Robert Kiyosaki
All you have to say is Rich Dad Poor Dad and people know what you’re talking about. Yes, Rich Dad Poor Dad is so good I put it up there with the very best motivational tools out there.
To be accurate there are now over twenty books in the in the Rich Dad series, but Rich Dad Poor Dad, a book I read over twelve years ago, is the one that did it for me. I found something in Kiyosaki view that the old advice about getting a good job, saving and diversifying not being the best advice that just chimed with me. It chimed with a lot of other people as well because Rich Dad Poor Dad has had a pretty impressive run on the international best seller list and was named USA Today’s number one money book two years consecutively.
So, who is Robert Kiyosaki?
Robert Toru Kiyosaki was born on 8 April 1947 in Hilo, Hawaii, United States of America. He graduated from Hilo High School in 1965 and moved on to New York’s Merchant Marine Academy from where he graduated in 1969. During the war in Vietnam, he served as a helicopter gunship pilot. He received the air medal for his services and an honourable discharge in in 1974. He then worked in sales for Xerox from 1974 until 1978. His first business ventures were less than successful and led to his living out of the back of an old Toyota with his girlfriend at the time.
Kiyosaki is now a highly successful entrepreneur, investor, author and motivational speaker. He has for some time been an eloquent advocate of financial literacy – he strongly believes that financial competence should be taught in schools – business education and entrepreneurship. As well as his many books, Kiyosaki regularly writes on such subjects as the global economy, investing, world finance and personal finance.
Network Marketing
What is network marketing? In a nutshell, network marketing reaches potential customers through independent representatives that might be inaccessible through traditional marketing methods (whether online or offline). These independent representatives act as distributors of the goods or services being sold. They are encouraged to build and manage their sales forces by recruiting their own independent representatives. Each independent agent earns commission on her own sales and on the sales of her sales force. Network marketing is also known as multilevel marketing and cellular marketing.
The positive thing about network marketing is that you are your own boss. You have your own business. Your success is down to you. You decide how much money you’d like to make and then it is up to you to go out there and make it. There are a good many people out there who are looking to make extra income. They become you network marketing business prospects. When there are tough economic times, there are likely to be more network marketing prospects available.
Robert Kiyosaki and Network Marketing
The E, S, B and I quadrants are pretty fundamental to Kiyosaki’s teaching. E stands for employee; S stands for self-employed; B for business and I for investor. Many people fall into the E and S quadrants. Many in the E quadrant dream of moving into the S quadrant; moving from being employed to being self-employed. A good many entrepreneurs, however, when they realize the significance of the B quadrant see the importance of moving there.
There are times when self-employment seems not so far from employment. The freedom you thought you might have isn’t quite there; you still have obligations that restrict what you can and can’t do. And perhaps the monetary rewards you expected are not quite there. The S quadrant often just gives you the freedom to choose which eighteen hours of the day you work for a pretty poor return.
So what’s the attraction of the B quadrant? To start with it’s the quadrant of big business. Forbes magazine see business owners in this quadrant as controlling companies with some five hundred plus staff. So the obvious question is how do you get into the B quadrant without several hundreds of thousands of dollars to plough into your business?
This is where network marketing comes in. A network marketing business is a potential B quadrant business. A network marketing business has many of the qualities of a B quadrant business. You train other people to work for you giving you leverage. You have control over a system that is your system. You can be creative in your business and stamp your style and personality on it. Your business can grow indefinitely. And if you do things right your business will continue to grow and so will your income.
Kiyosaki would say that to get involved in a network marketing business you have to have the desire to want to help yourself and to want to help other people. To do this you want to be in the B quadrant (and the I quadrant as well). Once you are in the B quadrant, you’ll want to help others to move into that quadrant. For most people schooled in traditional business practices this is counter-intuitive.
Traditionally, you have a few people who are in the B quadrant. Most people occupy the E quadrant and possibly the S quadrant. Not so in network marketing. The equation is a simple one. The more people that you can teach to become network marketers – the more people you can teach to occupy the B quadrant – the more money you will make. In turn, the more people they can teach to occupy the B quadrant, the more money they will make and so on along what is known as the downline.
What makes a good network marketer? They are probably two qualities above all others that are required. You need the right mindset. In other words you need that single minded focus of where you want to go and how you want to get there. Kiyosaki’s work will help you develop this mindset. Secondly, you need a system. This is supplied by the network organization you choose to join.
I believe that fifty years from now we’ll still be talking about How to Win Friends and Influence People. I also believe that well be talking about Rich Dad Poor Dad.