Customer Reviews

If You Want to Be Rich and Happy, Don't Go to School?: Ensuring Lifetime Security for Yourself..

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I've read this book 3 times, and I enjoyed it more every time. This is not a book about "bashing" the educational system. After all, it was written by a teacher. This is Kiyosaki's first book. His subsequent books "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" "Cashflow Quadrant" have gone on to best seller status. "Rich Dad's Guide to Investing" will probably too.

What this book confirmed for me is what I suspected all along. Our educational system is designed as a giant employment training agency. Schools don't teach our children how to cope in life and to take care of themselves. Schools are designed to produce good employees. Sounds almost like a conspiracy theory doesn't it? Think about it. Why do people strive to get good grades in school? To get into a good college. Why do people want to go to a good college or any college? To get a good "education" which really translates into a good job.

I found the author's talk about grades to be very eye opening. After all, we place kids in different ranks. Some kids are dumb and some are smart. They all can't get A's in school, so we create the "Bell Curve" to make it look good. We have to flunk a certain number of kids in order to make the smart ones appear smart. After all a "smart" kid is only smart in comparison to all the other kids who are "dumb." The kid who graduates at the top of the class does so because he/she is "better" or "smarter" than the kids who rank lower. This book presents a really sad look at our educational system, and I think many bureaucrats in the educational system resent it. I hope it wakes them up.

If you're involved in the educational system, you owe it to yourself to give this book at least a good read or two. If you never liked school like I did, you'll love this book. I felt a sense of validation after reading it. It's not a put down of education per se as much as our school system. People who are "educated" aren't necessarily poor, they've just been trained in the wrong way. I don't expect the bureaucrats to change anything as a result of this book. Too many people have too many entrenched interests to change the system.

I'm giving this book 5 stars for its courage and originality. Kiyosaki laid it all out on the line. Many people will disagree with the premise of the book, and those are the people who profit by keeping our schools mediocre. As the author points out, we need to teach our kids to be independent and self-sufficient. Our school system doesn't do that. I wonder how many "dumb" kids never made it in life because of their school experience. Have you ever noticed how many famous wealthy people never completed school? Think about that.

The author confirms my own beliefs about American society, the education system, and what I should do for myself at this point in my life. I also believe that children should be taught the same principles, especially since getting bad grades in no way reflects the true worth of a person.

The American education system is fine for those who can make the grade and stick with their chosen field for life and be happy doing it. In reality, many people don't fit the mold, industries change, and people change. We are so brain washed into schooling ourselves as the only was to make a decent happy living. This and the over importance of grades separating winners and losers is bad for the individual and society, as Mr. Kiyosaki points out.

The bottom line is taking control of your own financial destiny. Education *is* an option, but not the *only* option.

The book is not intended to be a how to get rich book, but a point of view that readers will benefit from. Some of the points are obvious and could be more direct, however I recommend the book for those who feel that getting more education is the only route to go in this society, and for those who want to protect their self-esteem or their kid's.

After reading "If You Want To Be Rich and Happy, Don't Go To School", I was reminded of what I knew all along; all school does is train you be a good employee. Schools are basically gloried recruiting agencies for employers.

We're always told to get good grades right. But when I go to the bank for a loan my banker has never asked to see my report card. He does do a credit check and a debt to income ratio and checked my assets.

All school teaches is how much more there is to know. Most of my high school friends who went to college and on to the great dream of "get a good education so you can get a good job" are updating their resumes looking for their third or fourth jobs--just in the last five years.

I also know a couple that are in their late 40's and had to move in with their parents because they can't make it.

I think education is great as long as it is put in perspective. It does not equate wealth. The real education that will make you wealthy is what Kiyosaki teaches. And Kiyosaki knows first hand. He saw what going to school and getting a great education did to his real, but Poor Dad. It drove him broke, unhappy and to an early death.

Schools and teachers should not look at Kiyosaki's books, this one or the others as opposition, but as a wake up call. The current educational system is not cutting it. Just look at allof the :highly educated people" who are out of work or working at jobs at 1/2 or less than their highest salaries. I rest my case.

"If You Want to Be Rich & Happy, Don't Go to School?" needs to be read by parents and children, school teaches, business executives and anyone who is in the "E" Quadrant and thinks that is a good place to be. Or thinks that is the place they need to be.

I highly recommend "If You Want To Be Rich & Happy, Don't Go To School?" and "Rich Dad Poor Dad" as well as "Cash Flow Quadrant" to everyone who is sick of the rat race and feeling like a rat. Sick of the 9-5, commute through traffic, working 40 hours a week for 40 years in the hopes of "job security" and finding that there is no such thing as "job security" as long as you work for someone else.

The only real security is within yourself.

Excellent book. It may not be what you want to hear, but iti certaintly is what you need to hear...and none too soon.

As tots, we were all told, get good grades through elementary school, then grade school, then high school and finally, through college and we will get good jobs as a result of a good education--ENT!!!Take a look at how people with "good educations" are doing today. Hello!On the other hand, RTK doesn't say to drop out of school or that formal eduacation is totally useless. Just that the skills we need to succeed are in taught in school.I believe we school have a spelling class and then a goal setting class. A math class and then a attitude class etc. Teach from the earliest ages and then when these kids get out of school they will really kick some butt!Formal education only gives you the bare bones, barely survival skills. Take a look at people who have had their salaries cut in half or even worse can't find work at all despite their great edcation.RTK my hat goes off to you for having the guts to dispel a common American myth and huge misconception.

This book was decent but its really repetitive. He seems to drag on forever making the book a bad read. Good concepts which are also reinterated in Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Rich Dad is also a much better book. Don't waste your time buying this one, just get to Rich Dad instead.

I have read all of Kiysaki's books and played the game (loved them all!!!) and each time my mind expanded that much more. 'If you want to be Rich and Happy - Don't go to School' was the first book of Robert's I ever read, and its impact on me has been significant. As I write I am in the process of changing my chosen career path (I am currently at University studying to be a teacher - for the last 2-and-a-half years) because I agree so fervently with Kiysaki's observations about the school education system - he only put into words what I have felt for a long time and dared to question. All my University colleagues don't want to bother messing with the 'system', the 'system' is going to provide a secure job for them as well as reasonable pay. If you are a parent especially you will value this book. If you are a teacher or educator of young people, please read this book. To wrap up I would caution anyone who does read this insightful, ahead-of-its-time book that your mind will be opened and you won't be able to think of education as our society knows it in the same way again. Enjoy!!!!!!! I know you will! (P.S. If you could recreate the education system, what would you do or how would you go about it? email me: mcila@yahoo.com)

What Robert said in this book is an eye opener.

Our education is a failure, especially coming from a country like mine, which only emphazing the elimination of weak students. The result is having a pool of students that are exam smart but does not have any commensense.

Robert always insist that our school system does not teach our student the concept of money, which is the reson why many of us still trap in this rat race of getting a job, spend every single cent and live on credit.

I strongly recommend any educator to read this book.

When I read the 1 star reviews of this book I am reminded of the Easter Ham story. The story goes like this:

A young girl goes over to her Mom on Easter Sunday and asks; "Mom, how come everytime you make a ham you always cut both ends off?" Her Mother surprised by the young girls question simply responded; "I don't know. My Mom always did it that way so it seemed like the right thing to do. Grandma is in the parlor go ask her."

The young tot went over to her grandmother and said; "Grandma, Mom is making a ham in the kitchen and I noticed she as always cuts both ends of the ham off. I asked her why and she said she didn't know and wanted me to ask you. Why did you always cut both ends of the ham off Grandma?"

Grandma also caught off guard responded; "I don't know either. My Mother always did it that way and she is lying down upstairs. Go ask her."

The young tot trotted upstairs where her great Grandma was. After seeing her great grandma was up popped the question;
"Mom-mom, Mom is down stairs getting ready to make our Easter Sunday dinner and is preparing a ham. She is as she always cutting off both ends of the ham. I asked her why she does that and she said she didn't know and to ask Grandma. I asked Grandma and she said she didn't know either but did it because she learned it from you and told me to ask you why. So Mom-Mom, why is that whenever you make a ham you always cut both ends off?"

Great Grandma was a little more prepared and replied; "I always cut both ends of my ham off because I never had a pan big enough to put the whole ham into."

Wow! Two generations of people doing things for no rhyme or reason only because they were taught that way. And never questioned it!

Sounds like education doesn't it? From our earliest points of memory we are drilled on "go to school, get good grades, get a good job and you will succeed." What hogwash!

The fact of the matter is that formal education does precious little to prepare us for real life situations. When were we ever taught what to do about downsizing? In fact, when I started school, it is was generally believed that you would find a job, 1 job and stick with that the rest of your life.

We were taught that a JOB was right up there with God and Family. Sorry, but I think too much of God and my Family to insult them by comparing them to a JOB or employer.

And when were we ever taught in school about setting goals? Or communications? Or a positive attitude? How to invest? How to start a business? How to buy real estate? How to buy bonds and how long to keep them?

In "If you want to be Rich and Happy: Don't Go to School?" Kiyosaki reverses the negative programming that so many got early in their lives. You will learn how to prosper in good times and bad. You will learn how to become the kind of person who can handle any economic situation.

And unlike the two mothers, you won't just do things because "Mom/Dad/Grandma/Grandpa/Cousin Billy/Aunt Martha/Uncle John/my school teachers or whomever taught you that way. You will learn to think for yourself. You will learn to make the right choices, not just memorize information without questioning it like the school system advocates.

I can see why this book is unpopular because some people find it so difficult to let go of outdated dogma. Tradition. What seems right. What feels good (even if it doesn't work.)Attack the school system? Be Rich and Happy Without Going to School? I personally don't know of anyone who has become Rich and Happy because of school. I do know many who are going from job to job as their companies fold or downsize due to slow growth.

A millionaire I once worked for (who had only a high school education but a net worth of over 1/4 of a billion) used to tell us "If you want to be underpaid, underemployed and underappreciated, a college degree and job is a great way to do it." He pushed entrepreneurship even among his employees.

"If You Want To Be Rich and Happy Don't Go to School? is a book that must be read by anyone who is sincerely concerned about their financial future. You must take control of your future and this book will show you how.

This book puts a whole new twist on the way we view education. It made me rethink a lot of issues pertaining to my own child's education in a big way. I did find the last chapter of the book to be a little like a sales pitch for his courses, however. If you can look past that part there is a lot of interesting ideas on education that pertain to adults as well as children. I would recommend this book for a fresh perspective.

Yes, thats right. The book is worth its weight in Gold!
Kiyosaki reveals the reasons why school has brought upon poverty among the poor and especially the middle class people of America. You will be amazed when you read this book how our education system brainwashes us to go to school, get good grades, and graduate to find a safe secure JOB (just-over-broke) in a large corporation in order to become a slave to corporate America...AKA LIVING IN POVERTY!!!! School always discourages you to follow your dreams in life.
Yes, Kiyosaki does repeat his ideas through Chapters (which seems tedious to read)...but it expresses it in different ways using different examples to get the readers' minds outta of rat race the education system programmed us to be in.
EXCELLENT BOOK!!!!