He started in 1975 with just $700 to his name. Now he’s a millionaire many times over.

He’s the amazing Robert Kiyosaki, author of the #1 New York Times best seller Rich Dad, Poor Dad. And he has a simple message:

“With every dollar in your hand, you have the power to choose to be rich, poor or middle class.”

We found a great post by Robert Kiyosaki over at our friend Josh Hinds’ Get Motivation blog. It’s lengthy, but well worth the read.

We’ve provided a summary here for your convenience. Here they are – Robert Kiyosaki’s 10 Steps to Getting Rich:

Step 1: Decide to be rich

“The words you speak and the words you think ultimately become the world you live in.”

Poor people focus on surviving. The middle class focuses on comfort. Rich people focus on acquiring assets. They will exchange comfort today for riches tomorrow.

It’s a state of mind. You may be broke right now. But if you choose to be rich, being broke is a temporary thing. Being poor is permanent.

You choose to be poor, middle class, or rich. So be rich, even if you don’t have the money right now.

To be rich, you have to do those things which rich people do to get rich. “Many times the rich will forsake meals, a steady pay check, a vacation, or the comfort of a nice home, to build or acquire real assets.”

So stop thinking about surviving. Stop worrying about comfort. Focus on thriving.

Step 2: Decide what kind of money problems you want

“There are only two kinds of money problems: not enough money or too much money.”

You know how to work for money. You must learn how to have money and people work for you.

Excess money will create more excess money if you know what to do with it. But you must learn this before you have the problem of too much money.

Step 3: Write your plan and follow it

He suggests setting a few basic goals with your plan:

• Change the characteristic of your income. Start a business part-time.
  

• Change the characteristic of your expenses. Personal expenses should be converted to business expenses.
  

• Form a legal entity for your business.
  

• Buy asset with your business.
  

• Reinvest your profits.
  

Step 4: Decide on where you want to do your banking

The pawn shop is a poor person’s bank.

Traditional banks are for the middle class. They have also turned to credit cards.

Rich people get there money from investment banks, wealthy individuals, and institutions like pension funds or insurance companies. Or by going public.

If they succeed in business, they can borrow large sums of money relatively easily at relatively low rates.

Step 5: Choose your friends and partners wisely

Spend time with rich people. They will bring you more opportunities to invest than any stock broker or real estate broker.

“What you know determines who you know. If you want to change who you know, simply change what you know.”

So invest in your own education on business, finance, and investing first. The people you spend time with change naturally as a consequence.

Step 6: Give yourself time

“Building a business is not the same as getting a job. With a job, you expect to be paid soon after starting work. With a business, you may not be paid for years, if you are paid at all.”

He cites two reasons why so many businesses fail:

• Lack of education and experience. “Business is a combination of formal education, experience, and guts.”
  

• Undercapitalization. “Many people kill the baby-goose before it’s old enough to lay the golden egg.” You need enough capital to get you to profitability.
  

Step 7: Start small, dream BIGG

Unfortunately, he didn’t spell “BIGG” right. So we corrected it here!

“Many people start small and stay small, simply because they have small dreams. In my opinion, big dreams are important because they possess ingredients vital for success: hope, desire, passion, energy, vitality, faith, drive, inspiration and creativity. These ingredients make life worth living.”

• Don’t compare yourself to others who have more. Instead, look to them for inspiration and mentoring.
  
• Map out how you will achieve the wealth you desire.
  
• Put it in writing.
  
• Review it every day.
  
• Talk about your dream with others. Use any criticism to fuel your desire.

Step 8: Before you expand, you must contract

Tighten up so you can expand.

Get ahead by pulling back.

Stop trying to be everywhere and do everything.

Focus. “Begin doing more – of fewer things.” The few things that will help you reach your BIGG goals.

Step 9: Get bigger faster

“The people who dream small, think small, and work small, work the hardest and are paid the least.”

When you’re small, you’ll have to do all the work yourself. Once you know the business, work hard to expand so you can bring people in to manage it for you. Then you can grow even bigger!

“The bigger the asset you build, the less you work and the more money you make.”

Step 10: The more you share, the richer you become

“I knew that if I wanted to acquire great wealth quickly, I had to be a person who shared. I had to be generous. If I was greedy, stingy or tight, it would take me longer to attain great wealth.”

Focus on doing more for less money. Focus on serving more people.

Choose to be rich. And choose to share your riches with as many people as possible. It leads to BIGG success!