dad　poured　a　strong　financial　foundation　for　Mike　and　me。　Since　we　were　just　kids；　he　created　a　simple　way　to　teach　us。　For　years　he　only　drew　pictures　and　used　words。　Mike　and　I　understood　the　simple　drawings；　the　jargon；　the　movement　of　money；　and　then　in　later　years；　rich　dad　began　adding　numbers。　Today；　Mike　has　gone　on　to　master　much　more　plex　and　sophisticated　accounting　analysis　because　he　has　had　to。　He　has　a　billiondollar　empire　to　run。　I　am　not　as　sophisticated　because　my　empire　is　smaller；　yet　we　e　from　the　same　simple　foundation。　In　the　following　pages；　I　offer　to　you　the　same　simple　line　drawings　Mike's　dad　created　for　us。　Though　simple；　those　drawings　helped　guide　two　little　boys　in　building　great　sums　of　wealth　on　a　solid　and　deep　foundation。
Rule　One。　You　must　know　the　difference　between　an　asset　and　a　liability；　and　buy　assets。　If　you　want　to　be　rich；　this　is　all　you　need　to　know。　It　is　Rule　No。　1。　It　is　the　only　rule。　This　may　sound　absurdly　simple；　but　most　people　have　no　idea　how　profound　this　rule　is。　Most　people　struggle　financially　because　they　do　not　know　the　difference　between　an　asset　and　a　liability。
〃Rich　people　acquire　assets。　The　poor　and　middle　class　acquire　liabilities；　but　they　think　they　are　assets〃
When　rich　dad　explained　this　to　Mike　and　me；　we　thought　he　was　kidding。　Here　we　were；　nearly　teenagers　and　waiting　for　the　secret　to　getting　rich；　and　this　was　his　answer。　It　was　so　simple　that　we　had　to　stop　for　a　long　time　to　think　about　it。
〃What　is　an　asset？〃　asked　Mike。
〃Don't　worry　right　now；〃　said　rich　dad。　〃Just　let　the　idea　sink　in。　If　you　can　prehend　the　simplicity；　your　life　will　have　a　plan　and　be　financially　easy。　It　is　simple；　that　is　why　the　idea　is　missed。〃
〃You　mean　all　we　need　to　know　is　what　an　asset　is；　acquire　them　and　we'll　be　rich？〃　I　asked。
Rich　dad　nodded　his　head。　〃It's　that　simple。〃
〃If　it's　that　simple；　how　e　everyone　is　not　rich？〃　I　asked。
Rich　dad　smiled。　〃Because　people　do　not　know　the　difference
between　an　asset　and　a　liability。〃
I　remember　asking；　〃How　could　adults　be　so　silly。　If　it　is　that　simple；　if　it　is　that　important；　why　would　everyone　not　want　to　find　out？〃
It　took　our　rich　dad　only　a　few　minutes　to　explain　what　assets　and　liabilities　were。
As　an　adult；　I　have　difficulty　explaining　it　to　other　adults。　Why？　Because　adults　are　smarter。　In　most　cases；　the　simplicity　of　the　idea　escapes　most　adults　because　they　have　been　educated　differently。　They　have　been　educated　by　other　educated　professionals；　such　as　bankers；　accountants；　real　estate　agents；　financial　planners；　and　so　forth。　The　difficulty　es　in　asking　adults　to　unlearn；　or　bee　children　again。　An　intelligent　adult　often　feels　it　is　demeaning　to　pay　attention　to　simplistic　definitions。

Rich　dad　believed　in　the　KISS　principle〃Keep　It　Simple　Stupid〃so　he　kept　it　simple　for　two　young　boys；　and　that　made　the　financial　foundation　strong。
So　what　causes　the　confusion？　Or　how　could　something　so　simple　be　so　screwed　up？　Why　would　someone　buy　an　asset　that　was　really　a　liability。　The　answer　is　found　in　basic　education。
We　focus　on　the　word　〃literacy〃　and　not　〃financial　literacy。〃　What　defines　something　to　be　an　asset；　or　something　to　be　a　liability　are　not　words。　In　fact；　if　you　really　want　to　be　confused；　look　up　the　words　〃asset〃　and　〃liability〃　in　the　dictionary。　I　know　the　definition　may　sound　good　to　a　trained　accountant；　but　for　the　average　person　it　makes　no　sense。　But　we　adults　are　often　too　proud　to　admit　that　something　does　not　make　sense。
As　young　boys；　rich　dad　said；　〃What　defines　an　asset　is　not　words　but　numbers。　And　if　you　cannot　read　the　numbers；　you　cannot　tell　an　asset　from　a　hole　in　the　ground。〃
〃In　accounting；〃　rich　dad　would　say；　〃it's　not　the　numbers；　but　what　the　numbers　are　telling　you。　It's　just　like　words。　It's　not　the　words；　but　the　story　the　words　are　telling　you。
Many　people　read；　but　do　not　understand　much。　It's　called　reading　prehension。　And　we　all　have　different　abilities　when　it　es　to　reading　prehension。　For　example；　I　recently　bought　a　new　VCR。　It　came　with　an　instruction　book　that　explained　how　to　program　the　VCR。　All　I　wanted　to　do　was　record　my　favorite　TV　show　on　Friday　night。　I　nearly　went　crazy　trying　to　read　the　manual。　Nothing　in　my　world　is　more　plex　than　learning　how　to　program　my　VCR。　I　could　read　the　words；　but　I　understood　nothing。　I　get　an　〃A〃　for　recognizing　the　words。　I　get　an　〃F〃　for　prehension。　And　so　it　is　with　financial　statements　for　most　people。
〃If　you　want　to　be　rich；　you've　got　to　read　and　understand　numbers。〃　If　I　heard　that　once；　I　heard　it　a　thousand　times　from　my　rich　dad。　And　I　also　heard；　〃The　rich　acquire　assets　and　the　poor　and　middle　class　acquire　liabilities。〃
Here　is　how　to　tell　the　difference　between　an　asset　and　a　liability。　Most　accountants　and　financial　professionals　do　net　agree　with　the　definitions；　but　these　simple　drawings　were　the　start　of　strong　financial　foundations　for　two　young　boys。
To　teach　pre？teen　boys；　rich　dad　kept　everything　simple；　using　as　many　pictures　as　possible；　as　few　words　as　possible；　and　no　numbers　for　years。

〃This　is　the　Cash　Flow　pattern　of　an　asset。〃
　　　
The　above　box　is　an　Ine　Statement；　often　called　a　Profit　and　Loss　Statement。　It　measures　ine　and　expenses。　Money　in　and　money　out。　The　bottom　diagram　is　the　Balance　Sheet。　It　is　called　that　because　it　is
supposed　to　balance　assets　against　liabilities。　Many　financial　novices　don't　know　the　relationship　between　the　Ine　Statement　and　the　Balance　Sheet。　That　relationship　is　vital　to　understand。
The　primary　cause　of　financial　struggle　is　simply　not　knowing　the　difference　between　an　asset　and　a　liability。　The　cause　of　the　confusion　is　found　in　the　definition　of　the　two　words。　If　you　want　a　lesson　in　confusion；　simply　look　up　the　words　〃asset〃　and　〃liability〃　in　the　dictionary。
Now　it　may　make　sense　to　trained　accountants；　but　to　the　average　person；　it　may　as　well　be　written　in　Mandarin。　You　read　the　words　in　the　definition；　but　true　prehension　is　difficult。
So　as　I　said　earlier；　my　rich　dad　simply　told　two　young　boys　that　〃assets　put　money　in　your　pocket。〃　Nice；　simple　and　usable。

〃This　is　Cash　Flow　pattern　of　a　liability。〃

Now　that　assets　and　liabilities　have　been　defined　through　pictures；　it　may　be　easier　to　understand　my　definitions　in　words。
An　asset　is　something　that　puts　money　in　my　pocket。
A　liability　is　something　that　takes　money　out　of　my　pocket。
This　is　really　all　you　need　to　know。　If　you　want　to　be　rich；　simply　spend　your　life　buying　assets。　If　you　want　to　be　poor　or　middle　class；　spend　your　life　buying　liabilities。　It's　not　knowing　the　difference　that　causes　most　of　the　financial　struggle　in　the　real　world。
Illiteracy；　both　in　words　and　numbers；　is　the　foundation　of　financial　struggle。　If　people　are　having　difficulties　financially；　there　is　something　that　they　cannot　read；　either　in　numbers　or　words。　Something　is　misunderstood。　The　rich　are　rich　because　they　are　more　literate　in　different　areas　than　people　who　struggle　financially。　　So　if　you　want　to　be　rich　and　maintain　your　wealth；　it's　important　to　be　financially　literate；　in　words　as　well　as　numbers。
The　arrows　in　the　diagrams　represent　the　flow　of　cash；　or　〃cash　flow。〃　Numbers　alone　really　mean　little。　Just　as　words　alone　mean　little。　It's　the　story　that　counts。　In　financial　reporting；　reading　numbers　is　looking　for　the　plot；　the　story。　The　story　of　where　the　cash　is　flowing。　In　80　percent　of　most　families；　the　financial　story　is　a　story　of　working　hard　in　an　effort　to　get　ahead。　　Not　becaus