Rich Dad Poor Dad and the Real Estate Industry
As real estate professionals, our education is incredibly important. However, it’s important to remember that education doesn’t just happen in the classroom, it happens constantly, in every interaction we have. Credentials are important, but it’s also important to pick up valuable information from people who have found success their own way. For me, that happens a lot in the form of reading books.
This idea that not all education comes from degrees and institutions fits rather nicely with the book I want to highlight, and that’s Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. This is an incredibly insightful book and, although it is a pretty quick read, I know that the real estate industry is tough to navigate. But don’t worry, if you’ve been looking to dig in and just haven’t found the time, here’s a quick breakdown of the book and its key lessons!
A tale of two dads
Narratively, Kiyosaki’s book centers around the lessons learned from his “two dads.” His biological dad was a university professor with impressive academic credentials. His advice, and it’s advice that we all get at some point, was to work hard and save money along the way. Kiyosaki points out that something didn’t add up since his biological dad was poor.
On the other hand, we get the advice of Kiyosaki’s “other dad.” This was actually his best friend’s father and turned out to be quite successful and rich. Unlike Kiyosaki’s real dad, “rich dad” did not have impressive academic degrees, so his success must have been coming from somewhere else. His secret? Investment.
More precisely, Kiyosaki’s “rich dad” advised to get out of the financial rat race. Many of us are taught that hard work will land us where we want to be but, when it comes to wealth, this is only part of the puzzle. Building wealth also depends on another factor, and that’s getting your money to work for you.
Achieving sleeping money with Real Estate Investments
Sometimes called sleeping money, sometimes called mailbox money, but we’re talking about returns on investment. This ties in with another of Kiyosaki’s books and concepts called the cashflow quadrant. Hard work is important, but success and wealth start walking through the door when that hard work goes into some form of investment or business ownership. This not only amounts to bigger numbers in your bank account, but it also opens the door to a more flexible and comfortable lifestyle that allows you to do the things that you want to do, and not be chained to a monotonous work routine day in and day out.
That’s the basic idea behind the book! But, as real estate professionals, we can take it a step further. After all, real estate investment is something that should already be in our vocabulary and in our professional practices. Using your insider knowledge and expertise to give you an edge on the market just puts you one step closer to Kiyosaki’s thesis.
As far as the lifestyle autonomy goes, as real estate professionals, there’s a key play we can take that lets us set our own rules and operate how we like: going independent. Fortunately, starting your own brokerage can be pretty quick and simple, and can have very attractive returns. Check out my Brokerage in a Box class to learn everything you need to know about going independent.
Watch my video around this subject below:
