Just because you have no money, it should not be an excuse to not learn. But that is a choice we all make daily, the choice of what we do with our time, our money and what we put in our heads. That is the power of choice. All of us have choice. I just choose to be rich, and I make that choice every day. INVEST FIRST IN EDUCATION: In reality, the only real asset you have is your mind the most powerful tool we have"aSr__j_veE_Just as I said about the power of choice, each of us has the choice of what we put in our brain once we're old enough. You can watch MTV all day, or read golf magazines, or go to ceramics class or a class on financial planning. You choose. Most people simply buy in- vestmerto rather than first invest in learning about investing. A friend of mine, who is a rich woman, recently had her apartment burglarized. The thieves took her TV and VCR and left all the books she reads. And we all have that choice. Again, 90 percent of the population buys TV sets and only about 10 percent buys books on business or tapes on investments. So what do I do? I go to seminars. I like it when they are at least two days long because I like to immerse myself in a subject. In 1973,1 was watching TV and this guy came on advertising a three-day seminar on how to buy real es- tate for nothing down. I spent $385 and that course has made me at least $2 million, if not more. But more impor- tantly, it bought me life. I don't have to work for the rest of my life because of that one course. I go to at least two such courses every year. I love audio tapes. The reason: I can rewind quickly. I was listening to a tape by Peter Lynch, and he said some- thing I completely disagreed with. Instead of becoming ar- rogant and critical, I simply pushed "rewind" and I listened to that five-minute stretch of tape at least twenty times. Pos- sibly more. But suddenly, by keeping my mind open, I un- derstood why he said what he said. It was like magic. I felt like I had a window into the mind of one of the greatest in- vestors of our time. I gained tremendous depth and insight into the vast resources of his education and experience. The net result: I still have the old way I used to think, and I have Peter's way of looking at the same problem or situation. I have two thoughts instead of one. One more way to analyze a problem or trend, and that is priceless. Today, I often say, "How would Peter Lynch do this, or Donald Trump or Warren Buffett or George Soros?" The only way I can access their vast mental power is to be humble enough to read or listen to what they have to say. Arrogant or critkaLpgople aje-often people with low self- este*_rTwri5~3re afraid of taking risks. You see7 it yooiearn something new, you are then required to make mistakes in order to fully understand what you have learned. If you have read this far, arrogance is not one of your problems. Arrogant people rarely read or buy tapes.