Blog | Entrepreneurship

Always Be Training

Why those who train the most, succeed the most

In 1972, I had just finished my marine pilot training and was making my first flight into battle aboard a gunship. I was met with tracer rounds, large bullets that burn brightly as they fly through the air so that the shooter can track them and make adjustments. They help shooters from the ground be more accurate, and they look like little demons flying at you.

My first instinct as a young kid was to flee in the face of those rounds, but I didn’t. I was scared but I pushed on. One of the reasons I pushed on was because Gunnery Sgt. Jackson tapped me on the shoulder and said, “You know what’s bad about this job? There’s no second place.” At that point, I was determined to win.

In over a year fighting in Vietnam, helicopters that I flew in crashed three times. That was scary. Each time there was a mission, I had to fight the urge to not get into another helicopter and fly into battle; and each time, I got back in and flew back into battle.

Doing the right thing

I could have easily died on any of those missions; and, I had friends who did. But once I faced that fact, understood it, and moved forward, I was able to confidently fly into battle. I knew the risks and I accepted them.

This week, we celebrated Memorial Day. As a veteran, I value my time in the Marines serving my country. I also value the people with whom I served – both those who survived and those who did not.

Though I wasn’t a fan of the war, I knew that fighting for my country was the right thing to do. Even though I could have avoided the war, I volunteered to go.

I learned many lessons while in the Marines including the importance of integrity, courage, and honor. All of these lessons were drilled into me through training, and so the most valuable lesson I learned was the importance of training.

The importance of training

To succeed in business, you need a place where your character can be developed through training. In the military, I was turned from a boy into a man. I learned toughness and discipline through my training. When times were tough and I was scared and ready to turn the other way, it was my training that gave me courage to push forward.

But my training didn’t end with the military. That was just the beginning.

When I got out of Vietnam, I took a job with Xerox in order to learn how to sell. I could have gotten a job as a pilot and made a comfortable living. But, I wanted to succeed in business and I needed sales training for that. I chose the harder path. At first, I was the worst salesman on the team and my instinct was to quit and run. But, I kept moving forward, kept training, kept honing my skills, and I eventually became the best salesman in my office.

This same pattern continued through my first failed business, my first successful investment, building my now-successful financial education company, Rich Dad, the writing of each book, starting with Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and the many successful investments and businesses I’ve been a part of since. Each time I pushed forward, I looked at each opportunity as a training experience and learned all that I could.

Throughout my life, when the heat was on, it was my training that helped me prevail.

Success comes from financial education

In business, it’s no different. You must have training and you must always be training. If you want to be successful in business, you must always be increasing your financial intelligence through financial education.

This is why Rich Dad Education offers courses in financial education through classes and seminars, as well as personalized financial coaching to help you apply that training. Think of it like a boot camp for those in the business world.

This is also why I still teach and why I still attend seminars as a student. I don’t believe it’s important for just you to always be training. It’s equally important for me.

My encouragement to you today is to not hold back. Begin your training today. What have you got to lose?

To start your training, check out our free, financial education resources here.