I love games, especially this game. A few years back a friend of mine convinced me to allow him to come over to my home and play this game that was supposed to be like Monopoly®, only better. He and his wife sat down with me and mine and they broke out the board that reminded me something of the Game of Life® with money stolen from other board games and mice…er…rats for pawns.
As the game and scenario unfolded, I began to get a good grasp of what this was all about and how Robert Kiyosaki and his team were on to something; I thought. Here was a game that my friends claimed, was as close to real life as it comes without all the risk. So, as the hours passed (it takes a couple-few hours to play a good solid round) I learned more about investments, income, assets, balance sheets, mortgages and stocks than I had ever learned growing up. I felt good, empowered even; I was an INVESTOR!
Since that experience back in the late 1990’s, I changed careers. I got into mortgages as a Loan Officer, then, after a few years, translated that into a thriving career as a Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams and later with RE/Max Professionals in Littleton Colorado. I must admit, the game of buying and selling with Cashflow® is different than reality…especially with this market! While the game teaches you to play as a savvy investor, there are parts to it that are a little farfetched. Even at that, at the time, it made me realize that there’s more to life than just the every day, 8 to 5 job. But is working for yourself, becoming an owner, all that it’s cut out to be? Should it be the end all, be all?
Subjectivity – One Size Fits All!
In the rat race of life, we find ourselves longing for something more…more pleasure, more money, more success, more fulfillment, more, more, more. At Christmas time, retail sales skyrocket (typically) much more than other times of the year so who could argue the ‘more’ factor of desire. But when it comes to our game and translating that into real life, success doesn’t fit everyone the same way.
What we find is that there’s a part we all must play in life and regardless of how small or great (a subjective thought in and of itself) that part is, contentment can be discovered. To the great shock and dismay of critics in wealthy places, there are some who really do just want to be plumbers, mechanics, bakers, teachers and even waste management technicians. Contentment really can’t be defined by those who risk it all, make loads of cash, and become owners of Fortune 500 corporations. Contentment is found in the heart. You must, not Mr. Kiyosaki or Mr. Trump, define what suits you best.
I still love the game Cashflow® and play it as often as I can strike up an audience. I believe it teaches some good foundational principals of what life is like “one the other side” of wealth and what that could look like. Some of us strive to reach those goals, obtain that Citation X jet or travel the globe on a 120’ yacht. Still, there are others who aren’t as ambitious and have found their place in their small, one bedroom condos as single parents to their daughter; and just watching her recitals is their own little slice of heaven. That’s contentment. No matter what game you’re playing, you’re bound to win.
Comments(1)