“You have a great style,” I said in reply. “What holds you back from achieving your dream?”
“你的文章风格很好，”我回答说，“那么，是什么妨碍了你实现自己的梦想？”
In 1995, I granted an interview with a newspaper in Singapore. The young female reporter was on time, and the interview got under way immediately. We sat in the lobby of a luxurious hotel, sipping coffee and discussing the purpose of my visit to Singapore. I was to share the platform with Zig Ziglar. He was speaking on motivation, and I was speaking on “The Secrets of the Rich.”
1995年，我接受了新家坡一家报纸的采访。一位年轻的女记者准时赴约，于是采访立即开始进行。我们坐在一家豪华酒店的大厅里，喝着咖啡，谈论我此次新加坡之行的目的。我和畅销书作家齐格。齐格勒一道接受采访。齐格勒谈的是动力问题，而我谈的是“财富的秘密”。
Lesson Six: Work to Learn — Don’t Work for Money
第六课：不要为金钱而工作
“Someday, I would like to be a best-selling author like you,” she said. I had seen some of the articles she had written for the paper, and I was impressed. She had a tough, clear style of writing. Her articles held a reader’s interest.
“有一天，我想成为像你这样的畅销书作家。”女记者说。我曾经读过她在报上发表的一些文章，这些文章给我留下了深刻的印象，她的文章文笔犀利，条理清晰，深受读者的欢迎。
“My work does not seem to go anywhere,” she said quietly. “Everyone says that my novels are excellent, but nothing happens. So I keep my job with the paper. At least it pays the bills. Do you have any suggestions?”
‘我的工作似乎没有任何进展，“她平静地答道，”人们都说我的小说非常优秀，但是仅此而已。因此，我依然继续在报社工作，至少，这能挣钱支付账单。不知道你有什么建议？“
“Yes, I do,” I said brightly. “A friend of mine here in Singapore runs a school that trains people to sell. He runs sales-training courses for many of the top corporations here in Singapore, and I think attending one of his courses would greatly enhance your career.”
“有，”我明确地说。“在新加坡，我有一位朋友办了一所学校，培训人们从事销售。他在这里为新加坡的许多大公司讲授营销课程，我想如果你去听听他的课，或许会对你的职业生涯大有助益。“
Again, I nodded. “What is wrong with that?” I was now backpeddling. She was offended by something, and now I was wishing 11 had not said anything. In my attempt to be helpful, I found myself defending my suggestion.
我又点点头。但她似乎被什么东西激怒了。我有点后悔自己所说的话，就问道：“有什么不妥的吗？”本来我是想帮忙，现在却得赶快为自己的建议辩解。
I nodded.
我点点头。
“You aren’t serious, are you?”
“你是当真的吗？”
She stiffened. “Are you saying I should go to school to learn to sell?”
她有点不快，“你是说我应该去学习卖东西吗？”
“I have a master’s degree in English Literature. Why would I go to school to learn to be a salesperson? I am a professional. I went to school to be trained in a profession so I would not have to be a salesperson. I hate salespeople. All they want is money. So tell me why I should study sales?” She was now packing her briefcase forcibly. The interview was over.
“我拥有英语文学硕士学位，我还有一份体面的工作，我干嘛要去学做推销员？我是专业人士，即使我需要到学校接受再教育也是为了获得一份更好的工作，绝不是是为了去当什么推销员，我讨厌那些推销员，他们眼里只有钱。您说说，我为什么非得去学习销售？”她边说边站起身，用力地抓起了自己的提包，于是采访草草收场了。
On the coffee table sat a copy of an earlier best-selling book I wrote. I I picked it up as well as the notes she had jotted down on her legal pad. | “Do you see this?” I said pointing to her notes.
在咖啡桌旁放着她带来的我写的第一本畅销书——《如果你想生活得富裕幸福，要不要去学校？》。我拿起这本书，见到她粘在封面上的一张便条，“你看到这个了吗？”我指着她记的便条。
She looked down at her notes. “What,” she said, confused.
她低头去看自己的便条，“什么？”她困惑地说。
Again, I pointed deliberately to her notes. On her pad she had written “Robert Kiyosaki, best-selling author.”
我又指了指她的便条，在便条上她写着：“罗伯特。清崎，畅销书作家。”
“It says ‘best-selling author,’ not best ‘writing’ author.”
“上面写的是最畅销书作家，而不是最好的作家。”
Her eyes widened immediately.
他眼睛立即睁大了。
“I am a terrible writer. You are a great writer. I went to sales school. You have a master’s degree. Put them together and you get a ‘best-selling author’ and a ‘best-writing author.'”
“我只是一个平庸的作家，而你则是一位优秀的作家。我去了销售学校，而你得了硕士学位。如果把这两方面结合起来，你就既是‘畅销书作家’又是‘最好的作家’。”
The rest of her notes were put away, and she hurried out through the j, large glass doors into the humid Singapore morning.
她扔掉了便条，匆匆穿过巨大的玻璃门消失在新加坡潮湿的清晨里。
The world is filled with smart, talented, educated and gifted people. We meet them every day. They are all around us.
世界上到处都是精明、才华横溢、受过良好教育以及很有天赋的人，我们每天都会碰到他们，他们就在我们的周围。
Anger flared from her eyes. “I’ll never stoop so low as to learn how to sell. People like you have no business writing. I am a professionally trained writer and you are a salesman. It is not fair.”
她的眼里怒火中烧，“我从来不会屈尊去学什么销售，像你这样的人士也不应该从事写作。我是受过专业训练的作家，而你只不过是一位商人，这并不一样。”
A few days ago, my car was not running well. I pulled into a garage, and the young mechanic had it fixed in just a few minutes. He knew what was wrong by simply listening to the engine. I was amazed.
几天前，我的汽车不大灵便。我把它开进维修厂，一位年轻的机械工几分钟之内就把它修好了。他仅凭倾听发动机的声音就能确定哪儿有毛病，这使我感到非常惊讶。
At least she gave me a fair and favorable write-up the next morning.
至少，在第二天早上，她给了我一个公平、良好的访谈记录。
The sad truth is, great talent is not enough.
然而遗憾的是，真正能够很好地利用这种非凡才华的人总是太少。
What this phrase means is that most people need only to learn and master one more skill and their income would jump exponentially. I have mentioned before that financial intelligence is a synergy of accounting, investing, marketing and law. Combine those four technical skills and making money with money is easier. When it comes to money, the only skill most people know is to work hard.
这句话的意思是说，大部分人需要学习并掌握不止一项技能，只有这样他们的收人才能获得显著增长。以前我提到过，财商是会计、投资、市场营销和法律等各方面能力的综合。将上述四种专业技能结合起来，以钱生钱就会容易得多。为了赚钱，只有一项技能的人只能努力工作。
The classic example of a synergy of skills was that young writer for the newspaper. If she diligently learned the skills of sales and marketing, her income would jump dramatically. If I were her, I would take some courses in advertising copywriting as well as sales. Then, instead of working at the newspaper, I would seek a job at an advertising agency. Even if it were a cut in pay, she would learn how to communicate in “short cuts” that are used in successful advertising. She also would spend time learning public relations, an important skill. She would learn how to get millions in free publicity. Then, at night and on weekends, she could be writing her great novel. When it was finished, she would be better able to sell her book. Then, in a short while, she could be a “best-selling author.”
有关综合技能的典型例子就是那位为报纸撰稿的年轻作家。如果她能勤奋学习掌握市场及销售方面的技能，她的收入就会显著增加。要是换了我，我一定会去学习一些有关书籍的广告课程和销售方面的课程，然后，我将在一家广告公司找一份工作，而不是去报社。即使这样做会使收入降低，但我却能从那里学到在成功的广告中使用的“用几秒钟交流”的技巧。我还会花时间去学习公共关系这一重要技能，以便通过灵活的公共关系来赚取数百万美元。然后，在晚上或周末，去创作我的大作。所有这些都做到以后，我必定能使自己写的书畅销，并且，在短时间内，成为一位富有的“畅销书作家。”
I am constantly shocked at how little talented people earn. I heard the other day that less than 5 percent of Americans earn more than $100,000 a year. I have met brilliant, highly educated people who earn less than $20,000 a year. A business consultant who specializes in the medical trade was telling me how many doctors, dentists and chiropractors struggle financially. All this time, I thought that when they graduated, the dollars would pour in. It was this business consultant who gave me the phrase, “They are one skill away from great wealth.”
我常常吃惊为什么有些人才华过人却只挣到很低的收入，我听说只有不到5％的美国人年收人在10万美元以上。一位对药品贸易很精通的商务顾问曾经告诉我，有许多医生、牙医和按摩师在财务上困难重重。以前我总是以为他们一毕业，美元就会滚滚而来。这位商务顾问最后告诉了我一句话，“他们只有一项技能，所以他们挣不到大钱。”
When I graduated from the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy in 1969, my educated dad was happy. Standard Oil of California had hired me for its oil-tanker fleet. I was a third mate, and the pay was low compared with my classmates, but it was OK for a first real job after college. My starting pay was about $42,000 a year, including overtime, and I only had, to work for seven months. I had five months of vacation. If I had wanted to, I could have taken the run to Vietnam with a subsidiary shipping company, and easily doubled my pay instead of taking the five J months’ vacation.
1969年，我从美国商业海洋学院毕业了。我受过良好教育的爸爸十分高兴，因为加州标准石油公司录用我为它的运油船队工作。我是一位三副，比起我的同班同学，我的工资木算很高，但作为我离开大学之后的第一份真正的工作，也还算不错。我的起始工资是一年4.2万美元，包括加班费。而且我一年只需工作7个月，余下的5个月是假期。如果我愿意的话，可不休那5个月的假期而去一家附属船舶运输公司工作到越南去，这样做能使年收入翻一番。
When I first came out with my first book If You Want To Be Rich and Happy, Don’t Go to School? a publisher suggested I change the tide to The Economics of Education. I told the publisher that with a title like that, I would sell two books: one to my family and one to my best friend. The problem is, they would expect it for free. The obnoxious title If You Want To Be Rich and Happy, Don’t Go to School? was chosen because we knew it would get tons of publicity. I am pro-education and believe in education reform. Otherwise, why would I continue to press for changing our antiquated educational system? So I chose a title that would get me on more TV and radio shows, simply because I was willing to be controversial. Many people thought I was a fruitcake, but the book sold and sold.
当我第一次带着我写的书《如果你想生活得富裕幸福，要不要去学校？》去见一位出版商时，他建议我将书名改为《经济学教育》。我告诉出版商，如果使用这个书名，我只能卖出两本书：一本给我的家人，另一本给我最好的朋友，可他们还希望免费得到它。选择《如果你想生活富裕幸福，要不要去学校？》这一“可憎的”书名，却会受到大众的欢迎。我赞成教育，但认为应进行教育改革，我一直在呼吁改革我们陈旧的教育体制。我之所以选择这样一个能使我有机会在更多的电视和电台节目中露面的书名，是因为我愿意成为“有争议”的人物。许多人可能认为我没有什么深度，但这本书却一版再版。
Rich dad encouraged me to do exactly the opposite. “You want to know a little about a lot” was his suggestion. That is why for years I worked in different areas of his companies. For awhile, I worked in his accounting department. Although I would probably never have been an accountant, he wanted me to learn via “osmosis.” Rich dad knew I would pick up “jargon” and a sense of what is important and what is not. I also worked as a bus boy and construction worker, as well as in sales, reservations and marketing. He was “grooming” Mike and me. That is why he insisted we sit in on the meetings with his bankers, lawyers, accountants and brokers. He wanted us to know a little about every aspect of his empire.
富爸爸鼓励我去做恰好相反的事情。“对许多知识你只需要知道一点就足够了”，这是他的建议。所以，多年来我在他的位于不同地区的一些公司工作，我还到他的会计部门工作，虽然我从来不想去做一名会计，但他希望我借助“渗透法”‘学习到会计的一些常识。富爸爸相信我会明白那些“行话”，而且懂得哪些东西是重要的，哪些东西不重要。我也曾做过公共汽车售票员、建筑工人、推销员、仓库保管员和市场营销人员。富爸爸则一直在培养我和迈克，他坚持让我们列席他与自己的银行家、律师。 会计师和经纪人的会议，希望我们能对他的商业帝国的每一个细小部分都能有所了解。
My educated dad believed in the same dogma. That is why he was thrilled when he eventually achieved his doctorate. He often admitted?? that schools reward people who study more and more about less and less.
我那受到良好教育的爸爸也信奉同样的教条，因此，当他最终得到博士学位时他非常激动。不过他也时常感慨，社会对知识学得多的人给予的奖励少之又少。
I had a great career ahead of me, yet I resigned after six months with the company and joined the Marine Corps to learn how to fly. My educated dad was devastated. Rich dad congratulated me.
尽管前面有一个很好的职业生涯等着我，但我还是在6个月后辞职离开了这家公司，加入海军陆战队去学习飞行。对此我受过良好教育的爸爸非常伤心，富爸爸则祝贺我作出的决定。
In school and in the workplace, the popular opinion is the idea of “specialization.” That is, in order to make more money or get promoted, you need to “specialize.” That is why medical doctors immediately begin to seek a specialty such as orthopedics or pediatrics. The same is true for accountants, architects, lawyers, pilots and others.
在学校及在工作单位，最普遍的观点就是“专业化”，也就是说，为了挣更多的钱或者得到提拔，你需要“专业化”。这就是医学院的学生们一入学便立即开始寻求某种专长，如正骨术或儿科学的原因。对于会计师、建筑师、律师、飞行员及其他很多行业也是这样。
When I quit my high-paying job with Standard Oil, my educated dad had a heart-to-heart with me. He was bewildered. He could not understand my decision to resign from a career that offered high pay, great benefits, lots of time off, and opportunity for promotion. When he asked me one evening, “Why did you quit?” I could not explain it to him, as much as I tried. My logic did not fit his logic. The big problem wasthat my logic was my rich dad’s logic.
当我放弃在标准石油公司收入丰厚的工作后，我受过良好教育的爸爸和我进行了推心置腹的交流。他非常吃惊和不理解我为什么要辞去这样一份工作：收入高，福利待遇好，闲暇时间长，还有升迁的机会。他一晚上都在问我：“你为什么要放弃呢？”我没法向他解释清楚，我的逻辑与他的不一样。最大的问题就在于此，我的逻辑和富爸爸的逻辑是一致的，而他的逻辑与富爸爸的逻辑却从不相同。
Job security meant everything to my educated dad. Learning meant everything to my rich dad.
对于受过良好教育的爸爸来说，稳定的工作就是一切。而对于富爸爸来说，不断学习才是一切。
Educated dad thought I went to school to learn to be a ship’s officer. Rich dad knew that I went to school to study international trade. So as a student, I made cargo runs, navigating large freighters, oil tankers and passenger ships to the Far East and the South Pacific. Rich dad emphasized that I stay in the Pacific instead of taking ships to Europe because he knew that the “emerging nations” were in Asia, not Europe. While most of my classmates, including Mike, were partying at their fraternity houses, I was studying trade, people, business styles and cultures in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Korea, Tahiti, Samoa and the Philippines. I also was partying, but it was not in any frat house. I grew up rapidly.
受过良好教育的爸爸希望我去学校学习做一名船员，而富爸爸则认为我去学校是为了学习从事国际贸易。因此，在我做学生时，我跑过货运，驾驶过去远东及南太平洋的大型运输船、油轮和客轮。富爸爸强调我应乘船在太平洋上航行而不是去欧洲，因为他认为“新兴国家”位于亚洲而不是欧洲。当我的大部分同班同学，包括迈克，在他们的兄弟会馆内举办晚会的时候，我正在日本、泰国、新加坡、越南、韩国、菲律宾及中国的台湾、香港等地学习贸易、人际关系、商业类型和文化。我也参加晚会，但不去任何兄弟会馆，我迅速地成熟起来了。
Returning from Vietnam in 1973,1 resigned my commission, even though I loved flying. I found a job with Xerox Corp. I joined it for one reason, and it was not for the benefits. I was a shy person, and the thought of selling was the most frightening subject in the world. Xerox has one of the best sales-training programs in America.
1973年从越南回国后，我离开了军队，尽管我仍然热爱飞行，但我在军队中学习的目标已经达到。我在施乐公司找了一份工作，加盟施乐公司是有目的的，不过不是为了物质利益。我是一个腼腆的人，对我而言营销是世界上最令人害怕的课程，而施乐公司拥有在美国最好的营销培训项目。
Rich dad was proud of me. My educated dad was ashamed. Being an intellectual, he thought that salespeople were below him. I worked with Xerox for four years until I overcame my fear of knocking on doors and being rejected. Once I could consistently be in the top five in sales, I again resigned and moved on, leaving behind another great career with an excellent company.
富爸爸为我感到十分自豪，而受到良好教育的爸爸则为我感到羞愧。作为知识分子，他认为推销员低人一等。我在施乐公司工作了四年，直到我不再为吃闭门羹而发怵。当我稳居销售业绩榜前五名时，我再次辞去了工作，放弃了又一份不错的职业和一家优秀的公司。
Educated dad just could not understand why I decided to quit and join the Marine Corps. I told him I wanted to learn to fly, but really I wanted to learn to lead troops. Rich dad explained to me that the hardest part of running a company is managing people. He had spent three years in the Army; my educated dad was draft-exempt. Rich dad told me of the value of learning to lead men into dangerous situations. “Leadership is what you need to learn next,” he said. “If you’re not a good leader, you’ll get shot in the back, just like they do in business.”
受过良好教育的爸爸更加无法理解我为什么决定放弃工作而加入海军陆战队。我告诉他我想要学习飞行，但实际上我是想学会指挥部队。富爸爸曾给我解释说，管理一家公司最困难的工作是对人员的管理。他在军队里呆过三年，而受过良好教育的爸爸则免服兵役。富爸爸告诉我学习在危险形势下领导下属的重要性，“领导才能是你下一步迫切需要学习的，”他说，“如果你不是一个好的领导人，你就会被别人从背后射中，商业活动就像在战争中一样。”
On the eve of my 30th birthday, my first shipment left Korea for New York.
就在我3O岁生日前夜，我的货物第一次装船驶离韩国前往纽约。
In 1977,1 formed my first company. Rich dad had groomed Mike and me to take over companies. So I now had to learn to form them and put them together. My first product, the nylon and velcro wallet, was manufactured in the Far East and shipped to a warehouse in New York, near where I had gone to school. My formal education was complete, and it was time to test my wings. If I failed, I went broke. Rich dad thought it best to go broke before 30. “You still have time to recover” was his advice.
1977年。我组建了自己的第一家公司。富爸爸培养过迈克和我怎样管理公司，现在我就得学着应用这些知识了。我的第一种产品尼龙带搭链的钱包，在远东生产，然后装船运到纽约的仓库里，仓库离我去上学的地方很近。我的正式教育已经完成，现在是我单飞的时候了。如果我失败了，我将会破产。富爸爸认为破产最好是在30岁以前，他的看法是“这样你还有时间东山再起”。
Today, I still do business internationally. And as my rich dad encouraged me to do, I keep seeking the emerging nations. Today my investment company invests in South America, Asia, Norway and Russia. There is an old cliche that goes, “Job is an acronym for ‘Just Over Broke’.” And unfortunately, I would say that the saying applies to millions of people. Because school does not think financial intelligence is an intelligence, most workers “live within their means.” They work and they pay the bills.
直到今天，我仍然在做国际贸易，就像富爸爸鼓励我去做那样，我一直在寻找新兴国家的商机。现在我的投资公司在南美、亚洲、挪威和俄罗斯等地都拥有投资。有一句古老的格言说，“工作的意义就是‘比破产强一点’”。然而，不幸的是，这句话确实适用于千百万人，因为学校没有把财商看作是一种智慧，大部分工人都“按他们的方式活着”，这些方式就是：干活挣钱，支付账单。
The net result is that most workers never get ahead. They do what they’ve been taught to do: “Get a secure job.” Most workers focus on working for pay and benefits that reward them in the short term, but is often disastrous in the long. Instead I recommend to young people to seek work for what they will learn, more than what they will earn. Look down the road at what. skills they want to acquire before choosing a specific profession and before getting trapped in the “Rat Race.”
纯粹的结果是大部分工人从不越雷池一步，他们按照别人教他们的那样去做：得到一份稳定的工作。大部分工人为工资和短期福利而工作，但从长期来看这样做却常常是灾难性的。 相反，我劝告年轻人在寻找工作时要看看能从中学到什么，而不是只看能挣到多少。在选择某种特定的职业之前或者在陷入为生计而忙碌工作的“老鼠赛跑”之前，要仔细看看脚下的道路，弄清楚自己到底需要获得什么技能。
There is another horrible management theory that goes, “Workers work hard enough to not be fired, and owners pay just enough so that workers won’t quit.” And if you look at the pay scales of most companies, again I would say there is a degree of truth in that statement.
还有另外一种可怕的管理理论这样说：“工人付出最高限度的努力工作以避免被解雇，而雇主提供最低限度的工资以防止工人辞职。”如果你看一看大部分公司的支付额度，你就会明白这一说法确实道出了某种程度的真实。
Once people are trapped in the lifelong process of bill paying, they 1 become like those little hamsters running around in those little metal wheels. Their little furry legs are spinning furiously, the wheel is turning furiously, but come tomorrow morning, they’ll still be in the same cage: great job.
一旦人们为支付生活的账单而整天疲于奔命，就和那些蹬着小铁笼子不停转圈的小老鼠一样了。老鼠的小毛腿蹬得飞快，小铁笼也转得飞快，可到了第二天早上醒来，他们发现自己依然困在老鼠笼里。
The question I often ask people is, “Where is this daily activity taking you?” Just like the little hamster, I wonder if people look at where their hard work is taking them. What does the future hold?
我经常向人们提出的一个问题是：“你每天忙碌的目的是什么？”就像那只从不停歇的小老鼠一样，我想知道人们是否会想一想这样辛苦工作，到头来究竟是为了什么？未来的日子又该怎么过呢？
In the movie Jerry Maguire, starring Tom Cruise, there are many great one liners. Probably the most memorable is “Show me the money.” But there is one line I thought most truthful. It comes from the scene where Tom Cruise is leaving the firm. He has just been fired, and he is asking the entire company “Who wants to come with me?” And the whole place is silent and frozen. Only one woman speaks up and says, “I’d like to but I’m due for a promotion in three months.”
在巨星汤姆。克鲁斯主演的电影《杰里。马圭尔》中，有许多非常好的台词。可能最容易记住的一句是“把钱给我看看”，我觉得这句台词可算是句真理。那是汤姆。克鲁斯离开公司时的一幕，他刚被炒了就鱼，于是就问全公司的人：“谁愿意和我一起走？”整个公司鸦雀无声，空气都凝固了。只有一位妇女站出来说，“我愿意……可是过三个月后我就能得到升职了。”
That statement is probably the most truthful statement in the whole movie. It is the type of statement that people use to keep themselves busy working away to pay bills. I know my educated dad looked forward to his pay raise every year, and every year he was disappointed. So he would go back to school to earn more qualifications so he could get another raise, but again, it would be another disappointment.
这句话在整部电影里可能是最实在的一句话，这句话道出了人们总是为生计而忙碌工作的原因。我知道，受到良好教育的爸爸每年都在期望加薪，但每年他都十分失望。于是他不得不回到学校去获得更高的学历资格，以便能得到另一次加薪的机会。但是很快，他又会再次失望。
In his book The Retirement Myth, Craig S. Karpel writes: I visited the headquarters of a major national pension consulting firm and met with a managing director who specializes in designing lush retirement plans for top management. When I asked her what people who don’t have corner offices will be able to expect in the way of pension income, she said with a confident smile: The Silver Bullet. “What,” I asked, “is The Silver Bullet?” She shrugged, ‘If baby boomers discover they don’t have enough money to live on when they’re older, they can always blow their brains out. Karpel goes on to explain the difference between the old Defined Benefit retirement plans and the new 401K plans which are riskier. It is not a pretty picture for most people working today. And that is just for retirement. When medical fees and long-term nursing home care are added to the picture, the picture is frightening. In his 1995 book, he indicates that nursing-home fees run from $30,000 to $125,000 per year. He went to a clean no-frills nursing home in his area and found the price to be $88,000 a year in 1995.
克莱格。S。卡佩尔在他的《退休的秘密》一书中写道：我采访过一家主要的全国性养老金咨询公司，并同一位专门为高级管理人员制定退休计划的经理谈话，当我问她那些非白领劳动能得到多少养老金收入时。“她耸耸肩，”如果战后生育高峰期出生的这一代人发现，当他们年老的时候并没有足够的钱来维持生计，他们会大失所望的。卡佩尔接着分析了原先的“退休福利计划”和后来更加不可靠的“401K计划”之间的区别。对于今天仍在工作的大部分人来说这可不是一幅美妙的图画，而这仅指退休金，如果加上医疗和长期家庭护理费用，这幅图景将会更加可怕。在1995出版的一本书中，卡佩尔指出平均每年的家庭护理开支高达3万美元到12.5万美元。1995年，当他去自己所在地区的一家并没有什么豪华设施的家庭护理所时，发现价格竟达到每年8.8万美元。
Cyril Brickfield, the former executive director of The American Association of Retired People, reports that “private pensions are in a state of chaos. First of all, 50 percent of the workforce today has no pension. That alone should be of great concern. And 75 to 80 percent of the other 50 percent have ineffective pensions that pay $55 or $150 or $300 a month.”
美国退休者协会前任会长西里尔。布里克弗利克的报告说，私人养老金管理正处于一种混乱状态。在今天有50％的为政府工作的劳动力没有退休金，另外的50％的人中有75％至80％的人的养老金不能足额发放，他们每月只能领到55美元、150美元或300美元。
When I speak to adults who want to earn more money, I always recommend the same thing. I suggest taking a long view of their life. Instead of simply working for the money and security, which I admit are important, I suggest they take a second job that will teach them a second skill. Often I recommend joining a network marketing company, also called multilevel marketing, if they want to learn sales skills. Some of these companies have excellent training programs that help people get over their fear of failure and rejection, which are the main reasons people /j are unsuccessful. Education is more valuable than money, in the long run.
当我对那些想挣更多钱的成年人演讲时，我总是建议他们对自己的人生要有一个长远的眼光。我承认为了金钱和生活安稳而工作是非常重要的，但我仍然主张去寻找另一份工作，以从中学到另一种技能。我常常提议，如果想学习销售技能的话，最好进入一家拥有连锁营销系统或称为多层次市场的公司。这类公司多半能够提供良好的培训项目，帮助人们克服失败造成的沮丧和恐“惧心理，而这种心理往往是导致人们不能取得成功的主要原因。 从长远来看，教育比金钱更有价值。
Already, many hospitals in countries with socialized medicine need to make tough decisions such as “Who will live and who will die?” They make those decisions purely on how much money they have and how old the patients are. If the patient is old, they often will give the medical care to someone younger. The older poor patient gets put to the back of the line. So just as the rich can afford better education, the rich will be able to keep themselves alive, while those who have little wealth will die.
在一些拥有社会医疗保障的国家，许多医院不得不作出一些困难的抉择，例如“让谁活下来而让谁不得不死去”。他们纯粹是根据这些病人有多少钱、年纪有多大作出这些决定的。如果病人年老了，他们常常将医疗服务提供给更年轻的人，而那些又老又穷的病人只好排在队伍的末尾。因此，就像富人能得到更好的教育一样，富人也能使自己活得更长一些，而那些贫穷的人只好早早死去。
So I wonder, are workers looking into the future or just until their next paycheck, never questioning where they are headed?
所以，我怀疑，是否工人们只有在看到将来的情形，或者等到下一次付账的时候，才会对自己的未来产生疑问呢？
Unfortunately, there is some truth to the old statement “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Unless a person is used to changing, it’s hard to change.
遗憾的是有一些古老的说法仍然颇有道理，像“你无法教会一匹老马新的技巧”，除非一个人习惯于变化，否则改变自我是十分困难的。
When I offer this suggestion, I often hear in response, “Oh that is too much hassle,” or “I only want to do what I am interested in.”
当我提出这些建议时，我常常听到这样的反应，“这太麻烦了”，或者“我只想做我感兴趣的事情”。
But for those of you who might be on the fence when it comes to the idea of working to learn something new, I offer this word of encouragement: Life is much like going to the gym. The most painful part is deciding to go. Once you get past that, it’s easy. There have been many days I have dreaded going to the gym, but once I am there and in motion, it is a pleasure. After the workout is over, I am always glad I talked myself into going.
但是，为了你们中间那些对于“工作是为了学习新东西”的观点持游移不定态度的人，我还想说出一句话作为鼓励：生活就像我去健身房，最痛苦的事情是作出去锻炼的决定，一旦你过了这～关，以后的事情就好办了。有很多次，我害怕去健身房，但是只要我去了，我心里就会感到非常愉快。做完了健身练习后我总是非常高兴地对自己说：做运动真好！
To the statement of “It’s too much of a hassle,” I ask, “So you would. rather work all your life giving 50 percent of what you earn to the government?” To the other statement — “I only do what I am interested in” — I say, “I’m not interested in going to the gym, but I go because I want to feel better and live longer.”
对于“太麻烦了”的说法，我问：“因此，你宁可辛苦工作一一生，并把挣来的50％的收入交给政府？”对于另一种说法说“我只想做我感兴趣的事情”，我说：“我对进健身房做运动并不感兴趣，但我还是去练习，因为我想身体更好，活得更长久。”
Personally, I take no sides because I can see the need for and the benefits of both sides. If you do as school recommends, become highly specialized, then seek union protection. For example, had I continued on with my flying career, I would have sought a company that had a strong pilots union. Why? Because my life would be dedicated to learn a skill that was valuable in only one industry. If I were pushed out of that industry, my life’s skills would not be as valuable to another industry. A displaced senior pilot — with 100,000 hours of heavy airline transport time, earning $150,000 a year — would have a hard time finding an equivalent high-paying job in school teaching. The skills do not necessarily transfer from industry to industry, because the skills the pilots are paid for in the airline industry are not as important in, say, the school system.
对我个人来说，我不倾向于劳资双方的任何一方，因为我能理解双方各自的需要和利益。如果你按学校所教育的那样去做，成为一位专门人才，那么最好寻求工会的保护。例如，如果我继续我的飞行生涯，我就会寻找一家拥有强有力的飞行员工会的公司。为什么？因为我将终生只在该行业里学习到一种有价值的技能，如果我被这一行业所抛弃，我一生所学的技能对于其他行业便毫无用处。一位拥有10万小时驾驶大型运输机记录的高级飞行员，每年能挣15万美元，可一旦下岗，就很难找到一个收入相当的在学校教书的工作了。 技能不一定能从一个行业转到另一个行业，在航空业受到看重的飞行员的技能在学校教育系统并不受重视。
My educated dad, after falling from grace with the governor, became the head of the teachers union in Hawaii. He told me that it was the hardest job he ever held. My rich dad, on the other hand, spent his life doing his best to keep his companies from becoming unionized. He was successful. Although the unions came close, rich dad was always able to fight them off.
我那受了高等教育的爸爸从政府部门失宠后，成了夏威夷一个教室工会的负责人。他说那是他做过的最难的工作。而我的富爸爸竭尽所能的不让自己的公司成为工会。他很成功。即使工会靠近，我富爸爸也能远离它。
If you are unwilling to work to learn something new and insist on, instead, becoming highly specialized within your field, make sure the company you work for is unionized. Labor unions are designed to protect specialists.
如果你坚持不愿意学习新东西，愿意仅在你的领域里成为专家，那么你一定要确信你工作的公司是有工会的，并且工会会保护专门人才。
The answer is obvious: McDonald’s is excellent at business systems. The reason so many talented people are poor is because they focus on building a better hamburger and know little to nothing about business systems.
答案是显而易见的：麦当劳拥有一套出色的商务体系。许多才华横溢的人之所以贫穷，是因为他们只是专心于做好汉堡包，而对如何运作商务体系却知之甚少。
When I ask the classes I teach, “How many of you can cook a better hamburger than McDonald’s?” almost all the students raise their hands. I then ask, “So if most of you can cook a better hamburger, how come McDonald’s makes more money than you?”
当我在自己教的班上问到“你们中间有多少人能够做比麦当劳更好的汉堡包”时，几乎所有的学生都举起了手。我接着问，“如果你们中大部分人都能做出比麦当劳更好的汉堡包，那为什么麦当劳比你们更能赚钱？”
The same is true even for doctors today. With all the changes in medicine, many medical specialists are needing to conform to medical organizations such as HMO’s. Schoolteachers definitely need to be union members. Today in America, the teachers union is the largest and the richest labor union of all. The NEA, National Education Association, has tremendous political clout. Teachers need the protection of their union because their skills are also of limited value to an industry outside of education. So the rule of thumb is, “Highly specialized, then unionize.” It’s the smart thing to do.
甚至对于今天的医生来说也同样适用。随着医学的变化，许多医药专家需要加入“健康和医疗组织”这样的医疗机构，教师也一定要求是工会会员。在现今的美国，教师工会是所有工会中最大、最富有的一个，全国教育联合会拥有巨大的政治影响。教师们需要工会的保护，因为他们技能的价值也只是限于学校教育系统内部。因此法则就是：如果你是高度专业化人士，就加入工会，这是应该做的聪明事。
A friend of mine in Hawaii is a great artist. He makes a sizable amount of money. One day his mother’s attorney called to tell him that she had left him $35,000. That is what was left of her estate after the attorney and the government took their shares. Immediately, he saw an opportunity to increase his business by using some of this money to advertise. Two months later, his first four-color, full-page ad appeared in an expensive magazine that targeted the very rich. The ad ran for three months. He received no replies from the ad, and all of his inheritance is now gone. He now wants to sue the magazine for misrepresentation.
我有位夏威夷的朋友是很棒的艺术家，但他挣的钱屈指可数。一天，他母亲的律师打电话告诉他，他母亲留给他3.5万美元，这是他母亲的房地产在扣除律师费用和政府税收后的余额。 不久后，他发现了一个可以促进他的事业的“机会”。为此，他需要利用这笔钱的一部分来做广告，以扩大他的影响。两个月后，他的第一个四色整页广告出现在一份昂贵的杂志上，其读者主要是富人。然而广告刊登了三个月后，没有收到任何效果，他所继承的遗产却被全部花光了。现在他想以误导为由起诉那家杂志。
This is a common case of someone who can build a beautiful hamburger, but knows little about business. When I asked him what he learned, his only reply was that “advertising salespeople are crooks.” I then asked him if he would be willing to take a course in sales and a course in direct marketing. His reply, “I don’t have the time, and I don’t want to waste my money.”
这是有关只懂做好汉堡包，不懂得如何将汉堡包卖出去的一个典型例子。我问他学到了什么，他只是回答说“广告商都是骗子。”于是我问他是否愿意学习一门销售课程和一门直销课程，他回答：“我没时间，也不愿意浪费钱。”
The world is filled with talented poor people. All too often, they’re? poor or struggle financially or earn less than they are capable of, not f because of what they know but because of what they do not know. They focus on perfecting their skills at building a better hamburger rather than the skills of selling and delivering the hamburger. Maybe McDonald’s does not make the best hamburger, but they are the best at f selling and delivering a basic average burger.
世界上到处都是有才华的穷人。在很多情况下，他们之所以贫穷或财务困难，或者只能挣到低于他们本来能够挣到的收入。不是因为他们已知的东西而是因为他们未知的东西。他们只将注意力集中在提高和完善做汉堡包的技能上，却不注意提高销售和‘发送汉堡包的技能。也许麦当劳不能做最好的汉堡包，但他们能。够在做出一般水平的汉堡包的前提下，做最好的销售和发送工作。
Poor dad wanted me to specialize. That was his view on how to be paid more. Even after being told by the governor of Hawaii that he could no longer work in state government, my educated dad continued to encourage me to get specialized. Educated dad then took up the cause of the teachers union, campaigning for further protection and benefits for I these highly skilled and educated professionals. We argued often, but I know he never agreed that overspecialization is what caused the need for union protection. He never understood that the more specialized you become, the more you are trapped and dependent on that specialty.
穷爸爸希望我有所专长，这也是在他看来能够获得更高收入的途径。即使是在夏威夷州长通知他不能再在州政府工作时，我受到良好教育的爸爸仍然继续鼓励我学些专长。后来，受到良好教育的爸爸接手了教育工会的工作，为那些高级专业人才和受到良好教育的人士能得到更多的生活保障而努力。我们经常争论此事，但我知道，他从不认为过分专业化是导致这些人需要工会保护的原因。他不能理解，为何依越专业化，就越是陷入陷讲，无法自拔。
Rich dad advised that Mike and I “groom” ourselves. Many corporations do the same thing. They find a young bright student out of business school and begin “grooming” that person to someday take over the company. So these bright young employees do not specialize in one department; they are moved from department to department to learn all the aspects of business systems. The rich often “groom” their children or the children of others. By doing so, their children gain an overall knowledge of the operations of the business and how the various departments interrelate.
富爸爸建议我和迈克“培养”自己。许多企业也做同样的工作，他们在商业学校寻找一位年轻聪明的学生，并开始“培养” 他，希望有朝一日他有能力领导这家公司。因此，这些聪明的年轻职员并不去专门钻研某一个部门的业务，而是从一个部门转移到另一个部门，从而学到整个企业系统各个方面的知识。富人们也常常这样“培养”他们的孩子或别人的孩子，通过这样做，孩子们能够对如何经营一家企业有一个整体的认识，并能知道不同部门之间的相互关系。
The main management skills needed for success are:
成功所必要的管理素质包括：
For the World War II generation, it was considered “bad” to skip from company to company. Today, it is considered smart. Since people will skip from company to company, rather than seek greater specialization, why not seek to “learn” more than “earn.” In the short term, it may earn you less. In the long term, it will pay off in large dividends.
对于经历过二次世界大战的那一代人来说，从一家公司跳槽到另一家公司被看作是一件“坏事”，而今天人们却认为这是精明之举。既然人们愿意从一家公司跳到另一家公司，而不愿意寻求更深入的专业知识，那为什么不寻求多“学”、进而多“挣”呢？尽管从短期来看，你可能因此挣得较少；但从长期来看，你将从中获得巨大的收益。
3. The management of people.
3、对人员的管理。
1. The management of cash flow
1、对现金流的管理；
2. The management of systems (including yourself and time with family).
2、对系统（包括你本人、时间及家庭）的管理；
As I have mentioned, my educated dad worked harder and harder the more competent he became. He also became more trapped the more specialized he got. Although his salary went up, his choices diminished. Soon after he was locked out of government work, he found out how vulnerable he really was professionally. It is like professional athletes who suddenly are injured or are too old to play. Their once high-paying position is gone, and they have limited skills to fall back on. I think that is why my educated dad sided so much with unions after that. He realized how much a union would have benefited him.
正如我提到过的那样，我受过良好教育的爸爸工作越来越努力，也越来越具有竞争力，但他也更深地陷入对自己专业特长的依赖之中。虽然他的工资收入增长了，可他的选择机会却消失了。等到失去了政府中的工作，他才发现自己从职业选择上来讲是多么地无能为力。这就好比职业运动员突然受伤或者年龄太大而无法再参加比赛一样，他们曾经拥有的高收入工作已经失去，而有限的技能又使他们无法另辟蹊径。我想，这就是为什么从那时起，我那受过良好教育的爸爸会变得如此支持工会的原因了，因为他意识到工会能给他带来很大的利益。
The most important specialized skills are sales and understanding marketing. It is the ability to sell — therefore, to communicate to another human being, be it a customer, employee, boss, spouse or child — that is the base skill of personal success. It is communication skills such as writing, speaking and negotiating that are crucial to a life of success. It is a skill that I work on constantly, attending courses or buying educational tapes to expand my knowledge.
最重要的专门技能是销售和懂得市场营销。销售技能是个人成功的基本技能，它涉及到与其他人的交往，包括与顾客、雇员、老板、配偶和孩子的交往。而交际能力，如书面表达、口头表达及谈判能力等对于一个人的成功更是至关重要。我就是通过学习各种课程、买来教学磁带等来增长知识并木断提高自己的这一技能而最终获得成功的。
Today, I meet ex-schoolteachers earning hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. They earn that much because they have specialized skills in their field as well as other skills. They can teach as well as sell and market. I know of no other skills to be more important than selling as well as marketing. The skills of selling and marketing are difficult for most people primarily due to their fear of rejection. The better you are at communicating, negotiating and handling your fear of rejection, the easier life is. Just as I advised that newspaper writer who wanted to become a “best-selling author,” I advise anyone else today. Being technically specialized has its strengths as well as its weaknesses. I have friends who are geniuses, but they cannot communicate effectively with other human beings and, as a result, their earnings are pitiful. I advise them to just spend a year learning to sell. Even if they earn nothing, their communication skills will improve. And that is priceless.
今天，我看到以前的学校教师现在每年能挣到数十万美元，他们能挣这么多是因为他们不仅在本专业拥有特长，而且也拥有其他方面的技能。他们既能教书，也能做销售和市场。我还不知道是否有比销售和市场更重要的技能，但掌握销售和市场技能对大部分人来说是困难的，这主要是因为他们害怕被拒绝。所以，你在处理人际交往、商务谈判和控制被拒绝时的恐慌心理方面做得越好，生活就会越轻松。就像我对那位想成为“畅销书作家”的女作家所建议的一样，我今天也给其他所有的人这个建议。在专业技能上非常精通既是优势也是弱点。我有许多朋友，他们非常有天赋，但他们不善于与其他人进行更多的交流去发挥他们的天赋，结果他们挣的钱少得可怜。我建议他们花一年时间来学习销售，即使什么也没挣到，可他们处理人际关系的能力会大大提高，而这种能力是无价的。
Rich dad encouraged Mike and me to know a little about a lot. He encouraged us to work with people smarter than we were and to bring smart people together to work as a team. Today it would be called a synergy of professional specialities.
富爸爸鼓励我和迈克对许多东西都去了解一点儿。他鼓励我们去和比我们更精明的人一起工作，并把他们组织成为一个团队。现在这种做法被称为专家组合。
My educated dad always said, “When I have some extra money, I’ll give it.” The problem was, there was never any extra. So he worked harder to draw more money in rather than focus on the most important law of money: “Give and you shall receive.” Instead, he believed in “Receive and then you give.”
我那受过良好教育的爸爸总是说：“当我有多余的钱时，我就把它捐出来。”问题是他从来就没有多余的钱。因此他工作更加努力以挣到更多钱，却没有注意到一条最重要的金钱法则：“给予，然后获得”。相反，他却信奉“得到了然后再付出”。
In addition to being good learners, sellers and marketers, we need to be good teachers as well as good students. To be truly rich, we need to be able to give as well as to receive. In cases of financial or professional struggle, there is often a lack of giving and receiving. I know many people who are poor because they are neither good students nor good teachers.
除了成为好的学习者、销售者和市场营销者外，我们还需要成为好老师、好学生。要想真正富有，我们要能付出也要能得到。对于那些被财务或职业所困的人来说，他们常常既缺乏给予，也无力索取。我知道许多人之所以贫穷是因为他们既不是好教师也不是好学生。
Both of my dads were generous men. Both made it a practice to give first. Teaching was one of their ways of giving. The more they gave, the more they received. One glaring difference was in the giving of money. My rich dad gave lots of money away. He gave to his church, to charities, to his foundation. He knew that to receive money, you had to give money. Giving money is the secret to most great wealthy families. That is why there are organizations like the Rockefeller Foundation and the Ford Foundation. These are organizations designed to take their wealth and increase it, as well as give it away in perpetuity.
我的两个爸爸都是雄心勃勃的人，他们都把付出放在第一位。教学是他们付出的途径之一，他们付出的越多，得到的也越多。但一个明显的区别是对金钱的付出。我的富爸爸给予别人许多钱，他把钱捐给教堂、慈善机构以及他的基金会，他懂得如果想要得到金钱，就必须先付出金钱。付出金钱是那些非常富有的家庭保持财富的一个秘诀，这也是例如洛克菲勒基金会、福特基金会这样的机构存在的原因。建立这些机构是为了获取财富，通过定期付出财富再去增加更多的财富。
In conclusion, I became both dads. One part of me is a hard-core capitalist who loves the game of money making money. The other side is ‘: a socially responsible teacher who is deeply concerned with this ever-widening gap between the haves and have nots. I personally hold the archaic educational system primarily responsible for this growing gap.
总之，我同时受到两个爸爸的影响。一方面我是资本主义的坚定信奉者，喜欢以钱生钱的游戏；另一方面我又是一个怀有社会责任感的教师，深深关注贫富之间日益加深的鸿沟。我个人认为，尚不完善的教育体系应对这一鸿沟的加深负有责任。
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