Rich Dad, Poor Dad really is a colossus of a book—it's been on the bestseller lists for as long as I can remember. I reread this book yesterday. Man, there are some really good points, like how the rich make money work for them and how other people work for money. The first chapter is pure magic–read it. One of my favorite quotes is from his Rich Dad:
Most people have never studied the subject (money). They go to work, get a paycheck, balance the checkbook, and that's it. Besides, they wonder why they have money problems. Few realize that their lack of financial education is the problem.
He looked down on people who blindly made decisions without stopping to ask themselves why:
A friend of mine in Hawaii is a great artist. He made a sizable amount of money. One day her mother's attorney called to tell her that he had left her $35,000. This is what is left of his estate after the lawyers and the government take their share. Immediately, he saw an opportunity to increase his business by using some of the money to advertise. Two months later, her first full-page, four-color ad appeared in an expensive magazine targeting the wealthy. The ad ran for three months. He received no reply from the advertisement, and all his inheritance is now lost. He now wants to sue the magazine for misinterpretation.
This is a common case of someone who can make a beautiful hamburger, but knows little about the business. When I asked him what he learned, his only answer was that “advertising salespeople are crooks.” I then asked him if he would be willing to take a sales course and a direct marketing course. The response, “I don't have time, and I don't want to waste my money.”
This book does a great job teaching people how to think about work and money. The first chapters are some of the best I've ever read.