November 2007 Archives
The book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, written by Robert Kiyosaki, was the first book I read on the subject of investing. I’ve never thought of it as an incredibly well-written book, but it did get me thinking about money.
The three most valuable lessons I learned from reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad are:
- Assets make you money. Liabilities cost you money. To be rich, buy assets and avoid liabilities.
- Most decisions about money are driven by the emotions of fear and desire. Learn to make rational decisions.
- The more I know about something, the less risky my decisions become.
I believe these are incredibly valuable lessons to have learned. Notice, however, that I didn’t say anything about real estate. There is quite a bit about real estate and owning your own business in the book, but there isn’t really enough to act on. In fact, this was somewhat frustrating. I purchased two more of his books and his CashFlow 101 game, which I really like. The books started to get repetitive, so I stopped buying them.
Today, I stumbled on a thoroughly researched criticism of the book and it’s author by John Reed. Reed argues extensively that Kiyosaki is making up some of the major stories in the book and giving dangerous advice in others. I found his arguments and evidence pretty convincing.
However, I needed to learn those lessons. And it was better to do it by reading someone else’s experiences than to learn it myself the hard way. I still like the book, but would like to find a better one to recommend — one that doesn’t have ethical issues.
In the meantime, Rich Dad, Poor Dad is still one of the best books on higher-level thinking about finances and money. When I find a better book, I’ll be sure to mention it.
This is a fascinating article about a guy who is finding evidence of a massive flood about 5,000 years ago.
Masse’s biggest idea is that some 5,000 years ago, a 3-mile-wide ball of rock and ice swung around the sun and smashed into the ocean off the coast of Madagascar. The ensuing cataclysm sent a series of 600-foot-high tsunamis crashing against the world’s coastlines and injected plumes of superheated water vapor and aerosol particulates into the atmosphere. Within hours, the infusion of heat and moisture blasted its way into jet streams and spawned super-hurricanes that pummeled the other side of the planet. For about a week, material ejected into the atmosphere plunged the world into darkness. All told, up to 80 percent of the world’s population may have perished, making it the single most lethal event in history.
I’m always tickled when evidence turns up to support a position opposite that of the prevailing theory of the day. This guy decided to investigate why there are so many stories about a major destructive event in the stories and oral histories of so many cultures and is starting to find hard evidence.
Here are some more very good YouTube videos about Ron Paul. The first is an interview where Paul describes his foreign policy. The second is a clip of him on the Tonight show with Jay Leno, where he got a standing ovation.
It’s interesting and encouraging to me that a Republican presidential candidate is getting support and interest from Jay Leno and Bill Maher by running on traditional Republican values. I should clarify that by “traditional,” I mean historical. It shows that Paul’s message of freedom and limited government has incredibly broad appeal.
Again, the more I learn, the more I like Ron Paul.
Cheryl has a great sense of humor. Today, Tyler was being silly and asking Cheryl lots of questions he thought were funny. To one of them, Cheryl had what I thought was an incredible answer:
Tyler: “Why did the tree turn into a monster?”
Cheryl, eyes lighting up: “Um…. Because he didn’t want to be all bark and no bite?”
