RichDad seminars

TStoneMBD · #1 08-30-2005, 10:25 AM

Inspired by the star trader seminar thread.

Robert Kiyosaki is having a seminar tour which I believe is mid-way at this point. There is a weekend seminar expo in NYC October 22-23 and I believe I will be attending. It's only like $125 for weekend passes to all seminars for ClassB tickets and includes 70 seminars to choose from over a 22 hour period.

So what is your guys take on this seminar? Waste of time, don't bother? Probably really good? They just want to sell me some pyramid scheme?

If anyone else is going to be going to this event and wants to meet up let me know. Also, let me know in advance if there is any interest in me writing a trip report on the expo along with any interesting things I learned so I can take notes.

http://richdad.com/

Paluka · #2 08-30-2005, 10:32 AM

I think the whole "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" thing is completely retarded. That book and "The Millionaire Next Door" are basically both handbooks on how to live a miserable life but die with some money in the bank.

#3 08-30-2005, 10:40 AM

If i'm not mistaken isn't RDPD mostly about creating passive income?

Paluka · #4 08-30-2005, 10:54 AM

[ QUOTE ]
If i'm not mistaken isn't RDPD mostly about creating passive income?

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I admit to both a) having skimmed it b)not having looked at it at all in a long time. I just recall the whole thing being pretty bad.

TStoneMBD · #5 08-30-2005, 11:00 AM

paluka i am not familiar with millionaire next door or what the book stands for, but i did a quick search on the book and one of the lessons it teaches is to live well below your means. i really dont think that is something that kiyosaki has taught. maybe you are tying the two writers together? i read the entire series of richdad several years ago, excluding the advisor series. i can see why you say that richdad teaches you to live miserable lives, but iirc, kiyosaki has said in one of his books that many millionaires have gotten there by being stingy all their lives. rk then goes on to say that nobody likes a stingy millionaire. the goal of passive income is to make enough money to do whatever you want in life, not to always live below your means.

also yes, the entire richdad series is about learning how to create passive income and reading financial statements.

Deathbear · #6 08-30-2005, 01:03 PM

You might find this interesting. I personally haven't read any of Kiyosaki's books but I'm very hesitant since he is involved in a pyramid scheme (Quixtar) that one of my co-workers is involved in.

http://www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html

TStoneMBD · #7 08-30-2005, 01:41 PM

ive actually read that report on kiyosaki by john reed and if its all true then it doesnt make kiyosaki look too good. that of course doesnt mean that kiyosaki doesnt know how to invest in real estate, or how to teach others to.

i am aware that kiyosaki is involved in multi-level marketing. in some of his books he speaks about how MLM is a very profitable passive income field and how despite the fact many of these MLM companies are just pyramid schemes, many of them are legitimate and can produce wealth. however, i have never, ever seen kiyosaki mention any specific MLM companies he is involved with nor have i seen him try to sell any MLM startups to any of the public. this makes his MLM endeavours appear entirely legitimate.

did kiyosaki lie about his childhood? probably. does that mean he isnt a smart investor? not necessarily. all i know is that i read his books several years ago and those books not only taught me a tremendous deal about real estate and passive income, i actually enjoyed reading them because he is an entertaining writer. i still value alot of what ive read in those kiyosaki books in high regard because the information i have absorbed from those books have yet to be disproved in anyway, at least in my eyes.

also, who is john t reed? is he a respected author of some sort? all i know about him is that his website looks like this, while robert kiyosakis website looks like this.

BarkingMad · #8 08-30-2005, 03:16 PM

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also, who is john t reed? is he a respected author of some sort? all i know about him is that his website looks like this, while robert kiyosakis website looks like this.

[/ QUOTE ]

"Respected" is subjective. I can tell you that I respect his work, that he runs a successful self publishing business, and that he has provided the details of his real estate investment experience on his site. I have read books from both authors. Specifically, from Reed - Fixers, Deals that make sense, Aggressive tax avoidance for real estate investors, How to Buy Real Estate for at Least 20% Below Market Value Vol 1&2, and Fundamentals of Real Estate Finance.

From Kiyosaki - Rich dad poor dad, Cashflow quadrant, and ABC's of Real Estate Investing.

I'm a small time RE investor (I own two duplexes in addition to my house), and I trade stocks short term (with mixed results), so I actually have used some of the information in these books (well... Reed's books) and I can tell you from experience that the difference in the appearance of their websites mirrors the differences of their material. Specifically, Kiyosaki is 95% fluff and 5% substance, John Reed is 95% substance and 5% fluff.

By fluff, I mean the pep rally, motivational BS that is designed to get you excited about "getting on the fast track to wealth". This is what Kiyosaki is all about. He talks about real estate investing, using OPM to build wealth, and why you should run & track your personal finances like a business, but he gives virtually zero nuts and bolts information on the subject matter.

In contrast, John Reed is all about nuts and bolts how to. He writes with the assumption that the reader has already decided to take steps to increase their wealth, and focuses on specifics. Want to buy property for at least 20% below market? His book talks specifics, from Probate to IRS auctions, you get detailed info that actually tells you how to do it. Rather than a pep rally, he gives pro's and con's for most of the things he writes about.

My .02

DesertCat · #9 08-31-2005, 02:29 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I think the whole "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" thing is completely retarded. That book and "The Millionaire Next Door" are basically both handbooks on how to live a miserable life but die with some money in the bank.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is a poor interpretation of TMND as well. The only way to go from poverty, or middle class, to wealth, is to spend less than you make. It's a simple law, and the basis of TMND.

Now, you may not want to live as cheaply as some of the millionaires featured in TMND, but through out your life if you want to build wealth you will need to make important choices.

I have a friend who's live-time earnings are well in excess of $5M. He's close to filing personal bankruptcy because his living standards grew with his income, but when his income declined, he was unable to lower his living standards. If he had found a way to live on a mere $250,000 a year, he'd still be rich today.

The key lesson from TMND is to save money. Anyone at practically any income level can do it. As your income grows, try to hold back on buying more things, instead try to save more money. Increase your living standards carefully and wisely. You'll find the freedom having money in the bank much more enriching than a few extra toys.

DesertCat · #10 08-31-2005, 11:17 AM

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both handbooks on how to live a miserable life but die with some money in the bank.

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Oh, and one more thing. After I read TMND, I told my friend about it. At the time he still had the huge house, ferrari, range rover, mercedes, and golf club membership. He was constantly eating out at the best restaurants and traveling (first class all the way), dropping twenty grand every weekend trip to Vegas.

He laughed, and gave almost exactly the same response as you, "it sounds like how to live a miserable life". He now lives in a studio apartment.