By the thinkBIG Team
When Robert Kiyosaki reconnected with his sister Emi, better known as the Venerable Tenzin Kacho, he rediscovered a spirit that had been lacking in his life. Jonathan Jackson spoke with Robert about spirituality and takes a look at the role this plays in his wealth building strategies within the the current global financial crisis.
In times of difficulty, it is common for people to look within themselves, examine their circumstances and come up with a plan of action to cope with the current crisis, maybe even work their way out of it. Robert Kiyosaki will not feel the effects of the crisis some smart-alec (genius?) marketing expert labelled the GFC, but having been in a position of poverty and clawed his way out he knows full well how to plan for success. He is thus well qualified to share this information with others.
Robert is even better qualified to impart this wisdom, given his recent reconnection with his Buddhist sister. It is this life changing event that has led him to renew his pursuit of personal truths. "I am not sure I will ever know my personal truths, but I get closer by searching for them," Robert says.
"My search for personal truth begins with the things that disturb me."
He is disturbed by seeing people struggle financially. Seeing people fulfil a day to day job description they despise in order to pay the bills. Robert refers to this practice as evil. He is also disturbed when people tell him that 'money is not important', or that money itself is 'evil'.
There are unfortunately many people at the moment who do not see money as a positive thing; who have had to foreclose on their dream homes, who have lost their jobs and are hence struggling with their relationships.
Robert's message to these people is the same as it has always been: seek out good financial advice and get educated. "Your greatest asset for financial success is your brain, so be sure to protect it from poor advice.
"At this time of financial crisis, people should be seeking good, relevant advice."
In his Yahoo Finance column Robert alluded to the fact that even his advice isn't for everyone.
He wrote: Be very careful whom you take financial advice from – and that includes me. My guidance, after all, does not work for 80% of the people. My suggestions are not right for those who work for a paycheque or commissions, nor do they work for people who save money in a bank or retirement account.
I don't live in some fairytale world with the hope that the markets will right themselves in five years. I don't keep putting money into a losing venture such as a retirement plan filled with stocks, bonds and mutual funds. I do not live on false promises. I cannot afford to live on bad advice.
If you do not know what you are doing, no asset can make you rich. Ultimately what makes you rich is your financial intelligence. Your greatest asset is your brain, so take care of it and protect it from bad advice.
Robert blames the crisis on a financial power struggle. He is worried about governments printing extra money that could lead to hyperinflation. The only way to survive this is to educate.
Education is in fact a lifelong pursuit for Robert. He is unsure of whether this is one of his personal truths, but he is coming to terms with the fact that it just might be.
And personal truth may just be the salvation of many who are struggling.
For Robert, beyond looking at the things that disturb him to find his truths he relies on two other important life-changing factors: Intuition – "I sit quietly and let my higher self guide me."
Resolution – "Many times what my inner guide suggests is not what I want to do. For example, before I created my game Cashflow, I argued with myself for months that I did not want to do it and that I was unable to do it. After some time passed, I was sitting with Kim (wife Kim Kiyosaki) having a coffee and asked her if we should go ahead with it. That's when the process began and a year later I wrote Rich Dad, Poor Dad as a way of advertising the game. Two years later Oprah Winfrey called and suddenly I went from obscurity to worldwide recognition."
Robert has been searching for his truths for much of his career and since his reconnection with his sister, has been more open to discovering different things. One of those things is kindness, a trait he believes has been lacking.
"I love what the Dalai Lama says, 'My religion is kindness'. Whenever I feel something is lacking, I now focus on being kinder."
The Venerable Tenzin Kancho and her Buddhist teachings have had an enormous influence on Robert's recent perspective. Though the pair has lived vastly different lives and taken separate paths they share similar views. In fact Emi's Buddhist teachings would work well for people suffering in the GFC.
"Things happen in life and we have to find answers, change our view, change how we live otherwise we remain static, or withdraw and die inside," she says.
The pair also believes they have reached the same destination as each other.
"It seems when one is on a path to God, we wind up in the same place," Robert says.
Emi is more succinct: "When we seek understanding, or explore what interests us in life, we set out to find answers."
It is all about having faith. Their father had faith as he stood as a Republican candidate in a Democratic politic and was crushed. Yet he stood up with integrity and what Emi describes as benevolence and never gave up. These traits rubbed off on his children with Robert learning that 'one man's mission is more important than one man's life'. A notion exemplified by his time as a marine.
Robert's own first big faithful leap was when he joined the army. He says, "The more leaps of faith you take, the easier the leaps become. As I stated previously, I often have to come to a resolution before I take the leap. Becoming a teacher outside of the government education system was a tremendous leap of faith. If I had not done that, I doubt if I would have met and married Kim. So every leap of faith has its risks but the rewards have been spectacular."
Life is a reformation. It is constantly changing through the highs and lows; through financial crises and financial successes. It requires mental, physical, emotional and spiritual transformation.
"Let me give you two examples," says Robert. "If a person is overweight and unhealthy, simply going on a diet will not necessarily change the person. Or if a person wins the lotto, the millions of dollars does not necessarily make them a rich person." Emi takes it further.
"If you ignore one of these aspects, it will trip you and affect other aspects. If you don't take care of your physical health it will diminish your capacity in mental, emotional and spiritual wisdom and transformation."
Robert applies this philosophy to his business, understanding that for his business to grow and change first he must change. "Today business and spirituality are the same. I express my spirituality or lack of spirituality through my business. Personally, I know I am in harmony with my business when the money pours in and I am out of harmony when the money disappears."
The merging of business and spirituality is not something many people understand, if they do they tend to ignore it. The problem with business and perhaps why so many businesses have gone to the wall recently is because people are afraid to express their spiritual side for fear of being seen as weak. Robert also believes that individuals and businesses are afraid of taking on projects that are bigger than themselves.
"If you want to test your spirit, you need a challenge bigger than yourself," he says.
For Emi, it is about living life in congruence with personal principles, otherwise you put yourself out of integrity with your own beliefs.
"If you believe money is bad, you will be poor," she says. "Finding and following solid principles (speaking truth, continually educating oneself, benefiting others) builds strength and personal power. Robert found his purpose and power by thinking big. And he encourages others to do the same; to seek knowledge, to discover the best paths for themselves by asking the right questions of the right people. Knowledge is power, whether the world is in recession, or riding a financial high.
Five keys to living a happy life
1. Focus on giving
2. Focus on being appropriate. That means if you need to be tough, be tough… even if you don't want. If you need to be kind, be kind even if you don't want to.
3. Take on challenges rather than avoid them.
4. Welcome criticism.
5. Be willing to be wrong and then correct.
He also recommends that if people want to survive they should not do the things they love, but help with the things they hate. This may sound incongruent, but when he explains it, it makes sense.
"I do what I hate. For example, I hate poverty, I hate seeing people with so little when great spirit is so abundant. So I teach people about money."
Robert's reconnection with Emi has brought new spirit into his life and enabled him to grow and change.
Change is something we must all experience to keep the fires burning, but before we change ourselves and our circumstances we must seek out the right advice. It may be from a long lost sister who discovered herself in the Buddhist ways, or it may be from teachers such as Robert with differing views of current global circumstance and life in general.
Whatever path you choose, the lesson learnt here is to choose the right path for you and to live the life you are meant to live.
