Midas Touch, Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich and Why Most Don't.
The book is a little over two hundred forty pages spread out over five
chapters. Since the books only have five chapters I will review each chapter
rather than the whole book.
About the author:
What makes some business
owners wildly successful? What separates the entrepreneurs who build businesses
from ones who just seem to create more work for themselves? How, exactly do the
world's most prominent business builders seem to hit home run after home run?
The answer: They have the Midas Touch. Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki believe
the world needs more entrepreneurs. For the first time, two of the world's most
successful and influential entrepreneurs will share their own Midas Touch
secrets. Secrets that will both inspire you to find and fulfill your passion as
well as provide you with the hands-on guidance you need to be successful.
Through their real-life stories of success, failure, perseverance, and purpose,
you'll discover how they do it and whether or not you have what it takes to
drive your own entrepreneurial success.
Midas Touch
explains on focuses made by Trump and Kiyosaki in their earlier work Why We
Need You to be Rich, usage of which they guarantee would improve the American
economy. They mourn the absence of money related proficiency given by the U.S.
training structure and contend understudies ought to be instructed how to move
toward becoming entrepreneurs rather than representatives. The present model
educates understudies to accomplish scholarly brilliance through hazard
evasion, however, they guarantee understudies who go out on a limb will gain
from their errors.
The book
dedication: To the entrepreneurs of
today who struggle, strive and succeed and to the entrepreneurs of tomorrow who
will see opportunities where others see only obstacles…Visionaries all who act
boldly and leave their unique imprint, their Midas Touch, on the economic
landscape of our world.
Per their
usual writing style, they intersperse stories from each of their backgrounds.
Many of these have already been shared in their previously authored books, but
they still remain interesting. From those stories of personal learning, they
derive their entrepreneurial lessons.
Five Chapter:
Why the book has five
chapters, it because of each one rentr each opresenting one of five fingers of the
Midas Touch. The Midas Touch hand is the metaphor to represent the attributes
critical to entrepreneurial success. Master every finger, and you’ll discover
the magic of why some entrepreneurs are wildly successful, and why most are
not.
The first finger is the
thumb which is the Strength of Character. Without it, entrepreneurs cannot
withstand the inevitable failures and disappointments that come with creating
something out of nothing. Uncharted territory is full of danger. Your own
character is essential, and one of your most valuable assets. It is intangible,
yet a huge business asset. It must be perpetually protected and grown. Similarly,
surrounding yourself with good, successful, knowledgeable people is also
essential. The often shared idea that you become the average of the 5 people
you hang out with most applies to this principle. Raise your own self through
the strength of character and expectations of your closest comrades.
“Life is like a
grindstone, whether it grinds you down or polishes you up depends on what you’re
made of.”-Anonymous
The first
part is Robert Kiyosaki speaking on the subject the second part is Donald Trump
speaking about on the subject and the final part is a wrap-up. In Robert's half
of this chapter, he details how one appearance on Oprah changed his life. In one
hour he had sold over a million copies of his book and now everyone was calling
him and overnight success. Robert then told stories of his unsuccessful
business ventures and how he stuck to his guns through the tough times. In
Donald's portion of this chapter he speaks of bad luck that has riddled many of
his real estate deals. The key theme in this chapter is, the life of an
entrepreneur is not an easy life. There will be many failures but as long as
you tough it through, you will be rewarded. Learning from personal mistakes is
an important trait as well. This helps ensure they won’t be repeated, of
course, but also helps set the stage for future business process improvements.
Sharing your experiences, and learning from the experiences of others,
accelerates paths to successful transactions being completed and managed over
time…To be successful in the world of entrepreneurs, especially in the early
stages, a person must learn to fail, correct, learn, apply what was learned,
and fail again. This is also the path to developing your Midas Touch. Inside every
mistake is a gem of wisdom, blame means to “be lame” & face your mistakes
and admit to them.
Verbal-Linguistic - People who do well in school, the "A" students. In business, students who do well linguistically may become lawyers.
Logical-Mathematical - These people love numbers and solving mathematical problems. They usually "A" students, many become academia and become teachers, professors, and researchers, they may also work for universities, corporations, and government - they lean towards accounting, computer programming, or engineering.
Body-Kinesthetic - Athletes. The most gifted and elite few may go on to become professional athletes or dancers. Some may lean towards the health or recreation businesses.
Visual-Spatial - Those with this intelligence tend to favor the arts and become a successful artist - they often become architects, interior designers, graphic artists, and website developers.
Musical-Rhythmic - often being a rock star or lead singer in a band. Some dream of playing a symphony orchestra. They pick up instruments and gain familiarity quickly. People of this kind of intelligence are most happy when they are performing will seek out a career in musical performing arts.
Interpersonal - This intelligence is important for professional communicators, such as politicians, preachers, sales and advertising specialists. People with this talent are naturals at a meeting and engaging new people, building relationships and winning friends. They are "people people"
Intrapersonal - While interpersonal intelligence is your ability to communicate with others, intrapersonal intelligence is your ability to communicate with yourself. People who possess this kind of intelligence have control of their own thoughts. - It's often called emotional intelligence, the ability to control emotions such as fear, greed, anger, sadness, and love. Intrapersonal intelligence also called success intelligence, since it is required for success with all intelligence.
The second
chapter is the index finger which is named FOCUS. Focus is power. Entrepreneurs must have the
proper focus to really succeed. Robert's story of military helicopter training
really hit home, if he lost focus for even a second then he would have lost his
life. In this chapter, they use FOCUS as an acronym for Follow One Course Until
Successful. Focus must be about bringing the best in you. Even after obtaining success, you must not lose FOCUS. In Donald's
portion, he tells his tale of almost losing it all, his entire fortune, he lost
almost everything in the early 90s. In his portion, he states that he lost FOCUS
and he was off at fashion shows rather than managing his company. This chapter
has lots of diagrams depicting the cash-flow quadrant and the eight elements of the business.
Fact: Life Isn't Easy - Another why many people fail to succeed is because they focus on an erroneous belief that life is easy. Because of that, they always choose easy road. They follow the advice that is easy, and they focus on small, easy goals. Focus required teachers-real teacher (the insider-the person that knows what they teach because they involve in it and not a fake teacher).
Three Elements that give Business its structure (Mission, Team, and Leadership)
Five Elements of Business Operation - (Product, Legal, Systems, Communications, and Cashflow)
Being an entrepeneur is a big task. It is not easy. First and foremost, expend your focus and not narrow. Dive into your business, and business in general, to study and learn the language of the 8 integrities of business. You'll learn as much more from a company that is doing it wrong, as you will from one that is doing it right. Everything of value in life must be earn. It's not easy. It's uncomfortable. Each quadrant requires diffrent skills and teams, more experience, and greater focus. When you leave the safety and security of the E quadrant, keep your focus, no matter what is thrown at you. If you can survive, keep your focus, and eventually thrive in the world of the B and I quadrants, you will enter worlds of welath, success, and power that very few entrepeneurs ever achieve. It take time, it is not easy, and not everyone make it, but if you are truly an entrepreneur, what else would you do with your life? - Robert T. Kiyosaki
The third
chapter is the middle finger, the longest finger, is all about the Brand, it
reflects what you stand for. Without a solid brand and a willingness to let the
world know about it, you won’t have the Midas Touch.
"A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well." - Jeff Bezos
The chapter begins with
Robert telling a story about his purchase of a fake Rolex (Are you a Rolex...or a Fake Rolex?). It might not seem
like a big deal but his "rich" dad explains the power of a Brand.
This portion of the book speaks on how brands are worth more than their assets,
one example the book uses is Coke a Cola. The name Coke a Cola is worth more
than all the processing plants that it owns. For Donald's portion, he talks
about his own brand, Trump. The Trump brand stands for elegance and class but
it was not built in a day. Donald speaks in this chapter about how he had to
disassociate the Trump brand from affordable housing to high-class housing in
Manhattan. The main takeaway from this chapter is a Brand is more than a name,
it is ultimately what our business is. If we do not have a Brand then we will
be long forgotten.
The fourth
chapter is the ring finger which stands for Relationships; how to find a good
partner, be a good partner, and building different types of relationships to
achieve success. This part of the book is about partnerships.
"In the end, all business operations can be reduced to three words; people, products, and profits. Unless you've got a good team, you can't do much with the other two." - Lee Iacocca
Robert goes into
detail about his bad partners in his Velcro wallet business. Robert's
relationship with bad partners cost him millions of dollars. Robert's section
also has some key nuggets on lessons he learned from previous relationships.
Donald's part in this chapter highlights how to form deals rather than
partnerships. In his section, he also touches on how to manage a team of
people.
Lesson from relationships:
1. You can't do a go Cnyouod deal with a bad partner.
2. You get offered a lot of good deals when you are a good partner.
3. From bad deals come good partners.
4. Good people can make bad partners.
5. Inexperienced good people don't get invited into the best deals.
Guide to the quick pitch:
1. Project
2. Partners
3. Financing
The final
chapter is the pinky finger which stands for the little things that matter. It’s
not about simply mastering the details. You will see that little things can
become big things that can set you on a course of exponential success. You will
learn how to find the little thing that can become a big thing for your
customers and for your business.
"If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves." - Thomas Edison
In Robert's portion, he tells stories of some
entrepreneurs in his life, that are stuck in the S quadrant rather than the B
quadrant. The problem with these entrepreneurs is that they are focusing on
the wrong things. The key talking point in this chapter is focusing on the right
things. In Donald's portion, he speaks about the glass he used for Trump Tower.
Even his own father did not see the purpose of glass on the outside of the
tower. When Trump Tower opened it was met with positive reviews because of the
glass. This chapter is a great wrap up the chapter.
Rich dad often said, "If you gave everyone in the world a million dollars and told them they had a year to spend it all of it, most people could complete that task. Yet if you asked everyone in the world, 'starting with nothing, can you acquire a million dollars in a year?' only a few could. And the few would probably be entrepreneurs."
Each of these
5 factors is important on its own. Together, when all the awareness, skill,
learning, and knowledge are in your hands, that’s when the true Midas Touch
power really shines.
Expanding
upon that, taking the attitude of a lifetime of learning is essential to staying
current, thinking ahead, and growing the business instead of stagnating with
old static ideas. Although the authors advertise their own coaching services
with this, it remains an important trait independent of that.
Keep Connect :)