My Favourite Robert Kiyosaki Quotes

Robert Kiyosaki has been hailed as the king of personal finance. His best-selling book Rich Dad Poor Dad is one of the most popular personal finance books ever written and has amassed an estimated 40 million sales worldwide. With compelling contrarian financial advice such as 'the rich don't work for money' and 'your house is not an asset', it is no wonder that Robert Kiyosaki is one of the most influential financial gurus of our time. 

As a self-professed Robert Kiyosaki fan, here are 5 of my favourite Robert Kiyosaki quotes that have radically changed the way I think about money. 

Quote #1

This quote sent my head in loops when I first read it:

"The rich don't work for money. They make their money work for them."

I first came across this when I read Rich Dad Poor Dad in Primary School. For someone who was quite young, this advice did not make sense at all. I was so accustomed to the idea of 'working for money' because that's what everyone around me was doing at the time: My teachers, my parents and extended members of my family. 

Now when I think back, I cannot stress how important this piece of advice is. Rich people make their money work for them by acquiring cash flow positive assets that free up their time. No longer does earning money have to be inextricably linked with working long work hours in a job; money can flow freely from assets that you have diligently acquired over time. 

Obviously this is not to say that you should never work for money. Rather, it's to suggest that money should never be the be all and end all in a job. You should work in a job for experience and to learn new things. In fact, Robert Kiyosaki has often said that if he were to start again he'd work in McDonalds to learn how a business works.

Work for knowledge, not money. 

Quote #2

I've tried very hard to discipline myself into this thinking: 

″‘I can’t afford it’ shuts down your brain. ‘How can I afford it?’ opens up possibilities, excitement and dreams."

We always lament about how something is out of our reach, whether it be a piece of real estate or a private jet. Learning to ask yourself the converse, 'How can I afford it?', starts to get your mind working and thinking of all the possible ways you can afford something expensive. 

Personally I have found that asking this question is all it takes for me to start planning my next right move to acquire more wealth and start working towards affording more expensive assets. If I don't ask myself this question, I often find that I'm trapped in negative thinking where I don't think I can afford anything or that I can only afford things "later". And what happens then? "Later" becomes a substitute for "never". 

Stop what you're doing. Learn to think and ask yourself better questions. 

Quote #3

I absolutely love this next quote:

“Comfort kills ambition. Get uncomfortable and get used to it in your pursuit of your goals and dreams.”

Being comfortable or 'satisfied' can often result in mediocre results. Learning to extend your boundaries does far more for you in terms of developing your character and teaching yourself new things. 

I must say that it is sometimes quite difficult to be 'uncomfortable'. There are numerous times where I am tempted to retract back into my comfortable shell as opposed to chasing new opportunities. This is only natural - Humans like comfort. However, all I need to do is remind myself of how a little bit of discomfort leads to long-term gain. 

Quote #4

This next quote couldn't be more prescient than what it is now:

“In today’s rapidly changing world, the people who are not taking risk are the risk takers.”

People need to learn to take risks to keep ahead. These can be small risks. For example, someone might risk foregoing a high-paying salary in order to keep working in a small business with more growth potential. Other people may decide to start their own online business because they enjoy it and they want to earn more money. 

Taking risks such as these has never been more important in a world where job security is a fallacy, economic conditions are gloomy and where the internet is disrupting how we work. People need to take risks in order to keep their heads above the water. The worst thing anyone can do is put all their eggs in the basket of a university degree or a 9-5 job. 

Quote #5

And finally, a piece of advice that often gets forgotten:

“Always start at the end before you begin. Professional investors always have an exit strategy before they invest. Knowing your exit strategy is an important investment fundamental.”

Like investing, having an exit strategy for just about everything we do in life is crucial. Why: It's so we learn to cut our losses before our losses cut us, and it's so we have options. A big part of success is knowing when to quit when something isn't working out. 

It is also quite easy to get caught up in the thrill of success and to not create an exit strategy because we think something will 'go on forever'. Nothing goes on forever. We need to learn to pivot when something comes to an abrupt end so we can keep moving forward with out lives.

Final Thoughts

There is a lot of wisdom in the advice that Robert Kiyosaki gives. I continually find myself going back to things he has said in order to re-orient my mindset towards my work or to give myself that extra boost of confidence to take risks. 

So, what are your favourite Robert Kiyosaki quotes?