Bettina Horvath of SalesPartners CapeRegion had the pleasure of meeting Robert Kiyosaki at a private dinner. Here is her account of the eveing:
"I had the pleasure and honour to meet a man this week, who for the past 10 years has influenced literally millions of people around the world with his work and his mission – to raise the financial intelligence of everybody, Robert Kiyosaki. He has been in the country to speak at several breakfasts in aid and support of NOAH (www.noahorphans.org.za). His books “Rich Dad Poor Dad” and “Cashflow Quadrant” have been runaway bestsellers in more than 90 countries for several years, his game “Cashflow 101” is being played by thousands of people around the globe every day, teaching people about investing and how to read a financial statement in a fun way.
The regional developers of SalesPartners Southern Africa, a franchise organisation founded by Blair Singer, RichDad Advisor and long-term friend of Robert, were invited to an exclusive dinner with Robert this week.
“So, what is it like to meet him on a personal level?”
After having been told several stories by his friends Blair Singer, Kelly Richie and others I had certain expectations. Particularly as everybody always talks of Robert as a man of raw power with a “take it or leave it” attitude that crushes ego’s easily – a strength he needs in order to bring his mission successfully around the globe. Thus, even though I usually have no problem talking to anybody, I found myself wondering how I was going to talk to this man and being a little, well, let’s call it apprehensive.
Well crush he did! But not my ego, he crushed my expectations the minute we shook hands. A lovely warm and friendly handshake, a welcoming smile and his full attention in the very moment, listening carefully as I told him my name and repeating it a couple of times to make sure he got it right, were the “ammunition” that put me at ease with him right away. He might have a tough image out there, but he truly is a warm and caring individual.
I ended up sitting opposite him and we had some lively conversations across the table. He cracked quite a few really funny jokes, told us very interesting stories, shared some of his knowledge with us but most of all asked many, many questions.
It reinforced my understanding of the difference of people on the left and those on the right of the Cashflow quadrant (as explained in his books) – business owners and investors ask questions all the time, employees and self-employed people answer all the time.
The main topic of the evening was probably the situation in Zimbabwe, but it was not about the details of what is happening, the question was, what can we learn out of this situation and how can we apply it to what is happening in our own countries (SA and USA). What are the opportunities that can be found there?
What I personally have learned from meeting Robert Kiyosaki is to ask more questions and life is fun in the fast track! Make sure you read his new book “Increase your financial IQ”; you will never look at money and investing the same way again!"
