In this blog post, I’ll discuss the key points, analysis, quotes, lessons, and summary of Rich Dad Poor Dad Chapter 6 – Work to Learn – Don’t Work For Money.
This chapter emphasizes the importance of focusing your efforts on acquiring assets and investing rather than simply working for money.
In this Rich Dad Poor Dad financial book, Robert Kiyosaki lays out, you should work to learn the skills needed to build streams of income through assets like real estate, stocks, and businesses, which can provide financial freedom.
The core message is that working for money alone leads to a dead-end, while acquiring income-generating assets creates long-term wealth.
So let’s dive into the rich dad poor dad chapter 6 summary. I’ll break down Kiyosaki’s advice and the reasoning behind it in this blog post.
Table of Contents
Rich Dad Poor Dad Chapter 6 Summary
Rich dad poor dad summary chapter 6 lesson 6 – “Work to Learn – Don’t Work For Money.”
The chapter 6 of rich dad poor dad starts with the author meeting a young female reporter in Singapore for an interview. When the reporter says she wants to be a bestselling author like him one day, the author suggests she take a sales training course to enhance her career.
The reporter is offended and says she has a master’s degree and does not want to stoop to learning sales.
The author points out that he is a “bestselling author”, not a “best writing author” because of sales and marketing skills, not writing skills.
The author then explains his two dads’ perspectives – his educated dad valued job security and getting further specialized degrees, while his rich dad valued learning and developing a broad base of knowledge and skills.
When the author quit his high-paying job after college to join the Marine Corps, his educated dad was devastated but his rich dad congratulated him on pursuing more learning.
Also read: Rich dad poor dad chapter 4 summary (lesson 4 – The history of taxes and the power of corporations)
The author argues against over-specialization, which can limit your career options and make you expendable. Instead he recommends developing a synergy of professional skills.
When the author graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy, he worked a short time for Standard Oil before quitting to learn to fly – much to his educated dad’s disappointment.
Later, he joined Xerox for 4 years, not for the job but to overcome his fear of rejection and learn sales skills.
The author emphasizes focusing on learning over earning, especially early in your career. He recommends getting a second job to learn a new skill, even if it pays less.
For example, taking a commission-based sales job to learn sales skills. The more diverse skills you have, the more valuable you become.
The author reflects that schools and companies often promote specialization, since specialists require less supervision.
But being a specialist also limits your career options if you’re forced to change jobs or industries. It’s better to learn a little about a lot, which is what the author’s rich dad had him do by working different jobs in his companies.
The problem with over-specialization is that it leads to a narrow focus on a steady paycheck and job security, rather than continuous learning.
He warns against just “working to pay the bills” without thinking about the long-term career consequences. The author recommends having a plan for your career, rather than just letting it unfold.
Quoting the book The Retirement Myth, the author warns about the difficulty retirees will have living solely on 401k money compared to traditional pensions.
He advises young people to think about where their current career path is leading in terms of long-term security.
For those who want to increase their earning ability, the author suggests dedicating a year or two to learning a valuable skill like sales, marketing, public speaking or writing, even if it means taking a lower paying job initially.
Also read: Rich dad poor dad chapter 5 summary (lesson 5 – the rich invent money)
The communications and selling skills will be valuable across different industries and jobs.
The author notes that specialized skills don’t necessarily transfer between industries, which is why union protection is more necessary for specialists.
His educated dad was a strong advocate for teacher’s unions to protect their specialized skills.
The author argues it’s smarter to keep your career options open by continually learning new skills, rather than specialize and then unionize.
The author emphasizes developing three key skill areas: managing money, managing systems, and managing people.
He considers sales and marketing skills to be most important, since the ability to communicate is crucial for personal and career success.
The world is full of talented poor people who don’t have business and sales skills. The author sees a lack of giving and receiving as another root of financial struggle, since giving money and value drives receiving money in return.
In conclusion, the author believes the archaic educational system is widening the gap between the rich and poor by promoting specialized learning over practical money-making, marketing, and social skills.
He advocates being both financially ambitious and socially responsible by developing a broad base of important life skills, not just technical expertise.
Also read: Rich dad poor dad chapter 1 Summary (Lesson 1: The Rich Don’t Work for Money)
Rich dad poor dad lesson 6 (Review)
Here is a Rich dad poor dad lesson 6 Summary with the key points and analysis of Rich Dad Poor Dad Chapter 6 – Work to Learn – Don’t Work For Money:
Introduction
In Chapter 6 lesson 6 of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki focuses on his two fathers’ different philosophies regarding jobs and career.
Rich dad poor dad lesson 6 is: “The path to wealth involves developing diverse skills by working to learn, not just to earn money.”
Kiyosaki aims to show why specialization limits options and argues that Instead, I recommend to young people to seek work for what they will learn, more than what they will earn.”
Main Points
1. Kiyosaki’s educated dad valued career security; his rich dad valued learning.
– Educated dad encouraged specializing to get promoted in a secure job
– Rich dad had Kiyosaki work in many roles to learn business broadly
2. Schools and employers push specialization, but it can trap you.
– Specializing in a field or company makes you dependent on that specialty
– If conditions change, your specialty may no longer be as valuable
3. Kiyosaki resigned from high-paying jobs to join the Marines and learn to sell.
– He gave up a secure career path to learn leadership and overcome rejection
– His educated dad was ashamed, but rich dad was proud of the learning
4. Work to learn transferable skills beyond your specialty.
– Skills like sales, marketing, writing, and managing people are universal
– Focus more on acquiring knowledge than earning short-term income
5. High specialization leads to the need for union protection.
– When your skills apply only to one field, you depend on job security
– Corporations want generalists they can move between departments
Also read: Rich dad poor dad chapter 2 summary (Lesson 2: Why teach financial literacy?)
Key Supporting Evidence
– Kiyosaki resigned from a $42,000 job with Standard Oil to join the Marines despite his educated dad’s disapproval, showing his focus on learning over career.
– When he was afraid of rejection, he worked at Xerox just to overcome this weakness through their sales training, not for the job.
– He argues that professions like doctors and teachers need unions because their skills are not transferable outside their specialty.
Conclusions
Kiyosaki concludes specialization traps you, and the path to financial freedom involves developing diverse skills, even if it means earning less in the short-term.
Work is more valuable for the knowledge gained than the salary. He compellingly advocates being a lifelong learner, not just pursuing job security.
Analysis
This chapter adds an important counter-perspective to traditional career advice by highlighting the downsides of specialization.
Kiyosaki makes a strong case for prioritizing learning transferable skills over your specific job duties or specialty.
The examples from his own career make the argument memorable. However, he generalizes a bit too much – some specialization can be advantageous in certain professions.
Overall, the chapter provokes critical re-evaluation of educational and career norms.
Also read: Rich dad poor dad chapter 3 summary (lesson 3 – Mind your own business)
Summary
Chapter 6 rich dad poor dad summary:
Rich Dad Poor Dad Chapter 6 outlines Robert Kiyosaki’s philosophy that you should “work to learn” – focus on acquiring financial knowledge, not just earning money from a job.
He advocates developing diverse skills rather than over-specializing, even if it means short-term income sacrifices.
The chapter argues convincingly that specialization limits your options and makes you dependent on a particular specialty or employer, while working to actively learn grants you much greater freedom and opportunities.
