Robert Kiyosaki is one of the world’s top experts on financial freedom and gaining control and power over your money. Here are some of his best quotes about becoming financially free and taking charge of your money and success.
1. “Don’t be addicted to money. Work to learn. Don’t work for money, work for knowledge.”
Working hard might make you a lot of money, but it is never a guarantee. So as you work hard, always remember that money is only a byproduct of the time and effort you put into the work that you do. As a direct result of working hard, you should always attempt to learn and grow intellectually. The more you know, the better decisions you will make. Smarter decisions lead to successful business moves. While those have the potential to lead to increased income and assets, never count on it. When you constantly seek to learn, even if it does not always result in monetary gain, you will still always be satisfied.
2. “In the real world, the smartest people are the people who make mistakes and learn.”
In your career, you are going to mess up. You will not always know what the best decision is to make until you make a choice and go for it. Sometimes that might mean you do not make as much money as you planned, or that you even might end up losing money as the result of a poor decision. However, that does not mean you are not smart, or that you are destined to fail. As long as you choose to learn from your mistakes, you will go far. Learning from your mistakes is what will make you successful throughout your life, and the earlier you adopt the practice of bouncing back from failure and propelling yourself forward in spite of it, the better.
3. “The only difference between a rich person and a poor person is how they use their time.”
Perhaps you are sitting on your couch after a long day of work, wondering why you are struggling to pay your bills despite having a full time job. The problem is not always the job itself, but what you are doing with your time when you are not working. The difference between those experiencing optimal financial health and those who are not is that those savvy with their money are also those savvy with their time. They do not sit around wondering why they are not making the kind of money they want to be. Instead, they use that time to work on projects, to join teams doing important things in the world. They do not wonder: they act.
4. “If you want to be rich, you need to develop your vision. You must be standing on the edge of time gazing into the future.”
You cannot obtain financial freedom if you are not able to visualize what things will be like once you get there. Once you are able to see where you want to be in the future and how it will benefit all areas of your life, only then will you be able to plan in advance to take steps toward making as much money as you need to in order to feel secure and in control. Picture in your head where you want to be and how you are going to get there. Set goals, set smaller goals within those larger goals and start working today to achieve them. Do not wait until tomorrow.
5. “You have to be smart. The easy days are over.”
If you have decided that you want to obtain financial freedom, to be in control of your finances and to increase your income, you must realize that things will no longer be easy for you. In order to make money, you have to work hard, probably harder than you ever have before. You also need to be able to work as hard as possible without completely burning yourself out, because when we burn out, we risk missing work; losing money; wasting too much time. Financial freedom is hard. You can earn it if you are willing to work for it.
6. “It’s more important to grow your income than to cut your expenses. It’s more important to grow your spirit than to cut your dreams.”
Sometimes it is not exactly clear what we are supposed to do in order to ensure that we make enough money to gain control of our finances for the rest of our lives. Does making a lot of money mean we have to spend less? Does it mean we have to give up on our dreams, which probably won’t make us any money at all? Absolutely not. In order to make more money, you first must consider your income and your happiness. The more money you make, the more you can spend on things that bring you psychological as well as financial wealth.
7. “Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success.”
Making mistakes and falling short of expectations will always be a part of life in the real world. You will always have competitors who will make smarter decisions to you or that will make a move before you get the chance to do so. Just because you might be afraid of failing or doing something wrong does not mean you should not try. In fact, letting fear hold you back pretty much guarantees that you will never be successful, financially or otherwise. Learn how to conquer your fear of failure and continue moving toward success even if the possibility of making mistakes and falling short makes you doubt yourself.
Financial freedom is obtained when all your hard work pays off – literally. Keep in mind the days when you will not have to stress so much in order to afford the things you want. That day will come, as long as you stay on track now and work as hard as you can to get to where you want to be.
