In continuation to my previous blog on the business of the 21st century, I wanted to start out with a question:  Where does your money come from?  Have you ever stopped to think about this?  Let’s examine this further….

Robert Kiyosaki, in several of his books, talks about where you derive your cash income from and he divides it into 4 areas or quadrants. 

E=Employee     The majority of us live in this quadrant and we may stay there all our lives.  We work a set amount of hours and get paid for those hours, and if you stop working you stop getting paid.

S=Self-employed or small business     Living or pursuing the American Dream in this quadrant with much broader range of earning power but you’re still an employee, just with a new boss-YOU.  If you stop working, the income stops coming in.

B=Business owner     S and B quadrants are similar, but in the B quadrant your business works for you.  In other words, if you stop working your business will keep bringing in income.  “Those who live and work in the B quadrant make themselves recession-proof, because they control the source of their own income.” Robert Kiyosaki

I=Investor     Here lies the investor.  This can be a great quadrant to be in, but you have to know what you’re doing and you need enough disposable income so as not to affect your livelyhood.

What Kiyosaki says are so important about these quadrants is that it’s not only the way you make your income, but it tells a lot about who you are as a person and where your core financial values are.  Here’s a snapshot of how the core values are linked:

E=Security, “I am looking for a safe, secure job with good pay and excellent benefits.”

S=Independence, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.”

B=Wealth-Building, “I’m looking for the best people to join my team.”

I=Financial Freedom, “What’s my return on investment?”

So, what does all this have to do with the business of the 21st century and what does it have to do with you?  Well, first it’s important to know where you’re at, what quadrant you’re living in.  Then, you need to think about if you’re happy there or not.  If you are great, keep on doing what you’re doing and have a ball!  If not, then it’s time to start changing your mindset because it’s not just a change in jobs or a change in address it’s a complete shift in your way of thinking, thinking outside of the box.

Chew on that for a while…and stay tuned for my next post on ‘The Business of the 21st Century.’