"But there's certainly great value in the book"--I don't think there is. Here's why I don't think Kiyosaki offers anything useful in the categories of knowledge you've identified:
- "business vs 'rat race'": As others have pointed out, business is certainly not better than the rat race for everyone, or even most people. Based on every study I've ever seen, the reality seems to be that starting a business is only appropriate or beneficial for a small subset of the population. I.e. people with certain unique skillsets, a high tolerance for risk, and boatloads of time to invest.
- "building assets vs liabilities": In other words "make lots of money, and try not to borrow too much." Well, duh. Anyone who would even think to buy a personal finance book can probably appreciate that income is desirable and debt undesirable. They don't need Kiyosaki's help with that.
- "learning to sell": I don't think Kiyosaki offers anything close to a practical guide on improving your sales skills.
- "active vs passive income": Passive income is not a realistic goal for the vast majority of people. Even if you found a successful business, chances are, you will continue to invest large amounts of effort to keep it running profitably. You pretty much have to win the startup lottery if you want passive income. As the term "startup lottery" implies, it's a pretty rare occurrence in the real world.
- "value of financial literacy": This is just the same as saying "it's a good idea to know how to make money." Telling people to have financial literacy is worthless if you don't offer any useful education on finance. It's even worse if you instead offer patently wrong advice, such as ignoring your taxes in order to "pay yourself."
- "business vs 'rat race'": As others have pointed out, business is certainly not better than the rat race for everyone, or even most people. Based on every study I've ever seen, the reality seems to be that starting a business is only appropriate or beneficial for a small subset of the population. I.e. people with certain unique skillsets, a high tolerance for risk, and boatloads of time to invest.
- "building assets vs liabilities": In other words "make lots of money, and try not to borrow too much." Well, duh. Anyone who would even think to buy a personal finance book can probably appreciate that income is desirable and debt undesirable. They don't need Kiyosaki's help with that.
- "learning to sell": I don't think Kiyosaki offers anything close to a practical guide on improving your sales skills.
- "active vs passive income": Passive income is not a realistic goal for the vast majority of people. Even if you found a successful business, chances are, you will continue to invest large amounts of effort to keep it running profitably. You pretty much have to win the startup lottery if you want passive income. As the term "startup lottery" implies, it's a pretty rare occurrence in the real world.
- "value of financial literacy": This is just the same as saying "it's a good idea to know how to make money." Telling people to have financial literacy is worthless if you don't offer any useful education on finance. It's even worse if you instead offer patently wrong advice, such as ignoring your taxes in order to "pay yourself."