Why Do Some People Who Want To Be Rich…Fail To Be Rich?

Aside from the more common answers such as one not having enough determination to become financially free, the main topic that Robert and Donald dive into this chapter is how one needs to be in the right environment to become successful. Some of Robert’s examples was how associating with the right people provides him with a wealth of support in becoming rich. He used his old job with the Xerox Corporation as an example and how his supervisors would mention that it was against company policy to work on his own business and therefore the environment that he was in was not ideal if he wished to become rich.

Donald also expresses his opinions on the matter with a similar tone where the key is to be in the right environment. In this chapter, he also throws in a comment how there is absolutely no advantage to being poor and how poverty hurts everyone in the long run. As in the previous chapters, he mentions on how one should not focus on the negative points of a bad situation but rather one should focus on the solution.

I think associating with the right people for any situation will help you in becoming successful. There are so many times where I have met people who simply have a negative outlook in life and at the same time they try to encourage you to see things with their eyes. I often like the apple analogy that I hear used in business a lot where they say one rotten apple can spoil the whole bunch which is so true.

For blog updates subscribe to our RSS feed.

What If I Am Already Rich? What Advice Do You Have For Me?

It seems like the main message here was that if you are rich, value it and don’t be careless in the way you handle it as there are a lot of people out there who would be happy to take it from you. Robert mostly talks about the three ways of investing again by using his CASHFLOW game as a reference. The funny thing I thought was how in regards to taking care of your money, he mentioned about how Anna Nicole Smith married a billionaire who was way older than her (Which he sarcastically states that the marriage was only because of love) and how Paul McCartney’s divorce may prove to be costly as there was no prenuptial agreement in place. He basically summarizes his advice for the rich to have the following four factors in-place:

1. A Will
2. An Estate Plan
3. A plan if incapacitated
4. A prenuptial agreement if you get remarried.

Donald re-emphasizes on how you should treasure your wealth and once again to be careful with it. His twist is that you should also have a lot of fun because of it. He uses himself as a personal example on how he owns a golf course and is in the midst of setting up a production company called Trump Productions. In the end, he throws in a comment about how philanthropic efforts can be one of the most rewarding things to do in life.

Robert’s 4th point of having a prenuptial agreement if you get remarried was a little odd I thought. If the point was to try and protect yourself, wouldn’t you do that right from the beginning instead of waiting for something bad to happen first? It’s almost like saying, if someone didn’t fulfill a service for you as intended, then the next time get it down in writing instead of doing it the first time. Kind of odd I must say or maybe I am misinterpreting the point.

For blog updates subscribe to our RSS feed.

I Am A Baby Boomer Without Much Money, What Should I Do?

Both Robert and Donald’s advice in this chapter mostly encourages Baby Boomers to get involve and become familiar with the Information Age and how most Boomers are still entirely devoted with the Industrial Age mentality. Robert first talks about Health, Wealth and Happiness and how a person can live longer if you have a good balance of the three as too many times people sacrifice one for the other. He also encourages people to get professional coaching if you need someone to make you accountable for not doing certain things in order to help you move forward.

Donald Trump then throws in some motivational stories of an example how an old couple in their 60’s lost their business and loved being at a ski resort which they hoped to retire in. One day, they were offered a job at an inn there and actually became managers for it. Down the road, they actually bought out the company and now not only were in a good position financially, but they were able to live in the area that they always wanted. This is to show that regardless of one’s age you can still accomplish great things.

I guess I would have to classify myself as one of those Information Age group people and while I am not a Baby Boomer, I guess the great thing about the Information Age is that it has changed the way on how we can communicate with each other and has made establishing some form of business a lot more open to a larger group of people. You just have to get up and start doing something with it.

For blog updates subscribe to our RSS feed.

I Am An Adult Without Much Money, What Should I Do?

I personally felt that this chapter was the least resourceful so far. Robert talks about the economy and how the world is growing really fast yet the US economy seems to be getting worst. He mentions how adults that don’t have much money have two choices in life:

1) Live Below Your Means
2) Expand Your Means

In a more down to earth way, he would describe it as such:

1) Simplicity
2) Complexity

As frequently mentioned throughout the book, he chooses to not live below his means and how many financial advisors recommend people to do the opposite. To expand your way of thinking, he recommends that you travel to France, New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, India, Dubai, Prague, London, Dublin and then back to your home. This will help you to realize how fast the economy is moving in different countries or to show you how slow you are going. Afterwards, he recommends that you try to meet like minded people by joining a club and talks a lot about his Cashflow game and such.

Donald talks about health and how money is useless if you are not healthy. If it was the other way around, being healthy means that you can make things happen financially. He stresses how increasing your financial IQ is important as when you get older the room for making big mistakes get smaller.

The whole chapter seemed very generic to me and felt more like an advertising vehicle in many parts. For people without much money, I think the key to turning things around is just realization on what is coming in and what is going out and whether or not what you are doing allows you to maximize your results for your efforts.

For blog updates subscribe to our RSS feed.

I Am Still In School, What Should I do?

This chapter was kind of interesting. For people still in high school, Robert recommended that one should focus on having fun as one can learn a lot of skills by doing so. He also feels bad for kids who are forced to take expensive programs as a child as it is the parent’s way of ensuring that the child is college ready at even the early age of kindergarten. As to what type of courses one should learn, he recommended that college students study in an accounting or business law subject to provide you with a better knowledge of these topics which are important for an entrepreneur as oppose to relying entirely on someone else’s advice. Afterwards, he talked about financial IQ again and how understanding your cash flow plays a pivotal role in your success. As a practice exercise for younger people, he recommended that you do your family’s shopping with a certain budget while also being able to satisfy everyone by purchasing food and groceries that people won’t constantly get tired of. The other way to practice in increasing your financial IQ is to take $10 and then see how long it takes you to double it as most people know how to work for money, but not how to use to make more money.

Donald Trump re-emphasized what he touched on earlier and recommends that in school you should always try to do more than what is expected. Also like last time, he recommends that you go out and see what is happening around you by doings things like watching the news. On top of this, he recommends that you review your financial status every week like how you would treat your laundry as a required task. He then ends by saying that you should try to find out what your ambition and passion is and an easy way to do this is to ask yourself if money wasn’t an issue at all, what would you be doing?

I guess all the points are true as you have to learn how to have fun and to do something that you are passionate about. The only other thing that I would recommend is that while you are still in school try to meet a lot of people and possibly form a way to stay in touch with the people that you get along with. Not just for fun, but you’d be surprise on how many of your old classmates or colleagues that you knew actually had the exact skills or services that you needed to take your business to the next level. As they say, it is a small world.

For blog updates subscribe to our RSS feed.