You go to school to learn a skill or profession so as to be a contributing nimb£r_iiLspaety. Every culture needs teachers, doctors, mechanics, artists, cooks, business people, police officers, firefighters, soldiers. Schools train them so our culture can thrive and flourish," said rich dad. "Unfortunately, for many people, school is the end, not the beginning." There was a long silence. Rich dad was smiling. I did not comprehend everything he said that day. But as with most great teachers, whose words continue to teach for years, often long after they're gone, his words are still with me today. "I've been a little cruel today," said rich dad. "Cruel for a reason. I want you to always remember this talk. I want you to always think of Mrs. Martin. I want you always to think of the donkey. Never forget, because your two emo- tions, fear and desire, can lead you into life's biggest trap, if you're not aware of them controlling your thinking. To spend your life living in fear, never exploring your dreams, is cruel. To work hard for money, thinking that money will buy you things that will make you happy, is also cruel. To wake up in the middle of the night terrified about paying bills is a horrible way to live. To live a life dictated by the size of a paycheck is not really a life. Thinking that a job will make you feel secure is lying to yourself. That's cruel, and that's the trap I want you to avoid, if possible. I've seen how money runs people's lives. Don't let that happen to you. Please don't let money run yojur_Li|£.'' A softball rolled under our table. Rich dad picked it up and threw it back. "So what does ignorance have to do with greed and fear?" I asked. "Because it is ignorance about money that causes so much greed and so much fear," said rich dad. "Let me give you some examples. A doctor, wanting more money to bet- ter provide for his family, raises his fees. By raising his fees, it makes health care more expensive for everyone. Now, it hurts the poor people the most, so poor people have worse health than those with money. "Because the doctors raise their rates, the attorneys raise their rates. Because the attorneys' rates have gone up, schoolteachers want a raise, which raises our taxes, and on and on and on. Soon, there will be such a horrifying gap between the rich and the poor that chaos will break out and another great civilization will collapse. Great civiliza- tions collapsed when the gap between the haves and have nots was too great. America is on the same course, prov- ing once again that history repeats itself, because we do not learn from history. We only memorize historical dates and names, not the lessons. "Aren't prices supposed to go up?" I asked. "Not in an educated society with a well-run govern- ment. Prices should actually come down. Of course, that is often only true in theory. Prices go up because of greed and fear caused by ignorance.