Or they want to start a business so they rush out and start a business without the basic skills of business. And then we wonder why 95% of all small busi- nesses fail in the first five to ten years." "They are in such a hurry to make money, they eventually lose both time and money," I added. "They want to do things on their own rather than invest in a little study." "Or follow a simple long-term plan," rich dad repeated. "You see, almost anyone in the Western world can easily be- Each Plan Has a Price 109 come a millionaire if he or she simply follows a long-term plan. But again, most people aren't willing to invest the time; they want to get rich now" "Instead they say things like 'investing is risky' or 'it takes money to make money' or 'I don't have the time to learn to invest. I'm too busy working and I have bills to pay,'" I added as I began to understand rich dad's point. Rich dad nodded. 'And those very common ideas or ex- cuses are why so few people achieve great wealth in a world that is filled with money. Those ideas or words are why 90% of the population has the problem of having not enough money rather than the problem of too much money. Their ideas about money and investing cause their money prob- lems. All they have to do is change a few words, a few ideas, and their financial world will change like magic. But most peo- ple are too busy working and they do not have the time. Many often say, "I'm not interested in learning to invest. It is a sub- ject that does not interest me." Yet they fail to see that by say- ing that, they become slaves to money, working for money, having money dictate the financial boundaries of their lives, living frugally and within their means, instead of investing a little time, following a plan, and having money work for them." "So time is more important than money," I said. "That is true for me," said rich dad. "So if you want to move on to the rich level of investing, you are going to have to in- vest much more time than you do at the other two levels. Most people do not go beyond secure and comfortable be- cause they are not willing to invest the time. That is a personal decision we all need to make. At least the person has a finan- cial plan to be secure and/or comfortable. There is nothing more high risk than a person who does not have those two basic plans, who is focused only on becoming rich. While a few make it, most don't. You see them in the later years of 110 Rich Dad's Guide to Investing their lives, broke, spent, and talking about the deal they al- most made or the money they once had. At the end of their lives, they have neither time nor money." "So I think it is time I begin to invest more time, especially since I want to invest at the rich level," I said, shuddering at the thought of being a broke and broken old man, muttering in my beer about the deals that almost happened. I had al- ready seen and met such investors.