Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a Terrible Book

[Ronald Perich]

If you look over the Best Real Estate Books blog post by @Brandon Turner you will see Rich Dad, Poor Dad as one of the best business books for real estate entrepreneurs. I will admit, I found it to be one of the best books I had read as well. It was the book that solidified what I had been thinking for some time:

• Make money work for you
• Don't rent out your time for money, leverage OPM to make money for yourself
• Have multiple streams of income so you are not beholden to one
• Being a conservative investor in stocks and mutual funds is a losers game.

If not for this book, I might still be sitting on the sidelines looking for that first, best property to buy. So I thank Robert Kiyosaki for writing it!

But it is a terrible book.

Let me explain. This book is only a first step. As Robert stated in RDPD, "I may go in and out of stocks, but I am long on education... I am always shocked at people who buy stocks or real estate, but never invest in their greatest asset, their mind."

You see, Rich Dad, Poor Dad is an introductory course to your financial freedom. I've read that book a couple of times and it is always a great read, but it lacks the truly deep knowledge you need to fully embrace your future. It is a terrible book if you never continue on.

The Retire Young, Retire Rich book is my recommendation for your next book. As I read it, it was if the light bulb turned on by reading RDPD was originally dimmed to the lowest light level. The further I read Retire Young, Retire Rich, the brighter that light bulb became.

Robert gets into the finer details about building out your empire and putting all of the pieces in place. You see, it's not just about the real estate; it's about how you structure all of your financial pieces together to make a fully functioning enterprise.  His narrative weaves together several pieces that are important factors in your success at building a fully functioning, fully freeing lifestyle.

This book also goes into more advanced subjects to consider. How to your other businesses flow into your overall plan. How to use effective, multifaceted structures to reduce or eliminate taxes. About learning the language and then using that to leverage other's expertise.

If you've ever found yourself confused by @Ben Leybovich posts, then my recommendation is to continue your education journey. Don't stop at on Rich Dad book, invest your time in others. My recommendation? Continue reading the rest of his series. And then pick up some other books as well.

Read The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone. Pick up Rank Gallinelli's book What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow... and 36 Other Key Financial Measures. Listen to Podcasts like that offered by BiggerPockets, Rod Khleif, Grant Cardone, Bruce Norris, Kevin Bupp, and Tucker Merrihew.

I'm curious if you have other recommendations for podcasts and books to read? Interested in hearing your thoughts!