PART 1 | CHAPTER 4 | LESSON #4 FREE Windows of Learning PREVIEW ® “Everyone is born a genius, but the process of life de-geniuses them.” – R. Buckminster Fuller Dedication To parents... a child’s first and most important teachers “When I was five years old my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. “When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. 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Contents Introduction Awaken Your Child’s Financial Genius ...................................... 1 Part One Are Schools Preparing Your Child for the Real World? ....................... 11 Introduction to Part One ................................................................................. 13 Chapter One Lesson #1: An Educational Crisis ......................................................................... 15 Chapter Two Lesson #2: The Fairytale Is Over ........................................................................... 31 Chapter Three Lesson #3: Prepare Your Child for the Worst ........................................................ 47 Chapter Four Lesson #4: Windows of Learning .......................................................................... 75 Chapter Five Lesson #5: Why Valedictorians Fail .................................................................... 107 Chapter Six Lesson #6: Why Rich People Go Broke .............................................................. 117 Chapter Seven Lesson #7: Why Geniuses Are Generous ............................................................. 149 Chapter Eight Lesson #8: The Entitlement Mentality ................................................................ 171 Part Two Another Point of View .................................................................... 199 Introduction to Part Two ............................................................................... 201 Chapter Nine Another Point of View on Intelligence ................................................................. 209 Chapter Ten Another Point of View on Report Cards .............................................................. 217 Chapter Eleven Another Point of View on Greed ......................................................................... 235 Contents Chapter Twelve Another Point of View on Debt ........................................................................... 255 Chapter Thirteen Another Point of View on Taxes .......................................................................... 269 Chapter Fourteen Another Point of View on Words ........................................................................ 283 Chapter Fifteen Another Point of View on God and Money ......................................................... 307 Part Three Give Your Child an Unfair Advantage.......................................... 319 Introduction to Part Three ............................................................................. 321 Chapter Sixteen The 10 Unfair Advantages of a Financial Education ............................................ 327 Part Four Graduate School for Capitalists ..................................................... 349 Introduction to Part Four .............................................................................. 351 Chapter Seventeen Be the Fed ........................................................................................................... 357 Chapter Eighteen How I Print My Own Money .............................................................................. 363 Final Thoughts ................................................................................................. 379 Epilogue ............................................................................................................ 391 Meet the Lannon Family ................................................................................ 393 Meet the McElroy Family ............................................................................... 395 Bonus Sections ................................................................................................. 401 Rich Dad Poor Dad for Teens Rich Dad’s Escape the Rat Race Glossary ............................................................................................................ 445 Resources ........................................................................................................... 453 Introduction Awaken Your Child’s Financial Genius “ Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” – Albert Einstein Introduction Whenever I think about writing a new book I ask myself: Why am I writing this book? For me, the answer has always been simple, and always the same. I have always wondered why money is not a subject taught in school. Day after day, our teachers drummed this into our heads: “Go to school to get a job. If you don’t go to school, you won’t get a good job.” Why Go to School? This caused me to ask my teachers, “Isn’t the reason for getting a job to make money? If money is the objective for getting a job, why not get right to the point and just teach us about money?” My question was never answered. The Emperor Has No Clothes The Emperor’s New Clothes is a Danish fairytale written by Hans Christian Andersen, published in 1837. The Plot: Once upon a time, there lived an emperor who cared only about his clothes and about showing them off. One day two con men came to him and said that they could make him the finest suit of clothes from the most beautiful cloth. This cloth, they said, was very special. The cloth was invisible to the stupid and the low-born. Being a bit nervous about whether he himself would be able to see the cloth the emperor first sent two of his trusted advisors to see this special 3 Introduction material. There was, of course, no cloth at all, but neither would admit that they could not see it and so they praised it. As word of this special cloth spread, all the townspeople were now interested to learn how stupid their neighbors were. The emperor then allowed himself to be dressed by the con men in his special new suit, made of this special cloth, for the procession through town. Although he knew he was naked, he never admitted it for fear that he was too unfit and stupid to see that he was wearing nothing. He also was afraid that the townspeople would think that he was stupid. Of course, all the townspeople wildly praised the magnificent clothes of the emperor, themselves afraid to admit that they could not see the clothes, until a small child said: “But he has nothing on!” The child’s parents gasped and attempted to silence the child, but the child would not be silenced. As he twisted and turned, pulling his parents hands from his mouth, he continued to say, “The emperor is naked!” Soon, a few of his classmates were giggling and joined in. After awhile, adults joined their children and began to whisper, “The kids are right! The old guy has nothing on. He’s a fool and he expects us to be foolish with him.” What Americans Really Want In his 2009 book, What Americans Really Want… Really, Dr. Frank Luntz, a respected pollster who measures the heartbeat of America, asked this survey question: If you had to choose, would you prefer to be a business owner or CEO of a Fortune 500 Company? Those questioned responded with the following: 80% The owner of a business that employs 100 or more people. 14% The CEO of a Fortune 500 Company that employs more than 10,000 people. 6% Don’t know/refused to answer. 4 Why “A” Students Work for “C” Students In other words, Americans today want to be entrepreneurs. The problem is that our school system is training our kids to be employees. This is why schoolteachers and many parents continue to say, “Go to school to get a good, high-paying job.” Few parents or teachers are saying, “Go to school to learn to create good, high-paying jobs.” There is a tremendous difference between the skill sets of an employee and the skill sets of an entrepreneur. The skills required to be an entrepreneur are not taught in most schools. Dr. Luntz found that over 70 percent of full-time, corporate employees are considering or have considered starting their own businesses. Many people dream of becoming entrepreneurs, but few will take the leap of faith. The lack of financial education is the primary reason why most people will remain employees. Without a financial education, most employees are terrified of losing their jobs, not having a steady paycheck, or simply failing. Financial education and the transformation it delivers are essential for entrepreneurs. Forget MBAs Dr. Luntz goes on to state: “So how to equip a generation of Americans for success in entrepreneurship? Forget about MBAs. Most business schools teach