MORE INFORMATION YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO LIVE WITHOUT PROSPER! SECOND EDITION How to Prepare for the Future and Create a World Worth Inheriting CHRIS MARTENSON, P H D & ADAM TAGGART Prosper! is also available as a Paperback, Audiobook or Kindle eBook. Prosper! is also available as a Paperback, Audiobook or Kindle eBook. MORE INFORMATION YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO LIVE WITHOUT PROSPER! SECOND EDITION How to Prepare for the Future and Create a World Worth Inheriting CHRIS MARTENSON, P H D & ADAM TAGGART Prosper! is also available as a Paperback, Audiobook or Kindle eBook. This publication is designed to provide competent and reliable information regarding the subject matter covered. However, it is sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering legal, financial, or other professional advice. Laws and practices often vary from state to state and country to country and if legal or other expert assistance is required, the services of a professional should be sought. The author and publisher specifically disclaim any liability that is incurred from the use or application of the contents of this book. About the stories in this book: stories that list a person by first and last name are stories of actual individuals who have agreed to share lessons they have learned with our readers. If you purchase this book without a cover you should be aware that this book may have been stolen property and reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher. In such case neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.” Copyright © 2017 by Chris Martenson and Adam Taggart. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the US Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a database or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America Second Edition: 2017 ISBN: 978-1-5356-0961-6 The opinions of the authors reflect their judgment at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Neither the authors nor the publisher are responsible for the accuracy of this data. This book is distributed for informational use only; it does not constitute legal, tax, or professional advice and should not be used as such. Prosper! is also available as a Paperback, Audiobook or Kindle eBook. CONTENTS Foreword by Robert Kiyosaki .................................................... vii Acknowledgments ........................................................................ix Introduction ................................................................................xi Chapter 1 The Three Es ....................................................................................1 Chapter 2 Resilience––What Is It, Exactly? ......................................................11 Chapter 3 Resilience—Why Does It Matter? ...................................................21 Chapter 4 Obstacles to Success .......................................................................33 Chapter 5 Okay…So How Do I Develop Resilience? .......................................43 Chapter 6 Financial Capital .............................................................................55 Chapter 7 Living Capital .................................................................................81 Chapter 8 Material Capital .............................................................................95 Chapter 9 Knowledge Capital ........................................................................109 Chapter 10 Emotional & Spiritual Capital.......................................................123 v Prosper! is also available as a Paperback, Audiobook or Kindle eBook. Contents Chapter 11 Social Capital ................................................................................137 Chapter 12 Cultural Capital ............................................................................149 Chapter 13 ...................................................................................157 Time Capital .................................................................................157 Reader Stories .......................................................................... 167 Next Steps & More Resources .................................................. 187 Epilogue................................................................................... 189 Web Links ................................................................................ 191 About the Authors ................................................................... 199 vi Prosper! is also available as a Paperback, Audiobook or Kindle eBook. FOREWORD BY ROBERT KIYOSAKI The Price of Bad Advice In 1970, if someone put $1 million in the bank, they might have received $150,000 in annual interest. In 1970, you could live on $150,000 a year. Today, if someone puts $1 million in the bank, they might receive $5,000 a year in interest. If that family attempts to live on $5,000 a year, they are technically below the poverty line, although—technically—“millionaires.” And yet financial experts continue to say, “Save money.” Why would anyone save money when banks and governments are printing money? But wait, it gets worse. Financial advisors recommend people “invest for the long term.” Yet after 2007, HFT, high frequency trading, began dominating the market. While Mom and Pop are “investing for the long term,” HFT traders are trading in milliseconds and microseconds. So who made the most money after China devalued their currency and global stock markets crashed? I’ll give you a hint: it was not the mom-and- pop long-term investors. People investing for the long term in the stock market are like savers—the next big losers. In 2002, Rich Dad’s Prophecy was published. Prophecy predicted that the biggest stock market crash in history was coming within the next 20 years. Prophecy also predicted an initial major market correction would arrive prior to the final giant crash. That initial correction arrived in October 2007, when the Dow headed south and the subprime crisis took Lehman Brothers and others down. My point is that this collapse was predictable to those who were paying attention. In my 60-minute video titled The Man Who Could See The Future, offered for free from The Rich Dad Company, you can see footage of me on national television prior to October, warning people of the coming crash and downfall of Lehman Brothers. My prediction of an even larger market crash—one that will result in tremendous wealth destruction for many—still stands. Again, those paying attention are seeing signs of instability everywhere. vii Prosper! is also available as a Paperback, Audiobook or Kindle eBook. by Robert Kiyosaki But this time, the threat is not just economic. Critical systems and global resources we depend on for our modern way of life are starting to fail. There will be few places to take shelter from this coming storm. Following bad advice at a time like this is not just risky. It’s dangerous. The Value of Good Advice We all need to prepare for what’s coming, and there’s little time left. That is why I am endorsing Prosper! I know Chris and Adam well—these guys have more than a crystal ball. They have an actionable framework for building true wealth (it’s about more than simply money) and combine it with sound advice for how to face the tremendous challenges that lie dead ahead. They lay out specific steps that will not only make you much less vulnerable to the coming disruption, but position you to prosper greatly when it arrives. I’ve already put many of these steps into practice in my own life. I loved Chris’s first book, The Crash Course, and I love Prosper! Those who are well positioned when crisis hits make fortunes overnight. Unfortunately, those following bad advice (like that offered by most financial advisors today) are wiped out. I want you to prosper in the years ahead. The coming crash may be your biggest opportunity to do so if you prepare wisely in advance. And that’s why I encourage you to read Prosper! today, not tomorrow. – Robert Kiyosaki viii Prosper! is also available as a Paperback, Audiobook or Kindle eBook. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS reating a book requires a substantial sacrifice of time and energy fromC many other people than just its authors. This book is no exception. While the list of those who helped make this book possible is long, several people deserve special recognition: Garrett Sutton and Mona Gambetta for their championship and tireless efforts in mobilizing the team at RDA Press to publish this work under an ambitiously tight time schedule. Ken Harp, Susan Kammerzell, Jason Wiskerchen, and Becca Martenson for their service as chapter reviewers and their excellent feedback, which were invaluable additions to the authors’ best efforts. Ron and Peg Stewart for generously providing the remote cabin retreat where the planning and concept work for this book was carried out. Maryann Taggart for designing the visuals that appear throughout the chapters. Kenny McElroy, because many of the ideas in here were jarred loose that day on the back trails of Sedona, along with a few molars. The thousands of participants in our Peak Prosperity seminars, but especially the few hundreds that have attended the intimate gatherings at the Rowe Conference Center, who helped us shape and refine the material in this book over the years. The millions of wonderful, dedicated visitors to the PeakProsperity.com website for inspiring