“Absolutely,” rich dad answered. “Absolutely.”

“Wouldn’t everyone want to learn that?” I asked.

“No,” said rich dad, “simply because it’s easier to learn to work for money, especially if fear is your primary emotion when the subject of money is discussed.”

“I don’t understand,” I said with a frown.

“Don’t worry about that for now. Just know that it’s fear that keeps most people working at a job: the fear of not paying their bills, the fear of being fired, the fear of not having enough money, and the fear of starting over. That’s the price of studying to learn a profession or trade, and then working for money. Most people become a slave to money— and then get angry at their boss.”

“Learning to have money work for you is a completely different course of study?” I asked.

“Absolutely,” rich dad answered. “Absolutely.”

We sat in silence on that beautiful Hawaiian Saturday morning. My friends had just started their Little League baseball game, but for some reason I was now thankful I had decided to work for 10 cents an hour. I sensed that I was about to learn something my friends wouldn’t learn in school.

“Ready to learn?” asked rich dad. “Absolutely,” I said with a grin.

“I have kept my promise. I’ve been teaching you from afar,” my rich dad said. “At nine years old, you’ve gotten a taste of what it feels like to work for money. Just multiply your last month by fifty years and you will have an idea of what most people spend their life doing.”

“I don’t understand,” I said.

“How did you feel waiting in line to see me, once to get hired and once to ask for more money?”

“Terrible,” I said.

“If you choose to work for money, that is what life will be like,” said rich dad.

“And how did you feel when Mrs. Martin dropped three dimes in your hand for three hours of work?”