Tuesday, July 8, 2008

rich dad poor dad

i went for this cashflow workshop based on "rich dad poor dad" by Robert T. Kiyosaki last weekend.

maybe i should explain what exactly happened:

it was on the day where i went suntec with nana to get my phone, then met 2 ladies who claimed to be from NUSS. Since NUSS is at Tower 4, i didn't smell a rat. So they followed up with phone calls and appointments to get me and her for a cashflow workshop, which i thought was pretty harmless. One of them (unnamed), S, even passed me a book - yeah, rich dad poor dad to read.

through the dialogues, i understood they are working as salaried employees, and also owners of businesses also. What business, i didn't ask. I thought it's amazing since they are entrepreneurs and are motivating people to be the same. At that point in time, i was genuinely thinking of entrepreneurship - a real business started up by solely themselves.


read the 1st 3 chapters last week, i even mentioned this book in the post before this. It's interesting, intriguing. The ideas are radical - such as employees working for money, they work just for a meagre sum of money just to be able to afford bills, spending etc. It's hard to accept the readings for me, a first timer reading.

so we went for the workshop last sat. I was rather shocked, because the whole workshop felt more like a motivational workshop.

- very well dressed people. Not very formal, but more formal than us la. Some even wore jackets and ties.

- the venue was rather makeshift, company had no signboard. I've heard of no signboard seafood, but seldom no signboard company. But i worked for one before; at least the company had legitimate goods inside. This one had just empty rooms and 2 nicely furnished smaller offices.

- we (and at least 10 others) sat down neatly in 3 rows facing a LCD tv.

- when the gamemaster was introduced, the whole atmosphere was revved up to an exceptional high tempo. We had to clap and welcome her in. It was like some wheel of fortune show. The host was using his voice loudly for making announcements. Then, we clap for everything. Really, clap for every damn thing.

- during the course of the game, the table master and her assistants were too motivational. Imagine a monopoly game with your friends, but take the friends out and put in telly hosts and their gusto. The speed of the game was fast too.

- S and the gamemaster, K, talked to us at the end. I think they went on for quite a while. Probably i was identified because i mentioned my interest of going into business after this cashflow game. We were encouraged to come back for video sharing, book sharing, and another cashflow workshop at NUS itself.

Interesting game in its own right...

today was the video sharing session. I was supposed to go for it in the evening. But there were some fishy stuff. Till date i have no idea which company/association they are representing, and i know there's no free lunch in this world. Why are they so kind to us? Organise this and that.

so i discussed with nana my concerns. Suddenly what she said and what i googled on the net got connected altogether - MLM. The book itself is used as a MLM material in many instances.

normally i procrastinate for small things. But i decided to cancel my appointment within 30 minutes of realising the situation. I'm a firm believer of working hard for money, and detest any forms of MLM. I must say i wasn't alert enough because i actually went for a cashflow workshop, a MLM event in disguise.

that being said, i'm not criticizing MLM. However, i do not believe in it. I believe in either doing my job as an employee or doing my business in my best ability, but not this way. And the book has some merits. Not everything in the book can work for people though.

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