Response to John Reed Article
22 September 2006No Limits Ladies points out that there is a response to that John Reed article I referred to a couple of days ago criticizing Rich Dad, Poor Dad.
I should also clarify that while I think most of the investing advice Kiyosaki gives is wrong and dangerous for most people (I’m of the school that it’s very difficult to beat the average returns of the market over time, even if you’re an expert), I don’t think his suggestions about avoiding formal education in favor of entrepreneurship are necessarily wrong. I’ve posted before on why some people might not want to go to college anyway. I also don’t think that there’s nothing you can get out of the book or some of the stuff he suggests. Some people also have personalities that are much better suited to starting their own businesses, too. They may get rubbed the wrong way by having someone, anyone in a position of authority over them. That irks a lot of people, especially if you know more about what you’re doing than the boss does. They may like taking risks - and they may be good at it. Or they may have a very creative idea that would really make them a lot of money.
The problem I have is that in a lot of his writings, there’s an attitude that this is the only way to do things, and that there’s something wrong with the people who don’t. My guess, just from my experience with other people, is that very few of them could succeed as entrepreneurs. Mostly this is because they have some personality trait that keeps them from trying, taking the risks, or devoting the time they would need to do it. It’s not about intelligence or ability or even laziness - it’s about personality. That’s why I think different people need to be taking different financial approaches, and my guess is that in terms of sheer numbers, most people are better suited with a conservative strategy of investing in relatively safe stocks over a long period of time.
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