Aspectos sobre el uso del agua

Robert Kiyosaki

“When did you get the Rolex?” asked rich dad.

“I got it last week in Hong Kong,” I replied proudly.

“Is it a real Rolex?”

“Well, yeah,” I replied hesitantly. “It’s real.”

With a smirk, rich dad grabbed my wrist and pulled the watch up to his face to take a closer look. “And how much was it?”

“Uh, uh, I got a good deal.”

“How much was it?” rich dad asked again.

“Five bucks,” I blurted out. “It’s a fake Rolex.”

“I thought so,” said rich dad quietly. There was a long moment of silence. I could tell rich dad was collecting his thoughts.

“Why did you buy a fake Rolex?” rich dad finally asked. “Why didn’t you buy a real one?”

“Because real ones are expensive,” I answered.

“Do000n you know why pirates make cheap copies of an expensive watch?”

Shaking his head, rich dad asked, “Do you know how much the Rolex brand is worth?”

“No,” I said, again shaking my head.

“Do you know what the Rolex brand stands for?”

“It means success,” I replied. “It means you’ve made it. It means you’ve reached the top. At least that‘s what it means to me. That’s why I bought a fake Rolex. I just wanted to look more successful.”

“And what does a fake Rolex say about you?” asked rich dad, looking me directly in the eyes.

“It means I want to be successful,” I replied. “It means someday I’ll own a real Rolex.”

“Try again,” smirked rich dad. “It means you’re a fake. Only a fake would wear a fake. That’s what a fake Rolex stands for.”

“But a real Rolex costs a lot of money,” I protested. “I just wanted to wear a Rolex and I didn’t want to spend that much money on a watch. So I bought a five-dollar Rolex. Who will know the difference?”

“You will,” replied rich dad. “You know the difference. Deep down you know what the Rolex brand is worth. You know what the brand means. That’s why you are willing to be a fake and wear a fake.”

“I don’t agree,” I said. “Nobody can tell the difference. I know. I inspected the watch before I bought it. It looks real.”

“But you know it’s not real,” said rich dad sternly. “You may think you’re fooling most people, but you’re not fooling yourself. It’s what you’re saying about you that is important. And right now what you’re saying about yourself is ‘I’m poor. I’m not successful and I can’t afford a real Rolex. So I’ll buy a fake because I am a fake.’”

“Why are you being so hard on me?” I asked. “It’s just a cheap watch.”

“It’s more than a cheap watch,” said rich dad impatiently. “It’s a fake watch, a knock-off, stolen property. If you are willing to buy stolen property, what does that say about you?”

I still did not get why rich dad was making such a big deal out of a watch. I knew it was a fake. I knew it was a copy made by pirates. So what? What’s the problem? Who am I hurting?

Continuing on, rich dad said, “If you are going to be a successful entrepreneur, you’d better know and respect a brand. If you are lucky, maybe someday you’ll have a brand yourself. Maybe someday your business will become a General Electric, or Coca-Cola, or McDonald’s. But if you are a fraud, your business will be a fraud. It certainly won’t be a brand.”

I did not agree with rich dad and I didn’t like what he was saying, but I was old enough and wise enough to know to. h to kn keep my mouth shut and let the message sink in. I didn’t need any more of his wrath. But he wasn’t done with my lesson.

“If you are not a brand, you’re just a commodity. You’re just a faceless product floating in a world of no-name brands.”

‘What is wrong with being a commodity?” I asked.

“Nothing, if you’re happy being a commodity,” rich dad replied. “It’s the difference between Bobby’s Burgers or McDonald’s. The McDonald’s brand is worth billions. Bobby’s Burgers as a brand is worth nothing. Why spend your life building a business and fail to build a brand?”

Catching his breath, or maybe reloading, rich dad let his lesson on brand versus commodity rest for a moment. I understood he wanted me to respect brands and what they stood for. I understood he wanted me to one day be an entrepreneur who turned his business into a brand. He did not want me to become just an ordinary entrepreneur.

“Do you know that just the name ‘Coca-Cola’ is worth more than the company’s entire business? The name is worth more than all the equipment, real estate, and business systems combined,” said rich dad, doing his best to have his lesson on brands sink in. “No matter where you go in the world, Coca-Cola is a brand.”

“So if I wear a fake Rolex I am stealing from Rolex. Is that what you’re trying to say?”

Rich dad nodded his head, adding, “And buying from people who steal from Rolex says, ‘I buy stolen goods. I stole someone’s good name.’ And who wants to do business with someone who is dishonest, cheap, sneaky, crooked, and a phony?”

“Only people who are also dishonest, cheap, sneaky, crooked, and phony,” I reluctantly answered.

“If you found out your neighbor with the nice cars and the boat was really a criminal, what would you think of him?”

“Not much,” I replied. “I would avoid him.”

“That same kind of judgment goes on in business every day,” said rich dad. “Honest people do not do business with dishonest people. Your reputation is the foundation of your brand. Guard your reputation with your life. In business, your reputation is more important than your business.” With that, rich dad extended his hand towards me, palm up.

I took off the watch and dropped it into the palm of his outstretched hand. Rich dad put the watch on the floor, placed his shoe on top of the watch, and crushed it. Because it only cost five dollars, it crushed pretty easily. I got it.

That was many years ago. Today, counterfeit products, knock-offs, and pirated copies of brands are everywhere. It is a mega-billion-dollar business. There are even counterfeit pharmaceuticals, some of which are actually harmful! Can you imagine how it must feel to lose a loved one because he or she was taking a fake prescription drug, thinking it was the real thing?

In every major city throughout the world, there is at least one street where counterfeit brands and pirated products are readily avail">

Pirates are entrepreneurs too. They are simply entrepreneurs who steal someone else’s brand rather than create their own brand. As long as there are customers who will buy fakes, there will be pirates. If customers were honest, there would not be a business for pirated products. Only crooks sell stolen goods, and only crooks buy stolen brands. Honest people don’t do that.

As I picked up the pieces of my crushed fake Rolex, rich dad continued with his lesson, saying, “Very few entrepreneurs ever turn their business into a brand.” A brand is priceless. A brand is a promise from the entrepreneur to their customers. A true brand starts in the soul of the entrepreneur and connects with the soul of the customer. It is a relationship, much more than a transaction. In some instances, it is a love affair, a love affair that can go on for years.

“If the soul of the entrepreneur is dishonest or greedy, caring only about the customer’s money and not caring for the customer, the entrepreneur’s business will never evolve into a relationship. It will remain a transaction. And a transaction is a commodity.”

Once the pieces of my fake watch were in the trash can, rich dad said, “The reason so few businesses become brands is because most businesses are primarily in the business of making money. They say they want to do their best for the customer, but for most businesses, that is only hot air. They don’t mean it. The more you care about your customer, the better chance you have of your business becoming a brand. Even if your brand does not grow into a Coca-Cola or McDonald’s, if you care about your customer, your customer will carry your brand in their heart.”