Wednesday, 14 April 2021

Rich Dad Poor Dad is a dangerous book

One of the concepts in the book is something like this:  

Employee --> Self-employed --> Business owner --> Investor 

If you are an employee, you will be working your butt off earning little and spending your life helping other people make money. If you become self-employed, you may earn more, but your income will still stop if you stop working. Now when you become a business owner, you spend your time building a system, and you leverage that system to make money for you. The system still runs when you are on holiday. Finally when you are an investor, your money makes more money for you and you are totally free. 

It all sounds sensible. Many people encourage this. There is a Chinese saying that "you'll never get rich staying an employee". 

I argue that this narrative is a narrow way of looking at life, focusing on monetary wealth. It is based on the notion of "when I become rich, I will be free to do what I love". Also it downplays the risks and difficulties. There is nothing wrong choosing to be an employee. There is nothing wrong choosing to do what you love today and not wait until you are "rich". 

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