I’m reading perhaps the greatest book ever written on creating financial wealth.
Some of you may have read Rich Dad Poor Dad – yeah I’m kinda late on this one. I wish someone had put it in my crib the moment I was born. So I’m putting it in my son’s.
In a lot of my posts I recommend books I’m reading or articles I’ve come across. What I find quite interesting when I speak to people about these wonderful pieces of literature is the reluctance to get a hold of the stuff I’m recommending.
Some people tell me they can’t afford to buy the books right now, or “I’m so busy I just don’t have the time,” or “I’m not much of a reader”- Really?
If I told these same people I had an investment opportunity that could yield their returns a hundred fold and did a whole talk showing them power point presentations and diagrams etc of how this would happen do you think they would make the time then to invest? And do you think they would “somehow” come up with the money to make the investment? My guess is YES! I’m quite certain most people would.
Getting a hold of awesome literature (in this case business literature) is that investment.
Really brilliant people are constantly putting stuff together that has helped them succeed. Some of it took them YEARS to master. They compile it so that receivers can gain that knowledge in a fraction of the time. In my opinion whatever one pays for this incredible insight is really peanuts if you consider the long term ROI (return on investment).
I’m one of those people that love formal study. I’ve studied at MBA level but let me tell you there is SO much more I’m learning from reading super smart people like Tony Hsieh CEO of Zappos, Seth Godin the marketing Guru of our time, Robert Kiyosaki a teacher and author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Tom Peters who wrote the article I suggest to all my clients: The Brand Called You and the list goes on… Am I saying ditch formal education? Not at all. In fact I encourage it.
What I am saying though is that there’s a kind laziness that keeps us in a place of working so hard and yet barely enjoying our hard earned cash – other people enjoy what we work so hard to attain. And there are some people who are shouting “Hey You! You don’t have to do that! You can have your cake and eat it too!” What madness would ignore such a call?
Other than the mere fact that making the most of all this fantastic literature might just change our lives and the course of our children’s lives – I dare say I think it quite arrogant for people to shun the opportunity to gain more knowledge.
It is a privilege to be able to grab the opportunity to improve one’s education. There are people who would like to but can’t simply because they were born into situations where it’s a lot harder to access the resources so many of us take for granted.
When my clients tell me “I’m not much of a reader,” or how much time they don’t have to research and find ways to make a of success of themselves I tell them: “You are opting to stay in the rut.” Why put blinders on to the awesome information that’s out there? You do deserve better. Knowing better is how you get better.
I don’t mind buying books or paying for seminars and workshops that teach me the principles of how business and money work. I don’t mind spending yards of time searching for such info either. Those spends are investments. Very valuable investments.
Turning down super information that could help you get out of the rat race and actually enjoy life is like saying “No thanks I quite like being a rat in this race.” In essence some people choose to runner faster within the confines of the rat race than get out of it.
No I don’t have all the answers. And no the stuff I recommend is definitely not the be all and end all of great money and business strategies. All I’m saying is THERE IS SO MUCH STUFF OUT THERE!
I recommended a video a while ago which I think is appropriate to revisit here – In this video Ken Robinson talks about how schools, in essence, create factory workers. I choose to call this: conditioning rats that will run the race obediently – all their lives. C’mon – Really? You want that? I hope you’ll watch the video.
I’m amassing books at rate I’ve never done before for two reasons: 1. The more I gain the more I realise I have much more to learn and 2. I acknowledge how way behind I am and realise that every moment I don’t learn more is yet another opportunity lost.
Do we follow in the exact footsteps of the greats who have gone before us? Oh goodness No! We each create our own path. We are so unique that no set of rules will be completely effective if we follow precise instructions. The goal is to exercise the mind to think in ways many of us were not taught to think.
One of my clients told me the other day he wants so badly to study but feels he’s too old. I feel as long as there is breath in you and a lucid mind you owe it to yourself to grab every opportunity to learn.
It’s been said the desire to write comes with writing. I believe the same rings true for reading.
I’m giving my first workshop for the year this week. I’m super excited because clients attending this program will be getting a much more improved version of me. And I have every reason to believe that after this program – they won’t quite be the same again. Superb information has a way of doing that.