Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsA very important, new perspective
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 16, 2014
Before purchasing this book for my kindle (and the related Audible audiobook), I read many of the reviews that talk about how this particular book is mostly a re-hash of prior information. As someone who has read/listened to Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Cashflow Quadrant, and Rich Dad's Guide to Investing, I therefore made the purchase with some degree of skepticism. However, considering the priceless value that I derived from the first three books of the five book series (I have not read or listened to Rich Kid Smart Kid yet, book four) meant that even if this were a complete fumble, I would still be way ahead overall.
I just finished this book and am pleased to say that I completely disagree with anyone who says this is a "re-hash" of prior books or information. While Kiyosaki does recount some of the same stories and experiences as in prior books, it is critical to note that the purpose for doing so and the perspective from which the reader should view the story is very different.
I believe Kiyosaki's purpose in writing this book is to try to "get through" to many of the people who "don't get it" after reading Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Cashflow Quadrant, or Rich Dad's Guide to Investing. He does this by focusing like a laser on two main ideas: The idea of "context" versus "content" and the power of leverage. These two themes permeate the book and if you read/listen with an open mind, and truly internalize what Kiyosaki is trying to communicate, you will realize that this book just may be the most important of the entire series.
Kiyosaki explains that the idea of becoming rich, or traversing the proverbial looking glass from the world of the poor and middle class to the world of the rich, is impossible to comprehend from a poor or middle class world view. A person's world view (where money is concerned) defines the limit of their potential. All of the "how tos" and "guide books" of what people did to become rich are worthless if your mind is unable to view the world of money in the proper perspective. He says it is like water being poured into a glass, where the water is "content" or "knowledge" and the glass is "context" or "perspective." Keep pouring water into a small vessel and it simply spills over and is lost. This book is designed to help people expand their context to the point where some of the content that is also described in this book becomes useful.
Kiyosaki attempts to bridge this gap by describing many of the different types of "leverages" that the rich use to get richer. Beginning with a description of how "good debt" can be leveraged to great effect (and contrasting and comparing how achieving the same investment objectives with equity is much much slower), Kiyosaki demonstrates how the use of different types of leverage results in "quantum" or "exponential" growth in income as opposed to "incremental" income growth. Among the other types of leverages discussed, Kiyosaki describes with great persuasiveness how the rich use leverage to earn money in the stock market by using options trading techniques.
In my own personal opinion, this is the most important book in the series because Kiyosaki makes it clear -- and this is the absolute truth from my own experience -- that the ONLY way to retire young and retire rich is to prepare your mind, your body, and your soul to imagine a world where there is no risk and where money can be conjured from thin air. If you believe this Otherworld is impossible, then it is. If you can imagine such a world, and take the time to look for it, then maybe you too can Retire Young and Retire Rich.
Two thumbs up, Five Stars, this book will have a dramatic, lasting impact on this writer. I am eternally indebted to Robert Kiyosaki for the knowledge he has shared in all of his books (as well as the Rich Dad Advisor Series books that I've read), and I believe that he has done the world a great service by selflessly sharing the lessons from his rich dad that led him into great wealth and financial freedom.
