When he returned a year and half later, the manager had grown his invest- ment to nearly $900,000, so the young man just sailed off again, back to the islands of the South Pacific. Why Build a Business? 315 I was the guy who sold him the copy machines, and all I got was my small commission. He was the guy who built a business, sold it, and sailed away. I never saw him again after 1978, but I have heard that he pulls back into town every so often, checks his portfolio, and sails off again. As my rich dad said, "As a business owner, you don't have to be right 51% of the time. You need to be right only once." He also said, "Building a business is the riskiest road for most people. But if you can survive and keep improving your skills, your potential for wealth is unlimited. If you avoid risk and play it safe on the E and S side, you may be safer, but you'll also limit what you can truly earn." 3. "To build a business and take it public." This was rich dad's idea of becoming what he called the ultimate in- vestor. It was building a business and taking it public that made Bill Gates, Henry Ford, Warren Buffet, Ted Turner, and Anita Roddick very, very wealthy. They were the selling shareholders, while we were all the buying shareholders. They were insiders, while we were outsiders trying to look in. You're Never Too Old and You're Never Too Young If anyone tells you that you can't build a business that oth- ers want to buy, use that small-minded thought to inspire you. It is true that Gates was very young when he started Microsoft but Colonel Sanders was 66 when he started Kentucky Fried Chicken. In the next few chapters, I will be describing what rich dad called the B-I Triangle. I use this triangle as a guide to build- ing a business. It outlines the primary technical skills that are 316 Rich Dab's Guide to Investing required. Rich dad also felt certain personal traits were re- quired to be a successful entrepreneur: 1. Vision: the ability to see what others could not see. 2. Courage: the ability to act despite tremendous doubt. 3- Creativity: the ability to think outside the box. 4. The ability to withstand criticism: There is not one successful person who has not been criticized. 5. The ability to delay gratification: It can be very difficult to learn to deny short-term immediate self-gratification in favor of a greater long-term reward. Chapter 31 The B-I Triangle The Key to Great Wealth The following is a diagram rich dad called the B-I Triangle, the key to great wealth. The B-I Triangle was very important to rich dad because it gave structure to his ideas. As he often said, "There are many people with great ideas but few people with great fortunes. The B-I Triangle has the power to turn ordinary ideas into great fortunes. The B-I Triangle is the guide to taking an idea and creating an asset." It represents the knowledge required to be successful on the В and I side of the CASHFLOW Quadrant.