A Question of Context

[nyyki]

I've been reading Robert Keosaki's books. The most famous one is "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", but he has several others. The one that's impressed me most is "Rich Dads retire Young, Retire Rich." In it, he talks a lot about context and how it limits how much one can earn.

In it, he talks of a conversation with Rich Dad, and Rich Dad asks him, "If you could invest with no money and no risk, what would you do?" He relates that at the time, he got defensive and said that that scenario was impossible. In reading it, I felt it was an exaggeration.

Night before last, I posed that question to a friend of mine who considers himself poor. (He's not.) It was totally amazing. He got openly hostile, and actually quite angry at the question. I was in shock. How could a simple hypothetical question evoke such a strong emotional response? I was made aware of the fact that my friend's context is not one where he can even entertain such a possibility, andthe mere mention of it seems to really piss him off.

So, if you could invest with no money and no risk, what would you do? How do you feel about the question? What does your answer to the question tell you about your context?

Comments

[theantichick.livejournal.com]

I guess I don't understand the question... are you asking if we would invest, or what we would invest in?

[prodigal.livejournal.com]

My first reaction was "Shit, I don't know." Then I stopped and thought for awhile, and decided on real estate. Land (preferably close to water,) with a decent house to stay in.

At least part of what it says about me is that I want my own place again.