Live Better: Work [In] Union

What do you see? The answers depend on who is asked.
One may see a place to shop, another a place to own and lease out.
In between; an opportunity to open a business.
Private property is the mechanism behind wealth generation and wealth redistribution.
How that distribution funnels into (or past) your hands is up to you in the age of information.

A book that opened my eyes to the business world, and encouraged me to look past the surface of what most others see, was Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money - That The Poor And Middle Class Do Not!, by Robert Kiyosaki.

That book could be borrowed from a library or bought online / in a store.

Mr. Kiyosaki's writing is simple, his concepts easy to understand, his lessons important to know.

During my years of business, I read it nine times... each time seeing concepts I previously missed.

It has taken many years to break the poor education mold mentioned in that book.

He identifies sobering realities in that book, some of which I'll mention in this article.

I'll add other facts and concepts not mentioned in his book, but needing mention.

There exists a 'rich' education and a 'poor' education when it comes to life.

In my opinion, money's concepts and creeds beyond its basic function can be viewed as a default idol made by man's hands.

Money itself is not the idol (although some do view it as such).

The beliefs and ideas attached to money is what can give money its idolatrous allure.

The false sense of security that wealth suggests, the perception of wisdom or prestige attached to a wealthy person, a greater value tied to a wealthy person and less value to a poor person... these are a few of the idolatrous notions put off by a warped view of money.

That book's author talks about important financial lessons being absent in public schools and the homes of the vast majority of the population... and this sobering reality is one reason why so many people suffer economically.

I call this a 'poor education'... and can be largely due to the book's subtitle and the author's telling of his upbringing, his own dad and the dad of his friend.

By poor education I refer to the lack of financial acumen missing among the classes outside the very wealthy class.

I'll also add that a poor education is revealed in a lack of kindness towards others when measuring their 'worth' according to exterior factors like class, ethnicity, prejudice, economic standing, looks, etc..

Similar to the answers to the question beneath the image depend on who is asked, so also does a rich (or poor) education depend on a variety of factors.

This article is not about encouraging others to pursue wealth, but to realize the need of a rich education... and pursuing that.

A rich education goes beyond the rudimentary discipline of proper money management.

What is behind true wealth is having spiritual principles and serving mankind in all aspects of life... especially in business circles, furthering ethics and morals in business along spiritual lines and not simply pursuing monetary ambitions absent moral and ethical standards.

This is why and how a financially rich man can be quite poor, while a financially poor man can be quite rich.... all depending on what is being measured, and where one places and rates value.

Some religious people consider money to be evil, or that having wealth to be a burden or a challenge to getting into heaven.

They are right in certain ways.

But it is the love of money that is a root of all kinds of evil... not money itself.

Money by itself is not 'evil'.

Money is simply an idea and a tool that has done much good in the world... and also much evil.

It is how that tool is used that reveals the motivation of humans using that tool.

Wealth can be a burden for those who place that tool (its attainment and use) as something more important than all other things.

This heart's ambition can disqualify one from the kingdom of heaven.

When more emphasis is on making money (this being popularly suggested from many media outlets) while at the same time the things of God are largely ignored (morals, ethics, kindness, etc.), it isn't surprising why some people hate the fact they have to work in order to earn money to survive.

The joy and contentment that comes from honorable and meaningful work is tainted.

The individual needs to unplug from the faithless notions in popular culture and media, and tune into the basic principles authored by God.

I Am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 

- Matthew 10: 16

My aim in sharing Mr. Kiyosaki's book is talking about the shrewd as snakes part, yet this shrewdness is found in its entirety in Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and elsewhere including the Gospel.

When certain music and movies (media programming) promotes life through an obscure lens of what money can buy, and those having great wealth are somehow praised or 'wise', no wonder people are willing to do anything to attain wealth.

Consider what is being explained, cautioned, encouraged, and clarified here:

So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless. 

A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without Him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases Him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner He gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. 

- Ecclesiastes 2: 17-26

In context, Solomon is lamenting how after accomplishing great projects and building more wealth upon wealth already had... he was still wanting.

His only satisfaction was a sense felt in his heart alone and what his mouth can boast about.

He was troubled when facing the fact he won't take these accomplishments with him, but wondered if they would be appreciated or preserved or lost by whomever followed him.

Solomon realized that his ambitions (and their outcomes) was less valuable than the wisdom from understanding the meaninglessness of those ambitious pursuits.

His learning came not from the wealth accumulation, but from considering what was really 'attained'... which didn't reflect the wealth.

Don't lose yourself.

Your 'self' is more important and valuable than all the money in the world; your soul priceless, no price tag large enough to measure your soul's value.

I had a very small taste of what Solomon lamented about, and too bad for me that I had to personally experience first-hand the disappointment of feeling that accomplishment only in my heart alone.

Too bad for me having to experience the blindness of chasing the wind and thinking I was becoming somebody (but was simply imitating the idolatry all around us in the world).

This is my aim in sharing the book by Mr. Kiyosaki and encouraging others to be disciplined, to be wise in managing their monies (the product of their toil), but more importantly to never lose sight of where true wealth is found (hidden in the kingdom of God) and to always recognize Who grants wealth beyond an earthly economic measure.