because that is the only place that investing really takes place anyway. Investing ultimately begins and ends with taking control of yourself. The lessons on investment in Phase One of rich dad's in- vestment plan are all about the mental preparation it takes be- Pouring a Foundation of Wealth 45 fore actually beginning to invest. Lying in my bunk that night in 1973, in a dingy room on base, my mental preparation had begun. Mike was fortunate enough to have a father who had accumulated great wealth. I was not that fortunate. In many ways, he had a 50-year head start on me. I had yet to start. That night, I began my mental preparation by making a deci- sion between job security as chosen by my poor dad, or pour- ing a foundation of real wealth as chosen by my rich dad. That is where the process of investing truly begins and where rich dad's lessons on investing start. It starts with a very personal decision ... a mental choice to be rich, poor, or middle class. It is an important decision, because whichever financial posi- tion in life you choose-be it rich, poor, or middle class- everything in your life then changes. Chapter 3 Investor Lesson #1: The Choice Rich dad's lessons on investing began. "When it conies to money and investing, people have three fundamental reasons or choices for investing. They are: 1. To be secure, 2. To be comfortable, or 3. To be rich." Rich dad went on to say, "All three choices are important. The difference in one's life occurs when the choices are pri- oritized." He continued by saying that most people make their money and investment choices in that exact order. In other words, their first choice when it comes to money deci- sions is security, second is comfort, and third is to be rich. That is why most people make job security their highest pri- ority. After they have a secure job or profession, then they focus on comfort. The last choice for most people is to be rich. That day in 1973, rich dad said, "Most people dream of be- coming rich, but it is not their first choice." He went on to say, "Only three out of a hundred people in America are rich be- cause of this priority of choices. For most people, if becoming The Choice 47 rich disturbs their comfort or makes them feel insecure, they will forsake becoming rich. That is why so many people want that one hot investment tip. People who make security and comfort their first and second choices look for ways to get rich quick that are easy, risk free, and comfortable. A few peo- ple do get rich on one lucky investment, but all too often they lose it all again." Rich or Happy I often hear people say, "I'd rather be happy than be rich." That comment has always sounded very strange to me since I have been both rich and poor. And in both financial positions, I have been both happy and unhappy. I wonder why people think they have to choose between happiness and being rich.