Why You Should be Rich

by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com

Why did Donald Trump, the skyscraper developer billionaire, and the multi-millionaire, Robert Kiyosaki, jointly write,
Why We Want You To Be Rich?

They point out that Social Security and Medicare combined need $72 trillion to break even. If we add up all the equity in stocks and bond value we may have about $67 trillion. We are running a little short and keep pushing our national financial problems forward. Kiyosaki exclaims that we can't keep doing this. We can't expect the government to solve the mammoth problems our country is in financially.

There is one solution. That is that we all become rich. The gap from rich and poor is widening and we are heading to ending up like we were before we left Anarchical rule to find new hope in America. The middle class will begin disappearing and there will be two classes again. They feel it is possible for many to become rich. The government leaders don't run things. Rich people do.

With influence we can turn the ship to change course and save an economy and a mighty power from crumbling. What's lacking is education. We simply don't know how money works and how to make wealth. It is an educational problem, and they wrote the book to begin to educate us on how to do this. That's why they want you to be rich.

"Today more and more people must change the way they think about their finances and their financial future." (Donald Trump) The book is more philosophical and principle laden in approach. But it is their first step to re-educate and redirect how we think.

The problem: the national debt, shrinking dollar, massive baby boomer retirement and most without retirement provisions, the increasing rich and poor gap, Social Security and Medicare going broke, little savings, and most without any real world know how on how to build wealth.

So how do you make money?
The best solution is to leave entitlement out of your mind and all become business enterprising. Learn how to make money. Those who make money are skilled creative problem solvers.

The key concept is leverage... the skill in learning how to use a little to make more, doing more with less.

Learn focus and make one thing work.
Create a love affair with what you do... you naturally work harder and are more productive, learn on your own and enjoy growing when your are using your innate gifts and abilities.

Some things may be scary at first, but realize if you face what you fear, move out of your comfort zone, you will do more that will then make you be able to live comfortably.

What to avoid is passive investing and become active investors. Passive is investing money in a savings account, get a job, and just try to stay out of debt. Active investing is investing in time and invest in business enterprises, real estate and more advanced money multiply vehicles. It's more fun and makes a whole bunch more money. We have to move beyond the emotions of the fear of doing something to what will get bigger results.

Education is the indispensable factor for getting results.
Know well what you do and doing it as well as possible. If it's going to affect your life, you need to know as much as you can about it. It's how you spend your time that affects making money.

The Golden rules for making money: leverage, control, creativity, expansion, and predictability.

Leverage: The strategic use of others' resources including time, mental ingenuity, money, influence that can create returns for all involved. Strategic collaboration among many creates greater results for all of the many.

Control: In a job or mutual fund, you don't choose the level of return. Someone else determines that for you. You must be in control for how much you make. Owning a business venture, in real estate you can control your returns. Working and being in control of what you do is a rudimentary rule to wealth building.

Creativity: When you own, you can be free to create what you do that creates more value. In a business you can create a unique management team that fits your ingenious effort, or you can create a business model that produces more efficiently, or you can invent a brand that hits selective markets. As Trump mentioned he can look at a piece of land in middle of town and with creativity, make is a highly valued spot.

Expansion: With what you have, you can expand it to do more, be valued more, and grow more. You don't have to go ask permission, but you have the latitude to apply persuasion and return to others to get them to work with you. With a great idea, you can publish it and sell it to make money from many who buy it; with a business you can expand it to make money off many locations, add more products. Trump says, "Think Big, Think Expansion." Seeing what is possible and making it happen, being innovative and moving on your ideas.

Predictability: "It takes both sides of your brain to be successful. Taking control and being creative requires both financial education and experience."(Kiyosaki) The more you learn and have experience, the more you can predict your results. Risk becomes less risky with knowledge and experience. You can calculate effectively and do more with actual less risk.

They come back to education. The more you know and understand what you do, the more you can do with it. They talked about the benefit of experiences they had in life... parents, school, military, sports, business and then share three areas to make money.

To learn about business,
one way to start is to get involved in a good network marketing company.
Make sure they have a good training program, then you can carry these business principles over into other areas.
Start your own business.
They point out the best education is learning by doing. You get educated through the process. Franchises are good, if you can afford them, because they provide proven systems to follow.
Also, strongly consider acquiring business skill coaches to help teach you as you go.

Their favorite approach to building wealth, of course, is real estate.

Why We Want You To Be Rich also covers Kiyosaki’s prized Rich Dad, Poor Dad formula for wealth building. This addition makes this a nice comprehensive book of two notable views on wealth building… along with the noble cause to do it for good reasons.

Trump and Kiyosaki also offer a "think on paper daily motivational journal": www.WhyWeWantYouToBeRich.com
Trump’s web: www.trumpuniversity.com
Kiyosaki’s web: www.richdad.com

Andrew Carnegie, by David Nasaw (a new biography about Andrew Carnegie), reveals some interesting philosophies toward wealth in Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth.

He was one of the richest men in his day as a steel industry mogul in the late 1800's. He abhorred the wealthy who did not give their money away. People with money are the "trustees" for their communities. He said there is nothing special about someone being rich, but a responsibility to share his fortune with need. "The rich man who abjured his responsibility that came with his wealth-- of wisely administering it for the good of the community--did that community a grave disservice." Carnegie advocated the steepest inheritance taxes. "By taxing estates heavily at death the state marks it condemnation of the selfish millionaires unworthy life.... I would as soon leave my son a curse as the almighty dollar, and admit to himself that it is not the welfare of the children, but family pride, which inspires these legacies."

Carnegie followed John Wesley's teachings on being industrious and earning as much as you can, then after you have cared for your loved ones, use the surplus to contribute to those in need and communities at large. He said it's disgraceful to have money and not support those around you.

As a millionaire, he condemned other millionaires not bent on generosity and dispersing wealth while alive. "The millionaires wealth was not his to spend, but his to wisely give away. Rich men should be thankful they have the power during their life time to busy themselves in organizing benefactions from which masses of their fellowman will desire lastly advantages and thus dignify their own lives."

Having condemned as misguided, vain and selfish most of his fellow millionaires for not giving away their money during their life time, Carnegie's one regret was that he couldn’t give away everything during his own life time.

Why have wealth… look at Psalm 112
1 Praise the LORD!
How joyful are those who fear the LORD
and delight in obeying his commands.
2 Their children will be successful everywhere;
an entire generation of godly people will be blessed.
3 They themselves will be wealthy,
and their good deeds will last forever.
4 Light shines in the darkness for the godly.
They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.
5 Good comes to those who lend money generously
and conduct their business fairly.
9 They share freely and give generously to those in need.
Their good deeds will be remembered forever.
They will have influence and honor. (NLT)

With wealth used for noble, God-inspired purposes it is considered to be good. Good is a spirit of generosity, compassion and to things for right reasons.

When you have the compassion of man in your heart, wealth can serve excellent purposes and build rewards for us in heaven. What we see now will eventually be totally destroyed.
“In a single moment
all the wealth of the city is gone!
The ship owners became wealthy
by transporting her great wealth on the seas.
In a single moment it is all gone.
For your merchants were the greatest in the world,
and you deceived the nations with your sorceries.”
(Rev. 18: 17-20, NLT)

Wealth in the hands of corrupt or selfish people is considered one of the worst conditions to be in. What pride invests in will be totally annihilated some day. Because investing in just material things on earth will not have lasting properties.

Invest in Heaven's properties.

When contributing to the heart, someone's calling, and the plight of needs of men, it builds up credit for us in heaven.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared.
And the sea was also gone, Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
(Rev. 21:1-4, NLT)

Jesus gave us the biggest insight to the benefits of those with wealth.
“Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.” (Luke 16:9, NLT)

John the Apostle elaborates on what Heavenly investments are while on earth: "If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in Christ in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?" (1 John 3:17, NLT)

When you see someone who is rich, don't resent that person, but desire to become rich yourself so you can serve good purposes. Desire to make friends with that person as God may use them to teach you some things that will help you.

When we use wealth for helping others, it builds an ever expanding network of friends. We take this with us. This brings eternal rewards and an investment in our eternal home.

When we live for riches in Spirit, and use what we have to assist in being compassionate, generous, thoughtful of others, we can create impact in the Kingdom of God.

Spirit is the true riches to be sought.
But wealth as one’s gift, a result of being industrious and using God’s gifts in us to the greatest degree possible, can be of great significance for building the true kingdom of God.

Everyone can be rich in Spirit,
some may be gifted in building wealth.
The Scriptures exhort us to whom much is given,
much more is required.
So Andrew Carnegie seemed on tract to believe that a great amount of responsibility rests on the shoulders of the rich to establish equality in people’s well being and the community. Being able to contribute our gifts to others is the greatest privilege we have in God’s Kingdom on earth and it is the beginning of our rewards for the Kingdom in Heaven we all will share equally.

"I will certainly bless you richly,
and I will multiply your descendants into countless millions...
Abraham was patient,
then he received all that God promised. (Heb. 6: 14-15)

"Do what is right and good.
Blessed are those who carefully do this."
(Isaiah 56: 1-2)