Page 204 - Rich Dad's Increase Your Financial IQ: Get Smarter with Your Money

finding and developing their genius. It is far easier to be average, work
hard, collect a paycheck, save money, diversify in mutual funds, and live

below their means. If this is you, then keep doing what you are doing.
Every one of us is different. We all have different strengths and
weaknesses. This is why I do not recommend that everyone do what I did.
Even though it is pretty easy to be an entrepreneur, I know that being a rich

entrepreneur is not easy. The world is filled with entrepreneurs who are
average. The same is true with real estate. The world is filled with real
estate investors who do not make much money.
My point is this: we all have a unique talent or genius. If people want to

become rich, maybe even super-rich, they need to find an environment that
allows them to develop and apply their genius. This is not easy, but it can be
done if you are dedicated and have the drive to win. In the real world
dedication and drive are more valuable than good grades.

Environments That Make You Rich

If you want to become richer, it is important to continually upgrade your
environment. This is why I shake my head every time some expert
recommends living below your means. By living below your means you

continually live in a lesser environment. As a young boy, every time I
crossed the bridge to my rich friends’ neighborhood, my brain was
absorbing what it is like to live at a higher standard of living . . . a standard
I wanted to live at. My brain was looking for ways I could achieve such a

standard of living.
This does not mean running out and buying a big house, flashy cars, new
clothes, and getting into piles of bad debt. What I mean is to consciously
and intelligently challenge yourself to improve your standard of living by

increasing your financial intelligence.
The best way to increase your financial intelligence is by first finding the
environment where your genius can grow and develop. That can be as
simple as going to a library and reading a book by a person you want to be

like, or by looking at magazines with pictures of stately homes. The first
step is to consciously begin to stimulate your mirror neurons to the standard
of living and to the people you want to be like.