Lazy People Don't Get Rich

Yahoo! Finance ^ | August 8, 2006 | Robert Kiyosaki

[stainlessbanner]

Allow me to be politically incorrect: The No. 1 reason people aren't rich is because they're lazy. This is purely my opinion and no one else's, and I have no scientific proof to back it up.

Why the sudden honesty? I'll tell you.

The Best Policy?

One of the things I loved most about the Marine Corps was that I never had to worry about what anyone was thinking. When I was preparing to be an officer, there was no sensitivity training. When superior officers spoke to you, they didn't have to wrap their words in ribbons and bows, and didn't worry about hurting anyone's feelings.

In fact, we often went out of our way to hurt others' feelings just to test their core toughness. (I'd repeat some of the more choice comments I've treasured over the years, but I'm not writing for a military audience.)

When I returned from the war and entered the civilized world of business, I was shocked by the phoniness, the covert hostility (disguised as caring), and the fake smiles that are rampant to this day. It's been over 30 years since I was discharged from the Marines, and I still haven't adjusted.

Today, I'm still hesitant to let my employees know exactly what I'm not satisfied with for fear of being sued, or to compliment a pretty woman for fear of being accused of sexual harassment.

But I'm happy to say that things are changing. We now have reality TV instead of Father Knows Best, a phony show about fake family harmony from my era. Today, commentators like Bill Maher and Jon Stewart rip into politicians under the guise of humor.

We also have Donald Trump, who has millions of people from all over the world tuning in just to hear him say the magic words "you're fired" to an apprentice wannabe. And of course there's Simon Cowell of American Idol, the critic of all critics, whose book of brutally honest dismissals I was recently tempted to buy.

An Honest Assessment

All of this overt honesty, while sometimes contrived, encourages me to be more honest about my favorite subject -- getting rich, and who's most likely to do so.

Most of you who follow my books and this column know how I make my money. First of all, I'm an entrepreneur. I've been starting companies since I was a kid. I never wanted to be an employee -- I always wanted to be in control. I didn't want someone like me telling me what to do. Consequently, I now have companies, agencies, or strategic partners all over the world.

Second, I love real estate. Not only do I think it's the best investment in the world, I can prove it. What other investment is there that has bankers lining up to lend you money? They won't lend you millions of dollars for years at a time to buy stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. And what other investment will your insurance company insure against losses? Surely not mutual funds or a 401(k).

Third, I love commodities like oil and gas. Why do I love them? Because they're in short supply and in great demand. Wars have been fought over oil and gas for years. What do you think the war in Iraq is about?

Finally, I've loved gold and silver for years. Why? Because I don't trust the U.S. government to be good stewards of money. As you may know, the Bush administration has printed more funny money -- over a trillion dollars' worth -- in six years than all past U.S. presidents combined.

Wars have been fought over gold and silver, too. Why do you think the Incas lost their empire to the Spaniards, or the American Indians lost their land to the European settlers? The conquerors may have said that they were acting in the name of God, but remember -- there's only a single letter's difference between "God" and "gold."

No More Political Correctness

The recent outbreak of honesty also inspires me to be more forthcoming in general, and less politically correct. This is the web, after all, where honesty is respected, not suppressed, censored, or forced to be "sensitive" like our old, more traditional forms of media.

You wouldn't be reading Yahoo! Finance if you weren't serious about being rich or becoming rich. So I owe it to you to be more truthful. And I'm not worried about offending the financial losers of the world, because financial losers don't read this column.

So, rather than tell you week after week about real estate, entrepreneurship, gold, silver, oil, and gas, I've decided to occasionally run a less-than-politically-correct column and tell you exactly what I think about the subject of getting rich.

The L Words

It's in this spirit that I opened by saying that lazy people don't get rich. I also said that the difference between "God" and "gold" is a simple "L" -- as in "lazy," or "looting." The conquistadors who looted the Inca Empire in the name of God weren't lazy. They were thugs with guns, but they had ambition.

Another word that begins with "L" is "loser." Over the years, I've met many losers who pray to God to give them gold. They'll never get it that way because, as the Sunday school I went to taught me, God helps those who help themselves. Again, the conquistadors may have been killers and thieves, but at least they knew how to help themselves.

I do, too. As some of you may be aware, I wasn't born rich. And I've written openly about my failures as an entrepreneur and my losses as an investor. I haven't hidden my horror stories. The reason I don't keep them secret is because my failures are the best learning experiences of my life. We learn by making mistakes -- except in school, where we're punished for making mistakes. This may be why most schoolteachers aren't rich.

I'm not recommending that you become an ambitious looter, as Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling were convicted of being. I only want to point out that if you're not a lazy loser, you may find yourself with more gold in your life without having to resort to looting.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

Another word that begins with "L" is "loser." , i.e., the author of this trite piece of ess.

[BikerGold]

It's in this spirit that I opened by saying that lazy people don't get rich. I also said that the difference between "God" and "gold" is a simple "L" -- as in "lazy," or "looting."

Stainless!!!...this is g-oo--oo-oo-oo-ood!

Remember the FReepeer Ff--150 who kept being shuttled to the icebox at the county charity hospital? Who had credit collectors parading in and out of his house, wondering how they were going to get that freebie, starting up his truck and looking under the hood to appraise what they would get for that Ford?

He always ranted about giving to the Lord through Benny Hinn, TBN, Kenneth Copeland etc.

That old cripple with the cancer-ravaged face is freakin' rich! His kids are set. Isn't life whacko!???

He's thinking about planting culms of giant black bamboo because they will be good fodder after this drought has run its course in a few years.

[yoe]

As you may know, the Bush administration has printed more funny money -- over a trillion dollars' worth -- in six years than all past U.S. presidents combined.

Want to back that up with fact? No mention is made of the rampant counterfeiting of US dollars done by Korea, China and who knows who else - counterfeiting so perfect the real McCoy is almost a has been.

[Maneesh]

The responses to this thread prove Kiyosaki's point. Most people are too lazy to do the work to get rich and will vilify anyone who discusses true principles of wealth creation to justify their own situation. 95% of all Americans at age 65 are not financially independent and rely on a combination of kids or the govt to survive. These are verifiable facts. Putting the author down does not change the facts. Most Americans today are too comfortable and too lazy and have lost the work ethic that made this the greatest country in the world. How else do you explain LEGAL immigrants come here with nothing and no contacts and on less than 10 years create wealth which native Americans do not because they are lazy. I am an example of exactly what I said. Like the author I clearly state that this does not apply to all Americans but certainly to the vast majority. Instead of discussing the merits of the author's argument the easiest thing to do is to trash the author.

In this specific area I find a lot of conservatives are just like liberals, all emotional and attack the messenger instead of discussing the merits of the argument.

[Pukin Dog]

You dont have to like the guy, but your post is a complete lie and a slander against Kiyosaki. He is in no form or fashion involved in multi-level marketing. As for Ziglar, he made his money from motivational speaking. Again, you are simply wrong.

There seems to be a lot of hostility on this thread. It would be nice if one of you had a single fact at your disposal to use in your arguments.

You may not appreciate the Bush bashing, but if you care to investigate, what he said about money printed during this administration, you will find it to be true.

It is also true that lazy people dont get rich, so I dont know what all the fuss is about.

[Pukin Dog]

In this specific area I find a lot of conservatives are just like liberals, all emotional and attack the messenger instead of discussing the merits of the argument.

Amen, brother.

[Maneesh]

I was waiting for this, I knew some malcontent would trash Kiyosaki because he prmotes network marketing which is part of the direct sales industry that does close to $40 billion a year in the USA alone (obviously it does not work !). How about refuting the actual content of the article instead of trashing the messanger ? In this area a lot of conservatives are just like liberals, no logic and all emotion.

[RexBeach]

Who is the a**hole who wrote this piece? I am supposed to know who he is? He sure writes that way.

[OneWingedShark]

"This guy's Sunday school deviated from Scripture. That clause appears nowhere in the Bible. It originated with Ben Franklin."

Really, Franklin? I didn't know that.

While that isn't a biblical quote it does have an element of truth to it. Look at all the people Jesus healed in his ministry: the man with the withered arm, the lepers begging to be cleansed, the paralyzed man who had his friends lower him through a roof, the man at the pool, the woman with the blood issue seven years, the faith-filled centurion, the "good thief"...

Those people all did something trying to get Jesus to heal them. I think of it's intent as being analogous to the "then you need to want to do something about it" part of those addiction seminars.

But, the ultimate reason that I don't particularly like that quote is because of how easily twisted to mean something entirely different, how out-of-context it can be taken.

[dinoparty]

LOL, you are just mad because some of us don't care how much money you have and don't care how you made it. Good for you, but I'll pass.

[Pukin Dog]

Will it be you or I who explains the difference between Network Marketing and Multi-Level Marketing? Can you believe some of these responses?

[Mr. Jeeves]

You wouldn't be reading Yahoo! Finance if you weren't serious about being rich or becoming rich.

Those who are serious about becoming rich aren't wasting their time reading shallow articles in Yahoo! Finance. ;)

[dennisw]

Robert Kiyosaki is the author. He was on PBS last night. He appears to have his own show. I flipped the channel. The guy's a pant load

[dennisw]

Kiyosaki clown is on PBS. Does this mean anything to you

[stainlessbanner]

I'm too lazy to read the whole article....j/k

[Egon]

Wow. Rarely have I seen such a load of Liberal crap.

Ironically, it's not found in the article, but in most of the responses.

[Pukin Dog]

This entire thread means nothing to me. It only displays how in some ways, we who call ourselves conservative can be just as brain-dead as those on the other side. I see no reason to pursue this thread, when so many choose to speak out of ignorance.

[dakine]

Ok...