What I have learned from the book "The Business of 21st Century by Robert Kiyosaki"

I recently got a chance to read a book by Robert Kiyosaki, an American businessman, and author. I thought this knowledge was worth sharing so I am publishing my notes and a brief review of this book. This book talks primarily about how you can start towards attaining financial freedom and champions Network Marketing to be an excellent starting point due to its flexibility and lack of dependency on capital. I hope this knowledge proves useful to you at some point in your life.

The author Robert T. Kiyosaki, starts with few excerpts of his early life wherein he talks about his rich dad (his friend’s dad), poor dad (his own dad), and their teachings and impact on his life. He lets us understand the life he has led so far, and how, his adamant take on changing his life made him who he is today, and why we as readers should read this book "The Business of 21st Century".ies

The Four Categories of Work :

If you know one thing about Robert Kiyosaki—OK, besides that he’s the guy who wrote Rich Dad Poor Dad—you certainly know his Cashflow Quadrant.

By his own admission, it may be “the most important writing” he’s ever done, because “it goes right to the heart of the crucial issues involved for people who are ready to make true changes in their lives.”

A strange thing to say about 4 letters inside a table which looks something like this:

First of all, each of these letters stands for one of the only four categories of people that exist on this planet – at least in the eyes of Kiyosaki:

E = Employee

S = Self-employed or Small-business owner

B = Business owner

I = Investor

Which one of them are you?

Or to use the words of Kiyosaki, which quadrant do you live in, aka how do you earn most of your money?

Need some help to decide?

Here we go:

The E Quadrant

You’re here if you belong to the overwhelming majority of people.

Or, to be more exact, you’re here if you’re happy enough to not belong in the zero-quadrant, also known as being unemployed. Unfortunately, at least according to Robert Kiyosaki, 19% of young white men living in the US between the ages of 18 and 25 cannot find a job.

It’s even worse for African Americans: a third of them face similar problems!

You, however, don’t. You work hard in a moderately successful company, and you believe that one day, your career will earn you just enough money to relax in the bliss of retirement.

The S Quadrant

Then again, maybe you’ve already migrated to the S quadrant.

Driven by your urge to earn more and to have more freedom, you decided to “fire your boss,” found a Startup, and become your own boss instead.

Unfortunately, this has backfired: now you have even less free time (because taking a day off means earning no money at all) and you can’t blame your boss for your problems (because that boss is you).

However, you feel that you’re better off than in the E quadrant.

At least slightly.

The B Quadrant

Of course, both the small business and the big business owners are self-employed.

However, the difference between the S quadrant and the B quadrant is straightforward: in the case of the latter, you’re not working for your company, but your company works for you.

The I Quadrant

Finally, the I quadrant, in which it is not your business which works for you anymore, but your money.

Though it seems something an E or an S guy would never have a go at, investing, says Kiyosaki, is “not rocket science.”

You already understand its essence from Monopoly: “four greenhouses, one red hotel.” All you need now is just a few books to master it.

E’s and S’s, This Book Is for You

Now that you’ve evaluated yourself, time to reveal to you the point of the test:

Kiyosaki’s The Business of the 21st Century is not for the I’s and neither for the B’s. It is about the E’s and the S’s.

And especially about those young people who haven’t decided yet whether they’ll live on the left or on the right side of Kiyosaki’s quadrant

The Value of Networking :

"As a network marketer, you might think your job is to demonstrate and sell a product. It’s not. Your job is to communicate information, to tell a great story, and build a network." Page 63.

“One Business—Eight Wealth-Building Assets” is basically what this book is all about because it is one thing to talk about concepts and theories and another to talk about a practical approach or a solution to financial freedom. Here we are introduced to network marketing as a way to start. John Fleming, a friend, and a person with 45 years of experience in network marketing helps us visualize the benefits of network marketing or multilevel direct sales. He explains, how the requirement of capital, makes the transition to B/I quadrant challenging and how network marketing leverages your time and not money instead. He also differentiates it from sales, as this is based on duplication rather than excellence or distinction. He talks about assets that generate income as opposed to active income (The income that one has to work/spend his time on). Finally, we get to explore 8 benefits or pros of network marketing but in doing so he terms them “assets”:

1. A Real-World Business Education
2. The author and John both explain how it provides one of the most practical business education which cannot be learned at any business school. One can get a financial education too as this is never taught. As John explains key essential elements of real-world education:

• An attitude of success
• Dressing for success
• Overcoming personal fears, doubts, and lack of confidence
• Overcoming the fear of rejection
• Communication skills
• People skills
• Time-management skills
• Accountability skills
• Practical goal-setting
• Money-management skills
• Investing skills

1. A Profitable Path of Personal Development
2. Here he talks more about how it helps you develop soft skills and changes your approach to life as a whole and makes you a better person.
3. A Circle of Friends Who Share Your Dreams and Values
4. Since it involves a network, the author here shows how it can help you make real connections with like-minded people, who would help you develop, as your goals are similar and not conflicting.
5. The Power of Your Own Network
6. The author shows us the power of the network and how powerful it is because of Metcalfe’s Law

v=n^2

Network’s output grows exponentially and not linearly.

1. A Duplicable, Fully Scalable Business
2. Here the author talks us through the how’s and why’s of network marketing. He explains the power of duplication of the essence of a scalable business and cites examples of Henry Ford and Edison for creating networks through simple and duplicatable designs.
3. Incomparable Leadership Skills
4. He also talks about leadership skills and their development through network marketing. He explains how helping and motivating others to achieve their goals creates a leader inside of you.
5. A Mechanism for Genuine Wealth Creation
6. Here the author gives his mantra of wealth creation and separates the idea of wealth and money. Wealth is measured in time and not money. Following is his four-step path to financial freedom:

• Build a business
• Reinvest in your business
• Invest in real estate
• Let your assets buy luxuries

1. Big Dreams and the Capacity to Live Them
2. Finally, the author stresses the value of dreams and also models different types of dreamers. He talks about how network marketing is an ideal path to start living a dream instead of just dreaming, though he stresses on this not being the only one.

There is also a section where his wife Kim Kiyosaki talks in a motivational tone about how women’s innate ability to connect with others makes them ideal and excel in the network marketing business.

In the final section titled “Your Future Starts Now”, the author finally sets us free with a piece of knowledge and few things to care while pursuing this path (i.e. entering into network marketing business).

• Who’s running the ship?
• Does the company offer a proven plan of action?
• Does the company embrace both business skills and personal development as a regular part of its educational and training programs?
• Does the company have a strong, high-quality, and highly marketable product line that you can be passionate about?

Things to keep in mind. The author also tells us that it takes no degree, no resignation from a regular job, no genius but plain honesty to achieve real wealth. He tells us how network marketing is a democratic way of wealth creation and it takes only persistence and sincerity towards one’s own dream to achieve it. He hopes for the readers to take a small step towards their happiness as real wealth creation is not just about money but the quality of life.