Overcoming Bad
Habits
Our lives are a
reflection of our habits more than our education. After
seeing the movie Conan, the Barbarian, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger,
a friend said, “I’d love
to have a body like Schwarzenegger.” Most of the
guys nodded in
agreement.
“I even heard he was
really puny and skinny at one time,” another
friend added.
“Yeah, I heard that
too,” another one said. “I heard he has a habit of
working out almost every
day in the gym.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet he has
to.”
“Nah,” said the group
cynic. “I’ll bet he was born that way. Besides,
let’s stop talking about
Arnold and get some beers.”
This is an example of
habits controlling behavior. I remember
asking my rich dad about
the habits of the rich. Instead of answering me
outright, he wanted me
to learn through example, as usual.
“When does your dad
pay his bills?” rich dad asked.
“The first of the
month,” I said.
“Does he have anything
left-over?” he asked.
“Very little,” I said.
“That’s the main reason
he struggles,” said rich dad. “He has
bad habits. Your dad
pays everyone else first. He pays himself last, but
only if he has anything
left over.”
“Which he usually
doesn’t,” I said. “But he has to pay his bills, doesn’t
he? You’re saying he
shouldn’t pay his bills?”
Rich Dad Poor Dad
“Of course not,” said
rich dad.
“I firmly believe in
paying my bills on time. I just pay myself first. Before I pay even the
government.”
“But what happens if
you don’t have enough money?” I asked.
“What do you do then?”
“The same,” said rich
dad. “I still pay myself first. Even if I’m
short of money. My asset
column is far more important to me than
the government.”
“But,” I said. “Don’t
they come after you?”
“Yes, if you don’t pay,”
said rich dad. “Look, I did not say not to pay.
I just said I pay myself
first, even if I’m short of money.”
“But,” I replied. “How
do you do that?”
“It’s not how. The
question is ‘Why?’” rich dad said.
“Okay, why?” “Motivation,”
said rich dad.
“Who do you think will
complain
louder if I don’t pay
them—me, or my creditors?”
“Your creditors will
definitely scream louder than you,” I said,
responding to the
obvious. “You wouldn’t say anything if you didn’t
pay yourself.”
“So you see, after
paying myself, the pressure to pay my taxes and
the other creditors is, so great that it forces me to seek other forms of
income. The pressure to
pay becomes my motivation. I’ve worked extra
jobs, started other
companies, traded in the stock market, anything just
to make sure those guys
don’t start yelling at me. That pressure made me
work harder, forced me
to think, and all in all, made me smarter and
more active when it
comes to money. If I had paid myself last, I would
have felt no pressure,
but I’d be broke.”
“So it is the fear of
the government or other people you owe money
to that motivates you?”
“That’s right,” said
rich dad. “You see, government bill collectors are
big bullies. So are bill
collectors in general. Most people give into these
bullies. They pay them
and never pay themselves. You know the story of
the 98-pound weakling
who gets sand kicked in his face?”
I nodded. “I see that ad
for weightlifting and bodybuilding lessons
in the comic books all
the time.”
Overcoming Obstacles
“Well, most people let
the bullies
kick sand in their
faces. I decided to
use the fear of the
bully to make me
stronger. Others get
weaker. Forcing
myself to think about
how to make
extra money is like
going to the gym and working out with weights. The
more I work my mental
money muscles out, the stronger I get. Now I’m
not afraid of those bullies.”
I liked what rich dad
was saying. “So if I pay myself first, I get
financially stronger,
mentally and fiscally.”
Rich dad nodded.
“And if I pay myself
last, or not at all, I get weaker. So people like
bosses, managers, tax
collectors, bill collectors, and landlords push me
around all my life—just
because I don’t have good money habits.”
Rich dad nodded. “Just
like the 98-pound weakling.”
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