Why “A” Students Work for “C” StudentsYou’ve probably heard of Robert Kiyosaki, if you haven’t you’ve probably heard of him you’ve most likely heard of his best-selling book, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” . He has written numerous books on this subject or similar ones and this book that I’m reviewing today is presented as different lessons that parents can teach their young children to impart on them financial knowledge that isn’t taught in schools.

Kiyosaki starts the book off with the problem of money management not being taught in school and students being taught instead to “go to school to get a job” and that “if you don’t go to school, you won’t get a job”. It is because of this issue with our current educational system that Kiyosaki offers this book as a way for parents to raise their children with financial know-how. The rest of the book goes on to distinguish between the 4 types of ways people earn income, by either being an employee, a small business owner, entrepreneurs of large businesses, or a professional investor and the different advantages and disadvantages each type brings with it. Since Kiyosaki believes that being an entrepreneur or an investor is the best option, he goes on to explain different lessons that a parent can teach their child to start seeing the world through the eyes of a true capitalist, a true entrepreneur, instead of an employee as much of their schooling would train them. Kiyosaki touches on many different hot topics in the book, but one that resonated with me was what he had to say about one topic that I believe is crucial to our nation right now, “The Entitlement Mentality”. He and I both share the concern that the entitlement mentality is spreading in our nation and we both understand how for someone who has run in hardship and has no financial education, this can be a way of life, but I think Margaret Thatcher put it succinctly when she said, “the problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money”.

I know that Kiyosaki has been the subject of controversy before due to his anecdotal style of writing on subjects that require very specialized knowledge to successfully apply in one’s life, but I don’t believe he means for his books to be read as a manual. There are literally hundreds of thousands of books that layout the step-by-step method for achieving your financial goals in whatever method you choose, but I see his writing as a call toward a greater paradigm shift in our nation’s thinking about money, not as some sort of how-to book on accumulating wealth. Honestly, if his books were that technical, I don’t believe they would be nearly as successful as they are now. If someone who reads his books becomes inspired to take action in their financial life, then there are plenty of authors that offer that sort of knowledge, but to accuse Kiyosaki of peddling substance less stories is unfair.

Clearly, my bias is showing, so obviously, I recommend you read this book and his other books. I know that the concepts he discusses in his books have changed my life and I plan to use this book to have my children be brought up to be financially saavy. It is rare to find a financial book geared towards children, which makes it that much more important to read this one!