Midas Touch: Trump and Rich Dad's Kiyosaki on Being Your Own Boss!

Donald Trump, the famous real estate developer and TV star, and Robert Kiyosaki, best-selling author of the ''Rich Dad, Poor Dad'' series of motivational books, team up for a second time to provide advice on being successful in the business world.

Their focus is on building your own business, and they use anecdotes and personal histories to highlight the five aspects of a successful entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are needed in today's world of high unemployment, Trump and Kiyosaki assert, because they create the most high-quality jobs.

Midas Touch (ISBN 978-1-61268-095-8) was released in October 2011.

What You Need to Succeed

If you are interested in starting your own business then Midas Touch will give you plenty to think about. This book is less about the nuts-and-bolts of business than it is about the characteristics and actions of people who are successful entrepreneurs.

Trump and Kiyosaki identify five areas that make the difference between winning and losing, and they apply to everyone regardless of what kind of enterprise is involved. They use the admittedly corny image of five fingers to illustrate the areas: strength of character, focus, brand, relationships and little things that count.

There's nothing unique about the five points. I've seen them mentioned individually in other books. And let's face it, we have probably all been told as children that being a confident, trustworthy person (strength of character, brand) who treats people right (relationships), is disciplined (focus) and pays attention to doing things the right way (little things that count) is the way to succeed in life.

Even so, what makes this book valuable is that Trump and Kiyosaki are able to relate those five points to their own successes and failures to illustrate why focusing on those aspects of your life are important to prevailing.

Hours Devoted to ''The Apprentice''

The book alternates between Trump and Kiyosaki, with each man writing separately about the five points they have identified as necessary for winning in the business world.

Trump's sections focus on his real estate deals, including his early 1990s struggles when he lost his focus, and his work at publicizing the company (including the television show ''The Apprentice'').

To illustrate strength of character, he details some of the year's long struggles he has faced when constructing buildings in Manhattan. For instance, he says it took 20 years of struggling to overcome various political and business obstacles before Trump Place on the Hudson River began construction. How many of us have the strength to fight that long for something we believe in?

Brand is your reputation, of course. Trump writes about the TV hit show ''The Apprentice'' to illustrate that you have to maintain your brand at all times. When he was approached to do the show, he had been promised it would take no more than three hours a week, Trump writes. How wrong he was! Once he committed to the show he put in the time needed to make the show a hit, even when he was tired and wanted to go home to dinner. It's a great lesson.

As for little things that count, Trump says he still signs each and every check himself. And he used to walk to the top floors of every one of his skyscrapers to get a good feel of the building. That's paying attention to the small stuff!

Kiyosaki's Lesson on Life

Robert Kiyosaki's path to success has been very different from Trump. Trump went to work for his father and expanded into Manhattan, constructing bigger and bigger buildings.

Kiyosaki, meanwhile, grew up as a more typical child, went into the military, failed at business then became a successful entrepreneur and teacher. So I found I could relate more to the stories that he uses to talk about the five points.

For instance, he writes that when he was in school he kind of 'skated' by, a C student who didn't really care. But when he became a Marine Corps helicopter pilot training to fight in Vietnam, he realized that ``being a 'C' student would get me and my crew killed,'' he writes. You have to excel to survive in war, and in business as well, he said. Try to get by doing as little as possible and you will lose.

Kiyosaki also writes about the failure of his nylon-and-velcro wallets, an enterprise he was involved in with two partners. The partners, alas, weren't trustworthy and certainly weren't looking out for his interests, and he got burned. Reading his story certainly gives you a strong sense of why relationships are so important in the business world.

Robert Kiyosaki rose to prominence with Rich Dad, Poor Dad, which was published in 1997. He has since authored or co-authored 21 other books, all focused on teaching his philosophy of personal finance and the dangers of depending on others for a job.

I have read a number of his books. Some are better than others, but all contain some truths that are worth contemplating. You can check them out for yourself.

Robert Kiyosaki uses games in addition to his Rich Dad series of books to educate people about personal finance. His Cashflow games can be found on eBay regularly, and reviews of the games have been very good. I have never played but I am considering getting a game for my children.

Why We Want You to be Rich: Two Men, One Message was published in 2006. Just like in Midas Touch, Trump and Kiyosaki tell us in Why We Want You to be Rich that they are not offering a nuts-and-bolts advice book. Instead, they offer the rather simple truths that in today's world you need to take care of yourself financially and develop your own skills.

I read this book, and found it worthwhile as a reminder of many of the things that Trump and Kiyosaki have preached separately. It is interesting that the book was published before the crash of 2007. the book seems very prescient.

You can find the book on Amazon.

Donald Trump or Robert Kiyosaki? As mentioned above I find I relate more to Kiyosaki's experiences and teachings than to Donald Trump's. We can learn from both, of course, but it's harder for me to apply Trump's experiences to my life. I find Kiyosaki's teachings more applicable.

What about you? Do you think there's more to learn from Donald trump or Robert Kiyosaki? Why?

Can You Learn More From Donald Trump or Robert Kiyosaki?

Author Robert T. Kiyosaki discusses his philosophy about investing in stocks in this book, and how he feels the U.S. rules are stacked against the average investor (meaning you!). Because of government rules designed to protect the average person against unscrupulous stock sellers, the best investments are restricted to so-called ``sophisticated investors.'' But sophisticated in this sense mainly just means rich enough to afford to lose money on the investment. In other words, the best investments are restricted to the benefit of the wealthy!

As might be expected, Kiyosaki rails against this system and points out how hard it is for the average person to beat it once commissions are added to the equation. Far better, he says, for the average person to just start his own business instead.

The main thrust of Rich Dad's Guide to Investing isn't very new if you have read the rest of Kiyosaki's books, but he does hammer home his basic ideas in a clear way that impresses upon you just how important it is to be your own boss if you want a chance to be wealthy. If you haven't read any of his other books, this is a good introduction to his philosophy.

The ISBN for this book is 978-1-61268-020-0 (9781612680200).

Trump and Kiyosaki say entrepreneurs are valuable because they create jobs, and it's hard to argue about that.

But I don't think that's the reason most people want to start a business. People want to be their own bosses, or can't find a job, or just figure that owning a company is the way to become wealthy.

I think if I started a business it'd be because I'd want to be my own boss after years of working for other people. What about you?

Here's Two How-To Guides to Help You!

I recently read the following guides to starting an Internet business and starting a blog, and found both of them useful in raising topics that I will need to address before I take my first steps. Both are very comprehensive guides, and are worth checking out before you go too far down one road or another.

Please visit my reviews of these books. Thanks.

Start Your Own Blogging Business: a How to Build a Blog Guide
Start Your Own Blogging Business, from Entrepreneur Magazine's Startup Series, is a comprehensive guide for anyone who wants to make money on the Internet th...

Starting Your Own Internet Business: A Step-by-Step Guide
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I hope this review has given you plenty to think about, especially if you are interested in starting your own business. Now it's your turn: What do you think is needed to become a success in business? Any tips, advice?

Also, feel free to comment on Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki or anything else related to this lens!

Thanks for visiting.