Over the years, I’ve been teaching kids about a simple but powerful concept: the Ant Philosophy. I think everybody should study ants. They have an amazing four-part philosophy.
Here is the first part: Ants never quit. That’s a good philosophy. If they’re headed somewhere and you try to stop them, they’ll look for another way. They’ll climb over. They’ll climb under. They’ll climb around. They keep looking for another way. What a neat philosophy—to never quit looking for a way to get where you’re supposed to go.
Second, ants think winter all summer. That’s an important perspective. You can’t be so naive as to think summer will last forever. So ants gather their winter food in the middle of summer.
An ancient story says, “Don’t build your house on the sand in the summer.” Why do we need that advice? Because it is important to think ahead. In the summer, you’ve got to think storm. You’ve got to think rocks as you enjoy the sand and sun.
The third part of the Ant Philosophy is that ants think summer all winter. That is so important. During the winter, ants remind themselves, “This won’t last long; we’ll soon be out of here.” And the first warm day, the ants are out. If it turns cold again, they’ll dive back down, but then they come out the first warm day. They can’t wait to get out.
And here’s the last part of the ant philosophy. How much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare for the winter? All he possibly can. What an incredible philosophy, the “all-you-possibly-can” philosophy.
Wow, what a great philosophy to have—the ant philosophy. Never give up, look ahead, stay positive and do all you can.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
The Call of God, by Kong Hee
So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, “The LORD has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim. 2 Samuel 5:20
Every one of us has a call of God for our lives. You are called by God to do something specific for Him. There is no useless person in life and you should not be drifting through life without a sense of destiny or purpose. From David’s experience in 2 Samuel 5, you can learn five important lessons about discerning God’s calling for you:
(1) What word or rhema have you received from the Lord? That word will be a good indicator of your calling in life. David had a word from heaven that he shall be the shepherd and ruler of Israel (5:1-2). Faith comes by hearing that rhema. Without that rhema revelation, you won’t have the faith to obey.
(2) What are you gifted and anointed with? David was anointed three times in his life: by the prophet Samuel, by the men of Judah, and by the elders of Israel (5:3). An anointing is an impartation of ability by the Holy Spirit. God never wastes His anointing. What He has gifted and anointed you with is often indicative of your calling.
(3) What does other trusted leadership see in you? The reason elders chose him was because the gifting and ability of kingship in David were already clearly evident to all (5:3). God works through spiritual protocol. A calling upon your life should be evident to the mature, spiritual leadership God has surrounded you with. Let them confi rm your calling.
(4) How are your enemies opposing you? If you are not walking in your calling, you will never be a threat to Satan. But the moment you step into your destiny, you can be sure he is not going take things lying down. He will be very agitated and start hindering you (5:3). Sometimes, an unprovoked attack could be an indication that you are walking in your calling.
(5) What breakthrough has God provided you with? When David went to the Valley of Rephaim, God provided a way for him to attain resounding victory over his enemies. He renamed that valley Baal Perazim, which means “Master of Breakthroughs”(5:20). God often speaks to us through an open door. When you receive a breakthrough in an impossible situation, it is a good sign that God wants you to walk through it. That is your calling from the Lord.
Every one of us has a call of God for our lives. You are called by God to do something specific for Him. There is no useless person in life and you should not be drifting through life without a sense of destiny or purpose. From David’s experience in 2 Samuel 5, you can learn five important lessons about discerning God’s calling for you:
(1) What word or rhema have you received from the Lord? That word will be a good indicator of your calling in life. David had a word from heaven that he shall be the shepherd and ruler of Israel (5:1-2). Faith comes by hearing that rhema. Without that rhema revelation, you won’t have the faith to obey.
(2) What are you gifted and anointed with? David was anointed three times in his life: by the prophet Samuel, by the men of Judah, and by the elders of Israel (5:3). An anointing is an impartation of ability by the Holy Spirit. God never wastes His anointing. What He has gifted and anointed you with is often indicative of your calling.
(3) What does other trusted leadership see in you? The reason elders chose him was because the gifting and ability of kingship in David were already clearly evident to all (5:3). God works through spiritual protocol. A calling upon your life should be evident to the mature, spiritual leadership God has surrounded you with. Let them confi rm your calling.
(4) How are your enemies opposing you? If you are not walking in your calling, you will never be a threat to Satan. But the moment you step into your destiny, you can be sure he is not going take things lying down. He will be very agitated and start hindering you (5:3). Sometimes, an unprovoked attack could be an indication that you are walking in your calling.
(5) What breakthrough has God provided you with? When David went to the Valley of Rephaim, God provided a way for him to attain resounding victory over his enemies. He renamed that valley Baal Perazim, which means “Master of Breakthroughs”(5:20). God often speaks to us through an open door. When you receive a breakthrough in an impossible situation, it is a good sign that God wants you to walk through it. That is your calling from the Lord.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
We Need Two School Systems by Robert Kiyosaki
Education in America could use a big dose of innovation. How about one public school system for employees, and another for entrepreneurs?
In the summer of 1932, presidential candidate Franklin Delano Roosevelt promised, "I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people."
Today, it is time not for a "New Deal," but a "New Mission."
America's schools need to take a page from the businesses that have been created by entrepreneurs over the past decades. Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Sergey Brin and Larry Page have all given us the road map, but the path toward entrepreneurship is often the road less traveled America's schools.
The U.S. unemployment rate is currently 9.7% in what many call a "jobless recovery." So what should we do? The problem and the solution can be found in America's educational system and its current mantra: "Go to school and get good grades, so you can get a good high-paying job." In simpler terms that means, "Go to school to become a good employee." But there are too many employees, which is why we have an unemployment problem. Today, kids just out of school aren't finding jobs. At the same time, many of their parents are going back to school for retraining. But they're not finding jobs, either.
The idea of a high-paying job for life is truly an American dream — but no longer a reality. With low-priced labor and lower-priced, higher-performance technology, high-paying American jobs will be disappearing at greater speed as they move overseas.
Two-track system
America's education system needs an injection of innovation — which is just what entrepreneurs do. We need two different public school programs: one for employees and one for entrepreneurs.
The way to train entrepreneurs is almost exactly the opposite of the methods used to train employees. Another common thread about Ford, Gates and Jobs is that they all dropped out of school. This is not to say education is not important, but training entrepreneurs is different from training people to be employees. It is much like the difference between traditional education and the military academy model.
Many of the lessons I drew upon to write my book, Rich Dad, come from the U.S. military academy system.
In 1965, I left a sleepy sugar plantation town of Hilo, Hawaii, and journeyed to Kings Point, N.Y., to attend the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. With four years at the academy and six years as a Marine Corps pilot, including two trips to Vietnam, I gained many of the real-life skills and character traits I count on today as an entrepreneur.
Success in the military is a great bellwether signaling achievement in business. For example, the Israeli Defense Forces are a breeding ground for education and entrepreneurs, where many serve in units specializing in military technology. At the beginning of 2009, the 63 Israeli companies listed on the Nasdaq, many led by former IDF members, outnumbered those of any other foreign country, according to the book Start-up Nation by Dan Senor and Saul Singer. There are simple lessons here for America's gridlocked education system.
If I were running America's schools system, I would create the U.S. Business Academy for Entrepreneurs, modeled after our federal military academies. Admissions would be via congressional appointment along with nominations from community business leaders. The entrance exams would be rigorous; the curriculum would be very different from traditional colleges.
On first day at any of the five federal military academies, each student is required to memorize the academy's mission. In the military, mission is more important than life. After leaving the Marine Corps and starting my own business, I found many executives with MBA degrees focused only on money. Money was their only mission. If they could cut expenses by firing employees, so be it. This was unconscionable at the academy and the Marine Corps. As military officers, our mission was to serve our country and bring our troops home alive. It was drummed into our souls that our mission was more important than our lives.
The mission of the U.S. Academy for Entrepreneurs would be to create sustainable, well-paying jobs for employees by aggressive growth of the business. Too many executives are trained to grow the business through mergers and acquisitions, using massive amounts of debt. Though this might make shareholders happy, in most cases it rips the soul out of the business, loading it with debt while putting the jobs of employees at risk.
Creating real jobs
If corporate executives cannot grow a business organically, they will often repurchase their shares to make it look as if the share price is going up — again to keep shareholders happy and the CEO employed. This is business manipulation, and not the true mission of a sustainable business. The lesson learned is, a loyal employee is not as important as money.
The U.S. Business Academy for Entrepreneurs would have only real entrepreneurs as teachers. I would ask that they work for only $1 a year (think of the great entrepreneurial CEOs who have turned around their businesses doing the same). You see, if they were real entrepreneurs, they would not need the money. They would teach for the same reason the students are there: the mission to create entrepreneurs who create sustainable jobs for the country.
Whether you agree with me or not, I hope it's clear that we need to create more entrepreneurs — since only entrepreneurs can create real jobs.
We need to pledge ourselves to this New Mission: job creation by those who are true job creators
In the summer of 1932, presidential candidate Franklin Delano Roosevelt promised, "I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people."
Today, it is time not for a "New Deal," but a "New Mission."
America's schools need to take a page from the businesses that have been created by entrepreneurs over the past decades. Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Sergey Brin and Larry Page have all given us the road map, but the path toward entrepreneurship is often the road less traveled America's schools.
The U.S. unemployment rate is currently 9.7% in what many call a "jobless recovery." So what should we do? The problem and the solution can be found in America's educational system and its current mantra: "Go to school and get good grades, so you can get a good high-paying job." In simpler terms that means, "Go to school to become a good employee." But there are too many employees, which is why we have an unemployment problem. Today, kids just out of school aren't finding jobs. At the same time, many of their parents are going back to school for retraining. But they're not finding jobs, either.
The idea of a high-paying job for life is truly an American dream — but no longer a reality. With low-priced labor and lower-priced, higher-performance technology, high-paying American jobs will be disappearing at greater speed as they move overseas.
Two-track system
America's education system needs an injection of innovation — which is just what entrepreneurs do. We need two different public school programs: one for employees and one for entrepreneurs.
The way to train entrepreneurs is almost exactly the opposite of the methods used to train employees. Another common thread about Ford, Gates and Jobs is that they all dropped out of school. This is not to say education is not important, but training entrepreneurs is different from training people to be employees. It is much like the difference between traditional education and the military academy model.
Many of the lessons I drew upon to write my book, Rich Dad, come from the U.S. military academy system.
In 1965, I left a sleepy sugar plantation town of Hilo, Hawaii, and journeyed to Kings Point, N.Y., to attend the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. With four years at the academy and six years as a Marine Corps pilot, including two trips to Vietnam, I gained many of the real-life skills and character traits I count on today as an entrepreneur.
Success in the military is a great bellwether signaling achievement in business. For example, the Israeli Defense Forces are a breeding ground for education and entrepreneurs, where many serve in units specializing in military technology. At the beginning of 2009, the 63 Israeli companies listed on the Nasdaq, many led by former IDF members, outnumbered those of any other foreign country, according to the book Start-up Nation by Dan Senor and Saul Singer. There are simple lessons here for America's gridlocked education system.
If I were running America's schools system, I would create the U.S. Business Academy for Entrepreneurs, modeled after our federal military academies. Admissions would be via congressional appointment along with nominations from community business leaders. The entrance exams would be rigorous; the curriculum would be very different from traditional colleges.
On first day at any of the five federal military academies, each student is required to memorize the academy's mission. In the military, mission is more important than life. After leaving the Marine Corps and starting my own business, I found many executives with MBA degrees focused only on money. Money was their only mission. If they could cut expenses by firing employees, so be it. This was unconscionable at the academy and the Marine Corps. As military officers, our mission was to serve our country and bring our troops home alive. It was drummed into our souls that our mission was more important than our lives.
The mission of the U.S. Academy for Entrepreneurs would be to create sustainable, well-paying jobs for employees by aggressive growth of the business. Too many executives are trained to grow the business through mergers and acquisitions, using massive amounts of debt. Though this might make shareholders happy, in most cases it rips the soul out of the business, loading it with debt while putting the jobs of employees at risk.
Creating real jobs
If corporate executives cannot grow a business organically, they will often repurchase their shares to make it look as if the share price is going up — again to keep shareholders happy and the CEO employed. This is business manipulation, and not the true mission of a sustainable business. The lesson learned is, a loyal employee is not as important as money.
The U.S. Business Academy for Entrepreneurs would have only real entrepreneurs as teachers. I would ask that they work for only $1 a year (think of the great entrepreneurial CEOs who have turned around their businesses doing the same). You see, if they were real entrepreneurs, they would not need the money. They would teach for the same reason the students are there: the mission to create entrepreneurs who create sustainable jobs for the country.
Whether you agree with me or not, I hope it's clear that we need to create more entrepreneurs — since only entrepreneurs can create real jobs.
We need to pledge ourselves to this New Mission: job creation by those who are true job creators
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