Rich Dad Poor Dad: Did I Miss Something?

[Brian Volland]

So I just finished reading "Rich Dad Poor Dad What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That The Poor And Middle Class Do Not" and I feel like I must have missed out on something given how often this book as cited as THE GO TO beginner book for real estate investment. I also just finished reading "The Book On Rental Property Investing". 

The latter book gave me approx. 3 pages of short notes and tips covering all of the page; information that I'll want to make sure I internalize and make sure I put to good use. The former book gave me three sentences and, I personally feel, could be summed up thusly: Make money work for you (not vice versa), Fear holds you back (learn to control it and act), Educate yourself continuously and find experts to learn from (failure is a form of learning).

As someone spending money on investment books and real estate, I feel like I must have missed the point of Rich Dad Poor Dad because it seems to me to have basically boiled down to a pre-game pep talk from coach letting you know that you can do it if you try. I know I need to make money work from me. I clearly chose to do this through investing because I'm reading a book on how to do it. I know I'm going to be scared of losing my money until I can control my risks. That's how we, humans, feel every time we ever try to do something for the first time. Educate yourself. Really? If that isn't the biggest "Duh" when trying to figure out how to do something new I'd love to hear what is. The reason I bought the book was that I was trying to educate myself and gain useful information that will help me succeed in this game. Information like, "Watching commercial building trends can direct you towards new growth areas." I was not looking for platitudes and pick me ups. I was hoping for tangible, usable information that I could apply to my business strategy and mitigate risk.

So did I miss something? Is the book supposed to be a pep talk? Or did I miss something major? I truly want to know if somebody got something more out of the book as I'm eager to learn and chewing through as many books as I can.