You can be rich or poor depending on how you manage fear and desire. It’s a powerful truth that separates those who build wealth from those who struggle financially. It all comes down to mastering your internal triggers.
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Meaning
At its core, this quote means your financial destiny isn’t just about your job or your salary. It’s dictated by your emotional intelligence—specifically, how you handle the primal emotions of fear and greed.
Explanation
Let me break this down for you. I’ve seen this play out so many times. Fear is what keeps people trapped. Fear of losing money, fear of looking foolish, fear of the unknown. It’s what makes someone stay in a dead-end job or, conversely, panic-sell an investment the moment it dips. They let the fear of a small loss blind them to a potential giant gain.
And then there’s desire, or what we often call instant gratification. This is the urge to spend that next paycheck on a new car, the latest phone, a fancy vacation—to consume rather than to build. It’s the “I deserve it” mentality that quietly drains your future wealth.
The rich, as Kiyosaki argues, manage these emotions. They feel the fear but educate themselves and take calculated risks anyway. They feel the desire for a new toy but channel that energy into buying an asset that will pay for the toy later. It’s a fundamental rewiring of your impulses.
Quote Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Category | Personal Development (697) |
| Topics | desire (15), discipline (252), fear (92) |
| Literary Style | analytical (121), concise (408) |
| Emotion / Mood | introspective (55), provocative (175) |
| Overall Quote Score | 79 (243) |
Origin & Factcheck
This quote comes straight from Robert Kiyosaki’s 2017 book, Why the Rich Are Getting Richer. It’s a core theme he’s been teaching for decades, really a refinement of the lessons from his mega-hit Rich Dad Poor Dad. You won’t find it falsely attributed to Warren Buffett or anyone else; this is pure Kiyosaki.
Attribution Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert T Kiyosaki (98) |
| Source Type | Book (4032) |
| Source/Book Name | Why the Rich Are Getting Richer (52) |
| Origin Timeperiod | 21st Century (1892) |
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Authenticity | Verified (4032) |
Author Bio
Born in Hilo, Hawaii, Robert T. Kiyosaki graduated from the United States Merchant Marine Academy and served as a Marine Corps helicopter gunship pilot in Vietnam. After stints at Xerox and entrepreneurial ventures, he turned to financial education, co-authoring Rich Dad Poor Dad in 1997 and launching the Rich Dad brand. He invests in real estate and commodities and hosts the Rich Dad Radio Show. The Robert T. Kiyosaki book list spans personal finance classics like Cashflow Quadrant and Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing, along with educational games and seminars.
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Where is this quotation located?
| Quotation | You can be rich or poor depending on how you manage fear and desire |
| Book Details | Publication Year/Date: 2017, ISBN/Unique Identifier: 9781612680811, Last edition: 1st Edition, Number of pages: 256 |
| Where is it? | Chapter 6, Emotional Intelligence in Money, page 101 |