第 1 章
Financial Wisdom Beyond the Classroom: The Key to True Wealth
In a world obsessed with traditional education and career paths, Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad's Increase Your Financial IQ" stands as a revolutionary manifesto that has shaped the financial mindset of millions. The book, which Oprah Winfrey once called "a must-read for anyone serious about financial freedom," challenges conventional wisdom about money in ways that have made it a staple on Warren Buffett's recommended reading list. Since its publication, this follow-up to the phenomenally successful "Rich Dad Poor Dad" has been translated into over 50 languages and continues to influence financial thinking worldwide. What makes Kiyosaki's approach so compelling is his ability to translate complex financial concepts into accessible wisdom that resonates with readers from all walks of life-whether you're a college student drowning in debt or a seasoned professional wondering why your six-figure income never seems to create lasting wealth.
第 2 章
Money Doesn't Make You Rich-Financial Intelligence Does
The most dangerous financial myth is that money itself creates wealth. This explains why lottery winners often end up broke and why high-income professionals can remain perpetually in debt. In 1972, at age twenty-five, I began investing in gold at $70 an ounce. When it approached $800 by 1980, greed overtook caution. Instead of selling for profit, I held on hoping for more, only to watch it drop below $500 before finally selling. This painful lesson taught me that it's not the asset that's valuable-it's the information relative to the asset that makes one rich or poor.
Like a golfer who buys expensive equipment but won't invest in lessons, billions invest in assets but nothing in information, so their financial scores remain stagnant. Financial intelligence is the part of our total intelligence we use to solve financial problems. Rich dad taught me that money problems make you smarter if you solve them. When you solve money problems, your financial intelligence grows and you become richer. If you don't solve them, they multiply and you become poorer.
Everyone has money problems regardless of wealth. The poor struggle with not having enough money, using credit to cover shortfalls, and fear of emergencies. The rich deal with having too much money, keeping it safe, finding competent advisors, and estate planning. Money alone doesn't solve money problems-this is why welfare systems that simply give money without addressing underlying issues create more poverty.
The rules of money changed dramatically in 1971 when President Nixon took the US off the gold standard, fundamentally transforming money into currency that must keep moving or lose value. Under these new rules, savers become losers while debtors become winners. In 1974, another crucial change occurred when businesses shifted from defined benefit pension plans that guaranteed lifetime retirement income to defined contribution plans like 401(k)s with no guarantees.
The rich get richer because they recognize this unfair system and learn to use its rules to their advantage. They view financial problems as opportunities to learn, grow smarter, and become wealthier. By welcoming rather than avoiding money problems, they increase their financial IQ and tackle increasingly complex challenges, generating more money in the process.
第 3 章
The Five Financial Intelligences: Your Path to Wealth
Financial intelligence isn't a single skill but rather five distinct intelligences that work together to create financial wholeness. These five financial IQs are the building blocks of true wealth, each playing a crucial role in building sustainable financial success.
Financial IQ #1: Making more money focuses on increasing your earning capacity through multiple streams of income, negotiation skills, and value creation. This includes developing marketable skills, identifying opportunities, and understanding market demands. For example, a consultant might combine speaking engagements, online courses, and one-on-one coaching to maximize earnings.
Financial IQ #2: Protecting your money involves legal and tax strategies, insurance planning, and asset protection. This intelligence helps shield wealth from unnecessary losses, lawsuits, and excessive taxation. Smart protection strategies might include establishing proper business entities, maintaining adequate insurance coverage, and implementing tax-efficient investment strategies.
Financial IQ #3: Budgeting your money requires mastering cash flow management, expense tracking, and strategic allocation of resources. This intelligence isn't just about cutting costs-it's about optimizing spending to align with long-term financial goals. A successful budget creates surplus capital that can be invested for future growth while maintaining current lifestyle needs.
Financial IQ #4: Leveraging your money focuses on making money work harder through strategic investments, compound interest, and efficient use of debt. This might include real estate investments, business expansion, or portfolio management strategies that maximize returns while managing risk levels appropriately.
Financial IQ #5: Improving your financial information involves continuous education, market analysis, and staying current with economic trends. This includes building a network of trusted advisors, understanding financial statements, and developing the ability to evaluate investment opportunities critically.
Each intelligence is measured differently. Financial IQ #1 is measured in gross dollars-someone earning $1 million annually has a higher financial IQ #1 than someone earning $30,000. Financial IQ #2 is measured in percentages-someone paying 20% in taxes demonstrates a higher financial IQ #2 than someone paying 35%. Financial IQ #3 requires creating a surplus through proper budgeting regardless of income level, typically aiming for at least 20% of income saved. Financial IQ #4 measures your ability to achieve higher returns without necessarily taking higher risks, such as achieving 15% returns instead of market average 8%. Financial IQ #5 evaluates your ability to gather and use quality financial information to make informed decisions quickly.
Beyond financial intelligence, three other critical intelligences help us thrive: academic intelligence (reading, writing, mathematics), professional intelligence (skills to earn money by solving people's problems), and health intelligence (maintaining physical wellbeing). While important for everyone, financial intelligence is especially vital for those operating in the Business and Investor quadrants of Kiyosaki's CASHFLOW Quadrant, where income isn't directly tied to time invested.
Financial intelligence solves specific financial problems, while financial IQ measures the results. Without developing all five financial intelligences, achieving true financial freedom becomes nearly impossible-you might excel in making money but lose it through poor protection strategies, or budget well but fail to leverage your surplus effectively. The key is developing these intelligences simultaneously, as they work synergistically to build and maintain wealth.
第 4 章
Making More Money: The Foundation of Financial Growth
After graduating from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 1969, I faced several lucrative career options-returning to Standard Oil for $60,000 a year or becoming an airline pilot for $32,000. Instead, I chose a $720 monthly position at Xerox Corporation to develop my sales skills and overcome my shyness. This decision, though questioned by family and friends, was strategic: I wanted to become an entrepreneur, and selling was a critical skill I lacked.
After two difficult years of nearly being fired, I conquered my fear of rejection and became the top salesman in the Honolulu branch. This experience taught me a crucial lesson: every worthwhile goal requires following a process and putting in work. Many people lack financial intelligence in making more money because they want the money without embracing the process. What they don't realize is that it's the process itself that makes you rich, not the money.
This explains why lottery winners or those who inherit wealth often end up broke-they received money without going through the wealth-building process. Others fail to become rich because they value the security of a steady paycheck over the learning process of becoming financially smarter, held back by their fear of poverty.
Financial intelligence requires emotional intelligence. Warren Buffett says, "If you cannot control your emotions, you cannot control your money." My process required not quitting when depressed, controlling my temper when frustrated, and delaying gratification. Many sacrifice a richer tomorrow for a few dollars today.
The secret to making more money is realizing that problems never go away-solving them is what makes you rich. People pay money to have their problems solved. There are infinite ways to make money because there are infinite problems to solve. The question is: which problems do you want to solve?
Employees and self-employed people work for money (earned income), while business owners and investors work for assets that produce cash flow or capital appreciation. The rich get richer because they build or acquire more assets each year. This doesn't require working harder or longer-assets work for them by producing passive income.
第 5 章
Protecting Your Money from Financial Predators
Protecting your money from financial predators is vital in a world filled with people and organizations waiting to help themselves to your wealth. Rich dad taught us about protecting money using the simple example of farmers protecting crops from "bunnies, birds, and bugs." This metaphor helped illustrate that some of the greatest financial predators are cute, harmless-looking, and often trusted-not obvious thieves.
Many financial predators stand behind us because it's easier to get into our pockets from that position. Rich dad used the "B" theme to identify real-world financial predators: bureaucrats, bankers, brokers, businesses, brides/beaus, brothers-in-law, and barristers. These are often people or organizations we love, trust, or respect-people we think are on our side.
Taxes are our single largest expense. Rich dad wasn't against government or taxes, acknowledging that "taxes are an expense for living in a civilized society." His frustration was that bureaucrats rarely solved problems, meaning taxes had to keep increasing. His philosophy: "A bureaucrat's job is to get deeper in your pockets-legally-and your job is to have them take as little as possible-legally."
Understanding the three types of income (earned, portfolio, and passive) is crucial for protecting money from bureaucrats. Working for earned income offers little protection from taxes. Even low-income wage earners pay high percentages in taxes through Social Security, federal, state, and local taxes.
Banks, originally created to protect money, now work to take it from us. Banks are major financial predators, robbing savers through money printing. They pay you small interest on your savings while lending twenty times that amount at higher interest rates-paying you 5% on one dollar while making 20% on twenty dollars.
"Broker" is another word for "salesperson" in the world of money. Most people get financial advice from salespeople, not rich people. As Warren Buffett observed, "Wall Street is the place people drive to in their Rolls-Royce to take advice from people who ride the subway." Good brokers make you richer; bad brokers make excuses.
The advice to "work hard, save money, get out of debt, invest for the long term in mutual funds" is outdated and financially ignorant. Workers who earn more simply pay more taxes. Savers lose as the dollar constantly declines in value. Instead of using debt as leverage to become richer, people struggle to get out of debt.
第 6 章
Budgeting Your Money: Creating a Surplus, Not Scarcity
Rich dad rejected the common advice to "live below your means," instead advocating to "expand your means." Most people use their budget as a plan to become poor or middle class rather than rich, focusing on living below their means rather than expanding their income.
A budget deficit occurs when spending exceeds income. Most people operate this way because spending money is easier than making money. When faced with deficits, most choose to cut spending, but rich dad recommended increasing income instead-expanding your means rather than restricting them.
A budget surplus is an excess of income over spending. This doesn't necessarily mean living below one's means, but rather focusing on creating excess income. Rich dad loved the concept of "excess of income" rather than reducing expenses.
To create a budget surplus, you must make it a non-negotiable priority. This means reprioritizing spending habits and listing saving, tithing, and investing as expenses on your financial statement. Kiyosaki explains how he and his wife Kim implemented this by instructing their bookkeeper Betty to take 30 percent off the top of all income and put it in their asset column before paying any other expenses-even when this meant coming up short on bills and having to hustle to make more money.
When paying yourself first, creditors scream the loudest. Rather than being intimidated into paying them first, Kiyosaki and his wife used this pressure as motivation to increase their income. Most people don't prioritize paying themselves because no one hires bill collectors against themselves or threatens themselves with foreclosure.
Starting in 1989 when Kim purchased her first rental property with $5,000 down and $25 monthly positive cash flow, the Kiyosakis built a multimillion-dollar portfolio with over a thousand rental units by consistently paying themselves first and investing that money. They also maintain savings equivalent to a year's expenses in gold and silver ETFs rather than cash, and they tithe regularly, considering God their best business partner who asks for only 10% and lets them keep 90%.
Financial IQ #3 is measured by the percentage of income that reaches your asset column. If 30% seems too difficult, start with just 3%. The higher percentage directed to assets, the higher your financial IQ. Today, Kiyosaki and his wife direct approximately 80% of their income directly into assets while living on 20%.
第 7 章
Leveraging Your Money: Control Creates Power
As markets crashed in August 2007, while financial planners advised "don't panic" and condemned real estate investments, Kiyosaki was purchasing a $17 million apartment complex. The difference between financial planners who fear real estate and Kiyosaki's excitement about buying property during a crash comes down to control and leverage.
After 1971 and 1974, the rules of money changed, requiring workers to invest for retirement in defined contribution plans without proper financial education. Most workers must invest in assets they have no control or leverage over, leaving them helpless during market crashes. Kiyosaki's control over his investments gives him confidence to use leverage, achieving greater wealth with less risk.
Leverage means doing more with less. A dollar in savings has a leverage factor of 1:1, while Kiyosaki's apartment investment uses 1:4 leverage-for every dollar he invests, the bank lends four dollars. Financial planners warn against real estate because without control, leverage becomes risky-like driving a car without a steering wheel.
Contrary to conventional financial advice, leverage isn't inherently risky-it's only risky when investors lack control over their assets. With control, leverage can be applied with minimal risk. Financial advisors typically claim higher returns mean higher risk because they sell investments offering little control.
The major flaw in paper assets like savings, stocks, bonds, and mutual funds is the lack of control, making leverage difficult and risky. As both entrepreneur and real estate investor, Kiyosaki maintains control over all four columns of the financial statement: income, expenses, liabilities, and assets.
Financial intelligence enables control, with financial IQ measuring the returns on that intelligence. For Kiyosaki's 300-unit apartment complex, this means controlling the income column by raising rents through improvements funded by bank money; controlling expenses through better management; managing the liability column through favorable mortgage rates; and increasing asset value through these combined strategies.
Focus, not diversification, is key to sophisticated leverage with higher returns and lower risk. Financial intelligence begins with knowing whether you're investing for capital gains (speculative price increases) or cash flow. Investing solely for capital gains often amounts to gambling and may trigger tax increases in some countries. Investing for cash flow is less risky, especially when using banker's money for higher returns while paying less in taxes.
第 8 章
Improving Your Financial Information: Knowledge as the Ultimate Asset
In the Information Age, quality financial information is your most powerful asset. Just as I learned in Vietnam that information could mean life or death in combat, today it determines whether you prosper or perish financially.
In Vietnam, information wasn't just academic facts to memorize-it determined survival. This wartime experience transformed my view of information's value, making me a better entrepreneur and investor who understands information can mean the difference between wealth and poverty.
In the Information Age, knowledge is the primary asset. Without proper financial knowledge, people perish economically. Unlike previous eras requiring factories or land, today information alone can create billions as proven by MySpace and YouTube founders. Conversely, obsolete information (like "get a good job") becomes a liability, keeping people trapped in outdated economic paradigms.
Human economic history evolved through four distinct ages: the Hunter-Gatherer Age where nature provided wealth and everyone was equally poor; the Agrarian Age where land became wealth controlled by royalty; the Industrial Age where resources like oil and copper created wealth and birthed the middle class; and now the Information Age where information leveraged through technology creates unprecedented wealth with minimal resources, producing a new super-rich class.
The widening wealth gap stems from information disparities. While indigenous tribes perish as forests disappear and industrial workers face layoffs, others struggle with outdated economic ideas. Yet information that could transform their fortunes is now abundant and free-today anyone can go from nothing to super-rich with minimal capital using the right information.
From military intelligence, I learned several crucial lessons for financial success. First, distinguish facts from opinions-many think investing is risky because they can't tell the difference. Second, avoid "insane solutions" where opinions are treated as facts, like buying unaffordable houses based on brokers' predictions. Third, verify information before acting-risky investors base decisions on opinions rather than facts.
A trend emerges when an investor forms opinions from a set of facts. Understanding trends eliminates the need for risky discount-hunting-simply investing with the trend would have been profitable. Information alone isn't enough; intelligence transforms information into meaningful action.
第 9 章
Developing Your Financial Genius: The Three-Brain Approach
The author reflects on his journey from being labeled "average" in school to seeking financial success. He shares how school made him aware of his academic limitations and the economic divide between himself and wealthier classmates, which motivated his desire to become rich despite lacking initial skills or capital.
Drawing on Einstein's quote that "imagination is more important than knowledge," the author describes three brain parts: the left brain (reading, writing, logic), the right brain (creativity, imagination), and the subconscious brain (primitive reactions). He believes the subconscious mind, linked to intrapersonal intelligence, ultimately determines success in life, health, love, and money.
The subconscious brain often sabotages financial success when it conflicts with logical desires. Many people logically want wealth but subconsciously believe "Not you. You'll never be rich." This fear of failure, programmed through education, creates prisoners of otherwise successful people-like the Harvard attorney friend trapped in his career by fear of change despite wanting something different.
True education must align all three brain parts rather than focusing solely on the left brain. Many people become "left-brain geniuses but subconscious morons," knowing what to do but terrified of doing it. This explains why academically successful people often seek security over opportunity and follow conventional financial advice like diversification and living below their means-advice Warren Buffett dismisses as "protection against ignorance."
Environment is our most powerful teacher, as confirmed by neuroscience's discovery of mirror neurons. To change your financial situation, you must change your surroundings. Just as weight loss is easier at a gym than a restaurant, becoming rich requires an environment conducive to wealth-building that strengthens all three brains.
My CASHFLOW game engages all three brain parts-left-brain financial knowledge, right-brain creativity, and a neutral subconscious mind since the fake money removes fear. Once players understand the game, fear transforms into excitement and learning becomes enjoyable as all three brains develop together, opening new possibilities.
If you want to become richer, you must continually upgrade your environment rather than living below your means in a lesser environment. When I crossed the bridge to my rich friends' neighborhood as a boy, my brain absorbed what it was like to live at a higher standard-and looked for ways to achieve it. This doesn't mean recklessly accumulating bad debt, but rather consciously challenging yourself to improve your standard of living by increasing your financial intelligence.
第 10 章
The Integrity of Money: Creating Financial Wholeness
Integrity is a multifaceted concept requiring all three dictionary definitions: soundness (unimpaired condition), incorruptibility (adherence to moral values), and completeness (being undivided). Like a car's interconnected systems or the human body's vital functions, money operates with systemic integrity. When financial systems lose integrity, the results aren't disease or death but rather low income, crippling taxes, excessive debt, bankruptcy, foreclosure, increased crime, violence, sadness, and despair.
Just as human bodies require integrity in their various systems (arterial, respiratory, nervous, skeletal, digestive) to maintain health, financial systems need integrity to maintain wealth. When financial integrity breaks down, symptoms appear as low income, high taxes, excessive debt, bankruptcy, and financial despair. The five financial intelligences must work together for a person to grow rich and maintain wealth. Missing even one intelligence compromises financial integrity, like driving a car with faulty brakes.
The lack of financial integrity begins in our school system with the absence of financial education. Since 1974, when businesses began requiring employees to invest for retirement, schools should have improved financial education. Personal financial statements function as financial report cards, reflecting your financial integrity.
Warren Buffett doesn't diversify but seeks companies with intrinsic value-those demonstrating financial integrity across all five intelligences. He looks for businesses with protected niches (like Coca-Cola's trademark), leverage potential, expandability (products that can be sold worldwide), and predictable revenue. Businesses with intrinsic value maintain integrity and profitability regardless of economic conditions.
Governments also require the five financial intelligences to flourish. When Nixon took the U.S. off the gold standard in 1971, America compromised its financial integrity. Instead of solving its trade imbalance problems, America accumulated trillions in debt, leveraging debt instead of money. The government now increases revenue by raising taxes, printing money, borrowing more, and potentially defaulting on promises to citizens-all signs of compromised integrity.
To prepare for potential financial storms, put your financial house in order by addressing your weakest financial intelligence first. By improving one area, you'll enhance all five intelligences and increase your own intrinsic value. Don't be afraid to ask for help when needed.
