45 Inspirational Rich Dad, Poor Dad Quotes to Motivate | Rentals and Realtors
I have been reading through one of the most famous gateway books of all time. For decades, Robert Kiyosaki has been teaching financial education, and trying to provide a gateway from rags to riches. Using his book, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” as his primary tool for changing the way people think.
Through reading this book, I have seen many great quotes that ought to be shared with those who are interested to learn. Learn from Robert Kiyosaki, and the advice that “Rich Dad” gave him.
“An important distinction is that rich people buy luxuries last, while the poor and middle class tend to buy luxuries first.”
The typical outlook for the poor and middle class goes something like this:
How much will I have to save in order to be able to buy that item?
Meanwhile, the rich say:
How much will I have to produce in cash flow to easily purchase that item?
The poor and middle class work for luxuries, the rich work for cash flow and wealth.
“Keep expenses low, reduce liabilities, and diligently build a base of solid assets.”
It is important to manage your cash flow and expenses. Strive to low your expenses, and increase your cash flow.
“In school we learn that mistakes are bad, and we are punished for making them. Yet, if you look at the way humans are designed to learn, we learn by making mistakes. We learn to walk by falling down. If we never fell down, we would never walk.”
In this quote, Robert is talking about mistakes. When you do something wrong, what do your parents do? They punish you. What does the teacher do? Gives you detention. What does your employer do? Fires you. However, this is against human nature, because it is in human nature to make mistakes.
“Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success.”
In this quote, Robert explains that losers hate failure, and want to do anything they can do to avoid it. They would rather do nothing at all than risk a chance at failing. The rich however, embrace failures and move on through the process. This is why they are rich.
“You’re only poor if you give up. The most important thing is that you did something. Most people only talk and dream of getting rich. You’ve done something.”
Rich people are the people that never gave up. They fought through the doubt and hate, and soaked up all the knowledge they could. They embraced the lifestyle, until one day they achieved the success they longed for.
“Often in the real world, it’s not the smart who get ahead, but the bold.”
Those that are not afraid to dive in and take risks are oftentimes the ones who come out on top. Your intelligence doesn’t matter in the game of wealth.
“If you’re the kind of person who has no guts, you just give up every time life pushes you. If you’re that kind of person, you’ll live all your life playing it safe, doing the right things, saving yourself for something that never happens. Then, you die a boring old man.”
Have guts. If you have no guts, you will never take risk. If you never take risk, you will never receive reward.
“The love of money is the root of all evil?” “The lack of money is the root of all evil.”
When people lack money in desperate times, they climb to desperate measures. Money has the power to change lives, which is why many strive to get more.
“I’d rather welcome change than cling to the past.”
Clinging to the past welcomes past results. You will never get anywhere by clinging to the past.
“To be a successful business owner and investor, you have to be emotionally neutral to winning and losing.”
You have to welcome winning, and try your best to maintain it. However, when you lose, don’t allow it to effect you on an emotional level. Take the lessons that cam with the loss and apply your new methods to your next wealth-building venture.
“Emotions are what make us human. Make us real. The word ’emotion’ stands for energy in motion. Be truthful about your emotions, and use your mind and emotions in your favor, not against yourself.”
Many people deny the truth, and refuse to accept the fact that they can control their emotions. They lie to themselves continuously, and suffer in return.
“The single most powerful asset we all have is our mind. If it is trained well, it can create enormous wealth in what seems to be an instant.”
Money is one thing. Your mind is another. There is a reason why rich men like Trump and Kiyosaki can go bankrupt multiple times and still fight back. They have the mentality, and they have the knowledge.
“If you realize that you’re the problem, then you can change yourself, learn something and grow wiser. Don’t blame other people for your problems.”
Blaming others for your problems keeps you at the bottom of the totem pole. You will never improve if you never seek to improve.
“Money without financial intelligence is money soon gone.”
Example: The Lottery
Example #2: Professional Athletes
Example #3: Inheritance
Need I say more?
“The richest people in the world build networks; everyone else is trained to look for work.”
The larger your network is, the more opportunities you have access to. The more opportunities you have access to, the more you will learn.
“Workers work hard enough to not be fired, and owners pay just enough so that workers won’t quit.”
This is the cycle of an employer/employee relationship, and it is oftentimes toxic.
“Money comes and goes, but if you have the education about how money works, you gain power over it and can begin building wealth.”
The rich know how to manage their money. The rich learned the game. They can lose money, but they know how to make it back.
“I like Texas and Texans. In Texas, everything is bigger. When Texans win, they win big. And when they lose, it’s spectacular.
If you really want to learn the attitude of how to handle risk, losing and failure, go to San Antonio and visit the Alamo. The Alamo is a great story of brave people who chose to fight, knowing there was no hope of success against overwhelming odds. They chose to die instead of surrendering. It’s an inspiring story worthy of study; nonetheless, it’s still a tragic military defeat. They got their butts kicked. A failure if you will. They lost. So how do Texans handle failure? They still shout, “Remember the Alamo!” That’s why I like Texans so much. They took a great failure and turned it into a tourist destination that makes them millions. Texans don’t bury their failures. They get inspired by them. They take their failures and turn them into rallying cries. Failure inspires Texans to become winners. But that formula is not just the formula for Texans. It is formula for all winners.”
Texans took a failure and turned it into a business that people have pride in. That is a formula that anyone can apply to their own lives.
“As I said, I wish I could say it was easy. It wasn’t, but it wasn’t hard either. But without a strong reason or purpose, anything in life is hard.”
Anything that is easy in life is typically not worth doing. If it is hard, you are probably on the right track.
“I am concerned that too many people are focused too much on money and not on their greatest wealth, which is their education. If people are prepared to be flexible, keep an open mind and learn, they will grow richer and richer through the changes. If they think money will solve the problems, I am afraid those people will have a rough ride. Intelligence solves problems and produces money. Money without financial intelligence is money soon gone.”
With the right education, you will accumulate wealth naturally. Instead of becoming fixated on money, become fixated on knowledge. The more you know, the more opportunities you will have.
“It is said that the fear of public speaking is a fear greater than death for most people. According to psychiatrists, the fear of public speaking is caused by the fear of ostracism, the fear of standing out, the fear of criticism, the fear of ridicule, the fear of being an outcast. THE FEAR OF BEING DIFFERENT PREVENTS MOST PEOPLE FROM SEEKING NEW WAYS TO SOLVE THEIR PROBLEMS.”
Overweight people typically don’t want to be seen on a track or in the gym. A lot of the time, they use that as an excuse to avoid working out. Poor people don’t want to take risks, because they don’t want to be different. They don’t want to find new ways to solve their problems, they want to keep using the same old ways that may or may not work.
“Whenever you feel ‘short’ or in ‘need’ of something, give what you want first and it will come back in buckets. That is true for money, a smile, love, friendship. I know it is often the last thing a person may want to do, but it has always worked for me. I just trust that the principle of reciprocity is true, and I give what I want.”
Those that spend their money on liabilities before they even have the money, will get nothing in return. Those that wait, and instead invest their money in appreciating assets that pay you back, will receive more wealth than they can imagine.
“There is always risk, so learn to manage risk instead of avoiding it.”
There is risk to any investment you can make. The more knowledgeable you are about an industry or investment, the better you can manage it. Avoiding risk means you will gain nothing at all.
“The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way.”
If you desire something enough, you WILL achieve success. You will encounter disappointment along the way, but those who truly desire success will fight through it and will one day achieve it.
“Find the game where you can win, and then commit your life to playing it; and play to win.”
There are many different industries, and many different playing fields. It is important to find where you can fit. Once you find where you can fit, dominate.
“I find so many people struggling, often working harder, simply because they cling to old ideas. They want things to be the way they were; they resist change. I know people who are losing their jobs or their houses, and they blame technology or the economy or their boss. Sadly they fail to realize that they might be the problem. Old ideas are their biggest liability. It is a liability simply because they fail to realize that while that idea or way of doing something was an asset yesterday, yesterday is gone.”
Many people make excuses, and refuse to change. Even when they are the problem, they refuse to accept that fact.
“We all have tremendous potential, and we all are blessed with gifts. Yet, the one thing that holds all of us back is some degree of self-doubt. It is not so much the lack of technical information that holds us back, but more the lack of self-confidence.”
Anyone can be successful, but the lack of self-confidence holds most people back.
“Leverage is the reason some people become rich and others do not become rich.”
Leverage is often viewed as a “dumb investing choice” by the poor and middle class. However, leverage is what brought wealth to millions of people.
“Stop blaming me, thinking I’m the problem. If you think I’m the problem, then you have to change me. If you realize that you’re the problem, then you can change yourself, learn something and grow wiser. Most people want everyone else in the world to change themselves. Let me tell you, it’s easier to change yourself than everyone else.”
In this quote, Rich Dad explains to young Robert and Mike that they need to begin changing themselves, instead of trying to change everything around them to fit their needs.
“There is a difference between being poor and being broke. Broke is temporary. Poor is eternal.”
Broke is what happens when someone is temporarily down on their luck. Poor is a mindset. Poor is something that will never change, because the person that is poor will never change.
“Just know that it’s fear that keeps most people working at a job. The fear of not paying their bills. The fear of being fired. The fear of not having enough money. the fear of starting over. That’s the price of studying to learn a profession or trade, and then working for money. Most people become a slave to money… and then get angry at their boss.”
People are typically too scared to get out of their comfort zone, so they are stuck at a job they hate because of the fear to find new opportunities.
“Excessive fear and self-doubt that were the greatest detractors of personal genius.”
Most people never amount to their full capabilities, because they allowed their fear and self-doubt to control them.
“Learn to use your emotions to think, not think with your emotions.”
People that think with their emotions will never be able to properly evaluate themselves, and will never achieve success on a level that they would otherwise have the potential to.
“Most people fail to realize that in life, it’s not how much money you make, it’s how much money you keep.”
Many people can make money, but those same people can lose it just as quick.
“A plan is a bridge to your dreams.”
A dream without a plan is simply that; a dream. A dream with a plan turns into a goal. A goal is much more realistic than a dream.
“If fear is too strong, the genius is suppressed.”
Avoid fear. Don’t be fearful of new situations, attack it with the best-case scenario. It is alright to be nervous, but don’t allow it to affect your decisions.
“Rule #1: You must know the difference between an asset and a liability, and buy assets. If you want to be rich, this is all you need to know. It is rule number one. It is the only rule. This may sound absurdly simple, but most people have no idea how profound this rule is. Most people struggle financially because they do not know the difference between an asset and a liability. “Rich people acquire assets. The poor and middle class acquire liabilities that they think are assets,” said Rich Dad.”
An example of this is my neighbor, living way above his means. He recently purchased an $80,000 truck when he already has many payments on things he cannot afford! House, boat, truck, truck #2, car, they are all being paid for every month and he is about to go under. He doesn’t know the difference between an asset and a liability, and it is about to cost him because he refuses to learn about financial education.
“A person can be highly educated, professionally successful, and financially illiterate”
One of the first lessons Rich Dad, Poor Dad teaches us is that a doctor can be poor. A lawyer can struggle to pay his bills. A physician can have no idea what he is doing financially. A schoolteacher can be rich. A mason can be rich. A truck driver can be rich.
The job you do isn’t as important as the assets you invest in.
“Excuses cost a dime and that’s why the poor could afford a lot of it.”
Typically, poor people make excuses, and that is why they continue to be poor. They blame their sorrows on other people, other things, and other events, instead of blaming themselves. They make excuses instead of solving the problem. To be rich, solve problems.
“People without financial knowledge, who take advice from financial experts are like lemmings simply following their leader. They race for the cliff and leap into the ocean of financial uncertainty, hoping to swim to the other side.”
It’s important to know what you’re doing, and not put complete trust into one “expert” that promises to make you rich. That’s not how life works.
“Thinking is hard work. When you are forced to think, you expand your mental capacity. When you expand your mental capacity, your wealth increases.”
It is important to open your mind to new opportunities and expand your mental capacity. Look at situations through the lenses of other people. Look at other scenarios, other ways things can play out. Think about how YOU can solve the problem.
“Getting rich begins with the right mindset, the right words and the right plan.”
There is a reason why a lot of lottery winners are still poor. They have a poor mindset when it comes to wealth and end up broke. Meanwhile someone else can take $100 and turn it into a full-fledged business.
“People without leverage work for those with leverage.”
Leverage is what the rich use to maintain their status. Leverage is what those who aspire to be rich use to attain their wealth.
“Cynics and fools are twins on the opposite sides of reality and possibility. Fools will believe any far fetched scheme and a cynic will criticize anything outside their reality. A cynic’s reality does not allow anything new in and a fool’s reality does not have the ability to keep foolish ideas out.”
Many people, especially these days, are stuck in their own version of reality, numb to the experiences of anyone else. This is why many of these people are poor. They refuse to look at themselves, and they refuse to open up their mind.
“There are fast ideas and slow ideas, just as there are fast trains and slow trains. When it comes to money, most people are on the slow train looking out the window watching the fast train pass them by. If you want to become rich quickly, your plan must include fast ideas.”
Speed is key. Many people wait before starting their journey to wealth. I have friends like this. They get a job at a fast food restaurant, and they’re still there, years later. They got used to working there and their dreams faded away.
“Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow.”
Take this as the most important quote you read today.
Whatever reason you haven’t started your business, profession, or whatever it is you want to do: Start.
Jump in, make mistakes, and learn as much as you can.
I hope this Rich Dad, Poor Dad quotes not only inspired you, but gave you a new mindset towards money. Take this information and apply it to your own life.
