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Rich Dad, Poor Dad

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who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.<br />

No. 1 is accounting. What I call financial literacy. A vital skill if you<br />

want to build an empire. The more money you are responsible for, the more<br />

accuracy is required, or the house comes tumbling down. This is the left brain<br />

side, or the details. Financial literacy is the ability to read and understand<br />

financial statements. This ability allows you to identify the strengths and<br />

weaknesses of any business.<br />

No. 2 is investing. What I call the science of money making money. This<br />

involves strategies and formulas. This is the right brain side, or the creative<br />

side.<br />

No. 3 is understanding markets. The science of supply and demand. There is<br />

a need to know the "technical" aspects of the market, which is emotion driven;<br />

the Tickle Me Elmo doll during Christmas 1996 is a case of a technical or<br />

emotion-driven market. The other market factor is the "fundamental" or the<br />

economic sense of an investment. Does an investment make sense or does it not<br />

make sense based on the current market conditions.<br />

Many people think the concepts of investing and understanding the market<br />

are too complex for kids. They fail to see that kids know those subjects<br />

intuitively. For those not familiar with the Elmo doll, it was a Sesame Street<br />

character that was highly touted to the kids just before Christmas. Most all<br />

kids wanted one, and put it at the top of their Christmas list. Many parents<br />

wondered if the company intentionally held the product off the market, while<br />

continuing to advertise it for Christmas. A panic set in due to high demand and<br />

lack of supply. Having no dolls to buy in the stores, scalpers saw an<br />

opportunity to make a small fortune from desperate parents. The unlucky parents<br />

who did not find a doll were forced to buy another toy for Christmas. The<br />

incredible popularity of the Tickle Me Elmo doll made no sense to me, but it<br />

serves as an excellent example of supply and demand economics. The same thing<br />

goes on in the stock, bond, real estate and baseball-card markets.<br />

No. 4 is the law. For instance, utilizing a corporation wrapped around the<br />

technical skills of accounting, investing and markets can aid explosive growth.<br />

An individual with the knowledge of the tax advantages and protection provided<br />

by a corporation can get rich so much faster than someone who is an employee or<br />

a small-business sole proprietor. It's like the difference between someone<br />

walking and someone flying. The difference is profound when it comes to longterm<br />

wealth.

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