Final Thoughts
Epilogue
Meet the Lannon Family
Meet the McElroy Family
Bonus Sections
Rich Dad Poor Dad for Teens
Rich Dad’s Escape the Rat Race
Glossary
Resources
AWAKEN YOUR CHILD’S FINANCIAL GENIUS
“Everybody is a genius.
But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
– Albert Einstein
INTRODUCTION
Whenever I think about writing a new book I ask myself: Why am I writing this book?
For me, the answer has always been simple, and always the same. I have always wondered why money is not a subject taught in school. Day after day, our teachers drummed this into our heads:
“Go to school to get a job. If you don’t go to school, you won’t get a good job.”
Why Go to School?
This caused me to ask my teachers, “Isn’t the reason for getting a job to make money? If money is the objective for getting a job, why not get right to the point and just teach us about money?”
My question was never answered.
The Emperor Has No Clothes
The Emperor’s New Clothes is a Danish fairytale written by Hans Christian Andersen, published in 1837.
The Plot:
Once upon a time, there lived an emperor who cared only about his clothes and about showing them off. One day two con men came to him and said that they could make him the finest suit of clothes from the most beautiful cloth. This cloth, they said, was very special. The cloth was invisible to the stupid and the low-born.
Being a bit nervous about whether he himself would be able to see the cloth the emperor first sent two of his trusted advisors to see this special material. There was, of course, no cloth at all, but neither would admit that they could not see it and so they praised it.
As word of this special cloth spread, all the townspeople were now interested to learn how stupid their neighbors were.
The emperor then allowed himself to be dressed by the con men in his special new suit, made of this special cloth, for the procession through town. Although he knew he was naked, he never admitted it for fear that he was too unfit and stupid to see that he was wearing nothing. He also was afraid that the townspeople would think that he was stupid.
Of course, all the townspeople wildly praised the magnificent clothes of the emperor, themselves afraid to admit that they could not see the clothes, until a small child said: “But he has nothing on!”
The child’s parents gasped and attempted to silence the child, but the child would not be silenced. As he twisted and turned, pulling his parents hands from his mouth, he continued to say, “The emperor is naked!” Soon, a few of his classmates were giggling and joined in.
After awhile, adults joined their children and began to whisper, “The kids are right! The old guy has nothing on. He’s a fool and he expects us to be foolish with him.”
What Americans Really Want
In his 2009 book, What Americans Really Want… Really, Dr. Frank Luntz, a respected pollster who measures the heartbeat of America, asked this survey question:
If you had to choose, would you prefer to be a business owner or CEO of a Fortune 500 Company?
Those questioned responded with the following:
| 80% | The owner of a business that employs 100 or more people. |
| 14% | The CEO of a Fortune 500 Company that employs more than 10,000 people. |
| 6% | Don’t know/refused to answer. |
In other words, Americans today want to be entrepreneurs.
The problem is that our school system is training our kids to be employees.
This is why schoolteachers and many parents continue to say, “Go to school to get a good, high-paying job.” Few parents or teachers are saying, “Go to school to learn to create good, high-paying jobs.”
There is a tremendous difference between the skill sets of an employee and the skill sets of an entrepreneur. The skills required to be an entrepreneur are not taught in most schools.
Dr. Luntz found that over 70 percent of full-time, corporate employees are considering or have considered starting their own businesses. Many people dream of becoming entrepreneurs, but few will take the leap of faith. The lack of financial education is the primary reason why most people will remain employees. Without a financial education, most employees are terrified of losing their jobs, not having a steady paycheck, or simply failing.
Financial education and the transformation it delivers are essential for entrepreneurs.
Forget MBAs
Dr. Luntz goes on to state:
“So how to equip a generation of Americans for success in entrepreneurship? Forget about MBAs. Most business schools teach you how to be successful in a big corporation rather than start your own company. But starting something from scratch and nurturing it as it grows is where our country has been at its strongest and most innovative.”
Killing the American Dream
Americans have always wanted to be entrepreneurs.
People immigrated to America—some enduring unimaginable hardships—attracted by the promise of the American Dream. Millions left the oppression of the kings and queens of Europe and the tyranny of communist dictators in other parts of the world, just for a shot at the American Dream. Their American Dream.
The American Dream is just as Dr. Luntz describes: “Starting something from scratch and nurturing it as it grows is where our country has
