Page 140 - Rich Dad Poor Dad for Teens: The Secrets about Money--That You Don't Learn in School!

Another side note. In today's fast-changing world, it's not so much what
you know anymore that counts, because often what you know is old. It is
how fast you learn. That skill is priceless. It's priceless in finding faster

formulas-recipes, if you will, for making dough. Working hard for money is
an old formula born in the day of cave men.
5. PAY YOURSELF FIRST: The power of self-discipline. If you cannot
get control of yourself, do not try to get rich. You might first want to join
the Marine Corps or some religious order so you can get control of yourself.
It makes no sense to invest, make money and blow it. It is the lack of self-
discipline that causes most lottery winners to go broke soon after winning

millions. It is the lack of self-discipline that causes people who get a raise to
immediately go out and buy a new car or take a cruise.
It is difficult to say which of the ten steps is the most important. But of
all the steps, this step is probably the most difficult to master if it is not
already a part of your makeup. I would venture to say that it is the lack of
personal self-discipline that is the No. 1 delineating factor between the rich,

the poor and the middle class.
Simply put, people who have low self-esteem and low tolerance for
financial pressure can never, and I mean never, be rich. As I have said, a
lesson learned from my rich dad was that “the world will push you around.”
The world pushes people around not because other people are bullies, but
because the individual lacks internal control and discipline. People who
lack internal fortitude often become victims of those who have self-

discipline.
In the entrepreneur classes I teach, I constantly remind people to not
focus on their product, service or widget, but to focus on developing
management skills. The three most important management skills necessary
to start your own business are:
1. Management of cash flow.

2. Management of people.
3. Management of personal time.
I would say, the skills to manage these three apply to anything, not just
entrepreneurs. The three matter in the way you live your life as an
individual, or as part of a family, a business, a charitable organization, a city
or a nation.
Each of these skills is enhanced by the mastery of self discipline. I do

not take the saying “pay yourself first” lightly.