《富爸爸穷爸爸》第37章

d　turn　them　into　rallying　cries。　Failure　inspires　Texans　to　"　bee　winners。　But　that　formula　is　not　just　the　formula　for　Texans。　It　j　is　the　formula　for　all　winners。〃
Just　as　I　also　said　that　falling　off　my　bike　was　part　of　learning　to　ride。　I　remember　falling　off　only　made　me　more　determined　to　learn　to　ride。　Not　less。　I　also　said　that　I　have　never　met　a　golfer　who　has　never　lost　a　ball。　To　be　a　top　professional　golfer；　losing　a　ball　or　a　tournament　only　inspires　golfers　to　be　better；　to　practice　harder；　to　study　more。　That"s　what　makes　them　better。　For　winners；　losing　inspires　them。　For　losers；　losing　defeats　them。
Quoting　John　D。　Rockefeller；　〃I　always　tried　to　turn　every　disaster　"　into　an　opportunity。〃
And　being　JapaneseAmerican；　I　can　say　this。　Many　people　say　that　Pearl　Harbor　was　an　American　mistake。　I　say　it　was　a　Japanese　mistake。　From　the　movie　Tora；　Tora；　Tom；　a　somber　Japanese　admiral　says　to　his　cheering　subordinates；　〃I　am　afraid　we　have　awakened　a　sleeping　giant。〃　〃Remember　Pearl　Harbor〃　became　a　rallying　cry。　It　turned　one　of　America"s　greatest　losses　into　the　reason　to　win。　This　great　defeat　gave　America　strength；　and　America　soon　emerged　as　a　world　power。
Failure　inspires　winners。　And　failure　defeats　losers。　It　is　the　biggest　secret　of　winners。 It"s　the　secret　that　losers　do　not　know。　The　greatest　secret　of　winners　is　that　failure　inspires　winning；　thus；　they"re　not　afraid　of　losing。 Repeating　Fran　Tarkenton"s　quote；　〃Winning　means　being　unafraid　to　lose。〃　People　like　Fran　Tarkenton　are　not　afraid　of　losing　because　they　know　who　they　are。　They　hate　losing；　so　they　know　that　losing　will　only　inspire　them　to　bee　better。　There　is　a　big　difference　between　hating　losing　and　being　afraid　to　lose。　Most　people　are　so　afraid　of　losing　money　that　they　lose。　They　go　broke　over　a　duplex。　Financially　they　play　life　too　safe　and　too　small。　They　buy　big　houses　and　big　cars；　but　not　big　investments。　The　main　reason　that　over　90　percent　of　the　American　public　struggles　financially　is　because　they　play　not　to　lose。　They　don"t　play　to　win。
They　go　to　their　financial　planners　or　accountants　or　stockbrokers　and　buy　a　balanced　portfolio。　Most　have　lots　of　cash　in　CDs；　lowyield　bonds；　mutual　funds　that　can　be　traded　within　a　mutualfund　family；　and　a　few　individual　stocks。　It　is　a　safe　and　sensible　portfolio。　But　it　is　not　a　winning　portfolio。　It　is　a　portfolio　of　someone　playing　not　to　lose。
Don"t　get　me　wrong。　It"s　probably　a　better　portfolio　than　more　than　70　percent　of　the　population；　and　that"s　frightening。　Because　a　safe　portfolio　is　a　lot　better　than　no　portfolio。　It"s　a　great　portfolio　for　someone　who　loves　safely。　But　playing　it　safe　and　going　〃balanced〃　on　your　investment　portfolio　is　not　the　way　successful　investors　play　the　game。　If　you　have　little　money　and　you　want　to　be　rich；　you　must　first　be　〃focused；〃　not　〃balanced。〃　If　you　look　at　anyone　successful；　at　the　start　they　were　not　balanced。　Balanced　people　go　nowhere。　They　stay　in　one　spot。　To　make　progress；　you　must　first　go　unbalanced。　Just　look　at　how　you　make　progress　walking。
Thomas　Edison　was　not　balanced。　He　was　focused。　Bill　Gates　was　not　balanced。　He　was　focused。　Donald　Trump　is　focused。　Gee　Soros　is　focused。　Gee　Patton　did　not　take　his　tanks　wide。　He　focused　them　and　blew　through　the　weak　spots　in　the　German　line。　The　French　went　wide　with　the　Maginot　Line；　and　you　know　what　happened　to　them。
If　you　have　any　desire　of　being　rich；　you　must　focus。　Put　a　lot　of　your　eggs　in　a　few　baskets。　Do　not　do　what　poor　and　middle　class　people　do：　put　their　few　eggs　in　many　baskets。
If　you　hate　losing；　play　it　safe。　If　losing　makes　you　weak；　play　it　safe。　Go　with　balanced　investments。　If　you"re　over　25　years　old　and　are　terrified　of　taking　risks；　don"t　change。　Play　it　safe；　but　start　early。 Start　accumulating　your　nest　egg　early　because　it　will　take　time。
But　if　you　have　dreams　of　freedomof　getting　out　of　the　rat　race　the　first　question　to　ask　yourself　is；　〃How　do　I　respond　to　failure？〃　If　failure　inspires　you　to　win；　maybe　you　should　go　for　itbut　only　maybe。　If　failure　makes　you　weak　or　causes　you　to　throw　temper　tantrumslike　spoiled　brats　who　call　an　attorney　to　file　a　lawsuit　every　time　something　does　not　go　their　waythen　play　it　safe。　Keep　your　daytime　job。　Or　buy　bonds　or　mutual　funds。　But　remember；　there　is　risk　in　those　financial　instruments　also；　even　though　they　are　safer。
I　say　all　this；　mentioning　Texas　and　Fran　Tarkenton；　because　stacking　the　asset　column　is　easy。　It"s　really　a　lowaptitude　game。　It　doesn"t　take　much　education。　Fifthgrade　math　will　do。　But　staking　the　asset　column　"J　is　a　highattitude　game。　It　takes　guts；　patience　and　a　great　attitude　toward　failure。　Losers　avoid　failing。　And　failure　turns　losers　into　winners。""　Just　remember　the　Alamo。
Reason　No。　2。　Overing　cynicism。　〃The　sky　is　falling。　The　sky　is　falling。〃　Most　of　us　know　the　story　of　〃Chicken　Little；〃　who　ran　around　warning　the　barnyard　of　impending　doom。　We　all　know　people　who　are　that　way。　But　we　all　have　a　〃Chicken　Little〃　inside　each　of　us。
And　as　I　stated　earlier；　the　cynic　is　really　a　little　chicken。　We　all　get　a　little　chicken　when　fear　and　doubt　cloud　our　thoughts。
All　of　us　have　doubts。 〃I"m　not　smart。〃　〃I"m　not　good　enough。〃　〃So　"　and　so　is　better　than　me。〃　Or　our　doubts　often　paralyze　us。　We　play　the。　｜　〃What　if？〃　game。 〃What　if　the　economy　crashes　right　after　I　invest？〃　Or　〃What　if　I　lose　control　and　I　can"t　pay　the　money　back？〃　〃What　if　things　don"t　go　as　I　planned？〃　Or　we　have　friends　or　loved　ones　who　will　remind　us　of　our　shortings　regardless　of　whether　we　ask。　They　often　say；　〃What　makes　you　think　you　can　do　that？〃　Or　〃If　it"s　such　a　good　idea；　how　e　someone　else　hasn"t　done　it？〃　Or　〃That　will　never　work。　You　don"t　know　what　you"re　talking　about。〃　These　words　of　doubt　often　get　so　loud　that　we　fail　to　act。　A　horrible　feeling　builds　in　our　stomach。　Sometimes　we　can"t　sleep。　We　fail　to　move　forward。 So　we　stay　with　what　is　safe　and　opportunities　pass　us　by。　We　watch　life　passing　by　as　we　sit　immobilized　with　a　cold　knot　in　our　body。　We　have　all　felt　this　at　one　time　in　our　lives；　some　more　than　others。
Peter　Lynch　of　Fidelity　Magellan　mutual　fund　fame　refe