Backstory

Hello everyone! Welcome back with my new article on the book 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' by Robert Kiyosaki. I am writing this article for those who are currently pursuing engineering and are interested in financial matters or are just getting started in the world of finance.

So, where did I get this book? Firstly, after completing my stock market course, I thought I knew enough to start the investing process. However, on that night when I was about to begin investing, I decided to explore a bit more on YouTube. I came across a podcast on the stock market, and the speaker made a statement that changed my decision. Though I can't recall the exact words, he emphasized that before diving into the complete stock market and commencing the investment journey, it's crucial to train your mind and build the mentality of investment, focusing on the psychology behind it.

This statement had a profound impact on me, prompting me to reconsider and adopt an exploratory mindset instead of immediately investing. I realized I needed to delve deeper and learn more before taking the plunge. Consequently, I decided to read a book that could train my brain in this regard. The first book I chose for this purpose was 'Rich Dad Poor Dad.'

Now, let's explore the changes this book brought about in me. Without wasting much time, let's begin. I hope you find this article useful.

Note: Hey, Kunal! You're supposed to share what you learned from this book. Why are you telling how you read this book, why, what, when, how, blah blah blah... Hey reader, I know, but I am imagining this article as if I am talking to my friend and telling him from scratch what I have learned and what's the complete process. If you find this boring, you can directly skip to the Phase III part. 📚😊

Phase I - Book reading

I started reading the book, completing a chapter every 2-3 days. In total, there are nine chapters in this book. I have not read the ninth chapter. 'I want to share my one trick with you: I always keep one chapter unread because most of the time, if I complete the whole book reading, I won't come back to read it again.' See, we all are human beings, and we keep forgetting things, so it's always important that we visit once again. Every book has some value, some lessons. Writers spend years writing it, and we must take some good values and lessons from the book.

Phase II - What after completing the reading

As mentioned in Phase I, we tend to forget things. After reading any book, the crucial step is to evaluate. Let me share a theory I often follow—E(square) Theory. First, you explore, and then you try to experiment. So, after reading the book, I listened to many podcasts and read articles on the web related to this book. I came across many points. Some don't fit with my environment, but most fit perfectly. Then I evaluated and began to think, trying to implement. We can't trust blindly; it's essential to investigate. Follow the E(square) theory! 📚😊

Phase III - Lessons learned

The first lesson I learned from this book? Keywords! Yes, you heard it right—financial keywords that are crucial, especially for beginners.

Hey, Kunal, are you serious? Yes, I am serious, my dear reader. If you belong to the computer science field, you know that before learning any programming language, you learn about variables, constants, and keywords—these are the building blocks of any programming language. Similarly, the book consists of many financial keywords like assets, liabilities, balance sheets, real estate, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, profits and loss etc. The first thing I learned from this book is these keywords. I was aware of many terms before, but I tried to learn more from this book. Understanding and learning these financial terms make you aware of financial-related things. So, the first lesson I learned is keywords! 📚💡

The second lesson I learned is that from school to college, everyone teaches that you should run behind money. If you don't study, you won't be able to earn money, and you won't get rich. The common belief is that to live a happy and successful life, you should excel in your studies, and get a good job, and then everyone in society will respect you. But it's not the truth.

In this book, the author suggests working to learn and to earn money. First, you should work on learning. Learning is the first process, and then you can start earning. Many people want to be super rich, but they are not interested in the learning process; they just want shortcuts. There is no shortcut to being rich. I think this is a very valid point.

The author emphasizes financial literacy, something many schools fail to teach. The author feels it's important for students to know these things early so that they can be more successful in life. I feel this is true even in our society, though many schools may fall short of providing financial literacy. However, many engineering colleges are trying to build financial clubs and make students more aware. It's improving, and I hope in a few years, this will be in schools as well. 💼🎓✨

The third lesson is that we're all in a rat race, no matter the race; we're trapped in the system. As middle-class individuals, we often get exploited by the system—taking loans, spending excessively with credit cards, buying things we don't need with loans, and then getting stuck and ending up bankrupt.

A real-life example is my cousin, who recently bought an iPhone on EMI even though he already had a good flagship smartphone. Most of his friends had iPhones, so he thought he should also get one and bought it on EMI. I believe following trends is never a good idea; it can lead to financial trouble. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but it's my opinion. 🐀💸

The final lesson I learned is that learning or taking a course from YouTube or other platforms doesn't mean you instantly become an expert. It's more like a starting point. Now, as I've decided to learn more, explore, and experiment, I aim to gather knowledge from books, experts, and mentors. In a few years, I might begin my investing journey.

So, using YouTube or a course helps you get started in a particular field. I hope you find this article useful for starting with this book. Feel free to comment on the lessons you learned from the book. Thank you! 📚🌟