富爸爸、穷爸爸(英文版)-第14章

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s　may　sound　absurdly　simple；　but　most　people　have　no　idea　how　profound　this　rule　is。　Most　people　struggle　financially　because　they　do　not　know　the　difference　between　an　asset　and　a　liability。
〃Rich　people　acquire　assets。　The　poor　and　middle　class　acquire　liabilities；　but　they　think　they　are　assets〃
When　rich　dad　explained　this　to　Mike　and　me；　we　thought　he　was　kidding。　Here　we　were；　nearly　teenagers　and　waiting　for　the　secret　to　getting　rich；　and　this　was　his　answer。　It　was　so　simple　that　we　had　to　stop　for　a　long　time　to　think　about　it。
〃What　is　an　asset？〃　asked　Mike。
〃Don't　worry　right　now；〃　said　rich　dad。　〃Just　let　the　idea　sink　in。　If　you　can　comprehend　the　simplicity；　your　life　will　have　a　plan　and　be　financially　easy。　It　is　simple；　that　is　why　the　idea　is　missed。〃
〃You　mean　all　we　need　to　know　is　what　an　asset　is；　acquire　them　and　we'll　be　rich？〃　I　asked。
Rich　dad　nodded　his　head。　〃It's　that　simple。〃
〃If　it's　that　simple；　how　come　everyone　is　not　rich？〃　I　asked。
Rich　dad　smiled。　〃Because　people　do　not　know　the　difference
between　an　asset　and　a　liability。〃
I　remember　asking；　〃How　could　adults　be　so　silly。　If　it　is　that　simple；　if　it　is　that　important；　why　would　everyone　not　want　to　find　out？〃
It　took　our　rich　dad　only　a　few　minutes　to　explain　what　assets　and　liabilities　were。
As　an　adult；　I　have　difficulty　explaining　it　to　other　adults。　Why？　Because　adults　are　smarter。　In　most　cases；　the　simplicity　of　the　idea　escapes　most　adults　because　they　have　been　educated　differently。　They　have　been　educated　by　other　educated　professionals；　such　as　bankers；　accountants；　real　estate　agents；　financial　planners；　and　so　forth。　The　difficulty　comes　in　asking　adults　to　unlearn；　or　become　children　again。　An　intelligent　adult　often　feels　it　is　demeaning　to　pay　attention　to　simplistic　definitions。

Rich　dad　believed　in　the　KISS　principle…〃Keep　It　Simple　Stupid〃…so　he　kept　it　simple　for　two　young　boys；　and　that　made　the　financial　foundation　strong。
So　what　causes　the　confusion？　Or　how　could　something　so　simple　be　so　screwed　up？　Why　would　someone　buy　an　asset　that　was　really　a　liability。　The　answer　is　found　in　basic　education。
We　focus　on　the　word　〃literacy〃　and　not　〃financial　literacy。〃　What　defines　something　to　be　an　asset；　or　something　to　be　a　liability　are　not　words。　In　fact；　if　you　really　want　to　be　confused；　look　up　the　words　〃asset〃　and　〃liability〃　in　the　dictionary。　I　know　the　definition　may　sound　good　to　a　trained　accountant；　but　for　the　average　person　it　makes　no　sense。　But　we　adults　are　often　too　proud　to　admit　that　something　does　not　make　sense。
As　young　boys；　rich　dad　said；　〃What　defines　an　asset　is　not　words　but　numbers。　And　if　you　cannot　read　the　numbers；　you　cannot　tell　an　asset　from　a　hole　in　the　ground。〃
〃In　accounting；〃　rich　dad　would　say；　〃it's　not　the　numbers；　but　what　the　numbers　are　telling　you。　It's　just　like　words。　It's　not　the　words；　but　the　story　the　words　are　telling　you。
Many　people　read；　but　do　not　understand　much。　It's　called　reading　comprehension。　And　we　all　have　different　abilities　when　it　comes　to　reading　comprehension。　For　example；　I　recently　bought　a　new　VCR。　It　came　with　an　instruction　book　that　explained　how　to　program　the　VCR。　All　I　wanted　to　do　was　record　my　favorite　TV　show　on　Friday　night。　I　nearly　went　crazy　trying　to　read　the　manual。　Nothing　in　my　world　is　more　complex　than　learning　how　to　program　my　VCR。　I　could　read　the　words；　but　I　understood　nothing。　I　get　an　〃A〃　for　recognizing　the　words。　I　get　an　〃F〃　for　comprehension。　And　so　it　is　with　financial　statements　for　most　people。
〃If　you　want　to　be　rich；　you've　got　to　read　and　understand　numbers。〃　If　I　heard　that　once；　I　heard　it　a　thousand　times　from　my　rich　dad。　And　I　also　heard；　〃The　rich　acquire　assets　and　the　poor　and　middle　class　acquire　liabilities。〃
Here　is　how　to　tell　the　difference　between　an　asset　and　a　liability。　Most　accountants　and　financial　professionals　do　net　agree　with　the　definitions；　but　these　simple　drawings　were　the　start　of　strong　financial　foundations　for　two　young　boys。
To　teach　pre？teen　boys；　rich　dad　kept　everything　simple；　using　as　many　pictures　as　possible；　as　few　words　as　possible；　and　no　numbers　for　years。

〃This　is　the　Cash　Flow　pattern　of　an　asset。〃
　　　
The　above　box　is　an　Income　Statement；　often　called　a　Profit　and　Loss　Statement。　It　measures　income　and　expenses。　Money　in　and　money　out。　The　bottom　diagram　is　the　Balance　Sheet。　It　is　called　that　because　it　is
supposed　to　balance　assets　against　liabilities。　Many　financial　novices　don't　know　the　relationship　between　the　Income　Statement　and　the　Balance　Sheet。　That　relationship　is　vital　to　understand。
The　primary　cause　of　financial　struggle　is　simply　not　knowing　the　difference　between　an　asset　and　a　liability。　The　cause　of　the　confusion　is　found　in　the　definition　of　the　two　words。　If　you　want　a　lesson　in　confusion；　simply　look　up　the　words　〃asset〃　and　〃liability〃　in　the　dictionary。
Now　it　may　make　sense　to　trained　accountants；　but　to　the　average　person；　it　may　as　well　be　written　in　Mandarin。　You　read　the　words　in　the　definition；　but　true　comprehension　is　difficult。
So　as　I　said　earlier；　my　rich　dad　simply　told　two　young　boys　that　〃assets　put　money　in　your　pocket。〃　Nice；　simple　and　usable。

〃This　is　Cash　Flow　pattern　of　a　liability。〃

Now　that　assets　and　liabilities　have　been　defined　through　pictures；　it　may　be　easier　to　understand　my　definitions　in　words。
An　asset　is　something　that　puts　money　in　my　pocket。
A　liability　is　something　that　takes　money　out　of　my　pocket。
This　is　really　all　you　need　to　know。　If　you　want　to　be　rich；　simply　spend　your　life　buying　assets。　If　you　want　to　be　poor　or　middle　class；　spend　your　life　buying　liabilities。　It's　not　knowing　the　difference　that　causes　most　of　the　financial　struggle　in　the　real　world。
Illiteracy；　both　in　words　and　numbers；　is　the　foundation　of　financial　struggle。　If　people　are　having　difficulties　financially；　there　is　something　that　they　cannot　read；　either　in　numbers　or　words。　Something　is　misunderstood。　The　rich　are　rich　because　they　are　more　literate　in　different　areas　than　people　who　struggle　financially。　　So　if　you　want　to　be　rich　and　maintain　your　wealth；　it's　important　to　be　financially　literate；　in　words　as　well　as　numbers。
The　arrows　in　the　diagrams　represent　the　flow　of　cash；　or　〃cash　flow。〃　Numbers　alone　really　mean　little。　Just　as　words　alone　mean　little。　It's　the　story　that　counts。　In　financial　reporting；　reading　numbers　is　looking　for　the　plot；　the　story。　The　story　of　where　the　cash　is　flowing。　In　80　percent　of　most　families；　the　financial　story　is　a　story　of　working　hard　in　an　effort　to　get　ahead。　　Not　because　they　don't　make　money。　But　because　they　spend　their　lives　buying　liabilities　instead　of　assets。
For　instance；　this　is　the　cash　flow　pattern　of　a　poor　person；　or　a　young　person　still　at　home：

Job　（provides　income）…》　Expenses（Taxes　Food　Rent　Clothes　Fun　Transportation）
Asset　（none）
Liability　（none）

This　is　the　cash　flow　pattern　of　a　person　in　the　middle　class：

Job　（provides　income）…》　Expenses（Taxes　Food　Mortgage　Clothes　Fun　Transportation）
Asset　（none）
Liability　（Mortgage　Consumer　loans　Credit　Cards）

This　is　the　cash　flow　pattern　of　a　wealthy　person：

Assets（stocks　bonds　notes　real　estate　intellectual　property）…》income　（dividends　interest　rental　income　royalties）
Liabilities　（none）

All　of　these　diagrams　were　obviously　oversimplified。　Everyone　has　living　expenses；　the　need　for　food；　shelter　and　clothing。
The　diagrams　show　the　flow　of　cash　through　a　poor；　middle　class　or　wealthy　person's　life。　It　is　the　cash　flow　that　tells　the　story。　It　is　the　story　of　how　a　person　handles　their　money；　what　they　do　after　they　get　the　money　in　their　hand。
The　reason　I　started　with　the　story　of　the　richest　men　in　America　is　to　illustrate　the　flaw　in　the　thinking　of　so　many　people。　The　flaw　is　that　money　will　solve　all　problems。　That　is　why　I　cringe　whenever　1　hear　people　ask　me　how　to　get　rich　quicker。　　Or　where　do　they　start？　I　often　hear；　〃I'm　in　debt　so　I　need　lo　make　more　money。〃
But　more　money　will　often　not　solve　the　problem；　in　fact；　it　may　actually　accelerate　the　problem。　Money　often　makes　obvious　our　tragic　human　flaws。　　Money　often　puts　a　spotlight　on　what　we　d