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Rich dad poor dad
Robert Kiyosaki
4/5
“If you can't manage yourself you can't control money”
My read
Why I picked this up
It's one of the most recommended books on mindset for a reason. The reputation brought me to it, and the reputation is earned.
What it teaches
The two dads aren't just a storytelling device. They're two complete frameworks for how to think about money placed side by side. The protagonist's biological father, educated, salaried, secure, represents one face of the coin. The rich dad represents the other: system thinking, cash flow, tax awareness, and the difference between working for money and having money work. What I found most useful wasn't the asset/liability split specifically, but the reasoning behind it, how the rich dad thinks about a financial decision versus how the poor dad does.
What I decided
The tax system section in particular changed how I look at financial structure. Not as something that happens to you, but as something you can understand and plan around. That's the kind of thinking the book is really teaching.
What changed
The mental model of cash flow stuck. Every financial decision now has a side, does it produce or does it cost. That filter is simple, and it works.
Critical reflection
Kiyosaki is controversial for good reason, some of the execution advice is thin and the success stories are hard to verify. Read it for the framework, not as a playbook. The mindset shift is real. The specific steps are not always as clean as he makes them sound.