Rich Dad Poor Dad
Robert T. Kiyosaki
CHAPTER FOUR
Lesson Three: Mind Your Own Business
In 1974, Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's, was asked to speak to the MBA class at the
University of Texas at Austin. A dear friend of mine, Keith Cunningham, was a student in that
MBA class. After a powerful and inspiring talk, the class adjourned and the students asked Ray if
he would join them at their favorite hangout to have a few beers. Ray graciously accepted.
“What business am I in?”
Ray asked, once the group had all their beers in hand.
“Everyone laughed,” said Keith. “Most of the MBA students thought Ray was just fooling
around.”
No one answered, so Ray asked the question again. “What business do you think I'm in?”
The students laughed again, and finally one brave soul yelled out, “Ray, who in the world does
not know that you're in the hamburger business.”
Ray chuckled. “That is what I thought you would say.” He paused and then quickly said, 'ladies
and
gentlemen, I'm not in the hamburger business. My business is real estate."
Keith said that Ray spent a good amount of time explaining his viewpoint. In their business plan,
Ray knew that the primary business focus was to sell hamburger franchises, but what he never
lost sight of was the location of each franchise. He knew that the real estate and its location was
the most significant factor in the success of each franchise. Basically, the person that bought the
franchise was also paying for, buying, the land under the franchise for Ray Kroc's organization.
McDonald's today is the largest single owner of real estate in the world, owning even more than
the Catholic Church. Today, McDonald's owns some of the most valuable intersections and
street
corners in America, as well as in other parts of the world.
Keith said it was one of the most important lessons in his life. Today, Keith owns car washes,
but his business is the real estate under those car washes.
The previous chapter ended with the diagrams illustrating that most people work for everyone
else but themselves. They work first for the owners of the company, then for the government
through taxes, and finally for the bank that owns their mortgage.
As a young boy, we did not have a McDonald's nearby. Yet, my rich dad was responsible for
teaching Mike and me the same lesson that Ray Kroc talked about at the University of Texas. It
is secret No. 3 of the rich.
The secret is: "Mind your own business/' Financial struggle is often directly the result of
people
working all their life for someone else. Many people will have nothing at the end of their
working days.
Again, a picture is worth a thousand words. Here is a diagram of the income statement and
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Rich Dad Poor Dad
Robert T. Kiyosaki
balance sheet that best describes Ray Kroc's advice:
Most people
Your Profession ->
Your Income
The Rich
Your Assets -> Your Income
Our current educational system focuses on preparing today's youth to get good jobs by
developing scholastic skills. Their lives will revolve around their wages, or as described earlier,
their income column. And after developing scholastic skills, they go on to higher levels of
schooling to enhance their professional abilities. They study to become engineers, scientists,
cooks, police officers, artists, writers and so on. These professional skills allow them to enter the
workforce and work for money.
There is a big difference between your profession and your business. Often I ask people, “What
is your business?” And they will say, “Oh I'm a banker.” Then I ask them if they own the bank?
And they usually respond. “No, I work there.”
In that instance, they have confused their profession with their business. Their profession may
be a banker, but they still need their own business. Ray Kroc was clear on the difference
between his profession and his business. His profession was always the same. Me was a
salesman. At one time he sold mixers for milkshakes, and soon thereafter he was selling
hamburger franchises- But while his profession was selling hamburger franchises, his business
was the accumulation of income-producing real estate.
A problem with school is that you often become what you study. So if you study, say, cooking,
you become a chef. If you study the law, you become an attorney, and a study of auto
mechanics makes you a mechanic. The mistake in becoming what you study is that too many
people forget to mind their own business. They spend their lives minding someone else's
business and making that person rich.
To become financially secure, a person needs to mind their own business. Your business
revolves around your asset column, as opposed to your income column. As stated earlier, the
No. 1 rule is to know the difference between an asset and a liability, and to buy assets. The rich
focus on their asset columns while everyone else focuses on their income statements.
That is why we hear so often: “I need a raise.” “If only I had a promotion.” “I am going to go
back to school to get more training so I can get a better job.” “I am going to work overtime.”
“Maybe I can get a second job.” “I'm quitting in two weeks. I found a job that pays more.”
In some circles, these are sensible ideas. Yet, if you listen to Ray Kroc, you are still not minding
your own business. These ideas all still focus on the income column and will only help a person
become more financially secure if the additional money is used to purchase income-generating
assets.
The primary reason the majority of the poor and middle class are fiscally conservative-which
means. “I can't afford to take risks”-is that they have no financial foundation. They have to cling
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