Investing To Win
So the book now goes into a new category and this chapter focuses specifically on how there are three kinds of investors:
1) People who do not invest at all
2) People who invest not to lose
3) People who invest to win
In the beginning they talk about how making money should be fun for people as it is like playing a game. They expressed how most financial advisors out there encourage people to invest in things that are safe. Basically, they are focused more on not losing rather than winning. Because of things like that, Trump and Kiyosaki believe that most people see money as a life and death type of situation where it is too risky to invest into something bold rather than treating it as something that is fun to do. From their perspective, if you have fun at something you’ll want to learn more and will play to win.
Robert Kiyosaki then talked about the 90/10 rule of money which was new to me. As mentioned in the chapter most people, including myself, has heard of the 80/20 rule which goes something like 80 percent of the work is done by 20 percent of the people. The 90/10 rule is apparently geared towards money only and basically means that 10 percent of the players win 90 percent of the money. He used professional golf as an example where 10 percent of the professional players win 90 percent of the money.
Donald Trump then had some interesting words where he says that “being stubborn is a big part of being a winner.†Basically, one shouldn’t give up so easily and of course he mentions again how you need to have a winning attitude.
This chapter was actually interesting in regards to how they mention that one should treat money like a game and that making money is fun. I actually agree with that in a way as after awhile it is just like a numbers game where you want to try and get it to go as high as you can. As I mentioned in my old value of a dollar post, I’ve actually learned a lot of my financial habits from playing videogames. But, obviously you need some common sense as there is no reset button if you decide to gamble your entire savings in one go.
I think you also need balance as if you decide to become a “invest to win†type you should at least have some kind of safety nest first. I know that one of the biggest criticism for people like Trump in saying things like making money should be fun and that people are afraid of taking risks with it is how he came from a wealthy family and that he would be singing a different tune if that wasn’t the case before. In my opinion, unless you have continuous access to an unlimited supply of money, learning to be a good saver is a good first stepping stone to becoming a smart risk taker type as it will help provide you with a wealth of knowledge and financial management skills that will be necessary to succeed.