《富爸爸穷爸爸》第43章

ir　mind。　Just　because　you　bought　a　house　or　two　does　not　make　you　an　expert　at　real　estate。
3。　CHOOSE　FRIENDS　CAREFULLY：　The　power　of　association。　First　of　all；　I　do　not　choose　my　friends　by　their　financial　statements。　I　have　friends　who　have　actually　taken　the　vow　of　poverty　as　well　as　friends　who　earn　millions　every　year。　The　point　is　I　learn　from　all　of　them；　and　I　consciously　make　the　effort　to　learn　from　them。
Now　I　will　admit　that　there　are　people　I　have　actually　sought　out　because　they　had　money。　But　I　was　not　after　their　money；　I　was　seeking　their　knowledge。　In　some　cases；　these　people　who　had　money　have　bee　dear　friends；　but　not　all。
But　there　is　one　distinction　that　I　would　like　to　point　out。　I"ve　noticed　that　my　friends　with　money　talk　about　money。　And　I　do　not　mean　brag。　They"re　interested　in　the　subject。 So　I　learn　from　them；　and　they　learn　from　me。　My　friends；　whom　I　know　are　in　dire　straits　financially；　do　not　like　talking　about　money；　business　or　investing。　They　often　think　it　rude　or　unintellectual。　So　I　also　learn　from　my　friends　who　struggle　financially。　I　find　out　what　not　to　do。
I　have　several　friends　who　have　generated　over　a　billion　dollars　in　their　short　lifetimes。　The　three　of　them　report　the　same　phenomenon：　Their　friends　who　have　no　money　have　never　e　to　them　to　ask　them　how　they　did　it。　But　they　do　e　asking　for　one　of　two　things；　or　both：　1。　a　loan；　or　2。　a　job。
A　WARNING：　Don"t　listen　to　poor　or　frightened　people。　I　have　such　friends；　and　I　love　them　dearly；　but　they　are　the　〃Chicken　Littles〃　of　life。 When　it　es　to　money；　especially　investments；　〃The　sky　is　always　falling。〃　They　can　always　tell　you　why　something　won"t　work。　The　problem　is；　people　listen　to　them；　but　people　who　blindly　accept　doomandgloom　information　are　also　〃Chicken　Littles。〃　As　that　old　saying　goes；　〃Chickens　of　a　feather　agree　together。〃
If　you　watch　CNBC；　which　is　a　goldmine　of　investment　information；　they　often　have　a　panel　of　socalled　〃experts。〃　One　expert　will　say　the　market　is　going　to　crash；　and　the　other　will　say　it"s　going　to　boom。　If　you"re　smart；　you　listen　to　both。　Keep　your　mind　open　because　both　have　valid　points。　Unfortunately；　most　poor　people　listen　to　〃Chicken　Little。〃
I　have　had　more　close　friends　try　to　talk　me　out　of　a　deal　or　an　investment。　A　few　years　ago；　a　friend　told　me　he　was　excited　because　he　found　a　6　percent　certificate　of　deposit。　I　told　him　I　earn　16　percent　from　the　state　government。　The　next　day　he　sent　me　an　article　about　why　my　investment　was　dangerous。　I　have　received　16　percent　for　years　now；　and　he　still　receives　6　percent。
I　would　say　that　one　of　the　hardest　things　about　wealth　building　is　to　be　true　to　yourself　and　be　willing　to　not　go　along　with　the　crowd。　For　in　the　market；　it　is　usually　the　crowd　that　shows　up　late　and　is　slaughtered。　If　a　great　deal　is　on　the　front　page；　it"s　too　late　in　most　instances。 Look　for　a　new　deal。　As　we　used　to　say　as　surfers：　〃There　is　always　another　wave。〃　People　who　hurry　and　catch　a　wave　late　usually　are　the　ones　who　wipe　out。
Smart　investors　don"t　time　markets。　If　they　miss　a　wave；　they　search
for　the　next　one　and　get　themselves　in　position。　Why　this　is　hard　for　most　investors　is　because　buying　what　is　not　popular　is　frightening　to　them。　Timid　investors　are　like　sheep　going　along　with　the　crowd。　Or　their　greed　gets　them　in　when　wise　investors　have　already　taken　their　profits　and　moved　on。　Wise　investors　buy　an　investment　when　it"s　not　popular。　They　know　their　profits　are　made　when　they　buy；　not　when　they　sell。　They　wait　patiently。　As　I　said；　they　do　not　time　the　market。　Just　like　a　surfer；　they　get　in　position　for　the　next　big　swell。
It"s　all　〃insider　trading。〃　There　are　forms　of　insider　trading　that　are　illegal；　and　there　are　forms　of　insider　trading　that　are　legal。　But　either　way；　it"s　insider　trading。　The　only　distinction　is　how　far　away　from　the　inside　are　you？　The　reason　you　want　to　have　rich　friends　who　are　close　to　the　inside　is　because　that　is　where　the　money　is　made。　It"s　made　on　information。　You　want　to　hear　about　the　next　boom；　get　in　and　get　out　before　the　next　bust。　I"m　not　saying　do　it　illegally；　but　the　sooner　you　know；　the　better　your　chances　are　for　profits　with　minimal　risk。　That　is　what　friends　are　for。　And　that　is　financial　intelligence。
4。　MASTER　A　FORMULA　AND　THEN　LEARN　A　NEW　ONE：　The　power　of　learning　quickly。　In　order　to　make　bread；　every　baker　follows　a　recipe；　even　if　it"s　only　held　in　their　head。　The　same　is　true　for　making　money。　That"s　why　money　is　often　called　〃dough。〃
Most　of　us　have　heard　the　saying　〃You　are　what　you　eat。〃　I　have　a　different　slant　on　the　same　saying。　I　say；　〃You　bee　what　you　study。〃　In　other　words；　be　careful　what　you　study　and　learn；　because　your　mind　is　so　powerful　that　you　bee　what　you　put　in　your　head。　For　example；　if　you　study　cooking；　you　then　tend　to　cook。　You　bee　a　cook。　If　you　don"t　want　to　be　a　cook　anymore；　then　you　need　to　study　something　else。 Let"s　say；　a　schoolteacher。　After　studying　teaching；　you　often　bee　a　teacher。　And　so　on。　Choose　what　you　study　carefully。
When　it　es　to　money；　the　masses　generally　have　one　basic　formula　they　learned　in　school。　And　that　is；　work　for　money。　The　formula　I　see　that　is　predominant　in　the　world　is　that　every　day　millions　of　people　get　up　and　go　to　work；　earn　money；　pay　bills；　balance　checkbooks；　buy　some　mutual　funds　and　go　back　to　work。　That　is　the　basic　formula；　or　recipe。
If　you"re　tired　of　what　you"re　doing；　or　you"re　not　making　enough；　it"s　simply　a　case　of　changing　the　formula　via　which　you　make　money。
Years　ago；　when　I　was　26；1　took　a　weekend　class　called　〃How　to　Buy　Real　Estate　Foreclosures。〃　I　learned　a　formula。　The　next　trick　was　to　have　the　discipline　to　actually　put　into　action　what　I　had　learned。　That　is　where　most　people　stop。　For　three　years；　while　working　for　Xerox；　I　spent　my　spare　time　learning　to　master　the　art　of　buying　foreclosures。　I"ve　made　several　million　dollars　using　that　formula；　but　today；　it"s　too　slow　and　too　many　other　people　are　doing　it。
So　after　I　mastered　that　formula；　I　went　in　search　of　other　formulas。　For　many　of　the　classes；　I　did　not　use　the　information　I　learned　directly；　"i｜　but　I　always