By Robert Toru Kiyosaki
American Entrepreneur
I’m 78 years old.
And if you’re in your 20s or 30s, here’s what nobody is going to tell you.
Most people are playing the wrong game.
They’re optimizing for a paycheck.
I optimized for freedom.
Big difference.
My poor dad was brilliant. Degrees on the wall. Respect in the room. But he worked his entire life for money.
My rich dad never finished school. But money worked for him.
That’s when I understood:
It’s not about how much you earn.
It’s about how much you keep. And how hard it works while you sleep.
Here’s the first thing I’d tell my younger self:
– Stop saving. Start investing.
– Savers are losers in a world built on inflation.
– Every dollar sitting in your bank account is shrinking.
The rich don’t save. They acquire assets.
Real estate. Businesses. Commodities.
Things that go up when the dollar goes down.
The second thing:
Your network determines your net worth.
I didn’t become wealthy alone.
I became wealthy by surrounding myself with people who thought bigger than me.
Find those people. Study them. Add value to them.
Most people are the smartest person in their circle.
That’s the problem.
The third thing:
Learn the language of money.
Accounting. Tax law. Finance.
They don’t teach this in school on purpose.
Because a financially literate population is harder to control.
The rich know the rules of the game.
The poor and middle class don’t even know there’s a game being played.
The fourth thing:
Your house is not an asset.
I know. Nobody wants to hear it.
But an asset puts money in your pocket.
A liability takes it out.
The bank loves your mortgage. You should love it less.
And the last thing:
The biggest risk is taking no risk.
Playing it safe is the riskiest move of all.
I’ve gone broke twice.
I’ve been laughed at. Doubted. Written off.
But every loss taught me something a classroom never could.
Failure is tuition.
The question is whether you’re willing to pay it and keep going.
Your financial future isn’t determined by the economy.
It’s determined by your education.
Start learning.
Start now.
The game doesn’t wait.
