Live Truly

Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad isn’t just about money, it’s about life. His dad, an educated PhD, a successful and respected academic official, spent most of his life struggling to find time and to get by financially. He was successful, but there was never enough time and never enough money. His friend’s dad never finished high school, but managed to build a financial empire. When he was a little kid, he asked his dad how to get rich. When “making money” led him and his buddy to melting lead toothpaste tubes, both their fathers were happy with the initiative, but suggested he study from the future millionaire about how to get there. This book flipped my world view. Before I read it, I never thought about my path in life. I just figured I’ll get a good degree, get a decent job, become better at it, and try to enjoy my weekends and hours after work. This book reveals, in very powerful and simple terms, that the difference between rich and poor is that the rich let money work for them and the poor work for their money. It’s very eye opening stuff.

The story started almost half a year ago. Not far from when I started my web development internship. My dad set an anchor for learning Spanish and, right on time, a new guy joined his company–fluent speaker, with software in the language. He also let my dad listen to some tapes called “Rich Dad Poor Dad”

At the dinner table:
Dad: “Say you need some extra cash, what do most people do? What’s the most logical thing to do?”
B: “Get another job?”
D: “That’s what most people say. But it’s absolutely the wrong answer. To really make it, you shouldn’t work two jobs, you need to start your own business. A business can grow and make you more money, but working that second job, you’ll just be wasting your time. You won’t be getting any better at it, advancing, or getting well paid. It’s just not worth it.”

I liked this idea. Both my parents work two jobs. They make decent money, but end up stuck in the same situation, working to exhaustion and worrying about losing their jobs. Making almost nothing with the internship and learning even less, I started thinking about what to do. I realized this job was leading nowhere and perhaps school wouldn’t be so bad. I needed to study for the GRE’s or the GMAT. Since I’ll be studying, why not start a business as I do it. Tutor kids in SAT’s and practice my own stuff at the same time. It would pay just as much for like a half or third the time I spend at work, and it’d be time well spent.

For about a week I searched for a desk on craigslist. Coming home tired, I’d just look for an hour or so, then crash. One night I just had enough. I was just going to go buy a new one. It would be an investment, a place where my students would study. I ran out of the house to buy the perfect desk at Target, from the Metropolitan Collection. Sleak, simple, and comfy and tall. (Sorry for the tangent, I’m quite a fan of interior design.)

After one final check for responses to my desk inquiries, I was out the door. Right as it closed I remember the faceplace to my CD-player. I go back in and switch it with my keys and head out again. Again, I realize the keys are gone right as the door clicks locked. With my roomate out for the day and a spare car key in my wallet, the journey began.

I got the desk. Oh, so lovely. But now what? With no way to get into my place and nowhere nearby to go, why not hit up a book store? I drove the desk over to Borders and somehow ended up picking out that book. I finished a third by the time the store closed.

All my training, my programming, my getting programmed. It finally dawned on me. What am I going to do to make it? I couldn’t put down this book. It’s like picking up a manual on your life. Not just some VCR manual, but a fun one, written in real words, by real people, and about you. I just couldn’t stop.

After the store closes, I read another hour in my car, but realizing that it’ll get too cold to sleep there, I call up J, a buddy in the Mission. Just a few weeks back, my roomate and I stopped by J’s place for a chat. Back in the days, J and I would carpool to math classes at the local high school and were micro-community presidents, in high school we were both programming nerd and took classes at the JC with my dad. Toward college, we didn’t kick it as much, although I’d end up at a bunch of political rallies with his mom. He was a contractor for Y2K stuff and a waiter, while I worked at the library. He started college a semester before me, and by the time I started, he joined a frat. I joined some atheist group. Eventually realizing what a waste of time it was, I evolved to a dance group. By this time he took on a job at the Computer Center. He ran the house budget and then ran the house, while I took summer school. He eventually chose Cog Sci, and I followed in his tracks. By the time I followed him to becoming an advisor, he went to study business in Spain. While I grunted through my last year, he took a trip to Peru to teach and raise funds for an orphanage in Peru. By the time I was done with Cal, he’d joined an internet company and worked his butt off. He had a powerful work ethic and a very strong personal and leadership skills and I had only respect for him. And tonight, he saved me from the cold (the desk could take it).

That night, as he and the girl he met on match.com had some fun in his room, I kept reading the book. Around three, a few friends came back from the bars and crashed in the living room too. I took a nap and went into the bathroom to keep reading. Around six, his roommates came back from the clubs. This whole time I was reading. I couldn’t stop until I finished. I finished around six in the morning. I can’t describe what’s in the book. The first few chapters take all the things you learn in school and flip them on their head. It’s just amazing.

Reading this book was one of the biggest turning points in my life. It shook me up and made me realize that I need really sit down and really think about how I want to live my life. While this book isn’t a clear formula, it’s a big wake-up call and should be mandatory reading for people going into high school. I wish I read it then.

Had an interview with an amazing company today. Working there would be a dream. It was so strange, walking around and being surrounded by hundreds of people–my age, and happy, smiling, enjoying what they do. I really wasn’t sure about this position, but decided to give it a go. After the interviews I ended up wanting it even more.

I knew the company provided lunches, but the quality, variety, and setup just blew me away. It seemed like I was back at Cal, in the dorms, except the food was actually good. People would sit at the tables in groups and talk and enjoy each other’s company. For people that became full time workers they have different promotions, and for the super-new people, they designate a table so that they can meet each other and start building friendships. Sitting there with my old roomie, it almost seemed like we were back at Cal, only better.

The thing that really moved me though was talking with the interview people. They loved what they did. They felt fulfilled and they gave examples of how the unique company structure allowed them to make ideas into realities. They talked about the feedbacks, the space for initiative, the way people learned. The more I heard, the more I leaned toward joining, should I get the offer. After my first two tech jobs, I had a hard time believing a tech place could be more than exploiting interns to do manual labor with their fingertips. Well, I take that back, my first tech place six years ago was different, but it’s out of business now. My current place is very different: it’s small, intellectual, and powerful. Everything is lightening speed. Everything is on the line. This place found a way to keep the speed, the power, the closeness, and complexity, but at the same time it’s actually enjoyable and there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of other people here. You can actually meet new friends at work. Amazing.

The recruiter was amazingly nice as well. The whole process was like visiting some kind of workplace Disney Land. It slipped out that I’d have to keep searching, since it’s another month or two before an answer may come, but I came home just blown away. I wish I didn’t say anything. If it came to a choice today, very little could make me change my mind about them. They knew my situation, the place was filled with grads figuring out their path, and the people there seemed so happy to be there. I just couldn’t believe such a place existed.

Perhaps it might be worthwhile to go there to grow. It sure would be healthier and happier. Would I accomplish as much? Would I learn as much? I’m not sure. I don’t have any offer, so I’m not going to trip aside from writing some very sincere thank you letters.

If there is a place to work for someone else, to learn, to grow, and to save up a bit, this is it. Just amazing. I really hope I get accepted. It’s strange, this is a complete one eighty from two days ago. I’m still keeping with my goal, but this does make the phase where I’ll be doing some “normal” work a lot less dreadful, making it something I could actually look forward to.

My boss pointed out an important fact not mentioned in Rich Dad, Poor Dad: in the Silicon Valley, when you join a company, you also become an investor. It’s not the salary, but the stocks that build your wealth. They are your assets. This is the advantage of joining a start-up. You own a large percent of the company, and you’re taxes on it are on the money you invested (if it’s a founder’s stock). So when there is nothing and you buy your parts at $0.001, that’ll be what you’re taxed on. The other side of it is the company uses this to keep you in, you don’t get all your shares transfered to you right away. They come with a percentage each year. So, if you leave right away, the company can buy back the shares not transfered to you at the old price. It’s kind of a leash thing, but it’s something that Rich Dad never gave the people working at his stores.

So why do companies do this? Why give away a share? Because when a person actually owns part of something, she becomes a lot more productive. She has an interest to succeed, and an interest to stay.

Other things, joining established or not? Here’s the gamble, on one hand it takes luck but on the other without taking this risk, it’s hard to ever get passed regular income. Joining a small starting group or starting your own thing means a very high investment of time and energy and it might not succeed. If it does, you’re set. If it doesn’t you’ve lost time but learned a lot. On the other hand, say you join a big company, in fact an ideal working environment by Good Business : Leadership, Flow, and the Making of Meaning standards. You get paid a nice salary, are gauranteed a steady, and secure life. You also get stocks, but at such a high price, the exponential growth point has most likely passed (although it did grow a lot this year).

This is the tough choice. As someone just starting out, and very eager to make my first hundred thousand and go to Thailand to study (yes, that’s part of the plan now, once I make my first first hundred thousand, I’ll study for all those pesky certifications and exams in Thailand, it’s a good motivation to get myself to make it fast), I wondered if it wouldn’t be just easier to join the simple happy job, instead of working like mad and risking not getting anything. However, seeing yesterday’s events and seeing how a real passive income generation works and how a business starts to take off, I got really inspired. It may be harder right now, with little income coming in. But I’m determined to break out of the rat race. I know that a person cannot depend on an hourly wage to truly live and I want to build something, whether it’s a real estate empire, an invention, or a product. For a while, I was getting really tired and annoyed, but yesterday inspired me. I’m more eager than ever to finally get this project done, and I’m really annoyed at myself for having taken this long and for not really appreciating how great an opportunity this is.

I have an interview with the big established company next week. The phone interview was a disaster, but I guess my resume and writing helped a bit. I don’t know. I’m actually not that interested, which makes the whole idea of interviewing kind of fun. For the position and for the long term, they’d have to offer something really creative. Perhaps they will. I’m just curious at what it could be. Nearly half a dozen of my aquaintances work there right now, and they love it, and the lure of having that steady income sounds really nice when you don’t have it. But I’m just checking it out. I’m determined to finish this project first and hopefully get the chance to grow where I’m at right now.

So much going on right now: project, tutoring, real estate class. As the The ABC’s of Building a Business Team points out, now is the time to develop character. I have a few goals, very little spare time, and very little sleep. We’ll see how it all turns out.

I’ve been working from 2-10 and studying from 7-11. Commute is less than an hour. Where do those extra two hours disappear?!
Very drained. Very excited about things at work. Coursework is interesting too. Very busy. Very drained. A bit tuned out. But strangely alive.
I’ve become numb. Kind of crazy. I have to finish this project. This is the moment where people either get stronger or snap.

Yesterday I applied for what seems like a dream job. As in a job where I get to learn about every aspect of a business I’m really interested in. Decent pay, but amazing experience. I couldn’t wait to hear back from them. I was so excited about it that I’d be happy to take it even if it meant a big cut in pay.

Well surprise, surprise. I guess this is what happens when you get ready to move on. Today my boss lets me know that our start-up just got more funding and that I can finally expect to start making some of it. This presents an interesting situation, on one hand I know that there’s more opportunity and pay in this field, and a wider reach, and more creative and complex work. There’s also an amazing team and every day I feel lucky to be around such bright people. On the other hand, I’ve been saying I’d like to get away from the field for the last few years. The people and work is great, but I come home at eleven, dead and drained. In the morning I’m eager to do everything, study, anything, except go there. I feel like I’ve stopped growing and I feel like I’m losing my life there. When inside that little office, I just want to rip out my hair and run away. My main motivation for working is because I want to finish the project so I can move on and away. But now, with promises of different work and better pay, I wonder if maybe it is worth trying and I’m feeling bad because these things are negotiated with investors. At the same time, I just want to get as far away as I can, stick with my goals and plans, try other fields, and maybe spend six to eight hours in front of a computer instead of eighteen.

I’m really not sure which way to go. Both the dream job and my current place are a lot of hard work. In my current place, I’ve gained more experience than in my entire university education, and I have a chance to work and learn from top notch programmers and entrepreneurs and simply fascinating people. It’s super small, so we’re all one to one. This really is building something huge, true business, and it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. At the same time, I feel no flow at this job or with what I’m doing and want to move and try another professions to know what to really pursue. Not because of self-doubt or laziness, but because I’ve been saying this to myself for the last few years and I’ve finally started the process. Tough tough choices in the next few days. In any case, I’m determined to finish the current project. We’ll see where things go after that.

The Occupational Outlook Handbook from the US Department of Labor is a deep source for information about jobs and careers. Tonight, I tried getting more information from monster and a few other sites but none offered organization as clear as the OOH site. It discusses required education, outlooks, salaries, and job conditions. It also lists similar careers. Of all the sites out there, this one was the richest and easiest to use. It even offered earning statistics for commission-only jobs.

I finally sat down and wrote out my first long term goals draft in over a month. It took three hours to sort things out, and it’s just a rough draft, but even with the ideas clearing up, I’m feeling the peace and clarity coming back. I also found a job that has the perfect combination of work, learning, and location, and fits perfectly with the goals. Applying tomorrow morning (in 3 hours). Can’t wait to start learning and earning while truly living each day.