I have a few topics to cover all of a sudden and after an email from a subscriber last week, I will start with spam.
Strangely enough, when people subscribe to the blog, they get updates on new posts. True I filled in many of you automatically from my contacts when I first started up the blog, and many have requested to be removed over the years, but many have also been added on, my statistics show me that many of you read them and some never read them. Also, there have been a few glitches, where people received the same blog posting email two, three or four times and I apologize for that. Technology isn’t perfect, we all seem to understand that, we resent it, but we understand it, or at least I hope we all do?
Anyway, I have previously updated people on how to be removed, and it’s simple, just email me and ask to be removed. My point here is don’t be surprised if you register and get emails from me, really what did you think you were registering for? Sending me an email saying Stop The Spam is not necessarily the correct tact. Don’t worry, if you do, you won’t be getting anymore of the updates as soon as I can get to this computer and delete you, so on that account I guess it is effective. Anyway, there is that little rant, thank you for following along.
Rich Dad author Robert Kiyosaki, if you haven’t heard of him you haven’t looked at your front door in the last year or read any of the junk mail you receive from the post office. Rich Dad Poor Dad endorses a series of seminar’s that appear around the country and show you how to become wealthy. Or at least that is the premise of why you should attend.
Recently, CBC’s Marketplace had an expose on the seminars which you can watch here, Who’s getting rich off Rich Dad? Anyone considering attending one of these to become wealthy really should watch this. Now having said that, I am a big believer in the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series of books and the concept Richard Kiyosaki is pushing. It has changed our lives definitely for the better.
You just have to take much of it with a grain of salt. Some of the techniques they talk about may or may not work. Mobile homes scare the hell out of me, they are a depreciating asset much like a vehicle and are not really Real Estate and it appears may not be as profitable as portrayed (you need to watch the video to understand). On the other hand, we have managed to make a considerable amount of money off of pre-foreclosures over the years, but it isn’t necessarily easy!
I really believe it’s true that anyone can become rich, but there is far more to becoming rich than just going to one of these seminars and then signing up for more and expensive courses as these types of 
seminars are famous for. To really become successful, you really have to buy into the idea that you can do anything you set your mind to, to find a real purpose that drives you. Yet the mindset of many of the folks attending these types of events is to attend the course, discover the secret code of the wealthy and watch their life change. Kind of like getting the winning lottery ticket, which is the ultimate seminar that people keep signing up for on a weekly basis.
I’ve actually attended some of the events like this and there is nothing you get from them that you cannot find in many of the books out there, except for the opportunity to meet many other people looking to change their lives. The opportunity to hang around like minded people, how golden is that?
We even started out by attending a three day weekend event that cost us $5,000. Sure enough, they had a few people selling things and surprise, we bought into several of them, but that was when we were just searching for the winning lottery ticket. We weren’t quite sure where we wanted to go, how we were going to get there and what it was going to look like. We just knew we were going to become rich through Real Estate.
Since that time we have learned a tad bit more, attended a few more events, and put a few miles on in the Real Estate business and the game of life. We have learned to plan a bit better (we still need plenty of work on this), we have seen how setting goals for ourselves works and more importantly how not setting goals provides you with exactly what you planned for. We have even met some people who have become great friends and inspirations for us. So is there a lesson buried in here about seminars, or is this another rant?
As much as I like to ramble, there is a point, the seminars may not be the answer for you, but they could be the catalyst to help you move forward. It could be that one ingredient to help push you to look for more answers and more solutions to get what you want or perhaps it allows you to meet the one person who can help guide you along. Most importantly, that solution may not involve the $5,000 three day course that you can purchase from the back of the room, or perhaps it does, it all depends on where you are in your life.
Perhaps many of you remember the book and the video called The Secret? It was all the rage and applauded by many as the ticket to changing your life. Unfortunately, too many people took the boiled down message to mean sit at home and focus on what you want in life and it will come true. Needless to say many people were very disappointed in the results as they were missing one of the key ingredients, taking action.
What are your thoughts? Have you attended any of these events and if so, did it work for you?
Hi Bill,
First of all I share your frustration with people signing up for your updates and then accusing you of spamming them. I set up an “unsubscribe” link in the bottom of each email. Any list service will have that. Still I get people who refuse to click on the link. I think it comes down to the fact that some people just want to bitch.
I also have taken many seminars and was initially looking for the lottery ticket. I think it’s the reason so many seminar kits sit on the shelves of the well meaning attendees.
I have learned there are two types of knowledge, “book and seminar” knowledge and “doing” knowledge. Knowing about how to do something is far different than doing that something. Do you know a person who is less educated, less skilled and is further ahead in business or financially? They took what little they knew and learned the most important knowledge by taking action. Learning in action is understanding you will make mistakes, you will feel those feelings of discomfort as you stretch as often as you can out of your comfort zone.
Put into action what you already know “about” and you will learn lessons that cannot be taught in books or seminars. You will learn the “real secret” is you become successful through taking consistent action.
Great comment Scott.
The spam aspect I think people probably just don;t understand, hopefully it gets easier.
As for the lottery ticket mentality, I think it’s just timing and attitude. When you are ready to move beyond learning and start to take action it accelerates you far ahead of where you thought you would be.
I enjoy your newsletters, so forget about those cry-babies.
The real secret is to just do it. Its nice getting tips on where to look for actual opportunites but you still have to just do it.
Some books motivate me to get back on track, or change my thought pattern.
I appreciate all the help you have given me. If people could find resources such as forms and helpful websites then that would be benenficial.
I think infromation on subjects such as these would be helpful:
Alternate lenders
Good mortgage brokers
How to find pre-foreclosure properties
Examples of different joint ventures and how the contracts were written.
Where are good spots to invest.
Hi Bill,
I hear your frustration about the expensive seminars. As you know, I’ve been through many of them as well. Sometimes people have the wrong perception that if it cost more, than it must be worth it. It’s almost like judging a book by its cover and then they reel you in.
Keep up the good work. I still enjoy reading your blogs.
Cheers,
Joe
Hi Bill
Thank you for everything you do. I read every story and really appreciate all your advice.
Regading the seminars…..I attend many seminars and still do today. However I only attend them because they offer free information and sometimes a different way of looking at things. At the end of the day I
still come up with my own conclusions. I can take all of this free information and put togther my own personal plan.
Even if I only take one small thing from each seminar, its more than I had before I went in. I just think it’s important that people put their own plan into action with the bits they have learned.
Cheers
James
Hey James,
I agree entirely with your comment, it really is what you can take from these events, I just find that too many people get caught up in just taking that one extra course that explains everything and automatically makes them more interesting, wealthy, smarter or a combination of all of this. It’s not the information, it’s taking advantage of it and applying it into action. In your case you compile the information and create your personal plan, that’s great as you take action.
When I watch the video I see a couple of things, first a horrible presenter who just wants to sell more courses and individuals who attended a $500 event and expected to learn everything. It just doesn’t work like that.