I wanted to contribute a little to the book discussions we've been having on the imason blogs. Scott had two of these [1] [2] and Steve had another.

I just finished reading Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.

I'm not too much into self-help books. I always feel like they are just a way for the author to make some more money. This book is similar. It is written in very plain English and has a lot of repetition - it is meant for anybody and everybody to read. However, I am impressed with the motivation it provides. (Just as a self-help book should). Maybe that's why it was on the New York Times best seller's list. Similarly it has its bad sides. It is a self-help book and this article does a great job as showing exactly how the author is just making money off of this book - and I partly agree.

But, nevertheless, overall, it offers great motivational advice, such as:
1. Act rather than not act. If you don't act, you will never succeed
2. Take risks sometimes, don't be a chiken. This links to #1 I guess
3. Surround yourself with (e.g. hire) people smarter than you
4. Learn a market by reading books or going to courses
and always:
5. "Think and Make Money" not "Work Hard and Make Money". - i.e. always try to think of new ways to invest your dollar

The financial advice is:
1. Learn accounting (so you can know what an asset/liability/income/expense is)
2. Learn investing (when to know what is a good deal)
3. Learn marketing (so you can notice trends in advance)
4. Learn the law for your market (so you can take advantage of it)

Then the master rule: buying assets that make you monthly income rather than buying liabilities that cause you monthly expenses.

That's a short version of it, except with a lot more motivation and "get out there and stop being so lazy", and "you can be rich too" talk.