One of the important principles that I learn from Robert Kiyosaki Rich Dad Poor Dad book is the rich don't work for money. Before that, I would always wonder how did all these rich guys drive luxurious car, live in a big house and keep on enjoying their life.

After graduation, I land my first job as a civil engineer in a small property developer company. Later, I move to a civil and structural design consultant company to enhance my knowledge on structural design. I felt my job is quite challenging but it required a lot of my time. Basically, my working hour is from 8 am until 8 pm. Since, I live quite far away from my office, I have to wake up early in the morning and get out of my house before sunrise to go to work and I usually finish my work after sunset. After 2 years of continuous hard work, I felt very tired and frustrated because I am still struggling financially.

Soon, I found out that I was living in a pattern of life. The patterns of get up, go to work, pay bills, get up, go to work, pay bills .... I felt my lives are run forever by two emotion, fear and greed. Every time I was offered more money, I continue the cycle by also increasing their spending. This is what I called rat race.

In Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki said that most people have a price. They have a price because of human emotion called fear and greed. First, the fear of being without money motivates us to work hard, and then once we get that paycheck, greed or desire starts us thinking about all the wonderful thing money can buy. Then pattern rat race is then set into us.

Instead of telling the truth how I feel, I react to my feeling and fail to think. I feel the fear, I go to work, hoping that money will soothe the fear, but it doesn't. When the old fear haunts me, I will go back to work, hoping again that money will calm my fear, and it doesn't. Fear has me in this trap of working, earning money, working earning money, hoping the fear will go away. But when I get up every day, that old fear wakes up with me. For million of other people, that old fear keeps them awake all night, causing a night of turmoil and worry. So they get up and go to work, hoping that a paycheck will kill that fear gnawing at their soul. Money is running their lives, and they refuse to tell the truth about that. Money is in control of their emotions and hence their souls.

The other disturbing emotion is desire. It is perfectly normal to desire something better, prettier, more fun or exciting. So people also work for money because of desire. I do. They desire the money for the joy they think it can buy. But the joy that money brings is often short lived and they soon need more money for more joy, more pleasure, more comfort and more security. So people keep working, thinking money will soothe their souls that are troubled by fear and desire. But money cannot do that.

From then onwards, I said to myself that I need to change and I can't be working like this for the rest of my life. Thereafter, I started thinking how to make more money. At first, I though of doing some part-time job to earn a second income, so I started keeping an eye on any good opportunity out there. In the early stage, I accepted some part-time structural design job and patent drafting. Although I earn a reasonable sum, I was feeling even more tired and this began disrupting my full time job performance. Soon, I discontinued the part time job plan to avoid risking my career and began exploring other new idea to make money.

Then, one day, I found this great book called Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. It began to change thinking upside down. In Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert says one thing that the rich people do is investment but before that you need invest in your knowledge first. Thereafter, I started to invest my part time income to attend investment seminar in property and stock. Although I am currently not expanding my asset yet, I feel that I am making progress in getting out of the rat race.  

Jason Teh is a fan of Robert Kiyosaki principle. Using the simple and proven teaching of Robert Kiyosaki, he was able to transform his life and get out of debt easily. Now, he is on the way to achieve his own financial freedom.