Robert T. Kiyosaki - Rich Dads Before You Quit Your Job: 10 Real-Life Lessons Every Entrepreneur Should Know About Building a Multimillion-Dollar Business

One of the most frightening days of my life was the day I quit my job and officially became an entrepreneur. On that day I knew there were no more steady paychecks, no more health insurance or retirement plan. No more days off for being sick or paid vacations.

On that day, my income went to zero. The terror of not having a steady paycheck was one of the most frightening experiences I had ever experienced. Worst of all, I did not know how long it would be before I would have another steady paycheck... it might be years. The moment I quit my job I knew the real reason why many employees do not become entrepreneurs. It is fear of not having any money... no guaranteed income... no steady paycheck. Very few people can operate for long periods of time without money. Entrepreneurs are different, and one of those differences is the ability to operate sanely and intelligently without money.

On that same day, my expenses went up. As an entrepreneur, I had to rent an office, a parking stall, a warehouse, buy a desk, a lamp, rent a phone, pay for travel, hotels, taxis, meals, copies, pens, paper, staples, stationery, legal tablets, postage, brochures, products, and even coffee for the office. I also had to hire a secretary, an accountant, an attorney, a bookkeeper, a business insurance agent, and even a janitorial service. These were all expenses my employer had once paid for me. I began to realize how expensive it had been to hire me as an employee. I realized that employees cost far more than the number of dollars reflected in their paychecks.

So another difference between employees and entrepreneurs is that entrepreneurs need to know how to spend money, even if they have no money.

The day I officially left the company, I was in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was June 1978. I was in Puerto Rico because I was attending the Xerox Corporations Presidents Club celebration, an event recognizing the top achievers in the company. People had come from all over the world to be recognized.

It was a great event, a gala I will always remember. I could not believe how much money Xerox was spending just to recognize the top salespeople in the company. But even though it was a celebration, I was having a miserable time. Throughout the three-day event, all I could think about was leaving the job, the steady paycheck, and the security of the company. I realized that once the party in San Juan was over, I was going to go on my own. I was not going back to work at the Honolulu Branch Office or the Xerox Corporation.

When leaving San Juan, the plane I was on experienced some kind of emergency. In preparing to land at Miami, the pilot had us all brace, cradle our heads, and prepare for a possible crash. I was already feeling bad enough about this being my first day as an entrepreneur, but now I had to prepare to die on top of it? My first day as an entrepreneur was not off to a very good start.

Obviously, the plane did not crash, and I flew on to Chicago where I was going to do a sales presentation for my line of nylon surfer wallets. I arrived at the Chicago Mercantile Mart late because of the flight delays, and the client I was supposed to meet, a buyer from a large chain of department stores, was already gone. Once again I thought to myself, This is not a good way to start my new career as an entrepreneur. If I dont make this sale there will be no income for the business, no paycheck for me, no food on the table. Since I like to eat, having no food disturbed me the most.

Are people born entrepreneurs or are they trained to be entrepreneurs? When I asked my rich dad his opinion on this age-old question, he said, Asking if people are born or trained to be entrepreneurs is a question that makes no sense. It would be like asking if people are born employees or trained to become employees? He went on to say, People are trainable. They can be trained to be either employees or entrepreneurs. The reason there are more employees than entrepreneurs is simply that our schools train young people to become employees. That is why so many parents say to their child, Go to school so you can get a good job. I have yet to hear any parent say, Go to school to become an entrepreneur.

The employee is a rather new phenomenon. During the agrarian age, most people were entrepreneurs. Many were farmers who worked the kings lands. They did not receive a paycheck from the king. In fact, it was the other way around. The farmer paid the king a tax for the right to use the land. Those who were not farmers were tradespeople, aka small business entrepreneurs. They were butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers. Their last names often reflected their business. That is why today many people are named Smith, for the village blacksmith; Baker, for bakery owners; and Farmer, because their familys business was farming. They were entrepreneurs, not employees. Most children who were raised in entrepreneurial families followed in their parents footsteps, also becoming entrepreneurs. Again, it is just a matter of training.

It was during the Industrial Age that the demand for employees grew. In response, the government took over the task of mass education and adopted the Prussian system, upon which most Western school systems in the world are today modeled. When you research the philosophy behind Prussian education, you will find that the stated purpose was to