Let me start by telling you about two young boys, Robert and Mike, who were determined to become rich. "Mike says you want to learn to make money? Is that correct, Robert?" They were best friends, and they both came from families that weren’t wealthy. "As best I could tell, Mike and I were the only poor kids in this school." They went to a school where "all the other boys had new baseball gloves, new bicycles, new everything."
One day, Robert asked his dad how to get rich. His dad, a highly educated man, simply said, "If you want to be rich, you have to learn to make money." So, Robert and Mike decided to form a partnership and put their heads together to come up with a money-making scheme. "We spent all morning coming up with ideas on how to make money." They were inspired by the "cool guys" at their rich classmate Jimmy's beach house, and they didn't want to be left out just because they were "poor kids."
Finally, a brilliant idea struck them. "It was an idea Mike had gotten from a science book he had read. Excitedly, we shook hands, and the partnership now had a business." They decided to collect used toothpaste tubes from their neighbors. "With puzzled looks, most adults consented with a smile." They stockpiled their "raw materials" next to the washing machine, much to Robert's mother's dismay.
Robert's father, along with a friend, arrived just in time to witness this entrepreneurial spectacle. "‘Oh, my God!’ my dad said. ‘You're casting nickels out of lead.’" Their entrepreneurial dreams were crushed when Robert's father gently explained to them what "counterfeiting" meant.
Disappointed but undeterred, Robert decided to ask his friend's father, a successful businessman, for advice on how to get rich. Mike’s dad, a man of few words, agreed to teach Robert—but not in a traditional way. "You work for me, I'll teach you. You don't work for me, I won't teach you." He offered Robert 10 cents an hour to work at his convenience store every Saturday for three hours.
"Even by 1956 pay standards, 10 cents an hour was low." But Robert, eager to learn, accepted the offer. "‘I'll take it,’ I replied, choosing to work and learn instead of playing softball."
The work was tedious—dusting and stacking canned goods. "We spent three hours taking canned goods off the shelves and, with a feather duster, brushing each can to get the dust off, and then re-stacking them neatly. It was excruciatingly boring work." Every time a car drove by, dust would swirl in, making their work a never-ending cycle.
After three weeks, Robert was ready to quit. He hadn't learned anything about making money, and the 30 cents he earned each week was hardly worth the boredom. "By Wednesday of the fourth week, I was ready to quit. I had agreed to work only because I wanted to learn to make money from Mike's dad, and now I was a slave for 10 cents an hour."
Unknown to Robert, Mike's dad had anticipated this. "‘Dad's kind of different. He teaches differently from your dad. Your mom and dad lecture a lot. My dad is quiet and a man of few words. You just wait till this Saturday. I'll tell him you're ready.’"
On Saturday, Robert went back to the convenience store ready to confront his cheapskate boss. "Even my real dad was angry with him." He planned to demand a raise, and if he didn't get it, he would quit. "My educated poor dad told me to demand what I deserve. At least 25 cents an hour. My poor dad told me that if I did not get a raise, I was to quit immediately."
Instead of a raise, Robert got a lesson. Mike's dad, who Robert calls his "rich dad," explained that he was teaching Robert about life. "‘I am teaching you,’ rich dad said quietly." “‘What is this man talking about?’ I asked myself silently. ‘Life pushing me around was life talking to me?’” He wanted Robert to understand that most people spend their lives working for money, trapped in a cycle of fear and desire. "‘The poor and the middle class work for money.’ ‘The rich have money work for them.’"
Rich dad wanted Robert to see the world differently. "‘I want you boys to avoid that trap. That is really what I want to teach you. Not just to be rich, because being rich does not solve the problem.’" He was teaching Robert to master his emotions and to think for himself, instead of reacting out of fear or greed.
The biggest lesson that day was about assets. "‘This,’ he said tapping me gently on the head. ‘This stuff between your ears.’" Rich dad wanted Robert to understand that true wealth comes not from working for money but from having money work for you. And that requires acquiring assets—things that put money in your pocket.
To further illustrate this point, rich dad offered Robert a raise—first 25 cents, then a dollar, then two dollars, and finally five dollars an hour. "My little 9-year-old brain and heart nearly exploded. After all, it was 1956 and being paid $2 an hour would have made me the richest kid in the world." But Robert, sensing something was amiss, held out. He refused the offer.
Rich dad was pleased. "‘Good,’ rich dad said softly. ‘Most people have a price. And they have a price because of human emotions named fear and greed. First, the fear of being without money motivates us to work hard, and then once we get that paycheck, greed or desire starts us thinking about all the wonderful things money can buy. The pattern is then set.’"
He wanted Robert to see that most people are trapped in a cycle of working for money, paying bills, and then working for more money, all driven by fear and greed. "‘What pattern?’ I asked. ‘The pattern of get up, go to work, pay bills, get up, go to work, pay bills... Their lives are then run forever by two emotions, fear and greed. Offer them more money, and they continue the cycle by also increasing their spending. This is what I call the Rat Race.’"
Instead, rich dad wanted Robert to learn how to have money work for him by acquiring assets. He said, “Learning to have money work for you is a completely different course of study?” And Robert, starting to see the world differently, said "‘Absolutely,’ I said with a grin. ‘I have kept my promise. I've been teaching you from afar,’ my rich dad said. ‘At 9 years old, you've gotten a taste of what it feels like to work for money. Just multiply your last month by fifty years and you will have an idea of what most people spend their life doing.’"
To drive home the point, rich dad refused to pay Robert anything. "‘Now get back to work. This time, I will pay you nothing.’ ‘What?’ I asked in amazement." He challenged Robert to find another way to make money.
This story resonates with me because I, too, have been underpaid in the past. During my early twenties, I landed a coveted internship at a prestigious consulting firm. The pay was decent, but the hours were brutal – I often worked until 2 a.m., fueled by caffeine and the fear of disappointing my demanding bosses. One day, as I was leaving the office at 1:30 a.m., a senior partner stopped me in the hallway and, looking at my exhausted face, said, “You know, when I was your age, I pulled a lot of all-nighters, too. It’s part of paying your dues.”
At the time, I just nodded, trying to hide how badly I wanted to go home and sleep. But his words, “It’s part of paying your dues,” stuck with me. I realized that the long hours, the stress, the demanding bosses—they were all part of the price of admission to a career in high finance. And while many of my peers were willing to pay that price, I began asking myself: “Is this price worth paying? Is there another way?”
That experience was my own 10-cent lesson. I realized that even in prestigious, high-paying careers, you’re still trading your time for money. And time, as you all know, is your most valuable asset. "For all the years I studied and learned from him, he always reminded me that knowledge was power." Instead of continuing down a path that would make me an overworked, well-compensated employee, I started focusing on building my own assets, things that would generate income without requiring my constant presence. It took years of hard work, but I eventually achieved financial freedom—the ability to do what I want, when I want, with who I want, for as long as I want.
The 10-cent lesson isn't about accepting low pay or enduring unfair working conditions. It's about recognizing that the real reward for any job lies in the lessons you learn, the skills you acquire, and the insights you gain. And those things, unlike a paycheck, are things that no one can ever take away from you.
So, the next time you find yourself feeling underpaid or undervalued, remember the 10-cent lesson. Instead of focusing on the money you’re not making, ask yourself: "What am I learning here? What skills am I developing? How can I use this experience to build my own assets and create a future where money works for me, instead of me working for money?" Because that’s the real secret to wealth, and it’s a secret that’s available to anyone who’s willing to look for it. Now go out there and start finding your own secrets!
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