Page 166 - Rich Dad's Increase Your Financial IQ: Get Smarter with Your Money

Most businesses fail because of a lack of good business information and
intelligence rather than from a lack of money. When people ask me, “I have

a great idea for a new business, and I’m looking for some money, would
you be interested in investing in my new company?” my reply is, “I don’t
know. How many successful businesses have you started?”
As it turned out, volunteering to fight in Vietnam was one of the smartest

things I ever did. If I had not volunteered, I would never have met that old
woman chewing betel nuts. That day, standing behind enemy lines, she
taught me a very important lesson. She won because she knew the price of
gold had nothing to do with the value of gold. By understanding value, she

knew why people were buying and why gold was important to them. That
day I learned that it is not the asset that makes you rich . . . it is information
and intelligence that makes you rich. If I can lose money investing in gold,
which is real money, I can lose money in anything. That day I vowed to

become smarter because she taught me that it is information and
intelligence that makes me rich . . . not the gold.