Book - "Rich Brother Rich Sister" by Robert Kiyosaki & Emi Kiyosaki

During CNY Spring cleaning, I realised that I have around 8-10 unread new books. I used have the tendency to buy books and keep them, but then, I realised that books are meant to be read and not collecting dust on my shelf, so I donated 5-6 books to library. I think I will donate more books soon - those are good books. I told myself that I would read them again soon, but after so many years, I still didn’t read them again. It is hard, but maybe it is time to free them.
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So at the beginning of this year, I challenge myself to finish my unread books before purchasing new books. Unfortunately, I still bought a new book. The first time I saw “Rich Brother Rich Sister” was in Kinokuniya bookstore, I read 1-2 paragraphs and forced myself to return the book to the shelf. About a week later, I was in another bookstore – Borders, and I read a few paragraphs again and return it to the shelf. Finally, a few weeks later, when I was in MPH bookstore, I can’t contain my curiosity and my urge anymore, and bought it.
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I failed my challenge, but I am a happier person after reading it.
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I have read “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki 7-8 years ago. I think it was a good book, but I did not read his other books, as I felt that the content and concept would generally be the same.

Anyway, “Rich Brother Rich Sister” is a very different book. To me, it is more like an auto-biography of Robert Kiyosaki and his younger sister – Emi Kiyosaki (Venerable Tenzin Kacho – her Buddhist name). It talked about their common childhood, and how they went their separate ways in life. To a large extent, Robert embraced Capitalism ($$$) and Emi embraced Spirituality (Buddhism). It is very interesting for both of them to share their views on a range of topics like “War and Peace”, “Heaven on Earth”, “Vision for Future”, “Leaps of faith”, “Heaven, Hell and Happiness”, “Life and Death” etc...

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I found honesty in the narration of their lives. At least, Robert was upfront saying that he wrote this book to make more money and share their experiences with everybody.
Robert was a US Marine in Vietnam War (he has an interesting view on war & peace), a Xerox Salesman, a failed businessman, then a successful & Rich entrepreneur/author/speaker etc... Emi was a struggling young mother (unplanned), was a short-term hippie in San Francisco, and a Tibetan Buddhism Nun in America (ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama).

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They led a very contrasting lifestyles, yet, I could find subtle similarities between them – the endless pursuit for happiness and truth, the courage to move out of comfort zone and make changes in their lives, non-conformist and being idealistic.

At the end of the day, they lived colourful lives, and more importantly, the kind of life that they wanted.

Below are some quotes from the book which I felt it is worth sharing:

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“The test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still have the ability to function”- F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Tibetan Saying “If you want to know where you come from, look at your life and experience now. If you want to know where you are going, look at your mind.”

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“Often, we don’t fully appreciate something until we lose it, or nearly lose it. Being close to dying, and even killing, were great experiences because I gained a deep appreciation for the precious gift called life. Instead of living in fear of dying, I do my best to live a fearless life.... Rather than live in fear, I choose to live life with excitement, gratitude and giving back, in exchange for this gift known as life.” – Robert

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“What is the life you were born to live? What special gifts do you bring to your world and how are you using them to serve? What is worth giving your life to, even worth dying for?” - Robert