In this episode of Next Level Healing, Dr. Tara Perry sits down with New York Times bestselling author, CPA, entrepreneur, and financial literacy advocate Sharon Lechter, co-author of Rich Dad Poor Dad and long-time partner of both the Rich Dad Company and the Napoleon Hill Foundation. Sharon’s Origin Story: Money at the Dinner Table Sharon grew up lower middle class in a family of entrepreneurs, living between her father’s used car lot and her mother’s beauty shop, and helping manage rental properties from the age of 10. [4:50] [5:00]Her family also owned orange groves; her father taught her that the oranges were cashflow while the land itself would grow in value—land that later became part of SeaWorld in Orlando. [5:10]Money, assets, and investing were regular dinner-table topics, shaping her understanding of wealth early on. [5:10] [5:24]She became the first in her family to attend college, was the only woman in her accounting classes, and one of the first women in public accounting in the late 1970s, where she learned how companies succeed and fail. [5:24] [5:51]From Talking Books to Rich Dad Poor Dad Sharon helped build a global company around the first talking children’s books with sound strips, licensing with Disney, Warner Brothers, Sesame Street, and Marvel Comics to get kids excited about reading. [6:17] [6:35]After selling that company and moving to Arizona, her oldest son went to college, was lured into credit card offers with “free pizza” and “free t-shirts,” and ended up in serious debt—an experience that took him seven years to repair and ignited Sharon’s lifelong commitment to financial literacy. [6:50] [7:12] [7:36]In December 1992, she dedicated the rest of her career to financial education, initially working with school systems. [7:56]Meeting Robert Kiyosaki & Building a Global BrandSharon’s husband, an intellectual property attorney, introduced her to Robert Kiyosaki, who had created the board game CASHFLOW. [8:11] [8:33]At the first beta test, Sharon was the only player to get out of the “rat race,” and she loved how the game aligned with her teachings on investing, assets, and the difference between active and passive income. [8:33] [8:46]Drawing on her experience commercializing products, she helped Robert bring the game to market. When he wanted to price it at $200 in 1996, she suggested writing a brochure to explain his philosophy and justify the investment. [9:09] [9:21]That “brochure” became Rich Dad Poor Dad, which they co-wrote and never expected to become a standalone phenomenon; their company was originally branded Cashflow Technologies. [9:38] [9:54]Over a 10-year partnership, Sharon served as CEO, co-authored 15 books, created multiple games and infomercial products, and launched the Rich Dad Advisors series, helping build what became the world’s largest personal finance brand in 110 countries and 51 languages. [9:54] [10:09] [10:28]Leaving Rich Dad & New Doors Opening After a decade, Robert wanted to move into franchising, which Sharon felt was not a good model for franchisees; she chose to leave, emphasizing that sometimes you must close one door for others to open. [10:28] [10:41]Shortly after, she was appointed by President George W. Bush to the first President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy, later serving under President Obama as well—an opportunity she believes she would not have had if she’d stayed at Rich Dad. [1:29] [10:52] [11:08]In March 2008, the Napoleon Hill Foundation invited her to help reinvigorate Hill’s teachings, leading her into the world’s largest personal development brand. [11:08]
