I was having this discussion with a friend on who is more likely to succeed – an employee or an entrepreneur.
To get more insight, I tried to look for people I actually know and see who are successful and try learn from their example.
Among people at work, the most successful are the employees able to climb the corporate ladder and thus receive big paychecks and bonuses. I think there are also those who made successes in their investments.
Among my friends from university, I think the most successful is an entrepreneur making money breeding and selling milkfish.
Among my friends from high school, I think the most successful is an entrepreneur who started a Funeral Homes business.
Among the parents of my friends from high school, I think the most successful are the entrepreneurs who own businesses manufacturing clothes, producing poultry feeds, breeding swines, lending money. I cannot even name a family who became rich working as employees for a company.
This is also true among people in my hometown. The biggest houses are either those owned by families with businesses or those who are married to retiring foreigners.
I knew there’s a whole book dedicated to this topic (Rich Dad, Poor Dad) and yes, I’ve read it already and yes, I’m convinced the entrepreneur (Rich Dad) is more likely to succeed.
At age 31, it’s becoming more obvious I am following the path of the Poor Dad. The formula is simple — study in a good university, then work for a good company. Until I retire, I need to work out strategies to get more and more pay.
A lot of people call it “climbing the corporate ladder”. Critics call it a “rat race”.
May the best rat win.
Filipino in Tokyo 
ay ambot! sabi ng umuwi kana sa bulacan! ^^
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are you not contented with what you have right now? is there no limit to the amount of wealth you want to amass? do you really feel you’re in the rat race? you’re making it sound like life is all about accumulating riches. it’s not.
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Haha! I didn’t intend in that article to sound like a selfish young man wanting more and more money. Hehe.These are just the things you end up discussing with your colleagues after experiencing a “clear and present danger” of losing your job after the company you work for went kaboosh. Hehe.I suggest you read the book first so we can be on the same page. 🙂
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You certainly did a great job leading me off with that article. And clearly, I despise greed LOL Yup, I’ve read the book. It’s actually gathering dust in my bookshelf 😀 As per our convesation, my character’s probably too “bright and sunny” for the ideas discussed in the book to apply to me. I live by the simple rules of (1) finding a job you love so it doesn’t feel like you’re working for money and (2) never spend beyond your means. Cheers 😀
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i was going to drop a comment like shirley’s. but then ‘men’ tend to do that – equate success with lots of money. but as for you rico, even withthe crisis, do you really, honestly believe you are heading the ‘poor dad’ direction?
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If I understand the book correctly, anyone who is working for somebody else and is expecting a salary at the end of the month, is heading the poor dad’s path.
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i don’t agree. just because you follow the “poor dad’s” path of getting a good education and getting employed doesn’t equate to spending the rest of your life in debt (is that what you mean by “heading the poor dad’s direction”?). not everybody wants to be an enterpreneur. and being an enterpreneur doesn’t mean living a debt free life either. businesses can go down. i know employees like you and me who are debt free even after buying a home, which is the biggest purchase regular people like us will make and will surely get us indebted. but as long as you stick to what you can afford and determined to pay it off, you don’t have to spend the rest of your life paying debt. the way i see it, it all comes down to wise budgeting and knowing the comfort level within your means.
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“Heading the poor dad’s path” doesn’t necessarily mean living in debt for the rest of your life. Hehehe.It just means heading the poor dad’s path as described by Robert Kiyosaki in his book.Remember, we are all just talking in the context of how Robert described his two dads in his book.
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dude, you lost me!i don’t know what you mean by “heading the poor dad’s direction” anymore. it seems like eons ago since i read the book and the only concept that jumps out from memory is “letting money work for you”. what’s wrong with getting a good education and being an employee? you don’t become as successful as an entrepreneur? that’s what you seem to be getting at in your blog. what’s success to you? unless you explain what you mean by that statement in accordance to the book (as that’s what you keep stressing here), in simple terms and not in financial lingo beyond my comprehension, i say “take a break, have fun and laugh!”. looks like you got pretty shaken up with the recent events and might have taken the ideas/concepts in the book a tad bit far. that or you’re not content/happy with what you have, which is worse, and on the lookout for something better. if it’s the latter, read stephen’s comment. 😀
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Hmmm. This is becoming more interesting. Hehe.Refresher on the book: The rich dad makes his money work for him. The poor dad works for money.Right now, I am working for money and am not (yet) making my money work for me, therefore I am following the path of the poor dad.Simple as that.I am not saying I’m poor. I am not saying I’m rich either. I am saying I am what Robert describes as a poor dad because I am working for money, just like his “poor” dad.
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So how are you “working for money” (I hate this term. Makes human sound like slave to money) and how does “money work for you”?
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you probably dont agree but i don’t think you’re heading towards the “poor dad’s direction”.what i’m about to write may not be in the context of RDPD but here’s my take on “letting money work for you”. as long as you’re not living from paycheck to paycheck, meaning your needs are met and you’re able to put away portion of your income to savings/investments which earns interest/generate income, then “money is working for you”. perhaps its not generating enough for you to be able to retire at 31 but in the long run, that should be enough for a comfortable retirement.there, i’ve finally conveyed my point. good luck in your pursuit of YOUR “rich dad’s direction”!
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see! you understand the concept of making your money work for you! :Donce i master that art, then i can say i am following the path of the rich dad.but for now, that’s not yet the case. 😀
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LOL I didn’t say I don’t understand. I was trying to grasp your perspective which clearly differed from mine, hence the question. Reading the same book doesn’t mean being on the same page 😀
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That is exactly why I was trying to always refer to the book because I was talking in the context of the book.He defined what his concept of “rich dad” and “poor dad” is and you cannot argue that I fall under HIS description of “poor dad”. You can’t.You may disagree with Robert but that doesn’t mean I don’t fall under HIS description of “poor dad”.
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so be it 😀
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hey rico, your exhange with shirley amuses me. i hope that is not the only kind of book you are reading. these books encourage money oriented lifestyle, there is nothing wrong with that except too much of that may bring imbalance in your life.
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That’s true. Books can open our minds to different ideas from different people from different backgrounds.What kind of books do you read? 😀
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the kind of books I read – those with at most 10 pages, with at most 15 words per page in big bold fonts and it comes with colorful glossy pictures usually featuring Elmo and Big Bird. 😉 you really had to ask?…truthfully, i don’t mind ‘poor dad’ lifestyle. my father’s a ‘poor dad’ and looks like hubby is headed that path too for our kid(s) according to that book you are reading. but what the heck, we get by. we don’t have everything we want materially, but we have more than we need.
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I think the reason why I tend to favor the path of the “rich dad” is because my parents followed that path and I saw how good it is.They’re not really rich as in Bill Gates rich but they are in control of their own lives. They control their own time, they are always home for us and I believe they were able to provide us with just enough for us to live relatively comfortable lives.I think this comment deserves a whole blog entry all to itself. Hehe.
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