Robert Kiyosaki is famous for saying “if you want to be rich you need to learn to think like the rich, learn what the rich know and most importantly do what the rich do.”

For the first time, I started studying the rich as Robert suggested and he was the first.

Robert has devoted his life to teaching anyone who will listen that to become rich you need to first change the way you think about money because your thoughts lead to your actions that lead to results.

If you were raised poor or middle-class, chances are that you were not taught the fundamentals you need to become financially free for life.  Two fundamental concepts that Robert teaches are a “can-do attitude” and “fearless entrepreneurship.” 

Robert laid the foundation for us with his book Rich Dad Poor Dad, then he went on to teach more! In Robert Kiyosaki’s book, The Cashflow Quadrant he identifies four different types of people that make up the world of money, business and investing. 

Cash flow Quadrant is an Icon or diagram representing money, investing and choosing a career path in life. Cashflow quadrant is about these four types of people: 

E for Employee.

S stands for self-employed or small business owner.

B is business owner.

I stands for investor.  

The traditional advice that kids get are to go to school, get good grades so what you can to get a safe, secure job with health benefits.  The rich teach that E quadrant is a place to be secure, and is also the hardest quadrant to become rich in – reasons are discussed in his book Cashflow Quadrant. 

Robert teaches us how to convert earned income into either passive income or portfolio income that will provide the cash flow to live the life we want to live. We need to not rely on government programs or social security benefits.  

Robert said that the best way to get ahead is to become a business owner. 

Until recently, my husband was the only bread-winner for our family.  He has had a wonderful career but recognized it as just a job. Like Kiyosaki said, he realized that being a business owner is where the wealth is.  

In addition to his full-time job, Rob went on to start a business.  He is incredibly smart and created a report writing database for public safety organizations.  This system that he created originated from the need that he was feeling with his report writing responsibilities at work. He figured out how to make the task easier for himself and others and created it.               

When my children were in high school I was ready to go back to work.  My husband understood what Kiyosaki taught and encouraged me to start a business of my own instead of getting a job. 

I could see the benefit of being a business owner, but I didn’t have the skills, money, or even desire to start a business.     

When I heard Kiyosaki say “If I had to do it all over again, rather than build an old style type of business, I would have started building a network marketing business.” I decided this was I would do.                                 

Robert Kiyosaki was closed to the idea of MLMs for a long time.  He had experiences that made him skeptical.  It wasn’t until a friend of his, who had already joined the ranks of the rich, joined an MLM that Robert looked into it.  When questioned why, his friend explained that when involved with the MLM he would be able to share his information and teach others to become wealthy. After extensive investigation, Robert realized many benefits of Direct Sales that fit right into everything he was taught by his rich dad.

 Robert started to see Direct Sales as a revolutionary way to receive wealth. He now favors direct selling with a network marketing company as the best way for the average person to move from being poor to rich.

 The reasons why Robert sees MLMs as the best option include:

1. Anyone can join an MLM. Starting a business through Net Work Marketing is not dependent on prior qualifications, degrees, looks, race, or sex. Anyone who is willing to learn and work can join. 

 2. Low cost. With most MLM there is a low cost to start a business, so money isn’t a limiting factor.

 3. Teach fundamantals. MLMs have a Strong Foundation of Financial Education and Training that empowers the business owner to achieve their financial goals. They teach the fundamental skills of how to successfully duplicate your efforts by training you to teach other like-minded people.  They put you in charge of your own destiny.

 4. Stay at your side. The company will work with you for as long as it takes for you to get the business skills to make you rich.

 5. Passive Inclome. Robert Kiyosaki sees the beauty of direct selling in the passive income or, as he call’s it, “freedom money” you can earn.  Just as a property owner receives rent money from a rental he owns, that can someday allow you to finally quit your job and devote 100 percent of your effort toward your business. Passive income is money coming in without you working for it.

 Just like those business owners in the “B” quadrant who can earn money without having to go to work, the same goes for the income earned from your direct selling business.

 So in essence, by owning your own direct selling business, you can join the “B quadrant of business magnates like Bill Gates from Microsoft, who also has highly successful people working under him to produce income for him, whether he goes into work or not.

 “Always Remember it is not money that makes you rich, it’s business skills.”

 So I ask as Robert asks, “Is direct selling the perfect business for you?”

 It depends on YOU!

 If you think direct selling might be the perfect business for you, how do you know?  Multi-level Marketing

I’m a parent of eight children. They are “stuck” with me, just as I am “stuck” with them. However, it wasn’t until my second adopted child was a teenager that the term “stuck with us” became a family expression. When my teenage daughter, like many teens, didn’t like the family rules, she wanted to move in with her friend. In her mind, they were a better family and she didn’t understand why she couldn’t live there! I said, YOU’RE STUCK WITH US! I explained that just like all of her siblings, she can move out when she’s 18! Until then, we are all she’s got!

Usually our children are stuck with us during the formative years of birth till two or three. Adopted children don’t always have that benefit. Since many kids are stuck together during those formative years it’s important to understand how much influence we have as parents and the best ways to use it. How we raise our children will have a far-reaching impact farther than anything else we do in our lives. It’s not just about our interaction with our children. It’s how they interact with those around them. How they pick a spouse. How they raise their children. How their children interact with those around them. How they pick a spouse, raise their children and on and on it goes. Our positive (or negative) influence in their lives potentially lives on for generations and generations.

My mom set a great example for me when I was young. She broke the cycle of abuse in her family. It probably would have been easier for her to continue along in the patterns of abuse. Change is hard. Especially change that involves issues of self-worth. But my mom didn’t choose the easy way out. She chose a higher ground. She proved to me that change is possible.

Because of my mom’s bravery, she and my dad were able to raise my brother and me in a positive atmosphere. We knew they loved us and we never questioned that we “belonged”. Yes, we, too, were stuck with our parents and they were stuck with us. Fortunately for us, this sticky relationship developed many good characteristics in our lives and gave us a strong foundation for when we began raising children of our own.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, I’ve become my mother, after all.

Did your teenagers ever wish they had a different family? How did you handle it? Stories, I want stories! Leave them in the comments below!