One Book That Changed My Life Forever

One Book That Changed My Life Forever

I was reminded by Mahen the other day about a book we both read around 5 years ago. The book in question, was called "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki.

This book changed my life forever.

Picture this, back in 2002, i had just quit my highly paid big six figure salary job, and was feeling pretty good about myself. However, i had no plan as to what i was going to go and do. I had been married to a dentist (Smita) for around 6 months, and could quickly see she did not want a layabout of a husband sitting around at home most days (besides, being a very driven person, sitting at home was not what i wanted to do, i had quit the City to do my own thing!).

Well after 6 months of travelling and charity fund raising, i was recommended to have a read of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad". Being the cynical guy that i am, i thought initially, what do i need to learn from a book? At 28, in my last 2 years in the City, i had made more money than many people had in a lifetime. Anyway, curiosity got the better of me, and so i decided to have a good read of it. I did not regret that decision.
So what did i learn from the book?

Well the book traces the author's life from the age of 9, comparing the financial teaching that he received from his own, highly academically intelligent, real dad ( a doctor), and that of his friend's, financially intelligent, dad. Having experienced first hand the teaching and upbringing resulting from both of the dads, he is able to reflect on how they differ and how these differences had a profound effect on financial wealth.

The book for me highlighted, that working flat out, earning a high income was not the answer to growing wealth. Up until 28, that had been my strategy. Increase my income and i would become super wealthy. However, with such high income, come hig taxes, so seeing 40% of my income go each year was not much fun.

However, the book taught me (yes a qualified Chartered accountant, successful City Boy) the answer lay in creating and buying assets (cheaply) which then provided cashflow. By creating or buying assets cheap, my asset base would grow in value and my net worth would grow considerably. This meant for me in 2002, that Samera was started on a shoestring, no loans, just some innovative ideas and hard work in the early days from a core team. Whilst The Neem Tree required a certain level of financing, but with the right business strategy to move it forward. Our aim was to grow these businesses into valuable assets in their own right. Income was not our focus (only enough to cover our monthly needs), asset wealth creation was .

Almost 7 years on, i can safely say this strategy has worked 100% for us. Our liabilities, are low, cashflow is healthy, but most importantly our asset wealth is very strong. This provides us with a firm foundation to take on the next phase of our expansion strategy (you didn't think we would sit still?).

Focusing on asset wealth creation as opposed to income generation, has saved us considerable amounts in tax, and enabled us to build net asset rich businesses. This was the book that started it off to me, so if you have not ,read it, and if you have read it already, read it again, this is one of the best books in the market for taking charge of your own financial future.
So what about dentists?

Well like myself at 28, i see many dentists who have fallen into the same trap as i had up until 28. They have big liabilities, their income is high, their taxes are high, and so ultimately their cashflow is usually poor, and after all the sums (after taking into account all the large loans they have, especially if they have bought a practice in the last couple of years), their net asset position is not great even when working 60 hours plus per week.

Well as some of you may have come to know, i have never followed the well trodden path, i always invest when everyone is fearful (like now) and do things a bit differently. If you want to become asset rich, firstly read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad". If you enjoy reading this book, then secondly book yourself on our "Setting Up and Buying a Dental Practice in a Recession" event on Friday 18th September 2009, at our offices in London. You can read much more about this here.

Please note the price doubles every month until the event. Book in July for £100+VAT, book in August for £200+VAT, and book in September for £400+VAT .

We will be only doing this event once in 2009, so make sure you book today, as i can assure you this will not happen again until 2010. If you want to grow your net asset worth by being a dentist, then this event is for you. �