Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About MoneyThat the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!

People’s lives are forever controlled by two emotions: fear and
greed.
“Good,” rich dad said softly. “Most people have a price. And they have
a price because of human emotions named fear and greed. First, the fear of

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being without money motivates us to work hard, and then once we get that
paycheck, greed or desire starts us thinking about all the wonderful things
money can buy. The pattern is then set.”
“What pattern?” I asked.
“The pattern of get up, go to work, pay bills; get up, go to work, pay
bills. People’s lives are forever controlled by two emotions: fear and greed.
Offer them more money and they continue the cycle by increasing their
spending. This is what I call the Rat Race.”
“There is another way?” Mike asked.
“Yes,” said rich dad slowly. “But only a few people find it.”
“And what is that way?” Mike asked.
“That’s what I hope you boys will learn as you work and study with me.
That is why I took away all forms of pay.”
“Any hints?” Mike asked. “We’re kind of tired of working hard,
especially for nothing.”
“Well, the first step is telling the truth,” said rich dad.
“We haven’t been lying,” I said.
“I did not say you were lying. I said to tell the truth,” rich dad retorted.
“The truth about what?” I asked.
“How you’re feeling,” rich dad said. “You don’t have to say it to anyone
else. Just admit it to yourself.”
“You mean the people in this park, the people who work for you, Mrs.
Martin, they don’t do that?” I asked.
“I doubt it,” said rich dad. “Instead, they feel the fear of not having
money. They don’t confront it logically. They react emotionally instead of
using their heads,” rich dad said. “Then, they get a few bucks in their hands
and again, the emotions of joy, desire, and greed take over. And again they
react, instead of think.”
“So their emotions control their brain,” Mike said.
“That’s correct,” said rich dad. “Instead of admitting the truth about
how they feel, they react to their feelings and fail to think. They feel the
fear so they go to work, hoping that money will soothe the fear, but it
doesn’t. It continues to haunt them and they return to work, hoping again
that money will calm their fears, and again it doesn’t. Fear keeps them in
this trap of working, earning money, working, earning money, hoping the
fear will go away. But every day they get up, and that old fear wakes up

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with them. For millions of people that old fear keeps them awake all night,
causing a night of turmoil and worry. So they get up and go to work, hoping
that a paycheck will kill that fear gnawing at their soul. Money is running
their lives, and they refuse to tell the truth about that. Money is in control of
their emotions and their souls.”
Rich dad sat quietly, letting his words sink in. Mike and I heard what he
said but didn’t understand fully what he was talking about. I just knew that I
often wondered why grown-ups hurried off to work. It did not seem like
much fun, and they never looked that happy, but something kept them
going.
Realizing we had absorbed as much as possible of what he was talking
about, rich dad said, “I want you boys to avoid that trap. That is really what
I want to teach you. Not just to be rich, because being rich does not solve
the problem.”
“It doesn’t?” I asked, surprised.
“No, it doesn’t. Let me explain the other emotion: desire. Some call it
greed, but I prefer desire. It’s perfectly normal to desire something better,
prettier, more fun, or exciting. So people also work for money because of
desire. They desire money for the joy they think it can buy. But the joy that
money brings is often short-lived, and they soon need more money for more
joy, more pleasure, more comfort, and more security. So they keep working,
thinking money will soothe their souls that are troubled by fear and desire.
But money can’t do that.”
“Even rich people do this?” Mike asked.
“Rich people included,” said rich dad. “In fact, the reason many rich
people are rich isn’t because of desire, but because of fear. They believe
that money can eliminate the fear of being poor, so they amass tons of it,
only to find the fear gets worse. Now they fear losing the money. I have
friends who keep working even though they have plenty. I know people
who have millions who are more afraid now than when they were poor.
They’re terrified of losing it all. The fears that drove them to get rich got
worse. That weak and needy part of their soul is actually screaming louder.
They don’t want to lose the big houses, the cars and the high life money has
bought them. They worry about what their friends would say if they lost all
their money. Many are emotionally desperate and neurotic, although they
look rich and have more money.”

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“So is a poor man happier?” I asked.
“No, I don’t think so,” replied rich dad. “The avoidance of money is just
as psychotic as being attached to money.”
As if on cue, the town derelict went past our table, stopping by the large
rubbish can and rummaging around in it. The three of us watched him with
great interest, when before we probably would have just ignored him.
Rich dad pulled a dollar out of his wallet and gestured to the older man.
Seeing the money, the derelict came over immediately, took the bill,
thanked rich dad profusely, and hurried off, ecstatic with his good fortune.
“He’s not much different from most of my employees,” said rich dad.
“I’ve met so many people who say, ‘Oh, I’m not interested in money.’ Yet
they’ll work at a job for eight hours a day. That’s a denial of truth. If they
weren’t interested in money, then why are they working? That kind of
thinking is probably more psychotic than a person who hoards money.”
As I sat there listening to my rich dad, my mind flashed back to the
countless times my own dad said, “I’m not interested in money.” He said
those words often. He also covered himself by always saying, “I work
because I love my job.”