《富爸爸穷爸爸》第36章

nvesting；　that　is。
The　fear　of　losing　money　is　real。　Everyone　has　it。　Even　the　rich。　But　it"s　not　fear　that　is　the　problem。　It"s　how　you　handle　fear。　It"s　how　you　handle　losing。 It"s　how　you　handle　failure　that　makes　the　difference　in　one"s　life。　That　goes　for　anything　in　life；　not　just　money。　The　primary　difference　between　a　rich　person　and　a　poor　person　is　how　they　handle　that　fear。
It"s　OK　to　be　fearful。　It"s　OK　to　be　a　coward　when　it　es　to　money。　You　can　still　be　rich。　We"re　all　heroes　at　something　and　cowards　at　something　else。　My　friend"s　wife　is　an　emergency　room　nurse。　When　；　she　sees　blood；　she　flies　into　action。　When　I　mention　investing；　she　runs"j　away。　When　I　see　blood；　I　don"t　run。 I　pass　out。　My　rich　dad　understood　phobias　about　money。 〃Some　people　are　terrified　of　snakes。　Some　people　are　terrified　about　losing　money。　Both　are　phobias；〃　he　would　say。　So　his　solution　to　the　phobia　of　losing　money　was　this　little　rhyme：　〃If　you　hate　risk　and　worry。　。　。start　early。〃
That"s　why　banks　remend　savings　as　a　habit　when　you"re　young。　J　If　you　start　young；　it"s　easy　to　be　rich。　I　won"t　go　into　it　here；　but　there　is　a　large　difference　between　a　person　who　starts　saving　at　age　20　versus　age　30。　A　staggering　difference。
It　is　said　that　one　of　the　wonders　of　the　world　is　the　power　of　pound　interest。　The　purchase　of　Manhattan　Island　is　said　to　be　one　of　the　greatest　bargains　of　all　time。　New　York　was　purchased　for　24　in　trinkets　and　beads。　Yet；　if　that　24　had　been　invested；　at　8　percent　annually；　that　24　would　have　been　worth　more　than　28　trillion　by　1995；　Manhattan　could　be　repurchased　with　money　left　over　to　buy　much　of　L。A。；　especially　at　1995"s　real　estate　prices。
My　neighbor　works　for　a　major　puter　pany。　He　has　been　there　25　years。　In　five　more　years　he　will　leave　the　pany　with　4　million　in　his　401k　retirement　plan。　It　is　invested　mostly　in　highgrowth　mutual　funds；　which　he　will　convert　to　bonds　and　government　securities。　He"ll　only　be　55　when　he　gets　out；　and　he　will　have　a　passive　cash　flow　of　over　300；000　a　year；　more　than　he　makes　from　his　salary。 So　it　can　be　done；　even　if　you　hate　losing　or　hate　risk。　But　you　must　start　early　and　definitely　set　up　a　retirement　plan；　and　you　should　hire　a　financial　planner　you　trust　to　guide　you　before　investing　in　anything。
But　what　if　you　don"t　have　much　time　left　or　would　like　to　retire　early？　How　do　you　handle　the　fear　of　losing　money？
My　poor　dad　did　nothing。　He　simply　avoided　the　issue；　refusing　to　discuss　the　subject。
My　rich　dad；　on　the　other　hand；　remended　that　I　think　like　a　Texan。 〃I　like　Texas　and　Texans；〃　he　used　to　say。 〃In　Texas；　everything　is　bigger。　When　Texans　win；　they　win　big。　And　when　they　lose；　it"s　spectacular。〃
〃They　like　losing？〃　I　asked。
〃That"s　not　what　I"m　saying。　Nobody　likes　losing。　Show　me　a　happy　loser；　and　I"ll　show　you　a　loser；〃　said　rich　dad。　〃It"s　a　Texan"s　attitude　toward　risk；　reward　and　failure　I"m　talking　about。　It"s　how　they　handle　life。　They　live　it　big。　Not　like　most　of　the　people　around　here；　living　like　roaches　when　it　es　to　money。　Roaches　terrified　that　someone　will　shine　a　light　on　them。　Whimpering　when　the　grocery　clerk　short　changes　them　a　quarter。〃
Rich　dad　went　on　to　explain。
〃What　I　like　best　is　the　Texas　attitude。　They"re　proud　when　they　win；　and　they　brag　when　they　lose。　Texans　have　a　saying；　〃If　you"re　going　to　go　broke；　go　big。　You　don"t　want　to　admit　you　went　broke　over　a　duplex。　Most　people　around　here　are　so　afraid　of　losing；　they　don"t　have　a　duplex　to　go　broke　with。〃
He　constantly　told　Mike　and　me　that　the　greatest　reason　for　lack　of　financial　success　was　because　most　people　played　it　too　safe。 〃People　are　so　afraid　of　losing　that　they　lose〃　were　his　words。
Fran　Tarkenton；　a　onetime　great　NFL　quarterback；　says　it　still　another　way：　〃Winning　means　being　unafraid　to　lose。〃
In　my　own　life；　I"ve　noticed　that　winning　usually　follows　losing。　Before　I　finally　learned　to　ride　a　bike；　I　first　fell　down　many　times。　I"ve　never　met　a　golfer　who　has　never　lost　a　golf　ball。　I"ve　never　met　people　who　have　fallen　in　love　who　have　never　had　their　heart　broken。　And　I"ve　never　met　someone　rich　who　has　never　lost　money。
So　for　most　people；　the　reason　they　don"t　win　financially　is　because　the　pain　of　losing　money　is　far　greater　than　the　joy　of　being　rich。 Another　saying　in　Texas　is；　〃Everyone　wants　to　go　to　Heaven；　but　no　one　wants　to　die。〃　Most　people　dream　of　being　rich；　but　are　terrified　of　losing　money。 So　they　never　get　to　Heaven。
Rich　dad　used　to　tell　Mike　and　me　stories　about　his　trips　to　Texas。　〃If　you　really　want　to　learn　the　attitude　of　how　to　handle　risk；　losing　and　failure；　go　to　San　Antonio　and　visit　the　Alamo。　The　Alamo　is　a　great　story　of　brave　people　who　chose　to　fight；　knowing　there　was　no　hope　of　success　against　overwhelming　odds。　They　chose　to　die　instead　of　surrendering。　It"s　an　inspiring　story　worthy　of　study；　nonetheless；　it"s　still　a　tragic　military　defeat。　They　got　their　butts　kicked。　A　failure　if　you　will。　They　lost。 So　how　do　Texans　handle　failure？　They　still　shout；　"Remember　the　Alamo！"〃
Mike　and　I　heard　this　story　a　lot。　He　always　told　us　this　story　when　f　he　was　about　to　go　into　a　big　deal　and　he　was　nervous。　After　he　had　done　all　his　due　diligence　and　now　it　was　put　up　or　shut　up；　he　told　us　this　story。 Every　time　he　was　afraid　of　making　a　mistake；　or　losing　money；　he　told　us　this　story。　It　gave　him　strength；　for　it　reminded　him　that　he　could　always　turn　a　financial　loss　into　a　financial　win。　Rich　dad I　knew　that　failure　would　only　make　him　stronger　and　smarter。　It"s　not　that！　he　wanted　to　lose；　he　just　knew　who　he　was　and　how　he　would　take　a　loss。　He　would　take　a　loss　and　make　it　a　win。　That"s　what　made　him　a　winner　and　others　losers。　It　gave　him　the　courage　to　cross　the　line　when　others　backed　out。　〃That"s　why　I　like　Texans　so　much。　They　took　a　great　failure　and　turned　it　into　a　tourist　destination　that　makes　them　millions。〃
But　probably　his　words　that　mean　the　most　to　me　today　are　these：　〃Texans　don"t　bury　their　failures。　They　get　inspired　by　them。　They　take　i　their　failures　and　turn　them　into　rallying　cries。　Failure　inspires　Texans　to　"　bee　winners。　But　that　formula　is　not　j