Robert Kiyosaki Says Having a Lot of Money Doesn’t Make You Rich — Here’s Why
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Stephanie Mickelson
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T. Woods
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How much money would it take for you to consider yourself to be rich? According to businessman and author Robert Kiyosaki, you may not need as much as you think.
On Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad blog, he notes that “money isn’t the thing that makes you truly rich.” In reality, it’s your mindset that allows you to be rich. Lots of people end up having lots of money, but that doesn’t mean they hold onto it or that it brings them happiness, in fact, often the opposite is true.
Kiyosaki mentions Ed McMahon, who worked with Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show” and had a reported salary of $5 million per year yet faced foreclosure shortly before he died and had a net worth of negative $2 million at the time of his death. Unfortunately, this isn’t entirely uncommon. Many people, both celebrities and otherwise, can make lots of money and yet still not be rich.
So what’s the difference? Kiyosaki says that mindset plays a larger role than money when it comes to financial freedom and being truly rich. Many people define financial freedom as the ability to retire when the time comes, but even with a million dollars in retirement, retirees often have to downgrade their lifestyle in order to conserve money and have enough to support them through retirement. This still doesn’t really count as being rich.
The true meaning of financial freedom, according to Kiyosaki is “the freedom to be who you really are and do what you really want in life. It’s about following your passion, making choices that aren’t influenced by your bank account, and living life on your terms.”
That means that being rich looks different for everyone.
If you dream of eating takeout once a week, and that will make you feel rich, you probably don’t have to be a billionaire, but you do have to have an extra $100 per week to make it happen. If you can afford to go on lavish vacations but live in a small house because you don’t really care how big your house is, you may be richer than a millionaire drowning in debt.
Financial freedom and being rich is more a matter of the mindset of abundance and taking steps towards a future where you can make the best decisions for you without worrying about your next paycheck.
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