Rich Dad Poor Dad and E-Myth...Business Classics or 200 Page Sales Letters?

[Charles Harper]

I was listening again to an obscure recording done by Robert Kiyosaki and I heard something for a second time that was of interest. The book that many of use view as having changed our perspective in the early 2000s was not necessarily written with our inspiration in mind.

Robert Kiyosaki and his team wrote this book to recover the costs in a board game (Cash Flow 101) that costed $200. People needed to be educated at an emotional level for their 'need' for this board game. The only way that they could conceivably do this is to tell the story of "Rich Dad". That does not mean that the story wasn't true, it was just told in such a way that justified a regular person's need to go out to purchase this board game on investing. The game did not have a product launch per se the first time.

The release of the book, was the first part of the sales funnel for the product launch.

That is probably not news to anybody. Anyone who has read Dan Kennedy's book knows (and he is not subtle) that it is designed to sell Kennedy-Glazer memberships and products. But there is something about Rich Dad, that is a little less overt than what Dan Kennedy does that appeals to me. That is in addition to the fact that I just flat out enjoyed the book all those years ago.

A friend told me that the same thing was present in Michael Gerber's E-Myth. So today I started listening to it at the Gym. Sure enough, it is written at an emotional level. That does not mean that it is not informative. But Gerber is giving us this information, not so that we will go and do all of what he is saying. He is giving us this information in such a way that his coaching systems will seem affordable once he has outlined the pain in excruciating detail.

I recognize the patterns in both books, as a former seminarian. Any good preacher does the same thing to us every Sunday. He (or she) spends 30 minutes identifying with the pain of our lack of results. They do so at an emotional level so that when he or she presents the solution, we will be in the right state to receive it. You could say "The 4 Hour Workweek" may fall into that category.

I know they are technically the same as a lead generation report. But there are not too many lead generation reports in the hands of millions masquerading as New York Time Best Sellers, yes?

Do you recognize this pattern in business books you have read? What other well written books hypnotized you into reading them, only to find out that they were really very clever sales letters in disguise?

CT

[stevenalowe]

RDPD was entertaining, but cash-flow quadrant was much more useful

the point of both books, is passive income

as for the book being a sales letter for the game, i don't know; if it was, it wasn't a very good sales letter!

[WordsofWorth]

I love the Cash Flow 101 game. We play it every two months, although I have yet to win... a source of much annoyance. Still, it has inspired me personally to invest more in stocks, to some success too. Still trying to get out of that rat race though

[Hugh Thyer]

I've always called RDPD the world's longest sales letter.

It's the entry point for everyone into RK's other products.

Written emotionally, lots of stories, and it tells you what to do...without telling you how!

[Derek Pankaew]

I'd say it's both. I read RDPD when I was 13 and it changed my life. It's an eye opening book. But yes, it's also a salesletter

[Warrior X]

Originally Posted by Hugh Thyer

Written emotionally, lots of stories, and it tells you what to do...without telling you how!

Man, that's sure true-- when that came out I was like 22 and just a sucker for that book (probably on account of I was broke).

Anyway I was fired up for days, until it came time to try and put something into practice, and it was like WTF do I do now.

I've since learned that the best kind of information is the actionable kind.

But I still have a warm spot in my heart for Robert Kiyosaki.
Jeremy