Chapter Seven: Overcoming Obstacles
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difference in one’s life. The primary difference between a rich person
and a poor person is how they manage that fear.
It’s okay to be fearful. It’s okay to be a coward when it comes
to money. You can still be rich. We’re all heroes at something, and
cowards at something else. My friend’s wife is an emergency-room
nurse. When
she sees blood, she flies into action. When I mention
investing, she runs away. When I see blood, I don’t run. I pass out.
My rich dad understood phobias about money. “Some people are
terrified of snakes. Some people are terrified about losing money. Both
are phobias,” he would say. So his solution to the phobia of losing
money was this little rhyme: “If you hate risk and worry, start early.”
If you start young, it’s easier to be rich. I won’t go into it here,
but there is a staggering difference between a person who starts
investing at age 20 versus age 30. The purchase
of Manhattan Island
is said to be one of the greatest bargains of all time. New York was
purchased for $24 in trinkets and beads. Yet if that $24 had been
invested at 8 percent annually, that $24 would have been worth more
than $28 trillion by 1995. Manhattan could be repurchased with
money left over to buy much of Los Angeles.
But what if you don’t have much time left or would like to retire
early? How do you handle the fear of losing money?
My poor dad did nothing. He simply avoided the issue, refusing
to discuss the subject.
My
rich dad, on the other hand, recommended that I think
like a Texan. “I like Texas and Texans,” he used to say. “In Texas,
everything is bigger. When Texans win, they win big. And when
they lose, it’s spectacular.”
“They like losing?” I asked.
“That’s not what I’m saying. Nobody likes losing. Show me a happy
loser, and I’ll show you a loser,” said rich dad. “It’s a Texan’s attitude
toward risk, reward, and failure I’m talking about. It’s how they handle
life. They live it big. Not like
most of the people around here, living
like roaches when it comes to money, terrified that someone will shine
a light on them, and whimpering when the grocery clerk shortchanges
them a quarter.”
Rich Dad Poor Dad
131
Rich dad went on. “What I like best is the Texas attitude. They’re
proud when they win, and they brag when they lose. Texans have a
saying, ‘If you’re
going to go broke, go big.’ You don’t want to admit
you went broke over a duplex.”
He constantly told Mike and me that the greatest reason for lack
of financial success was because most people played it too safe. “People
are so afraid of losing that they lose” were his words.
Fran Tarkenton, a one-time great NFL quarterback, says it still
another way: “Winning means being unafraid to lose.”
In my own life, I’ve noticed that winning usually follows losing.
Before I finally learned to ride a bike, I first fell down many times.
I’ve never met a golfer who has never lost a golf ball. I’ve never met
people who have fallen in love who have never had their heart broken.
And I’ve never met someone rich who has never lost money.
So for most people, the reason they don’t
win financially is because
the pain of losing money is far greater than the joy of being rich.
Another saying in Texas is, “Everyone wants to go to heaven,
but no one wants to die.” Most people dream of being rich, but are
terrified of losing money. So they never
get to heaven.
Rich dad used to tell Mike and me
stories about his trips to Texas. “If you
really want to learn the attitude of how
to handle risk, losing,
and failure, go to
San Antonio and visit the Alamo. The
Alamo is a great story of brave people
who chose to fight, knowing there was no hope of success. They chose
to die instead of surrendering. It’s an inspiring story worthy of study.
Nonetheless, it’s still a tragic military defeat. They got their butts
kicked. So how do Texans handle failure? They still shout, ‘Remember
the Alamo!’”
Mike and I heard this story a lot. He always told us this story when
he was about to go into a big deal, and he was nervous. After he had
done all his due diligence and it
was time to put up or shut up, he told
us this story. Every time he was afraid of making a mistake or losing
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