Page 109 - Rich Dad Poor Dad for Teens: The Secrets about Money--That You Don't Learn in School!

change.
But for those of you who might be on the fence when it comes to the
idea of working to learn something new, I offer this word of

encouragement: Life is much like going to the gym. The most painful part
is deciding to go. Once you get past that, it's easy. There have been many
days I have dreaded going to the gym, but once I am there and in motion, it
is a pleasure. After the workout is over, I am always glad I talked myself
into going.
If you are unwilling to work to learn something new and insist on,
instead, becoming highly specialized within your field, make sure the

company you work for is unionized. Labor unions are designed to protect
specialists.
My educated dad, after falling from grace with the governor, became the
head of the teachers union in Hawaii. He told me that it was the hardest job
he ever held. My rich dad, on the other hand, spent his life doing his best to
keep his companies from becoming unionized. He was successful. Although

the unions came close, rich dad was always able to fight them off.
Personally, I take no sides because I can see the need for and the
benefits of both sides. If you do as school recommends, become highly
specialized, then seek union protection. For example, had I continued on
with my flying career, I would have sought a company that had a strong
pilots union. Why? Because my life would be dedicated to learn a skill that
was valuable in only one industry. If I were pushed out of that industry, my

life's skills would not be as valuable to another industry. A displaced senior
pilot-with 100,000 hours of heavy airline transport time, earning $150,000 a
year-would have a hard time finding an equivalent high-paying job in
school teaching. The skills do not necessarily transfer from industry to
industry, because the skills the pilots are paid for in the airline industry are
not as important in, say, the school system.

The same is true even for doctors today. With all the changes in
medicine, many medical specialists are needing to conform to medical
organizations such as HMO's. Schoolteachers definitely need to be union
members. Today in America, the teachers union is the largest and the richest
labor union of all. The NEA, National Education Association, has
tremendous political clout. Teachers need the protection of their union
because their skills are also of limited value to an industry outside of