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I recently received an e-mail from a young lady who had doubts about the principles of wealth found in "Rich Dad, Poor Dad". She mentioned a couple of past failed investments, and wanted to know what I thought about investing and financial freedom - whether it was just a myth, or whether it could be acquired. I thought I'd share it here for the benefit of those who have struggled with investing, or perhaps from ventures that didn't quite pan out. Here's what I wrote back to her:

"Dear ________,

I want to address your point below - because I think you make a very interesting point about money. I do believe that most people have a great opportunity to put Rich Dad's principles into practice to create wealth for themselves. You said "the rich get richer"...but remember, many who are rich did not start that way (many who have a large inheritance don't stay rich for long). In fact, they started very poor, with little to no money, and worked their way to freedom. HERE ARE THE DIFFERENCES between those who achieve financial freedom and those who don't:

1) They have different beliefs about money.

The person who becomes wealthy believes differently about money than the person who doesn't. Example: The wealthy BELIEVE that "money should work hard for you" while the poor and middle class BELIEVE that "you should work hard for your money". These are opposite beliefs - so, the rich keep FINDING WAYS to have money work for them, while the poor and middle class keep FINDING WAYS to work harder for money. See the difference in beliefs, that ultimately effects the person's behavior and their results? Another example: If I believe that every person is valuable, then what happens? I treat every person I meet with respect. What about the person who believes that a particular race - African-Americans, or Asians, or Hispanics, or Americans are INFERIOR to their own race, or "bad" - how will that person treat them? With disrespect, or hatred, or both. You see? What someone believes in his/her heart correlates with how they will behave.

2) Those who become financially free never, ever give up - even after failing numerous times.

You mentioned trying a few investments that didn't work out. Why didn't they work out? I'm sure the reason comes from this one simple reason: you did not have enough information to evaluate the investment. So, even if you say "The opportunity was a scam", or "My friend made me do it", or "It wasn't the right time to invest" - all these reasons come from the fact that you did not adequately EVALUATE THE INVESTMENT. Evaluating an investment includes understanding the risks, having a contingency plan, and getting expert help to best make your decision.

3) Those who become wealthy never stop learning.

If you mess up in an investment, it doesn't mean give up. It means you look at the mistake and figure out why it happened to make sure you don't get yourself in that situation again - when you do this, you become WISER. The poor and middle class try something, and when they fail, they either blame a person or circumstances AND THEY NEVER HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THAT AGAIN. That's not good! Just because I mess up one real estate investment DOES NOT mean real estate is a bad investment!

I hope this helps - I'd like your opinions on what I've shared -

To your future.

Jim"

I'm still waiting to hear back from her - in the meantime, I hope this helps you.

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