A lone man stands in a pin-stripe suit and golden tie on a huge stage, his words and actions are captured on six jumbo vision screens. With headset and moneymaking grin, he is hailed as a god in front of a sea of heads, who anticipate advice on how to get rich quick.

The audience is prepared with notepads, pencils and credit cards, listening eagerly to Robert Kiyosaki and his “Rich Dad Poor Dad” seminar on making profitable real estate investments as a way of protecting their assets.

All the while, outside the thousands upon thousands of seats Keynote Hall, people buzz by in every direction. Tired couples sit on the floor eating pocket-gouging lunches bought at the various kiosks, while young men chat it up with the mini-tank top “fun girls” that hold fliers advertising different speakers.

It’s no surprise that get rich quick conventions like the Learning Annex Real Estate Wealth Expo are joked about as colossal gimmicks. The Moscone Center during April 25 and 26 gleamed with investment big wigs (Donald Trump, Marshall Sylver and Suze Orman) turned inspirational speakers. They pitched their products and programs to those who were happy to empty their bank accounts for a shot of earning the big bucks.

Most of the crowd appeared to be low-to-middle class. They carried promotional balloons and waited for the IPOD raffle to spit out their names. Besides the buckets of cheesy inspirational one-liners, every other speech promoted power-persuasive products like the Cash Flow board game and Secrets to Wealth influence and power DVDs. Meanwhile important tips were exchanged for those who paid to actively learn about investing in property to secure their future.

One of the key ideas announced by the speakers is to dream more and dream bigger about money, something that most students don’t think pragmatically about. During college-confined years, students mainly imagine their future income or wealth coming from their art or music or therapy clients. Students fear graduating. They speculate whether they are going to make it or not. Student who are restrained to delusional beliefs are usually discouraged early on. They settle for a desk job or move back home with moms and pops for regular meals.

However, Kiyosaki, while being blown up the size of a two-bedroom house, was very realistic about what it takes to become successful. In California buyers have to be very smart and very rich to get into the game, because of the high real estate market. Nonetheless, he reassured the audience that they're are three ways they could make it if they have the right attitude. Thousands of fingers stretched up toward the ceiling when he asked if people wanted to know his secrets.

Kiyosaki nods and pulls the cap off his marker and writes on the large paper easel. He reveals to the audience that they need the enthusiasm to pick up a financial dictionary to learn the vocabulary of the business. Surround yourself by others who will encourage positive financial gain. And, he said, get good financial advice from a broker who can be trusted.

Those who listened to these solid tips weren’t too distracted from the extravagant stories about fancy cars and impressive boots worn by Texas oil tycoons. They were able to leave with valuable educational resources from those who are successful.

Dr. Rich Mc’Cline, an advisor at the Ohrenschall Center for Entrepreneurial at San Francisco State University, also thinks it is valuable to learn from someone who have their foot in the game. Even though Learning Annex’s are beneficial when visited multiple times, he believes getting a mentor that will show the ropes would be the way to learn more effectively.

“There is no substitution than watching people who know how to do it,” he says in the center on the third floor of the Business building. “I don’t know any good short cuts in the business—you have to pay your dues.”

Nora Borowsky learned just that. She didn’t expect returning to her
Sunset home from the Mascone Center as a real estate wiz kid. All she wanted was a new way to think about changing her life.

“It’s about thinking big, not thinking small,” she says sipping a Snapple Ice Tea on a Java Beach coffee shop bench near Ocean Beach. “It will elevate my standards. I already have a good foundation about money, but I need the mentality and they gave me inspiration.”

She suspects that once she is able to double her current salary as a saleswoman for a book publisher, she will invest in property and buy a house by the age of 28. Unlike the speakers and hopefuls in the audience, Borowsky only wants to make enough money not to worry about it. She plans to learn the lingo from both a girlfriend who is a realtor and a business dictionary.

“Property is what we live, eat and breathe on,” she softly bobs her
crossed leg, “ We should know how it works.”