The Secret to Wealth

A few days ago (*edit* now a few weeks ago) my dad gave me quite an interesting book to read titled Rich Dad, Poor Dad. And I am now done.

I have to say, wow, it is a great book. It really does tell you the secret that the wealthy have which they use--not to mention abuse--on a regular basis. I have been inspired! *cue chorus of angels* Yeah, it's that life-changing (if you are open-minded and actually willing to change your life actively that is).

While the book isn't written by JK Rowling--going for popularity there...--or by Shakespeare, it does have the ideas capable of creating a great new lifestyle. And obviously, I would like to do this. Basically, what the rich do, which those in the middle class and lower classes do not, is buy assets (the others buy many more liabilities and very few, if any, assets). Yup, it's that simple. Well then, what the hell is an asset? This is also pretty simple: anything that makes you money without you having to constantly be there (so, no, your job doesn't count). And on the reverse side of this coin are liabilities. Those are the things we buy which slowly put us into debt; cars, houses, etc.

As of now, I am pretty much a blank slate. While all my life I have been taught--by my parents, in school, society really--that getting a good education then a job would lead me to have a wealthy--and happy--life, obviously that is not 100% true. What the author of the book suggests is to become well-educated in money. And that includes the making of money. But even more importantly, it includes knowing how to make money work for you, which is more or less what an asset is. You spend money to buy this asset, and have it make money for you. Whether you bought a house you rent out, or some stocks which have gained value over time, it doesn't matter as long as you are making money.

So now the obvious thing for me to do is go out and learn as much as I can, while hopefully learning some through the acquiring of assets. As of now, I plan to speak with Vince, the most financially literate of my friends, to help me out in this process. And I hope to slowly grow those assets and be able to accomplish my ultimate goal (with money that is): not having to worry about whether or not I have a job or worry about how much said job pays. Wouldn't that be true freedom?

Now, on another note, though still related to the book. See, as I read one section, in which the author talked about overcoming fear (hehe, sounds like one of those self-help books...), I got to thinking about my life. Namely the fact that I am deathly afraid--in a subconscious sort of way--of letting people know what I really think of them. If you think about it, it's something that is rarely discussed between any two people, if ever at all. But yeah, because of this, I tend to avoid people I get along with and I don't act like the person I really am. Not only that, but I'll never be the first to tell somebody I like them, they'll have to do it or it'll most likely never get done. ... I really need to do something about that.

Gabe: A Life Lesson Around Every Corner!