Blog | Entrepreneurship

Are Your Words Making You Poor?

What your words say about who you are and what you believe

My rich dad once said to me, "If I listen to a person's words, I begin to see and feel their soul." Rich dad understood what many successful business people understand, that being able to quickly measure up a person based on things like body language or the words they use is just as important as understanding financial statements and economic reports.

One of my rich dad's greatest skills was being able to "read" people, but he also believed you couldn't judge a book by its cover. Like Henry Ford, my rich dad didn't have an excellent education, but both men knew how to hire and work with people who did. Rich dad explained to me at an early age that the ability to bring smart people together and work as a team was one of his primary skills.

As a young boy, I sat with my rich dad when he hired people. From those interviews I learned to listen, not so much for just words, but also for core values. From that experience, I learned that, when it comes to the CASHFLOW® Quadrant, people in each quadrant—E for employee, S for self-employed, B for business, and I for investor—had their own way of talking that expressed who they truly were at their core.

E-quadrant words

A person who comes from the E quadrant might say, "I'm looking for a safe, secure job with good pay and excellent benefits."

Words like these tell me that a person's core value is security in the face of fear. People who embrace security as a response to fear like to have things in writing, knowing exactly what they'll make and what their benefits are, such as health insurance provided by the employer. For them, the idea of security is often more important than money.

Employees can be presidents of companies...or janitors. It's no so much what they do but the contractual agreement they have that's important to them.

S-quadrant words

A person who comes from the S quadrant might say, "My rate is $75 per hour." Or, "My normal commission rate is six percent." Or, "I can't seem to find good people to work on this project and get the job done right." Or, "I've got more than twenty hours into this project."

Those in the S quadrant like to be their own boss or "do their own thing." When it comes to money, those in the S quadrant don’t like to have their income dependent on other people. If they work hard, they expect to get paid for their work. Conversely, they understand that if they don't work hard, they don't deserve to get paid well. They have fiercely independent souls.

B-Quadrant words

A person operating out of the B quadrant might say, "I'm looking for a new president to run my company."

Those in the B quadrant are almost the opposite of those in the S quadrant. They like to surround themselves with people who can do the job better than they can. Their true motto is, "Why do it yourself when you can hire someone to do it for you, and they can do it better?"

Those in the B quadrant like to work on their company and hire smarter people to work in it.

I-Quadrant words

Someone operating from the I quadrant might say, "Is my cash flow based on an internal rate of return or a net rate of return?"

Investors make money with money. They don't have to work because their money is working for them. Because of this, they know how money works. They understand the language of money, and they speak it fluently.

What do your words say about you?

Have you ever stopped and listened to the words that you use? A good exercise this week would be to slow down and listen to yourself. Find out what you say and how you say it. You may find that at your core, you're someone different than you thought you were.

The same holds for those you work with or who work for you. Listen to their words this week as well.

In the end, our words are good indicators of what's really important to us. The good news is that once we understand who we are at our core, we can then decide if we like that person or if we want to aspire to be something more. But it all starts with listening.

Want to learn about finanical education with other like-minded individuals? Join our free, financial education community here.