It’s impossible to deny Robert Kiyoski’s success with his famous Rich Dad series. Go to Amazon.com and you’ll find almost fifty books, tapes and related paraphernalia on offer; Rich Dad in English and Spanish, Rich Dad for women and for kids. Even Rich Dad in Chinese. But it’s hard to beat the DVD Rich Dad’s 60 Minutes to Getting Rich. Kind of expensive at $79.99…but hey that’s a small price for wealth in 60 minutes, right? Boardgame anyone? Only $149.99. Plus tax.
Kiyosaki has a lot of enthusiastic supporters – and a lot of them are Active Rainers – so I might not win a lot of fans with a post like this. But...in case you haven’t guessed...I’m not a Rich Dad fan. Clearly he’s been wildly successful selling books and tapes, but I’d argue that the wisdom that he dispenses him his folksy tomes isn’t what the vast majority of Americans needs.
These books feel good, and that’s their allure. But I compare them to the weight loss industry. Take a look at Hoodia, Anatrim, Slim-fast...pick your poison. A seductive sales pitch is great – but what these customers really need is to change their lifestyle, not a pill.
But changing your lifestyle is a bummer. It’s hard. And that applies to getting your credit in shape and changing your spending habits just like it applies to getting more exercise and indulging in your favorite culinary vice in moderation (mine’s ice cream).
There’s a genius to the series, though. Kiyosaki does a great job of making an emotional connection to the reader – a requirement for any serial writer (have to keep the readers coming back). To his credit he is going to have a positive impact on some people – if he gets folks off their backsides and gets them to thinking about their financial futures then that’s a good thing.
But the problem is that there isn’t much substance here. Kiyosaki’s mane premise is that you get to be wealthy by buying assets. But the truth of the matter is that you can go broke in a hurry by buying assets – you can only get to be wealthy by buying the right assets. And that’s not splitting hairs…selecting the right assets involves skill, discipline, knowledge, hard work, etc. Education helps. So does a bit of luck. This is change-your-lifestyle stuff – not the stuff of best sellers.
However, Kiyosaki dismisses a formal education – the best education that a young person can make - as a waste of time and commences to dispense chapter after chapter of truisms and folksy anecdotes. That’s fine if you’re looking for motivational prose, but if you want nuts and bolts practical advice then go for Mclean and Eldred’s Investing in Real Estate. Boring stuff for the most part, but it's excellent, solid advice.
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