It is financial intelligence that improves the odds. Thus, what is risky for one person is less risky to someone else. That is the primary reason I constantly encourage people to in- vest more in their financial education than in the stock, real estate or other markets. The smarter you are, the better chance you have of beating the odds. The stock plays I personally invest in are extremely high risk for most people and absolutely not recommended. I have been playing that game since 1979 and have paid more than my share in dues. But if you will reread why in- vestments such as these are high risk for most people, you may be able to set your life up differently, so that the abil- ity to take $25,000 and turn it into $1 million in a year is low risk for you. As stated earlier, nothing I have written is a recommen dation. It is only used as an example of what is simple and possible. What I do is small potatoes in the scheme of things, yet for the average individual, a passive income of more than $100,000 a year is nice and not hard to achieve. Depending on the market and how smart you are, it could be done in five to ten years. If you keep your living ex- penses modest, $100,000 coming in as additional income is pleasant, regardless of whether you work. You can work if you like or take time off if you choose and use the gov- ernment tax system in your favor, rather than against you. My personal basis is real estate. I love real estate be- cause it's stable and slow moving. I keep the base solid. The cash flow is fairly steady and, if properly managed, has a good chance of increasing in value. The beauty of a solid base of real estate is that it allows me to be somewhat riskier with the more speculative stocks I buy. If I make great profits in the stock market, I pay my cap- ital-gains tax on the gain and then reinvest what's left in real estate, again further securing my asset foundation. A last word on real estate. I have traveled all over the world and taught investing. In every city, I hear people say you cannot buy real estate cheap. That is not my experi- ence. Even in New York or Tokyo, or just on the outskirts of the city, are prime bargains overlooked by most people. In Singapore, currently undergoing high real estate prices, there are still bargains to be found within a short driving distance. So whenever I hear someone say, "You can't do that here," pointing at me, I remind them that maybe the real statement is, "I don't know how to do that here... yet." Great opportunities are not seen with your eyes. They are seen with your mind. Most people never get wealthy lot of money, but it sure beats minimum wage, and it's not technically difficult. 2. How to raise money. The average person only goes to the bank. This second type of investor needs to know how to raise capital, and there are many ways that don't require a bank. To get started, I learned how to buy houses without a bank.