The Business Of The 21St Century Summary | Robert Kiyosaki

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Introduction

Ready for a peek into the business model of the future? Network marketing can open doors to financial freedom, and The Business of the 21st Century is here to show you how. Imagine creating a world where helping others succeed is the key to your own triumph. It sounds amazing, right?

Within Robert Kiyosaki’s book, you’ll discover the incredible benefits of network marketing and proven strategies and skills for industry success.

The book explains the essential steps to build and grow a thriving enterprise from the ground up. Learn how to select the perfect business model tailored to your needs and goals. Feel inspired and encouraged by the endless potential waiting for you. All you need is drive, ambition, and determination. 

About Robert T. Kiyosaki 

Robert T. Kiyosaki is an American businessman, investor, and author. He is best known for his book “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” which has sold millions of copies worldwide. This influential personal finance book has transformed the way people approach money management. But Kiyosaki’s journey didn’t start with writing. He created the educational board game CASHFLOW 101 to share the financial strategies he learned from his rich dad. These strategies allowed him to retire at age 47. There are now over 2,100 CASHFLOW Clubs worldwide, helping others achieve financial freedom.

Robert Kiyosaki is the founder of the Rich Dad Company, which provides financial education and coaching to people around the world.

StoryShot #1: The Rules Have Changed

We live in troubled times, with fear and panic in the headlines and boardrooms. Layoffs are reaching a quarter-million per month, with unemployment at 10 percent and still rising. With the AI revolution, this may even get worse.

A USA Today survey found that 60 percent of Americans thought the economic situation was the most severe crisis of their lifetime. People saw their retirement portfolio lose half its value and real estate crashed in 2008. Suddenly, job security vanished, leaving countless individuals on the edge of financial disaster. 

The number of people living officially below the poverty line is rising rapidly. More people are working beyond the age of 65.

Right now, a small percentage of Americans own their homes. Mortgage foreclosures are at an all-time high. Savings accounts are smaller, family debt is greater, and many Americans do not have enough to retire.

All this bad news has gotten your attention, so let’s take a deeper look and see what it really means.

It’s a New Century

Many thought their 401(k) retirement plans were safe, but everything could go wrong. The old safety nets just won’t hold up anymore, and people are listening and learning. If you have spent years climbing the corporate ladder, you have probably noticed that your position often requires you to be subordinate to someone else, constantly following their lead and taking orders from them. The Business Of The 21St Century is about changing that.

Don’t be fooled again! When gas prices hit $4 a gallon in 2008, SUV sales dropped dramatically. But in 2009, when prices fell back to below $2, people began buying them again. Don’t let the headlines distract you. They have nothing to do with what you need to do today to build your future. Even during the Great Depression, some people made fortunes, but millions ended up struggling or broke. It all depends on you, not the economy.

StoryShot #2: Discover the Silver Lining

As the economy slows down, entrepreneurialism heats up like a stoked-up wood stove on a cold winter night. People get creative and break out of their comfort zones to help make ends meet during tough economic times.

72 percent of all adult Americans would rather work for themselves. 67 percent “regularly” or “constantly” contemplate quitting their jobs. In fact, people crave more control over their lives. The myth of job security is crumbling before their eyes.

Entrepreneurial fever kicks into high gear during economic downturns. A survey found that most U.S. voters believe entrepreneurship is the key to solving the current economic crisis. Maybe those voters will get off their duffs and do something about it.

StoryShot #3: Changing Jobs Is Not Changing Quadrants 

According to Forbes, people who make over $1 million a year are defined as rich, and those who make under $25,000 a year are considered poor. However, your financial standing isn’t determined by your income or net worth; you must also consider the quality of money you earn. This is determined by the source of cashflow. There are four distinct sources of cashflow:

• The E (Employee) Quadrant: Our educational system and culture train most of us to learn, live, love, and leave this life within the E quadrant. You might recall the familiar advice: “Go to school, study hard and get good grades, and find a good job with benefits at a great company.” It’s a well-trodden path, but is it the only way to achieve fulfillment in life? 
• The S (Self-Employed) Quadrant: People migrate from the E quadrant to the S quadrant to pursue the American Dream. But whether you’re earning $8 an hour or $80,000 a year, you just changed bosses. In a sense, the S Quadrant can feel like a form of slavery. You might think you own your business, but in reality, your business owns you.
• The B (Business Owner) Quadrant: When you have an S business, you are employed by it, whereas when you own a B business, it works for you. It is where people go to create recession-proof businesses to control their own income.
• The I (Investor) Quadrant: Kiyosaki’s advice is all about living in the B and I Quadrant, and he used the classic game of Monopoly to teach this concept. What’s the winning strategy? You build four green houses and then upgrade to one red hotel. The same principles apply to real-life wealth-building. You should focus on investing in assets that generate income, like real estate or businesses. 

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To make a change, you need to switch quadrants. At least 80 percent of people live in the E and S quadrants, where grades and job titles determine success. But in the B and I quadrants, you determine your own income, allowing you to weather economic storms. 

StoryShot #4: Know Your Core Financial Values 

The four quadrants are not just four different business structures, but also four different mindsets. People are a combination of each of these characters, and you can identify which quadrant someone is living in by the words they use. 

Here are the core values of each: 

• E Quadrant: Values security, and might consider starting their own business too risky.
• S Quadrant: Small-business owners, professionals, or commissioned salespeople. They desire independence and freedom. 
• B Quadrant: Values wealth-building and teamwork, and desire to serve others. They can make money while away from their business. 
• I Quadrant: Investing in gold coins, real estate, businesses, and paper assets, like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.

Different Quadrants, Different Investors

Most employees invest in mutual funds or savings, and different quadrants invest in different ways. For example, a person in the S quadrant might not invest in real estate because he doesn’t want to fix toilets. While a B Quadrant investor would simply hire a property management company to take care of it. Different mindsets, different values – it’s all about where you stand.

If you want to take control of your life, you need to make a change. It’s not about finding a new job, it’s about shifting your focus to the B and I Quadrants. If that’s the kind of rich life you want to live, then it’s time to make a move.

Adopt the Mindset of an Entrepreneur 

Shifting from one cash flow quadrant to another means adopting the mindset of an entrepreneur. It is all about being self-determining. Entrepreneurs are the richest people. Many live rich lives without attracting media attention. 

The beauty of The Business of the 21st Century is that all the groundwork of the business is already done for you. You make things happen, which means you don’t get to blame anyone or anything outside yourself. 

StoryShot #5: It’s Time to Take Control! 

Becoming financially free doesn’t take money, nor does it take a good formal education. It takes a dream, a lot of determination, a willingness to learn quickly, and an understanding of the cash flow quadrant.

Hard Work Will Not Make You Rich

Most people have been brainwashed to believe that if you work hard, you’ll be okay. But there are tons of evidence to the contrary. Many people who work hard and are most definitely not okay conclude it is their fault.

The hard-working myth is just that: a myth. Building wealth and financial freedom takes hard work, but the question is, what is hard work doing?

The Power of Passive Income

Imagine having an income source that functions like a spring-loaded faucet. Once activated, it will continue to flow. This is the concept of passive income, also known as residual income. To achieve this, shifting into the B quadrant is a crucial step, but not all businesses create passive income. The good news? There is a business model that allows you to work flexibly, while generating enough cash flow to transition out of your full-time job. 

StoryShot #6: What Exactly Is Network Marketing?

It’s a simple yet brilliant concept. Instead of spending a fortune on marketing channels to promote your products, why not pay the people who love them most to spread the word?

That’s what network or multi-level marketing companies do. They pay a part of every sales dollar to their independent representatives, who are often the most committed consumers of the products.

You might be skeptical, thinking, “Can a group of ordinary people without marketing skills generate large sales?” The answer is yes, and the secret lies in the power of personal word-of-mouth. In network marketing, representatives can benefit from the purchases of the people they refer, as well as the purchases of the referrals of those people. This creates a win-win situation. The company gains impressive market penetration when you generate cash flow.

Network marketing has grown into a massive industry, with over $110 billion in annual sales globally. Even billionaires like Warren Buffett and Richard Branson understand the potential of network marketing. 

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StoryShot #7: It’s Not About Income—It’s About Assets That Generate Income

Many network marketers don’t grasp the real worth of what they have in their hands. They’re too focused on earning more income, without realizing that the key lies in building assets that generate income. This is the secret to escaping the financial trap most people find themselves in.

Earning income is a limited and linear process. It’s tied to your personal efforts, which means you can never break free from the cycle. In fact, the more you earn, the tighter the noose around your neck becomes.

When you build a network marketing business, you are building an asset that works for you, so you don’t have to work for the rest of your life. This is the powerful thing about living in the B quadrant.

Discover how network marketing can create wealth and learn about the different assets in the following storyshots. Sit back, relax, and get ready to change your perspective on what it means to be wealthy.

StoryShot #8: The First Asset is Real-World Business Education

If you want to be financially successful, you need three different types of education: 

• Scholastic, 
• Professional, 
• and Financial. 

While professional education prepares you for life in the E and S quadrants, it’s financial education that teaches you how to make money work for you, rather than working for money. Business schools train students to be business executives for the rich.

Important Skills for A Business Owner

Being an entrepreneur and building a B-quadrant business is difficult. You need to learn technical skills that you probably did not learn in school, like getting organized and setting your own agenda. Many people do not have basic skills like balancing a checkbook, writing a financial plan, and reading an annual report.

Enjoy the Tax Advantages of the Rich

Most people do not know what tax advantages the rich enjoy, but they can enjoy them too, and put significant amounts of money in their pockets.

Thanks to recent changes in tax policies, it is easier to create a benefits package that beats out what large corporations offer. By starting a network marketing business in your spare time, you gain the tax advantages of the rich.

Most people have no clue what it’s like to be in the B quadrant, and network marketing pulls away the veil of mystery and shows you life in the B quadrant.

StoryShot #9: The Second Asset is a Profitable Path of Personal Development

Becoming rich is not just about putting your lucky fifty-cent piece into the right slot machine. It’s about changing who you are. 

Success is subjective. Some seek to supplement their income, while others search for a business opportunity that promises greater income and an improved lifestyle.

The Winner and Loser in You

Each of us has a winner and a loser inside of us, and the loser often dominates. The winner is up for the risk, while the loser thinks only of safety and security.

It’s ironic that the loser yaps and squawks about safety and security, but ends up stuck in a career and a life that is never truly safe or secure.

Most people can’t keep going, handle disappointment, and never lose sight of the vision of where they’re going. But that’s the single most important attribute you can learn from building your own network marketing business.

Rating

We rate The Business Of The 21st Century 3.9/5. 

How would you rate Robert Kiyosaki’s book based on this summary?

Editor’s Note

This piece was first published on 19 Feb 2023.

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