They teach their children at home, around the din- ner table. These ideas may not be the ideas you choose to discuss with your children, but thank you for looking at them. And I advise you to keep searching. In my opinion, as a mom and a CPA, the concept of simply getting good grades and finding a good job is an old idea. We need to advise our children with a greater degree of sophistication. We need new ideas and different education. Maybe telling our children to strive to be good employees while also striving to own their own investment corporation is not such a bad idea. It is my hope as a mother that this book helps other parents. It is Robert's hope' to inform people that anyone can achieve prosperity if they so choose. If today you are a gardener or a janitor or even unemployed, you have the ability to educate yourself and teach those you love to take care of themselves financially. Remember that financial in- telligence is the mental process via which we solve our fi- nancial problems. Today we are facing global and technological changes as great or even greater than those ever faced before. No one has a crystal ball, but one thing is for certain: Changes lie ahead that are beyond our reality. Who knows what the future brings? But whatever happens, we have two funda- mental choices: play it safe .or play it smart by preparing, gettingdacatedand awajcening_your own anc£y.QUX-chil- dren's financial genius. - Sharon Lechter Rich Dad, Poor Dad CHAPTER ONE Rich Dad, Poor Dad As narrated by Robert Kiyosaki I had two fathers, a rich one and a poor one. One was highly educated and intelligent; he had a Ph.D. and com- pleted four years of undergraduate work in less than two years. He then went on to Stanford University, the Univer- sity of Chicago, and Northwestern University to do his ad- vanced studies, all on full financial scholarships. The other father never finished the eighth grade. Both men were successful in their careers, working hard all their lives. Both earned substantial incomes. Yet one struggled financially all his life. The other would become one of theTichest men in Hawaii. One died leaving tens of millions of dollars to his family, charities and his church. The other left bills to be paid. Both men were strong, charismatic and influential. Both men offered me advice, but they did not advise the same things. Both men believed strongly in education but did not recommend the same course of study. If I had had only one dad, I would have had to accept or reject his advice. Having two dads advising me offered me the choice of contrasting points of view; one of a rich man and one of a poor man. stops working. By asking the question "How can I afford it?" your brain is put to work. He did not mean buy every- thing you wanted. He was fanatical about exercising your mind, the most powerful computer in the world. "My brain gets stronger every day because I exercise it.