When I was a teenager, one of the first books I read about money was Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.
That book completely changed the way I looked at life, work, and wealth.
After reading it, I knew I didn’t want to work for someone else. I knew I was going to start my own thing.
The lesson that stuck with me the most was the fact that all the tax benefits go to entrepreneurs and investors.
It made me realize the game was rigged in favor of business owners and people who put their money to work, not the ones trading time for a paycheck.
But here’s the part I didn’t understand at the time…
Even though I started working for myself, I was still stuck in the self-employed quadrant.
And if you’ve read the book, you know exactly what I mean.
Kiyosaki breaks down what he calls the Cashflow Quadrant, which outlines the four ways people earn income:
- E for Employee
- S for Self-Employed
- B for Business Owner
- I for Investor
Most people live their entire lives either as employees or self-employed workers. But the real freedom, where you can build real wealth, is as a business owner and investor.
When you’re self-employed, you’re still trading time for money. Sure, you may be your own boss, but the business still relies on you to survive.
And if you stop working, the income stops too.
I was proud of myself for starting something. But for years, I was just building myself a prettier cage. It wasn’t until I started looking for ways to build systems, digital products, and assets that could run without me that things really started to change.
That’s the shift.
That’s the lesson I wish more people understood.
You can’t just leave your job and call it freedom. You have to build something that can operate while you sleep. You have to cross the line from being self-employed, to being a real business owner.
That’s where the real leverage lives.
And that’s where the real freedom starts.
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