Don't Waste Money On Motivational Books
A few years ago, when I just graduated from college I was doing okay and making decent pay. However, I was clueless about the 401(k) and stock options my company offered. I did not take advantage of the stock options, which luckily turned out to be a good thing because the company stock went from $20 a share to $0.01 a share before it was bought out. And I was fortunate to know to put in my 401(k) as much as my employer would match.
The Motivation
Then one day, a friend was going on and on about this bestseller, Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. I felt obliged to check it out. After reading the book, I felt inspired. I was so impressed by the book, I bought two other Robert Kiyosaki books, Guide to Investing and Own Your Own Corporation.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad compares two individuals — one well-educated but poor dad (Robert Kiyosaki's actual dad), the other rich eight-grade dropout — and how their lives influenced Robert. The book emphasizes the importance of getting out of the rat race that we are all entangled in. It also suggests acquiring income-generating assets to achieve financial independence. I thought the book was great. It got me started thinking seriously about my financials. However, the next two books I found lacked substance. They barely scratched the surface of the subjects. Disappointed, I found myself doing research online and I managed to learn more online than from the books.
The Humble Beginnings
I must say I was formally introduced to investing through the Motley Fool website, which I still visit regularly hoping to pick up some new wise advices. It was via the Fools that I found out where to get more information, what books to read, and how to begin investing. Since then I have read some very good books about investing including Benjamin Graham's The Intelligent Investor.
Today, when I flip through any of Robert Kiyosaki's books I could not find anything that would have helped me get to where I am today (not that I'm rich or anything, I just know more). I understand why some would consider Robert Kiyosaki a fraud. I realized Robert's true source of income is really from his books, not investing as he claimed. Even so, I have to give him credit for inspiring me to take the first step towards financial freedom. For that, I'm eternally grateful.
Motivational Books Are Cancerous
Nonetheless, I'd advise those of you who are just starting out not to spend money on motivational books. In particular, avoid those with words like "rich", "millionaire", "wealth" and "quick" in the titles as you would cancer. If you find anything in the synopsis on the back of the cover that suggests you could get rich by reading this book, tear the book into shreds and burn it. These books are no different from commercials you see on late night tv promising you $5,000 a month working from home. The only difference is they sell you the books without the motivational cassettes and colorful brochures that you can fold into paper fans.
If you really, really have to buy a book to get you fired up about investing then go ahead, buy one. It doesn't matter which one you get as long as it gets you into the spirit of investing. Once you are motivated, give it to your friend who needs the motivation. But don't you dare buy another motivational book again! This book shall be your first and last. Why? Because if you buy more and more motivational books it simply means you haven't the slightest idea what investing means. And you deserve to die poor, in an abandoned hell hole infested with rats. Meanwhile, authors like Robert Kiyosaki would be driving around in his flashy Porsche purchased with all the money you spent on his books. Yeah, I probably paid for two full tanks of gas for his car when I bought those three damned books.
Start By Investing In Good Books
My point of this post is treat books like any other investments; spend your hard-earned money wisely. Don't let it go to waste just so you can read stories you want to hear. The authors of these motivational books know exactly what kind of stories you want to hear and you're willing to pay for them. Everybody wants to know the get rich quick formula. I hate to break it to you, but there is none. These authors are feeding off our one big weakness — the desire for quick and simple solutions for everything in life. Fortune magazine recently published an article questioning the effectiveness of these books.
If you would like to learn more about investing, start by investing in good books. The Motley Fool has an excellent list of top investing books of all time. About.com also has a list. Read them like you would a bible. These books will serve you well throughout your career as an investor. And the nice thing about them is the content may be old, but their principles are timeless. You can pass them off to your children and grandchildren and they would still benefit from the books.
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I like your post's content better than the title. I didn't think I'd agree with you, but I do. I have to say though, (I'm a CFP), when I deal with clients who want to start their own business and be their own personal managers I send them to get a copy of Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I do think it's an important book. But, you're right, you learn nothing about investing from it. It's more like a mindset. It did inspire me to start three businesses (all profitable) starting when I was 23. All in all, great post.
hey fatboy,
I disagree with you on several points regarding motivational books. Your comment about motivational books being cancerous is hilarious and ridiculous. How could you write such stuff?
Please see my post Financial Maturity Blog"
dledge, thanks.
Monty, you have some valid points. There are many other ways one can get motivated, not just through books/cassettes/videos. Reading mm's financial journey can be motivating. It's all about being able to relate to someone else's success. Most of us are nobodies. When we read about one of us going from nobody to a millionaire, we'd think "Hey, I can do that too." In any case, my suggestion is to do whatever it takes to get motivated. But don't go overboard.
What I don't want people to do is to get into this cycle: uninspired -> buy book -> motivated -> do nothing -> uninspired -> buy book -> motivated -> do nothing...
And this is exactly what you are encouraging people to do. When you keep buying more and more motivational books, guess who gets rich? The authors, not you.
Motivational books are not educational. The books feed people stories they want to hear. And the sad truth is people are always hungry for stories they want to hear, including yours truly.
Finally, like I said in my article, Robert Kiyosaki did not achieve his wealth through what he preaches. He did so through selling books to people like you and myself. I have included a link to John T Reed's extensive review of Robert Kiyosaki here as well as my article: http://www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html
Choose your sources of knowledge carefully.
Here's what I've learned about people. They're either interested or they're not. Unmotivated people who read a motivational book are wasting their time. Sometimes business just doesn't motivate some people. Motivated people do really well to read motivational books.
I'm just not sure how an unmotivated person knows whether or not he's motivated unless he wastes some money on trying books etc.
As I wrote in my blog,... of course.. motivational book sellers are in business to sell books. Just as every other supplier in the world is. They want to hook you in and sell you more. If you're not getting value from a book series, don't buy it.
fatboy... if Robert Kiyosaki didn't retire with real estate in 1994 as he claimed... how did he retire? Obviously he made tons of money on his books, but I was to understand that he spent a long 10 years building up his real estate empire.
I'm interested to talk about this.. it's a good discussion.
Financial Maturity Blog
BTW... fatboy... why the animosity on Robert Kiyosaki from JohnTReed.com?
Robert Kiyosaki is just another cheer leader for the "American Way".
Most Motivational people in the U.S. are start from the bottom hucksters who know how to tell a good story. They just work hard and sell people on themselves. Robert Kiyosaki is no different.
Tony Robbins started from the bottom. The only thing credible about Tony robbins is his incredible personality. He's got some neat philosophies, but he's got an even stronger self promotion skill.
People need to be motivated to strive for the often empty "American Dream"
