Page 217 - Why We Want You To Be Rich - Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki.pdf

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CHAPTER NINETEEN

WHAT DID You LEARN

FROM BUSINESS?

Robert's Response

~ You cannot learn to ride a bicycle by reading a book. The same is true

... with business. Books and classesare good for new ideas, but like learning to
ride a bicycle, learning about business is a hands-on process.
You have heard the saying, "The bigger they are, the harder they falL"
Both Donald and I felL His fall was much bigger and much more public.
My fall was big, not as big as Donald's, and not as public ... but it hurt
nonetheless.
After receiving my sales training from Xerox, two friends and I started
the nylon and Velcro surfer-wallet business. Unfortunately, the business was
ascreaming success.I sayunfortunately because successwent straight to our
heads. We were three single guys in our 20s who hit it big. Our products
were featured in Runners World magazine, GQand even Playboy.
One day, one of my partners drove up in a new Mercedes 450 SL. We
asked him why he bought the car. "Because we're rich;' he said. "Why don't
you guysgo and buy the cars ofyour dreams:' So we did. Larry bought a 450
SL,likeJohn, and I purchased a silver Porsche Targa with black trim.
You probably know the rest ofthe story. We were driving fast cars and
dating even faster women. The business that went up fast came down even
faster. In lessthan three years, we went from poor to rich to even poorer. We
Were successful, but deeply in debt from our losses. (Ifyou would like to
learn more about my many lessons learned about entrepreneurship, you can
read about it in Rich Dads Before IOu Quit lOurJob. There is a lot of

~__~.....................:... ...... TWO MEN • ONE MESSAGE
., '" t .