After reading this book, you may consider going through the same five phases or you may de- cide that this developmental path is not for you. If you decide to embark upon the same path, how fast you choose to go through these five phases of development is up to you. 36 Rich Dad's Guide to Investing Remember that this book is not about getting rich quickly. The choice to undergo such a personal development and ed- ucation program begins in phase one ... the phase of mental preparation. Are You Mentally Prepared to Be an Investor? Rich dad often said, "Money will be anything you want it to be." What he meant was that money comes from our minds, our thoughts. If a person says, "Money is hard to get," it will probably be hard to get. If a person says, "Oh I'll never be rich," or "It's really hard to get rich," it will probably be true for that person. If a person says, "The only way to get rich is to work hard," then that person will probably work hard. If the person says, "If I had a lot of money, I would put it in the bank because I wouldn't know what to do with it," then it will probably happen just that way. You'd be surprised how many people think and do just that. And if a person says, "Investing is risky," then it is. As rich dad said, "Money will be anything you want it to be." Rich dad warned me that the mental preparation needed to become a sophisticated investor was probably similar to the mental preparation it would take to climb Mt. Everest, or to prepare for the priesthood. He was kidding, yet he was put- ting me on notice that such an undertaking was not to be taken lightly. He said to me, "You start as I did. You start with- out any money. All you have is hope and a dream of attaining great wealth. While many people dream of it, only a few achieve it. Think hard and prepare mentally because you are about to learn to invest in a way that very few people are al- lowed to invest. You will see the investment world from the inside rather than from the outside. There are far easier paths in life and easier ways to invest. So think it over and be pre- pared if you decide this is the path for your life." Chapter 2 Pouring a Foundation ofWealth Returning to the dingy gray officers' quarters on base that night was very difficult. They had been fine when I left earlier that day, but after spending the afternoon in Mike's new home, the officers' quarters seemed cheap, old, and tired. As expected, my three roommates were drinking beer and watching a baseball game on television. There were pizza boxes and beer cans everywhere. They did not say much as I passed through the shared living area. They just stared at the TV set. As I retired to my room and closed the door, I felt grateful that we all had private rooms. I had much to think about. At 25 years of age, I finally realized things that I could not understand as a kid of 9, the age at which I first began work- ing with rich dad.