Rich Dad Poor Dadsay, “Oh, I’m a banker.” Then I ask them if they own the bank. And
they usually respond, “No, I work there.” In that instance, they have
confused their profession with their business. Their profession may
be a banker, but they still need their own business.
A problem with school is that you often become what you study.
So if you study cooking, you become a chef. If you study the law,
you become an attorney, and a study of auto mechanics makes you
a mechanic. The mistake in becoming what you study is that too
many people forget to mind their own business. They spend their
lives minding someone else’s business and making that person rich.
To become financially secure, a person needs to mind their own
business. Your business revolves around your asset column, not your
income column. As stated earlier, the number-one rule is to know
the difference between an asset and a liability, and to buy assets.
The rich focus on their asset columns, while everyone else focuses on
their income statements.
That is why we hear so often: “I need a raise.” “If only I had a
promotion.” “I am going back to school to get more training so I
can get a better job.” “I am going to
work overtime.” “Maybe I can get a
second job.”
In some circles, these are sensible
ideas. But you are still not minding
your own business. These ideas all still
focus on the income column and will only help a person become more
financially secure if the additional money is used to purchase income-
generating assets.
The primary reason the majority of the poor and middle class are
fiscally conservative—which means, “I can’t afford to take risks”— is
that they have no financial foundation. They have to cling to their
jobs and play it safe.
When downsizing became the “in” thing to do, millions of
workers found out their largest so-called asset, their home, was eating
them alive. Their “asset” was costing them money every month. Their
Financial struggle is
often the result of
people working all their
lives for someone else.