Here’s another blog post for Saturday they seem to come round quicker and quicker each time. It’s been a busy week on the TikTok front. Five of my videos have now got views between 10,000 and 189,000. People definitely prefer the videos where I ask them their opinion rather than talk about affiliate marketing so that’s something I need to learn how to improve. My aim at the moment is to build an audience. A few days ago four people stopped following me and I got concerned, however I’ve now got five more so I’m on 694 followers which is pretty good. My first aim is to get to 1000 which will then allow me to put my LinkTree page as a clickable link on my profile.
The 9 to 5 has been very busy too with more workshops and planning a possible trip to the client site in a few weeks. On the plus side, we have two bank holidays giving us four days off. I’ve spent these days working hard on my online business as well as continuing Ramadan and the extra Prayers and family gatherings that entails.
I have made adjustments to my blog page, and I’ve created a new side bar image with a new funnel for people directly ordering the iceberg effect book.
As promised, I will finally talk to you about a book that I’m pretty sure you have all heard of and a lot of you would’ve already read. It’s a book which is quite life changing, and by that I mean it makes you realise how you’re thinking is based on the past. Growing up, our thinking has been controlled by the education system, the government, the banks and the corporate world.
The book I’m talking about is ‘rich, dad poor dad’ by Robert T Kiyosaki. For those who have read this book already, this will be a good refresher for you as I highlight the key areas that we should be working on in our thinking. That will in turn help your mindset for setting up your online business, and in fact how you run your financial affairs at home.
From the book; “The main reason people struggle financially is because they have spent years in school, but learned nothing about money. The result is that people learn to work for money… But never learn to have money to work for them.” Robert Kiyosaki.
This is pretty much the premise of the book where the author explores the difference between the mindset and behaviour of somebody who is rich versus someone who is poor. In this context, poor is maybe the wrong word, but what it means is somebody who works in the traditional way of getting an education, working for companies, struggling each month, paying bills and not having the financial freedom that life promised you when you were at school.
As the author experienced as I did in my life and I’m sure many of you are the same were we were told by our parents and by our teachers and society in general that we should “study hard and get good grades and you will find a high-paying job with great benefits. Our parents call in life was to provide a university education for the children, so we would have the greatest chance for success in our life”.
My real life experience
I personally remember as a child, my parents saying you have to get an education, so that you can get a good job that pays well. Also, something that gives you status like being a doctor, a teacher, an engineer, a lawyer or an accountant. Indeed in some cultures and families manual labour jobs and factory work is often seen as not socially acceptable. This is of course completely wrong as all work other than what you could call immoral professions are completely honourable as people work hard and honestly to provide for their families. Unfortunately, there is a level of snobbery in many individuals and some cultures.
It was the same for me and my two sisters. The expectation was for us to do our O-levels then A-levels, then a degree at university and then get a good job that will give us a good salary with benefits and a pension, so life would be easy and we wouldn’t struggle for money, and when we retire, we could relax and enjoy the fruits of our lifelong labour.
So why then having done all of that are most of us struggling? I have family and friends who are teachers, pharmacists, dentists, accountants, and many other professions who are completely burnt out, stressed, have lots of anxiety. Even though they appear to do very well i.e. they have cars, a house, go on the occasional holiday and eat very well and wear nice clothes behind-the-scenes many families are struggling.
By struggling, I mean, expenses have gone up gas, electric, water, Council Tax, VAT etc, Have risen in the last 10 years. However, salaries have either stayed where they are or have gone up but under the rate of inflation. Mortgage rates have gone up as have fuel prices for petrol and diesel and the cost of every day essentials, including food and clothes. This means that there’s no surplus money each month for any kind of luxuries or fun if you like. Many are living paycheck to paycheck and the ability to save has been largely diminished.
As a consequence, both parents are having to work and even more significantly with the number of divorces at all time high, many families with a single parent means extra strain and pressure on that parent in some cases are taking on two or three jobs just to make ends meet.
The essence of the book is to address why people are poor if you call what I’ve described above as a poor life as opposed to a rich life. Why are rich people rich? and why are poor people poor? what the author is saying is that “it’s only a persons doubt that’s keeping them poor” i.e. we are poor because of the way we think and the way we behave. This implies that anyone can be rich if they think the right way and do the right things. It turns out the right things are the opposite of what we’ve been taught at school and in an our education system and the way our parents lived.
My Parents
My parents were born in the late 1930s in what was then India. They grew up in Punjab which is now split between Pakistan and India. After partition, most families struggled to make a living and to rebuild their lives. It was seen as a passport out of that life or as a passport to your future I If you had an education. It’s the people that got an education and got good jobs were the ones who had money and better lives. So at that particular time that was the way to get rich, that was the way to secure your future. However, now things are very different.
My father came to London from Pakistan in December 1961, with £5 in his pocket. As a colony of the British Empire from Indian subcontinent they were encouraged to come and work in the UK, providing they had £5. After the war here labour was required, mostly to work in factories and in the textile mills in the north of England. Many bus drivers and train drivers and taxi drivers were men from Indian, Pakistan and Bangladesh. My father was one of them, he worked in the textile mills in Bradford and then eventually moved to London and worked in various factory jobs. After he went back to Pakistan and got married to my mum they were unable to get jobs aligned to their education as qualifications from Pakistan were not recognised here in the UK. I remember growing up in the 70s and 80s, and my mum who had 3 degrees and he was a teacher in Pakistan, was now running a sewing machine, making clothes for people for very little money.
It wasn’t until the late 80s early 90s, that my mum was able to do some courses that then allowed her to work as a teacher in the UK. She was then in her element teaching children in secondary schools, English, maths, Urdu and Science, until she retired. Both my mum and dad worked extremely hard all of their lives and they never claimed a penny of the state. They never borrowed money other than their mortgage for the house and sacrificed going on holidays and having brand-new cars so that we could all live a very decent life.
So, you can understand this was very much around education, education education as being the way to secure your future and get a good job. In fact when I was at school and I wasn’t doing very well. I remember both my parents saying if you don’t get an education, what will you do? where will you work? How will you survive? It was seen as the lifeline of securing your future.
No longer, can you just simply say to your children go to school get good grades and look for a safe and secure job. My dad had the same job for over 25 years and I now have probably had 10 to 12 different jobs in the same amount of time, there doesn’t seem to be any job security anymore.
Back to the Book
The book talks about two different dads one was the real father of the Robert and other was his best friends dad. The book goes through how the author took advice from what he called both of his dads. His own who went through the education system went onto Stanford University, then the University of Chicago and Northwestern University to do advance studies all through financial scholarships and then the other Dad, who didn’t even finish eighth grade.
Both men were successful in their careers they both worked hard. They both earned good incomes, yet one struggled all his life financially, and the other one would become one of the richest men in Hawaii, and that was the one who didn’t even finish eighth grade.
What it all boils down to is the mindset, attitude and behaviour differences between the rich dad and the poor dad. For example, in the book, “it says one of the reasons the rich get richer and the poor poor and the middle-class struggles is because the subject of money is taught at home, not in school. Most of us learn about money from our parents. So what can a poor parent tell their child about money? they simply say, stay in school and study hard”.
Poor dad, used to say “I can’t afford it”and rich dad forbade those words and would say instead. ‘How can I afford it?” The first statement stops you dead in your tracks where as the second statement makes you think, it forces you to think of how you can do things differently.
It’s very much around mindset. The poor dad would say “I will never be rich” and so he wasn’t. The rich dad would always refer to himself as rich. Rich Dad would say there’s a difference between being poor and being broke. Broke is temporary and poor is eternal. Poor Dad would say “I’m not interested in money or money doesn’t matter” where is rich dad would say “money is power”.
The book goes on to say how Robert became an apprentice of Rich dad and learned tough lessons under his wing. At the same time, he observed his real dad struggling through life, even though he had an amazing education and a very high status job.
‘If people think money will solve problems, those people will have a tough ride. Intelligence solves problems and produces money. Money without financial intelligence is money soon gone”.
The crux of the book is that the rich acquire assets and the poor and the middle-class acquire liabilities. If you think about it and look at your own life, you’ll probably find that this is true. We spend our lives earning money and each month we give that money to companies to pay bills. Whereas rich people use that money to buy assets and then those assets make money for them.
“An asset is something that puts money in your pocket and a liability is something that takes money out of your pocket and the advise is to spend your life buying assets”.
Schools are designed to produce good employees instead of employers, and I agree with this because the school system treats us all the same with the same generic topics which conditions us in the way we think. So we leave School as a conforming employee and spend the rest of our lives, collecting Tax in our jobs for the government. We remain stuck in this rat race.
The problem that he reports in the book is that with School is that you become what you study. So if you study cooking you become a chef. If you study the law you become an attorney and if you study mechanics that makes you mechanic. The mistake and becoming what you study is that too many people forget to mind their own business. They spend their lives minding someone else’s business and making that person rich. We become slaves to them.
One of the most important parts of the books is as follows; ”once we leave school, most of us, know that it is not as much a matter of college degrees or good grades that count. In the real world outside of academics, something more than just grades is required. I have heard it called guts, audacity, bravado, cunning, daring, tenacity, and brilliance. These factors, whatever they are labelled, ultimately decides ones future much more than school grades”. Powerful stuff indeed.
I could spend another hour going through quotes and lessons of the book, but I think from what I’ve described here you’ve got the gist. I hope it’s given you something to think about not only about your childhood and what you were shown as the way forward, but also as we start our own online affiliate marketing businesses how we need to think like the rich and not like the poor. I don’t like the word poor because it sounds like we’re talking down to certain type of people but we’re not. It’s just to just say it’s just to distinguish between thinking poorly and thinking richly.
The Lesson if you want to be the King
The lesson is; “if you have any desire of being rich, you must focus. Put a lot of your eggs in a few baskets. Do not do what the poor and middle-class people do which is put a few eggs in many baskets. Losers avoid failing and failure turns losers into winners”. Robert Kiyosaka.
I think I’ll leave it there otherwise I’ll end up reading the whole book to you. I would thoroughly recommend you get this book and read it. It will help you a lot in terms of running your business and thinking the right way. You can search for it on Amazon or on the Internet or you can use this link here(My affiliate link).
I hope this gave you a taste of how the book can help with your business by changing and adjusting how we think. As you develop your affiliate marketing business and start to earn substantial amount of money, the advise is to buy assets with that money. Those assets will then make money for you in the background, even while you sleep. You could argue that this blog is my own asset and in time will allow me to generate income from it.
If you have the wrong attitude towards money and don’t keep a close eye on your numbers, you can end up being in the same position. I’m sure you’ve heard of many lottery millionaires that they’ve lost it all. That is because they had a poor mindset, not a rich mindset, in other words, a fixed mindset, not a growth mindset. You have to have a growth mindset to be successful at affiliate marketing, in my opinion.
Please let me know in the comments any thoughts on what you’ve read here and what you think you’ve learnt and what you think you’ll start to do different. What will you stop doing now and what will you start doing? I’d love to hear from you, so please do leave comments below.
Thank you for reading, I hope it helped you in some way. You are only a few steps behind me!
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Until next time, take care.
Atif
#Atif’s Academy
I ordered the book through your link. Thanks for the info on mindset around money and all of your personal family experiences. Your family is a good example of resilience.
Kate, thank you so much I appreciate it. The main reason I’m doing this is for the betterment of my family, especially my children. I wanna give them the best star in life that I can. Thanks, Atif
Atif – You have such an interesting and inspiring story. I, too, heard all my like to go to school, excel in your studies, get a good job, progress up the ladder at work, retire comfortable and live happily ever after. I did a lot of that (not all) until I got burned out and miserable. The idea of mindset keeps coming up over and over. This book you reviewed as well as many others seem to focus on that principle and I believe, with all my being, that they are correct. I desire to be mindful of who I am, what I am capable of and how I can help others. Then add a good mindset regarding my overall potential, value and worth. That formula can lead to good things professionally, personally, financially and all the other good words “words that end in “lly.” Cheers, my friend!
Ernie, thank you so much for your comments and I’m glad that my blogs are adding some value for you. If you have any questions or any specific areas you want help with, I will try my hardest to do what I can. As you know, I’m learning, just like you. Take care thanks, Atif
Hi Atif,
Great Article! It’s interesting to read about you and your families past and upbringings. I’ve works with hundreds of newcomers as a career counsellor helping them bridge from their fields back home to the same field here. althought it’s better here now in Canada, with bridging programs to help, there’s still a huge disconnect and false promises made to new omers before they arrive.
My family and I growing up was quite different. My parents weren’t educated past grade school, immigrated to Canada 18-20 year olds. It was grunt work and no education, survival with whatever work they could get. I learned this, quit highschool to help make money for the family. Only got a College Diploma in my mid 30’s when I got injured and couldn’t do labour work. After 15 years as a career counsellor, only now am I really understanding the limits in my mind and working on changing this daily. Thanks again for your post and book review, it helps 🙂
Denny
Denny, Thank you for sharing your journey and insights. Your experience highlights the challenges many newcomers face in navigating career transitions, despite the presence of bridging programs. Your resilience and determination to overcome obstacles are truly inspiring.
I have had this book on my to-read list for a long time, and I love everything you summarized that it teaches. I will order ASAP using your link! It is funny because a friend of mine wanted to go on this retreat, and it was 10K, I was telling her if you throw your own retreat, how many people would you need to attend to make the 10K to go to the retreat she wanted to go to, we sat there and calculated, and the universe made it happen. She needed 9 people, and she got them, and now she made enough to attend the retreat she wanted. Money and resources are in abundance, but when we think of them in scarcity, then they become scarce. thinking “How can I afford it? vs “I can’t afford it” makes a huge difference. Another great blog post, and reminder just how important mindset and perception is.
Alison, I’m thrilled you enjoyed the summary and found it helpful, and I appreciate your support in ordering through the provided link! Thank you for sharing your insights, and I’m glad the post resonated with you. Thanks, Atif
Hi, Atif! This is an excellent summary of the gist of Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I grew up with the idea that as long as you have what you need, money doesn’t matter. Just as you wrote, it’s a poor man’s perspective.
Now that I’ve started a business, I guess I should reread the book, but the idea of money as power makes me uncomfortable.
I would like the freedom to budget for unexpected medical bills, new clothes, etc. But at the same time, I don’t want to have the mindset of a rich person who thinks they are special because they have money.
Can you ease my mind, Atif? According to the book, can you have a rich man’s mindset without thinking it’s the money that makes you special?
Nakina, I’m glad you found the summary helpful. Rich Dad, Poor Dad does emphasise the importance of mindset in achieving financial success, but it also stresses the value of financial education and responsibility. Having a rich mindset isn’t solely about money; it’s about understanding how to leverage resources to create opportunities and freedom in your life. It’s possible to adopt this mindset without equating wealth to personal worth. By focusing on financial independence and making smart decisions, you can achieve your goals while maintaining humility and empathy towards others. Remember, it’s about the journey and how you use your resources, not just the amount you possess. Thanks, Atif
Awesome post again Atif! I really enjoy your posts.I love your family’s story and its funny you talked about mindset and the book.I too have the book and I am also doing some training with Robert and his team also. And mindset is so important as Dean Holland and other greats like Tony Robbins always talk about.I think that is probably the most important thing to help us be successful.Keep up the great posts.
Jim
Thanks, Jim! I’m thrilled to hear you’re enjoying the posts and that you’re diving into the world of mindset training with Robert and his team. It’s true, mindset plays a crucial role in success, and it’s wonderful to see you embracing it on your journey. Keep up the great work!
Wow! Compelling stuff, Atif… I read this book oh so many years ago and need to revisit it. I believe it all comes down to what and how we think about money. You don’t need a lot of money to get rich. It’s more about using what money you have to work for you. Unfortunately, children grow up not knowing or understanding the values and choices we all have where money is concerned. I advocate for education, but not because education garners wealth or stability… I think it’s important to have a well-rounded knowledge of life and history. I do find it ironic that most colleges do not teach about finances unless you are seeking that specific degree, and even then it may or may not include the value of investment and assets for long-term security. Well done, Atif…
Vanessa, Thank you for your insightful comment! I’m glad the post resonated with you and sparked a reflection on the importance of financial education. You’re absolutely right that it’s not just about having a lot of money, but also about understanding how to make it work for you. It’s crucial to equip ourselves and future generations with the knowledge and tools for financial literacy and long-term security. thanks, Atif
Hi Atif,
Great post! I will have to look into getting that book. I’ll come back here to purchase it from your link when I do. Your right though, I was brought up the same way to think we have to do good in school, go to college, and then get a good career. That’s what’s nice about today, there are other options. It doesn’t have to be a career from years of schooling.. Some jobs today aren’t guaranteed like they used to be. Things are definitely different today than they were back in the day. Thank you for your post. It was great! Take care…
Meredith
Thank you, Meredith! I’m glad you enjoyed the post and found it thought-provoking. It’s true, the traditional path isn’t the only route to success anymore, and exploring different options can lead to fulfilling careers. I appreciate your support, and I’m here to help. Take care!
Hi Atif,
This entirely confirms my thoughts. By this I mean what you have said about school and studies. They were engineered to become employees of businesses and earn a salary that you have no control on. So you learn to work for money unless of learning to let money work for you. The latter being entrepreneurship.
I no longer support long studies to make money. Maybe there was a time it was true but not in today’s reality.
Martin
Hi Martin! I’m glad the post resonated with you and affirmed your perspective on traditional education and employment. Indeed, entrepreneurship offers a pathway to take control of one’s financial future and let money work for you. Your insights reflect the evolving landscape of work and education in today’s reality. Thanks, Atif
Hi Atif,
Thank you for sharing your personal journey and insights. Your story highlights the evolving perceptions of success and the impact of societal expectations. The contrast between ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ mindsets, as outlined in the book, sheds light on the significance of financial intelligence and asset acquisition. Your observations about the limitations of traditional education systems are thought-provoking. It’s crucial to foster a mindset that transcends academic achievement and embraces creativity and strategic thinking. Your reflections prompt us to reassess our beliefs and strive for empowerment in navigating modern challenges. Thanks again for your post.
Ezequiel, Thank you for your kind words and thoughtful reflections. I’m glad you found value in my personal journey and the insights shared. It’s indeed crucial to reconsider traditional notions of success and embrace financial intelligence and creativity in navigating today’s challenges. Your support and engagement are truly appreciated. Thanks, Atif
Atif, Awesome post. This story reverberates with my life story also. This is what I learned and what I was shown throughout my life growing up. My parent s worked their hardest to give my 3 brothers and sister the best education they could afford and sometimes could not afford. I believed in what they were doing, and did the same for my kids. Come to find out it was all for naught. My kids did well in school and went to college, however never did anything in their field of study. I have read Kiyosaki, A book I should have read before I got married with kids. It was an eye opener for me. It should be mandatory reading in all high schools.
Thank you for sharing your story and thoughts, Lenny. It’s touching to hear how deeply your experiences resonate with the themes discussed in the post. Your reflections on the disconnect between traditional education and career paths are thought-provoking, and I agree that books like Kiyosaki’s should be more widely taught to prepare young adults for financial literacy and independence. Thanks, Atif
Atif,
I’ve been eyeing “Rich Dad Poor Dad” for a while now, so thanks a bunch for sharing your thoughts on it! It’s definitely going on my reading list. I totally agree with your take on schools shaping us to become employees rather than fostering entrepreneurship. That whole “get good grades, graduate, work for someone else” cycle feels like the norm, doesn’t it? I’ve taken matters into my own hands by diving into my Affiliate business. Here’s to being our own bosses and making our money work for us! Here’s to determination and independence!
Sherri
Sherri, I’m thrilled to hear you found the post helpful and that you’re adding “Rich Dad Poor Dad” to your reading list! Your commitment to entrepreneurship is inspiring, and I applaud your initiative in pursuing your Affiliate business. Here’s to seizing control of our financial futures and embracing determination and independence! Thanks, Atif
I’m pretty sure I read this book many years ago when I was first thinking about investing in property. Unfortunately, I don’t remember much about it. I guess, as I’m still poor, not much sank in. LOL
Thanks for sharing the history of your parents. A lot of people struggled back then. I remember my own parents relating tales of hardship during the depression in the 30s and after ww2. Well done with your TikTok videos. You’ll soon crack the 1000 followers if you haven’t already. Cheers, Andy
Hi Andy! Thanks for sharing your experience. It’s understandable how life’s challenges can sometimes overshadow past lessons. Your support and kind words about my parents’ history and TikTok efforts mean a lot. Here’s to continued growth and success for both of us! Thanks, Atif
Atif,
Your insightful reflection on “Rich Dad Poor Dad” resonates deeply with with myself and many others who have navigated the traditional paths laid out by society. Your personal anecdotes and analysis shed light on the stark disparities between conventional thinking and the principles of financial intelligence espoused by Robert Kiyosaki.
The paradigm shift from being employees to becoming asset owners is profound. Your narrative underscores the importance of challenging ingrained beliefs about education, career paths, and wealth accumulation. By sharing your family’s journey and contrasting it with the book’s teachings, you offer a compelling narrative that inspires introspection and action.
I have read the book and own the board game but they have been colleting dust. This post reminds me that I need to pull them out and revisit the lessons that they teach.
Thanks for the great reminder.
CJ
Thank you, CJ, for your kind words and support. I’m glad the post resonated with you and provided a reminder to revisit the valuable lessons from “Rich Dad Poor Dad” and the board game. Your feedback encourages me to continue sharing insights that challenge conventional thinking and promote financial empowerment. Let’s dust off those resources and embark on a journey of renewed learning and growth together. Thanks, Atif
Hi Atif,
Great to see your success on TikTok grow from week to week. That’s a great goal, to aim for 1000 followers to get your linktree page clickable.
Not sure how you do all this + 9-5 and Ramadan as well!
Not thrilled so much these days with Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki as it’s a bit like blaming poor people rather than the education system itself.
Thank you for sharing your story. Now that I know a bit about your background, I can see where your strength and resilience come from.
All the best,
Eleanor, Thank you for your kind words and support! Balancing work, social media, and personal commitments can be challenging, but your encouragement keeps me motivated. I appreciate your perspective on “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and value your insight. Knowing my background resonates with you means a lot, and I’m grateful for your continued engagement. Thanks, Atif
Great post! My dad often talks about this book, so when I saw your post it made me smile. It must be a sign to finally get a copy. If anything it would make my dad smile that his words aren’t on deaf ears! I’ll come back here to purchase it from your link when I do. I was brought up the same way to think we have to do good in school, and I was privately educated so the pressure was on as my dad struggled and sacrificed to get me there.
‘There are many ways to skin a rabbit’ is what my nan always said, and as I get older I understand what she was saying, there are many ways to get to to the same outcome and things are definitely different today than they were back in the day. I’m glad I’ve found the path I’m on Thank you for your post. It was great!
Sarah, Thank you for your kind words and sharing your personal connection to the book. It’s heartwarming to hear how your dad’s wisdom resonates with you, and I’m honored to have sparked that connection. Your journey and insights reflect the diverse paths we navigate in pursuit of success, and I’m glad you’ve found a fulfilling path. Your support means a lot, and I look forward to assisting you with your book purchase when you’re ready. thanks, Atif
Nice blog, Atif. “Thinking poorly and thinking richly” is exactly right. Great website layout, BTW. I definitely need to upscale mine!