Questions are the Answers ~ Allan Pease (47 of 2025)

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Peanut ~ Charles M. Schulz

 

Seventy five years ago, on October 2, 1950, Charles M. Schulz introduced the world to a small boy with a round head and a beagle with a wild imagination. In over half a century of reading , Charlie Brown and Snoopy are the two characters I have identified with the most.Peanuts quickly became more than just a comic strip, it was a cultural phenomenon. With characters like Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, and Peppermint Patty, Schulz captured the humour, heartbreak and quiet wisdom of everyday life, making Peanuts a much loved presence in newspapers, books, television specials and hearts around the world.

Over the decades Peanuts has transcended generations with its blend of sharp wit and emotional depth. Whether through Snoopy’s Red Baron and Joe Cool  flights of fancy, Lucy’s psychiatric advice booth, or Charlie Brown’s eternal optimism in the face of failure, the strip has delivered a commentary on the human condition through the eyes of children. 

As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of Peanuts, we honor not just a comic strip, but a legacy. Schulz’s work continues to inspire new audiences and creators, reminding us that even when we are down, there is something worth laughing about and thinking about. Here's to Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the entire gang: thank you for 75 years of laughter, lessons, and love.👆👆👆

Who Stole the American Dream? by Burke Hedges (46 of 2025)

 

Who Stole the American Dream? by Burke Hedges

This 1992 book—often subtitled The Book Your Boss Doesn’t Want You to Read—is a motivational and educational guide that critiques traditional career paths and promotes network marketing as a viable alternative to achieve financial freedom.

Book covers:

The American Dream is not dead—but it’s been hijacked. Hedges argues that corporate downsizing, job insecurity, and rising costs have made traditional paths to success unreliable. 

Network marketing offers a new path. The book positions network marketing as a legitimate and empowering business model, contrasting it with exploitative pyramid schemes. 

Financial freedom is central. True success means having control over your time, income, and lifestyle—not just climbing a corporate ladder. 

Chapter Breakdown:

The book is structured into five phases, each building on the idea that the American Dream has shifted—and that individuals must adapt to reclaim it:

Introduction

Opens with a metaphorical story about loss and powerlessness, setting the tone for the book’s central question: What happened to the American Dream? 

Phase One: The American Dream

Explores the myth of the traditional dream—college, job, retirement—and questions whether it still holds true.

Phase Two: Who Stole the Dream and Why

Introduces the concept of pyramid schemes and explains the difference between illegal scams and legal network structures.

Highlights how corporate America and systemic changes have eroded job security. 

Phase Three: Why Traditional Paths Don’t Work

Discusses the failure rates of small businesses and the instability of corporate jobs.

Introduces the concept of a “paradigm shift” as a necessary mindset change.

It asks us to whisper the word 'Distribution'. 

Phase Four: The Truth About Network Marketing

Defines network marketing and explains how it works.

Offers ethical guidelines and distinguishes it from exploitative models.

Phase Five: Network Marketing and You

Encourages readers to evaluate their current path and consider network marketing as a tool for personal and financial empowerment.

Includes real-life success stories and motivational insights. 

Notable Quotes from Burke Hedges

“Did you know that 90% of all small businesses fail in the first year?” — A stark reminder of the risks in traditional entrepreneurship. 

“In any other business, the business ends up owning you. Not in Network Marketing.” — Emphasising freedom and ownership. 

Cash Flow Quadrant ~ Robert Kiyosaki (45 of 2025)

 

Cashflow Quadrant is the sequel to Rich Dad Poor Dad, and it expands on the idea of achieving financial freedom by understanding how people earn money. Kiyosaki introduces a model called the Cashflow Quadrant, which categorises income earners into four types:

E – Employee: Works for someone else and earns a salary.

S – Self-employed: Works for themselves and earns by selling their services.

B – Business owner: Owns a system or business that generates income.

I – Investor: Invests money to earn passive income.

The cashflow quadrant means E/S/B/I, in which E means employee, S represents the self-employed or small business owner, B means business owner, and I means investor. So whichever quadrant our income comes from, we are part of that quadrant.

Different quadrants, different values ​​-

Each quadrant has a different value of its own. For example, the core value of the E quadrant is “security.” You will always hear people in this quadrant say – “I need a right and secure job,” “how much do we get for overtime,” and “how much do we get paid for vacations.”

The core value of the S quadrant is “freedom.” These people want freedom, and they want to do what they like. Most of the people in this quadrant are small business owners etc.

People of the S quadrant wish to be the best in their field. If the people of this quadrant stop working, their income also stops.

The people of the B quadrant look for people who are the best in their field and can work in their team. When it comes to money, the people of the B quadrant keep earning even if they leave their businesses.

And finally, the logs of the I quadrant are financially free. Money works for them, they don’t work for money. So the people of these four quadrants are different, they have different mindsets, and their values ​​are also different.

Network marketing businesses fall into the “B” quadrant. This business is for those who want to be a part of the B quadrant. Due to the unlimited income potential, it is placed in the B quadrant while the income of the E or S quadrant is limited.

If your business becomes very big, you can move from the “B” quadrant to the “I” quadrant.

The book’s central message is that financial freedom is best achieved by moving from the E and S quadrants to the B and I quadrants, where income is generated through systems and investments rather than direct labour.

Kiyosaki argues that traditional education prepares people to be employees, not entrepreneurs or investors. He encourages readers to seek financial education, take calculated risks, and build or invest in assets that generate passive income.

Chapter Breakdown:

Here’s a high-level overview of the chapters and their key themes:

Part 1: The Cashflow Quadrant

Chapter 1: Why Don’t You Get a Job?

Introduces the quadrant and Kiyosaki’s personal journey from homelessness to financial freedom. Emphasises the importance of choosing freedom over job security.

Chapter 2–6: Understanding the Quadrants

Explores each quadrant in detail, including the mindset and financial behaviours typical of each. Discusses how people can transition from E/S to B/I.

This covers the three type of business system namely:

1. Traditional corporations

2. Franchises

3. Network Marketing

Your goal is to own a system and have people work that system for you. System is a bridge to freedom. 

 There are five different level of investors namely:

Level 1: Buys depreciating assets (e.g., consumer goods); lacks financial literacy.

Level 2: Savers who avoid risk and prefer low-return vehicles like savings accounts.

Level 3: “Too busy” to learn about investing; may delegate decisions without understanding.

Level 4: Do-it-yourself investors who actively learn and manage their investments.

Level 5: Business owners who invest in the I quadrant, leveraging systems and people

Part 2: Bringing the Quadrant to Life/Bringing out the best in you:

It tells us to be the bank and not the banker. 

Chapter 6–9: Real-Life Examples

Shares stories of individuals who moved across quadrants and the challenges they faced. Highlights the importance of mentors and support systems.

Seek advise from right kind of people, depending on where you want to be. There are different kind of advisors for different type of people - Rich, Poor and Middleclass. 

Part 3: Becoming Who You Are

It starts with telling us to take baby steps. Use power of compounding, have long term plan, break it down and work towards it and believe in delayed gratificaiton. 

Chapter 11–18: Mindset and Transformation - Provides 7 steps to finding your financial fast track. 

Focuses on the psychological and emotional aspects of financial change. Encourages readers to overcome fear, develop financial intelligence, and take action.

1. It's time to mind your own business
2. We have to take control of our Cash flows
3. Know the difference between risk and risky
4. Decide what kind of  investor you want to be - One who seek problem, one who seek answers or one who seek an expert? Be all three. 
5. Seek Mentors
6. Make disappointment your strength
7. The power of faith

The book reinforces the idea that financial freedom is a journey that requires education, courage, and persistence. Begin building pipeline of cashflow to support you and your family. 

Copy Cat Marketing ~Burke Hedges (44 of 2025)

 

Copycat Marketing 101 is a short, motivational book that explores how imitation—when applied wisely—can be a powerful strategy for achieving financial freedom. The central idea is that we all copy behaviours from childhood, but few people learn to copy the habits and systems of wealthy individuals. The book encourages readers to “copycat” successful models, especially in the realm of network marketing.

Key Concepts & Chapters

1. We Live in a World of Copycats

We naturally imitate others—from how we speak to how we behave. The book argues that this instinct can be harnessed to replicate success, not just habits.

2. What Is “True” Wealth?

Wealth isn’t just money—it’s freedom from debt, stress, and the constraints of traditional employment.

3. Linear Growth: Trading Time for Money

Most people earn income by exchanging time for money, which limits their potential. This is referred to as the “time-for-money trap.”

4. Leverage Growth: Working Smarter, Not Harder

The book introduces the concept of leverage—using systems, people, or tools to multiply your efforts and income.

5. Exponential Growth: Formula for Building a Fortune

By leveraging systems like network marketing, individuals can achieve exponential growth rather than incremental gains.

6. Synergism: Marriages Made in Heaven

Combining complementary strengths—such as people and systems—can create powerful outcomes.

7. Network Marketing: The Ultimate Copycat System

Network marketing is presented as the ideal model for copycat success. It allows individuals to follow a proven path, replicate successful behaviours, and build wealth without reinventing the wheel.

“If you want to be rich, copy rich people—not poor ones.”

The book’s moral is simple yet profound: success leaves clues. By observing and emulating the strategies of successful individuals, especially in scalable systems like network marketing, anyone can improve their financial situation.

A potpourri of sorts, this book tries to be many things at once - self-help, business, finance, and finally and mainly, network marketing. The author emphasizes on network marketing as one of the trusted ways to become rich quick and on one's own terms. As if we haven't heard it all from those impassioned distributors trying to enroll us into their pyramid selling. In fact, a simple Google search will tell you that there have been people who have become millionaires through this mode, but this is not for everyone and not for everywhere.

Filled with anecdotes, jokes and a few inspirational quotes, this book is really for those people who are frantically searching for ways and means to become rich quick. And, if you take away those quotes, anecdotes and jokes, the rest of the book could be presented neatly in two A4-sized sheets.

Generations: Law Governing Life

 They once asked Sheikh Rashid, the founder of Dubai, how he saw the future of his country. His reply was as striking as it was timeless:

“My grandfather rode a camel. My father did too. I drive a Mercedes. My son drives a Land Rover. My grandson will also drive a Land Rover… but my great-grandson will probably ride a camel again.”

When asked why, he explained:

“There are eternal laws that govern life. Hard times create strong people. Strong people create good times. Good times create weak people. And weak people create hard times.

Many won’t understand, but prosperity doesn’t produce fighters. It produces parasites.”

Exploring Detective Fiction ~ CBC

 

Our Meet-up #87 that would focus on Detective Fiction, happened on 28th September, from 11 am to 1 pm, at Green Garden Cafe, near the Water Metro station, Marine Drive. It's a small waterfront cafe situated inside the Cochin Boat Club jetty, on the Marine Drive walkway. The menu is affordable  and the place also has a quintessential Cochin vibe.

You need to walk like Sherlock Holmes , not sit  like Hercule Porot !Since parking is quite a walk away to reach the venue.

But no matter, the hunt is on 🥰

Interesting to know the first specimen of the genre in England is The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins.

Writers popularizing the genre—Sherlock Holmes and Father Brow, American detective stories of the same period, especially those written by Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, and explains the radical ways in which they deviated from the British novels, four formidable women writers of English detective novels: Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, and Ngaio Marsh. 

Through its structure, a detective story also takes its readers on a path of discovery and engages them in the storytelling.

We covered more than 50 books, by various authors, region and time. Interesting to know the first specimen of the genre in England is The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins.

Writers popularizing the genre—Sherlock Holmes and Father Brow, American detective stories of the same period, especially those written by Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, and explains the radical ways in which they deviated from the British novels, four formidable women writers of English detective novels: Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, and Ngaio Marsh. 

Arthur Hailey, Agata Christy, Enid Blyton, Edgar Wallace Joseph Wambaugh, Anita Nair,  Ravi Subrmaniam, 3 Peters, 3 Helens and many more authors were discussed while few among the many books were Decagon House Murder Series, Blood Hount, The Honjin Murders by Kosuki Kindaichi, The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo Series, The Guest List..on and on..

Favorite of many included TinTin, Batman, historians and ofcourse no detective is complete without secretary and support characters like Della Strret, Dr. Watson, Miss Marple, Enola Holmes and many Inspector series.

Georgette Heyer's " Death in the Stocks"

The book Philip Sir mentioned.  And then he writes:

[28/09, 19:29] +91 88930 10130: Reminds the movie Anand Sribala.The film opens with the quote, “It is through intellect that we prove, but through intuition that we discover,” ( by Kerala police🙂) setting the thematic tone for what follows. The story begins with distraught parents reporting their missing daughter, Merin, at north police station in Kochi, only to be met with indifference.

The parents are sent from one station to another before the case is finally taken up. Their ordeal worsens when Merin’s body is discovered in the backwaters near Kochi Wharf, and the police conclude the death was a suicide following a lovers’ quarrel.The fact that suicide was" seen" on Gosree bridge ( visible to us today) but body found near Wellington issland waa the twist🙂 and murder finally proved!!... We were at the scene of action!!

[28/09, 19:32] PHILIP ABRAHAM CBC: I spoke about how impressed I was on reading Fifty Famous Detectives of Fiction, an anthology edited by Freeman Wills Crofts, at a tender age. I made a passing reference to Cortez and his men seeing the Pacific for the first time.

The reference was to a line from John Keats' sonnet On First Looking Into Chapman's Homer.

The poet compares his awe on reading the translation of Homer to   Hernán Cortés and his men gazing upon the Pacific Ocean from a mountaintop for the very first time. The phrase highlights the awe and profound surprise felt by the men upon seeing this new, vast expanse of water, which was a significant discovery by explorers in the early 16th century.  

"Then felt I like some watcher of the skies

    When a new planet swims into his ken;

Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes

    He stared at the Pacific—and all his men

Look'd at each other with a wild surmise—

    Silent, upon a peak in Darien."

[28/09, 19:35] PHILIP ABRAHAM CBC: I realize i am being pretentious when I compare my feelings to theirs, but what the hell !

We too can use literary and poetic licence to embellish  😁

Interesting quote was mentioned presumably in one of Edger Wallace book "I am a detective, you look more like a mental defective". Most of the detectives have weird nature, dressing sense or character. Some stories we end up sympathizing the villain and pray that he should not be caught. 

Though Detective was the favorite genre of many, what was the real highlight was the ambience and location. 

Learnt a new word:

I also discovered another compelling reason why printed books may be better than ebooks 🙃 - If unsatisfied you can just throw away/bang a book but not an electronic device. 

I am always wonder struck that there are still so many people who read so much. In one's immediate circle.

Business School ~ Robert Kiyosaki (43 of 2025)

 

"The richest people in the world build Networks. Everyone else is trained to look for work"

The book Business School is a deep dive into the world of network marketing, which Robert Kiyosaki presents not merely as a way to earn money, but as a platform for personal development, financial education, and entrepreneurial growth.

He begins by saying network marketing business is not for everyone.  By reading the book you will know if it is for you.

Thomas Edition did not invent light bulb, he only perfected it. What they teach in school is not always right and complete. He was a business person and telegraph operator. 

"The richest people in the world build Networks,  Everyone else is trained to look for work."

Telegraph network, radio network,  TV network,  satellite network,  Amazon, Google 

Having a system and building a network makes people rich. There are many ways to become rich, but ultra-rich people create networks.

Birds of a feather come together, which means humans live with people like themselves. It can also be understood that rich people create network with rich people, and poor people network with other and more poor people.

So if you want to become rich, you have to  networking to help you become more affluent. But it is a challenging task to build your own business and convince people to have the power to do your network.

According to Robert Kiyosaki – If we want to be financially free, we should have three types of education which are – academic, professional, and financial.

Academic education teaches us to read, write and do maths; business education teaches us to work for money, and financial education teaches us how money works.

If our financial education is poor, we will work for rich people. How money works for us If it is not learned, we will have to work for money.

Building your business is the best way to become rich. Once the company is strong, or the cash flow is there, investing in other assets can be considered.

Other ways to get rich

A person can become rich by marrying another person for money.

A person can become wealthy by fraud.

You can become rich by being greedy.

People dream of becoming rich even by doing cheap things.

A person can become wealthy even by working hard.

One can become rich by being intelligent, talented, brilliant, or attractive.

Only by luck sometimes can one become rich.

One can also become rich by building a business.

Building a network marketing business is one of the newest ways to become rich.

This is a new and revolutionary way to become rich. This is a setup that gives the possibility to share wealth with anyone.

Network marketing businesses can also be called personal franchises or invisible extensive business networks. This new form of business is like a revolution because it allows sharing a property only for a few selected people for the first time in history.

There are many controversies regarding this business, and many people want to earn money quickly by fraud in this type of business.

But if you try to understand this business properly by taking a step, it is a socially responsible system of sharing wealth. This is not a good business for greedy people.

This is the only business where you can become rich, by helping others become rich.

Robert Kiyosaki says I support this business because some companies work with great compassion. If you stick with the business, the company stays with you. And some network marketing companies give the possibility of equal opportunity business.

Life-changing business education

Robert says there is no doubt about the massive earning potential of a network marketing business, but I recommend something other than such a business just for the money. Robert says the biggest reason for recommending this business is its “system of education.”

From the company’s compensation and products, it should be seen how much a company is interested in learning or training you. Skill makes us rich and not theory.

That’s why Robert named this book Business School for those who like to help people because network marketing business, real-life business school works for those who want to learn fundamental world skills to become an entrepreneur.

Cash Flow Quadrant

The renowned name in the franchise world is McDonald’s. Some people even called it illegal initially, but today McDonald’s franchise is in the big country to very remote places. The franchise is a business network comprised of multiple owners working together. In 1970, another type of network marketing business started gaining momentum.

Today this business is known as a network marketing business. This business has also been criticized a lot, but the speed from this industry, franchise, and traditional businesses are increasing continuously.

Many people need to see the rapid growth of this industry because, in most cases, it is an invisible business that does not have large sign boards like McDonald’s and Starbucks. It is hidden because it is virtual, so this business is mainly criticized by those not doing business.

In this business, we have to make people like ourselves, and our economic value will double as soon as they become like us. That’s why the success here in working hard comes not arithmetically but exponentially.

Many people found it sensible to start this business because it does not require lakhs and crores of money to do old-style business, nor does it need lakhs to buy a famous franchise. Instead, doing this business with excellent training at a meager cost is a much better idea.

To do this business, you need to open your mind because this business is increasing all over the world. The future of this industry is perfect because this industry gives you a chance to control your life and take your financial future into your hands.

Even if the old-thinking people refuse to see the growth of this industry, but still this industry will continue to grow with time.

Developing your most important business skill.

The ability to sell anything is the number one skill of any business. Selling ability is the most critical skill of B quadrant business. If you can’t sell, then forget about becoming a business owner.

We are all born with the talent to sell. In childhood, when we wanted something, we started crying; it was part of selling. In childhood, when we want something, we go to the father, then to the mother, and if we do not get that thing, we speak to the grandparents. As we grow up, this anything-seeking attitude gets lost somewhere.

Why is it important to have sales potential? How is this an essential skill in the B quadrant?

The answer is – the more we sell, the more we can buy. If you want to buy something, you have to deal with something first. That’s why selling is the number one skill.

When you apply for a job, you sell your professional skills; when you go home, every item in your house, whether it is frozen, a bed, sofa, television, and anything else, someone has sold to you.

Politicians are the biggest salesmen; the best teachers are the best salespeople. People are poor, unsuccessful, and lonely because they have failed to sell somewhere.

Whenever there is fear in us, our confidence and doubts get stronger—learning to sell means defeating your inner fear. The unique thing about network marketing business is that it gives you a chance to face your fears, deal with them, overcome them and bring out the winner inside you.

Only those people who are afraid of rejection do not want to sell. But in history, the most successful people in the world were rejected the most. So we should follow a formula in our life: Rejection and Correcton = Education and Acceleration. Education starts with rejection because we get a chance to do things better or differently next time.

Ability to sell is the most important business skill. Skill take you to places not theory. Network marketing is not for all, this book will help you know if it is for you.

We are not afraid to sell, we are afraid of rejections. Rejection = Success.

Fear of rejection,  low self esteem and lack of confidence will ruin your life.

 Success in network marketing business is teaching others to sell.

Not working for the money

People choose to work for money and not wealth. Wealth should never be counted with money but always measured in time. For example, if there is a savings of Rs 1000 and our day’s expenditure is Rs 100, then our assets are ten days. If the cost is Rs 50, then the wealth is 20 days.

Health or wealth is always according to time. Money comes in two ways: one is property, and the other is labor. To be rich, you must work for the money that comes from wealth.

But if you want to work hard for your whole life, then work only for cash, as most people do. Rich Dad says our financial statement is like our school report card, which tells our financial IQ.

People in the “B” and “I” quadrants work on building and growing their assets, not money.

Living your dreams

A lot of people don’t have dreams because dreams need money. The great value of network marketing companies is that they insist on fulfilling the dream.

Our friends or family sometimes innocently or sometimes intentionally kill our dreams. Those who have given up on their goals mainly kill the dreams of others. Rich Dad believes that it is not necessary to become rich or buy a big house, but the person we become in purchasing a significant home is significant.

Marriage and business

In Network Marketing BUS Business INESS, many couples build a business together. This business is perfect for those couples who want to do business together for some reason. These reasons are:

This business can be started together part-time.

You can work according to your schedule.

It helps industry families together.

In this industry, Most of the successful people are couples.

These businesses provide education for couples to grow and learn together.

Family business

Some of the primary benefits of network marketing business are –

It can be started at a low cost.

It does not require any formal education or degree.

These industries are equally open to all, regardless of age, gender, and race.

Companies are already providing established and successful systems that you can use to build your business.

Some companies provide excellent training and education so that you can become successful.

In this, your mentors are successful people from the industry ready to assist you in your journey.

By starting this business part-time, you can BUILD with your job.

It gives you a lot of tax benefits as a business owner, which you cannot get as an employee.

The most significant value of this industry is – it brings you closer to your family. There are many successful families in this business. Some of the qualities of the families involved in this business are –

They are all family focused

They understand the value of spending time with family

Children understand the benefits of their industry as well as their parents

They do more family vacations and business trips

Children learn passive income and financial education at an early age

Children choose to be part of the business of their own free will

In Most parents, one parent builds a full-time business, and the other with his job

The nature of this industry is to promote family togetherness and unity

The most significant gift of network marketing business is that we can build a business, not for our family, with them. The more successfully we spend with family, the more time and freedom we will have.

So, that was all in this book. Hope you would have learned the pearls of wisdom to implement in your life.

Business School Book Review

While reading Business School, I constantly reflected on my financial journey and reassessed my approach to money. Kiyosaki’s unique perspective challenged my preconceived notions and sparked a desire for lifelong learning and self-improvement in finance.

If I were to offer any critique, it would be that the book occasionally veers into repetition, reiterating certain points multiple times. However, this repetition also reinforces the core messages, which may benefit some readers who prefer reinforcement.

In conclusion, Business School is an eye-opening and motivational book encouraging readers to think differently about money, business, and wealth creation. Robert T. Kiyosaki’s insights and practical advice make this book a valuable resource for anyone seeking to break free from the traditional path and embark on an entrepreneurial journey. I highly recommend it to aspiring entrepreneurs and individuals looking to enhance their financial intelligence.

Core Themes and Values

The book outlines 10 core values of network marketing that go beyond financial gain:

True Equal Opportunity – Anyone can succeed regardless of background.

Life-Changing Business Education – Real-world skills like sales, leadership, and self-management.

Supportive Community – Friends and mentors who uplift rather than discourage.

Power of Networks – Wealth creation through systems and connections.

Leadership Development – Building influence and guiding others.

Not Working for Money – Focus on passive income and asset creation.

Living Your Dream – Aligning business with personal purpose.

Overcoming Rejection – Learning resilience through sales and outreach.

Changing Quadrants – Moving from employee to business owner/investor (Cashflow Quadrant model).

Education Over Commissions – Prioritising learning over short-term earnings. 

In Appendix he also talks about #Marriage and Business, #The Family Business  #How you can use the same Tax loop the rich use

Why Kiyosaki Advocates Network Marketing?

Although Robert Kiyosaki did not build his wealth through network marketing, he strongly recommends it as a low-barrier entry point for aspiring entrepreneurs. He believes it teaches:

Emotional intelligence through rejection and correction.

Financial literacy via practical exposure to income statements, balance sheets, and asset acquisition.

System thinking, especially the importance of duplicating successful behaviours (Metcalf’s Law).

Leadership and teaching, which are key to scaling a network marketing business. 

Not a Traditional Business School

Kiyosaki critiques conventional education for preparing people to be employees rather than entrepreneurs. He argues that Business School fills this gap by offering:

Hands-on entrepreneurial training

Mindset shifts from scarcity to abundance

Real-world application of business principles.

"Network marketing gives millions of people  throughout the world the opportunity to take control of their lives and their financial future."

The Moonstone: A Romance ~ Wilkie Collins (42 of 2025)

 

The Moonstone: A Romance by Wilkie Collins is an 1868 British epistolary novel. It is an early example of the modern detective novel, and established many of the ground rules of the modern genre. Its publication was started on 4 January 1868 and was completed on 8 August 1868. The story was serialised in Charles Dickens's magazine All the Year Round. Collins adapted The Moonstone for the stage in 1877.

Colonel Herncastle, an unpleasant former soldier, brings the Moonstone back with him from India where he acquired it by theft and murder during the Siege of Seringapatam. Angry at his family, who shun him, he leaves it in his will as a birthday gift to his niece Rachel, thus exposing her to attack by the stone's hereditary guardians, who will stop at nothing to retrieve it.

Rachel wears the stone to her birthday party, but that night it disappears from her room. Suspicion falls on three Indian jugglers who have been near the house; on Rosanna Spearman, a maidservant who begins to act oddly and who then drowns herself in a local quicksand; and on Rachel herself, who also behaves suspiciously and is suddenly furious with Franklin Blake, with whom she has previously appeared to be enamoured, when he directs attempts to find it. Despite the efforts of Sergeant Cuff, a renowned Scotland Yard detective, the house party ends with the mystery unsolved, and the protagonists disperse.

During the ensuing year there are hints that the diamond was removed from the house and may be in a London bank vault, having been pledged as surety to a moneylender. The Indian jugglers are still nearby, watching and waiting. Rachel's grief and isolation increase, especially after her mother dies, and she first accepts and then rejects a marriage proposal from her cousin Godfrey Ablewhite, a philanthropist who was also present at the birthday dinner and whose father owns the bank near Rachel's old family home. Finally Franklin Blake returns from travelling abroad and determines to solve the mystery. He first discovers that Rosanna Spearman's behaviour was due to her having fallen in love with him. She found evidence (a paint smear on his nightclothes) that convinced her that he was the thief and concealed it to save him, confusing the trail of evidence and throwing suspicion on herself. In despair at her inability to make him acknowledge her despite all she had done for him, she killed herself, leaving behind the smeared gown and a letter he did not receive at the time because of his hasty departure abroad.

Now believing that Rachel suspects him of the theft on Rosanna's evidence, Franklin engineers a meeting and asks her. To his astonishment she tells him she actually saw him steal the diamond and has been protecting his reputation at the cost of her own even though she believes him to be a thief and a hypocrite. With hope of redeeming himself he returns to Yorkshire to the scene of the crime and is befriended by Mr. Ezra Jennings, the assistant of Dr. Candy, the doctor. They join to continue the investigations and learn that Franklin was secretly given laudanum during the night of the party (by Mr. Candy, who wanted to exact vengeance on Franklin for criticising medicine); it appears that this, in addition to his anxiety about Rachel and the diamond and other nervous irritations, caused him to take the diamond in a narcotic trance, to move it to a safe place. A re-enactment of the evening's events confirms this, but how the stone ended up in a London bank remains a mystery solved only a year after the birthday party when the stone is redeemed.

Franklin and his allies trace the claimant to a seedy waterside inn, only to discover that the Indians have got there first: the claimant is dead and the stone is gone. Under the dead man's disguise is none other than Godfrey Ablewhite, who is found to have embezzled the contents of a trust fund in his care and to have been facing exposure soon after the birthday party. The mystery of what Blake did while in his drugged state is solved: he encountered Ablewhite in the passageway outside Rachel's room and gave the Moonstone to him to be put back in his father's bank, from which it had been withdrawn on the morning of the party to be given to Rachel. Seeing his salvation, Ablewhite pocketed the stone instead, and pledged it as surety for a loan to save himself temporarily from insolvency. When he was murdered, he was on his way to Amsterdam to have the stone cut; it would then have been sold to replenish the plundered trust fund before the beneficiary inherited. The mystery is solved, Rachel and Franklin marry, and in an epilogue from Mr. Murthwaite, a noted adventurer, the reader learns of the restoration of the Moonstone to the place where it should be, in the forehead of the statue of the god in India.

The book was adapted into movie in 1996.