Chapter Seven: Overcoming Obstacles
difference in one’s life. The primary difference between a rich person
and a poor person is how they manage that fear.
It’s okay to be fearful. It’s okay to be a coward when it comes
to money. You can still be rich. We’re all heroes at something, and
cowards at something else. My friend’s wife is an emergency-room
nurse. When she sees blood, she flies into action. When I mention
investing, she runs away. When I see blood, I don’t run. I pass out.
My rich dad understood phobias about money. “Some people are
terrified of snakes. Some people are terrified about losing money. Both
are phobias,” he would say. So his solution to the phobia of losing
money was this little rhyme: “If you hate risk and worry, start early.”
If you start young, it’s easier to be rich. I won’t go into it here,
but there is a staggering difference between a person who starts
investing at age 20 versus age 30. The purchase of Manhattan Island
is said to be one of the greatest bargains of all time. New York was
purchased for $24 in trinkets and beads. Yet if that $24 had been
invested at 8 percent annually, that $24 would have been worth more
than $28 trillion by 1995. Manhattan could be repurchased with
money left over to buy much of Los Angeles.
But what if you don’t have much time left or would like to retire
early? How do you handle the fear of losing money?
My poor dad did nothing. He simply avoided the issue, refusing
to discuss the subject.
My rich dad, on the other hand, recommended that I think
like a Texan. “I like Texas and Texans,” he used to say. “In Texas,
everything is bigger. When Texans win, they win big. And when
they lose, it’s spectacular.”
“They like losing?” I asked.
“That’s not what I’m saying. Nobody likes losing. Show me a happy
loser, and I’ll show you a loser,” said rich dad. “It’s a Texan’s attitude
toward risk, reward, and failure I’m talking about. It’s how they handle
life. They live it big. Not like most of the people around here, living
like roaches when it comes to money, terrified that someone will shine
a light on them, and whimpering when the grocery clerk shortchanges
them a quarter.”