If Learned This At 20, I Would be 10x Richer

Summary

This transcript offers financial wisdom to the young, emphasizing the importance of understanding money systems and leveraging financial education. It illustrates how to spot opportunities and creatively generate income, using personal anecdotes and examples of entrepreneurial ventures. The speaker encourages taking action, learning through doing, and surrounding oneself with successful mentors to build wealth and business acumen.

Takeaways

• 💼 Understand the Money System: The speaker emphasizes the importance of financial education and understanding how money works to play the game of wealth creation effectively.
• 🏦 Recognize the Role of Banks: People with less financial education often keep their money in banks, which is used by others to get rich.
• 👀 See Opportunities Everywhere: The ability to spot deals and opportunities is crucial, and it's about what one sees or doesn't see in everyday situations.
• 🤝 Network and Learn from Others: Building relationships with mentors, coaches, or partners can provide wisdom and financial education that can't be gained alone.
• 🏗️ Develop an Entrepreneurial Mindset: Being curious about who is behind deals, like construction projects or real estate transformations, can inspire one's entrepreneurial journey.
• 🛍️ Transform Underperforming Assets: Identifying and revitalizing underperforming properties or businesses can be a pathway to wealth creation.
• 👦 Encourage Self-Reliance in Youth: Teaching young people to be resourceful and independent in making money, rather than relying on parents, is valuable.
• 📚 Learn from Doing, Not Just Reading: Practical experience and taking action are more instructive than theoretical knowledge when it comes to business and finance.
• 🔄 Adapt and Pivot with Experience: As one gains experience, they learn to adjust their business strategies based on new opportunities and lessons learned.
• 📈 Scale Business Incrementally: Starting small and scaling up as opportunities arise and as one's network grows is a practical approach to business growth.
• 👨‍🏫 Choose Wise Teachers: Surrounding oneself with successful individuals who have practical experience in making money is more beneficial than listening to theoreticians.

Q & A

What is the primary advice given to a 20-year-old self regarding money?

The primary advice is to understand how money works as a system, which is quite simple, and to know how to play the financial game effectively.

Why do people with less financial education tend to keep their money in banks or with wealth managers?

People with less financial education often keep their money in banks or with wealth managers because they are unaware of other investment opportunities that could potentially yield higher returns.

What is the role of Main Street money in the financial system as described in the script?

Main Street money refers to the funds held by everyday people, which are often used by Wall Street to fund their investment ideas and get rich.

What does the speaker suggest about the importance of seeing opportunities that others do not?

The speaker suggests that recognizing opportunities that others overlook is crucial for financial success and that this ability comes from wisdom, study, and financial education.

Can you explain the example of the cranes in Nashville and what it signifies?

The cranes in Nashville signify ongoing construction projects, which the speaker uses as an example to illustrate the importance of recognizing the people behind such deals and the opportunities they represent.

What is the significance of repurposing old commercial spaces like regional malls?

Repurposing old commercial spaces is significant as it represents an opportunity to revitalize underperforming areas and create new value, such as turning a mall into a hotel or multifamily housing.

How did the speaker's son Kyle make money by buying and selling headphones?

Kyle made money by buying headphones in bulk and selling them at school just below retail price, making a profit of $80 to $100 per set.

What lesson does the speaker want his children to learn from their money-making experiences?

The speaker wants his children to learn to be self-sufficient and resourceful, finding ways to make money on their own without relying on their parents.

What is the importance of taking action when starting a business according to the script?

Taking action is important because it allows for learning through experience, adapting to new opportunities, and growing both the business and personal net worth.

How does the speaker describe the process of learning from starting a business?

The speaker describes the learning process as one that happens by physically doing and taking action, where experiences, both successful and unsuccessful, provide valuable lessons.

What advice does the speaker give about surrounding oneself with successful people?

The speaker advises to surround oneself with people who have made a lot of money through real businesses, as they can provide guidance, mentorship, and potentially invest in you.

Outlines

00:00

💼 Understanding Money and Opportunity Recognition

The speaker reflects on the importance of financial education, emphasizing how understanding the money system early in life could have empowered them to play the financial game more effectively. They discuss the concept of Main Street money being used by Wall Street to fund ideas and how recognizing opportunities, such as real estate redevelopment or business ventures, is key to wealth creation. The speaker illustrates this with examples of their children identifying and exploiting market gaps, such as selling headphones in bulk or repairing broken iPhone screens, to generate income. The message is clear: the ability to see and seize opportunities is crucial for financial success.

05:02

🚗 Entrepreneurship and Learning from Action

In this paragraph, the speaker narrates an experience with a young entrepreneur who provided car detailing services at home. The entrepreneur's strategy of offering a discount for a monthly subscription is highlighted as a clever business move that secured long-term clients. The story evolves to reveal the entrepreneur's expansion into a car rental business, showing how starting with a simple service can lead to significant growth and diversification. The speaker stresses the importance of action over theory in learning and growing a business, and the value of surrounding oneself with successful mentors. The paragraph concludes with advice to start businesses, learn from failures, and seek guidance from those with real-world experience and success.

Keywords

💡Financial Education

Financial education refers to the knowledge and understanding of financial concepts and how to effectively manage one's money. In the video's theme, it is portrayed as a fundamental tool for young individuals to 'play the game' of wealth accumulation. The script emphasizes that those with the least financial education often keep their money in traditional banks and investment vehicles, which are then used by others to generate wealth, illustrating the importance of understanding financial systems to leverage opportunities.

💡Wealth Managers

Wealth managers are professionals who provide financial advice and investment management services to clients with substantial assets. The script mentions wealth managers as part of the financial system where people's money is often kept, suggesting that without proper financial education, individuals may not fully understand or take advantage of the opportunities that wealth management offers.

💡Stock Market

The stock market is a place where shares of publicly traded companies are issued and traded, either through exchanges or over-the-counter markets. In the context of the video, it is one of the places where 'people with the least financial education' keep their money, highlighting the idea that understanding and participating in the stock market can be a pathway to wealth accumulation.

💡Wall Street

Wall Street is often used as a synonym for the financial markets of the United States or the New York Stock Exchange. In the script, it symbolizes the financial elite who use the money from 'Main Street' (average people) to fund their ventures and get rich. It suggests a dynamic where the financially educated leverage the capital of others for their benefit.

💡Debt and Equity

Debt and equity are two primary sources of financing for businesses. Debt refers to borrowed funds, while equity represents ownership stakes. The video script uses these terms to illustrate how individuals can use other people's money—through debt and equity—to fund their business ideas and real estate ventures, such as the redevelopment of a city block.

💡Real Estate Development

Real estate development involves the process of transforming vacant land, existing properties, or underperforming assets into profitable projects. The script mentions cranes in Nashville as a symbol of ongoing development, emphasizing the role of developers in identifying opportunities, securing financing, and creating value through construction and redevelopment projects.

💡Opportunity Recognition

Opportunity recognition is the ability to identify potential business opportunities or profitable ventures. The video encourages viewers to develop this skill, as it is key to spotting deals and creating wealth. Examples from the script include seeing potential in a broken iPhone screen or an underperforming regional mall and turning these into profitable business ideas.

💡Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is the process of designing, launching, and running a new business, which typically involves risk-taking and innovation. The script highlights various entrepreneurial activities, such as buying in bulk to resell at a profit, fixing iPhones, and starting a car detailing business, to demonstrate how young individuals can create wealth through their own initiatives.

💡Barter

Barter is a system of exchange where goods or services are directly exchanged without using a standard currency. The video script suggests using barter as a method for young people to start making money on their own, by identifying needs and solving problems for others without the need for initial capital.

💡Networking

Networking refers to the cultivation of professional relationships to exchange information and access opportunities. The video emphasizes the importance of building a network to grow one's net worth and learn from others. It suggests that by associating with successful individuals, one can gain insights, mentorship, and potentially investment opportunities.

💡Action

Action in the context of the video refers to the act of taking initiative and implementing ideas or plans. The speaker stresses that learning and success come from doing rather than just reading or watching. Examples provided include starting a business, fixing iPhones, or detailing cars, all of which require taking action to learn and grow.

Highlights

Understanding money as a system is crucial for financial success.

People with less financial education often keep their money in banks and other places that Wall Street uses to fund their ideas.

The importance of seeing opportunities in everyday situations, such as observing cranes and considering the deals behind them.

The role of wisdom, study, mentors, and partners in financial education and spotting opportunities.

Transforming underperforming spaces into profitable ventures by using other people's money.

The perspective of different professionals on vacant land and how it can lead to various business opportunities.

Encouraging children to find creative ways to make money, such as buying and selling products in bulk.

The story of a son who repaired iPhones by learning from YouTube, demonstrating self-education and initiative.

The value of learning from both successful and failed business attempts.

The importance of taking action and starting businesses without necessarily needing initial capital.

The story of a young entrepreneur who started a car detailing business and expanded into a rental service.

The difference between successful individuals and their peers is often education and action.

The necessity of scaling a business and adapting to new opportunities as they arise.

Learning by doing rather than just reading or watching, which is crucial for adjusting one's business strategy.

The hiring process for a Graphic Designer to elevate a YouTube channel, indicating practical applications of the discussed strategies.

Surrounding oneself with successful individuals to learn from their experiences and gain potential investments.

The speaker's emphasis on starting businesses and learning from the process, even if they don't initially succeed.

Transcripts

So here's the advice I would give my 20 year old self.

The very first thing would be how money works.

If I understood the system, because it is a system and it's actually quite simple,

if I really understood it as a young man, then I would know how to play the game.

The people with the least financial education, they're the ones that

keep their money in the banks, with wealth managers in the stock market

and all the places that other people use that money to get rich.

That's the pot of money that all of Wall Street goes to to fund their ideas.

That's the same pot of money that I go to to fund my ideas.

And that is where all the money is.

It sits in Main Street and it gets poached by Wall Street.

Deals are everywhere.

It just comes down to what you see or don't see.

That's it.

A lot of it's wisdom, some of it study and some of it is just financial education

or mentors or coaches or partners that you're associated with.

For example, this weekend I flew into Nashville, Tennessee,

and as I was flying in, I was marveled at the amount of cranes sitting in the air

and all I could think about was who was it behind that deal?

Who was it that bought that city block or maybe some kind of redevelopment?

Put up that crane?

And who was it that went out

and found the debt and equity and came up with the whole idea, the whole plan

that we all end up going to to consume later?

You know, who is it that buys that regional mall

in the middle of town that Macy's and Penney's

and Kmart and all the big stores that are now out of business?

Who is it that buys that and later

turns it into a hotel, a multifamily, maybe a retail?

Who does that?

Most people just look at I'm so glad that there's now a triple lay near me.

But there somebody above all of that that's looking at the whole space and

said, how do we take this transfer format

using other people's money, both debt and equity, to make this whole area

that's currently underperforming and turn it into something new

and breathe new life into an area using other people's money,

which later, of course, shows up as your favorite hotel,

your favorite restaurant, or maybe an amazing place to live.

So it really boils down to what you see that no one else sees.

What are you actually looking at

when you see a vacant piece of land that you're driving on by?

A homebuilder sees one home, a multifamily person sees a multifamily property,

an office person sees an office building, a storage person sees a storage property.

So what is it people see to make more money?

And I'll give you a couple examples.

When my kids were little,

I used to encourage them to go out and find ways to make money.

And there's multiple, multiple stories that I have.

But one in particular was my son.

Kyle would go out and buy in bulk these beat headphones and all the kids

at the time love these beat headphones and he would go out and buy them in bulk.

And then what he would do, he would simply bring them to school

and sell them just below retail.

And they were flying off the shelf and he was making 80 to $100

per set just by buying them in bulk.

My other son did the exact same thing when he wanted something

as simple as a knife.

The knives were $30.

So I said, You got to figure it out.

So he got three kids to buy them at 40 and he got his for free.

It's just the way you think.

And you always just got to look at the opportunity and where it is.

It's always right in front of you.

I'll give you another example.

My son Kyle, which I talked about a minute ago, was in college,

and everyone in high school and college has a broken eye

for all welfare fraud has that and they can't afford to fix it.

But they always drop in. The screens are always broken.

I think you all know what I'm talking about.

Kyle figured out a way to buy the iPhone screens

and to actually repair these broken screens that people had.

And so he would simply just see when he was at school

or maybe out at a restaurant or somewhere, he would look down and say,

I see your iPhones broke and I can fix it for 100 bucks.

And they said, Really?

And he would go do that or he would take their phone and fix it.

And he did all of that by simply just watching a number of YouTube

videos and getting the correct tools in order to do that work.

But through college, he fixed hundreds of these iPhones

at anywhere from 50 to $100 each, just depending on the kind of phone.

And this might sound simple and trivial, but one of the things I wanted with my own

kids was for them to be able to see how to make money on their own

without always having to come to the parents for money.

Because that's what that's what most kids do.

I said, You can figure it out. You can do barter.

You can figure out what do people need?

Solve that problem for them.

And then miraculously, you'll have a bunch of cash in your pocket.

One time I went on the internet just looking for my car to be detailed

at my house.

Now, for a lot of you guys know I like Ferraris and that,

so I didn't want to take it anywhere and leave it.

I wanted somebody to come to my home and who showed up?

A 60 year old kid with two other 16 year old kids to do

not only that car, but a bunch of other cars.

At the time, I had several. The kid did a great job.

The best thing that happened with that kid, they said each car is $100.

But if you sign up on a monthly subscription, I'll make it 50 per car.

And of course, you're going to do that. It's a 50% savings.

What he did

is he set the price really high and made it sound like I had a huge discount

when really I signed up for $150

a month for my three cars for him to come each and every month.

And he had a long term client and that was three years ago.

And he's still doing my stuff.

This kid will work for me until he decides that he's got too many clients.

The coolest part about that story is after a couple of years

I was talking to that kid again and he said that he grew his business

into a Toro business.

He had over a dozen cars that he had bought and was renting out

on a daily, weekly basis, and his dad was getting all fired up about it

because he had over a dozen cars in his house

that he was rent out all the time and he was driving better cars.

He employed a bunch of kids from his high school, and all of this time

he had a detailing business and a Turo rental business.

And he's just saving a lot of money for his next business.

I can assure you that the business he's starting with, which is detailing

cars, is not the business he's going to end up in.

But the point is he started

and he had lots of lessons and he's going to have a lot more

as he progresses into whatever this young man decides to do.

So what is the difference between him

and the 20 other kids that are sitting in his class

in front of him, behind him to his left and his right?

What is the difference?

It's all education and it's action.

You just need to take action.

In many, many cases, almost all.

You don't even need money to start, especially in a car detailing business.

You just need to put your phone number up on the Internet

and start getting calls and show up.

If I was 20 years old, the first thing that I would do

is go out

and find customers and sell them on whatever it is that you're trying to do

and then scale that business, because whatever you think it's going to be,

it'll be very different in the first year, second year, third year, fourth year.

As new opportunities start to swirl around, you'll see that business

might not be as profitable as maybe another opportunity that comes your way.

But you're going to see as your network grows, your net worth will also grow

and you learn by doing, not by reading, watching a YouTube video or anything else.

You actually learn by physically doing by taking action.

You're going to realize very quickly that when you take action,

you're going to learn a lot and of course you're going to have experience

which allows you to adjust course as you're moving down the road.

Sometimes the best jobs are the ones that you learn the most.

And right now we're hiring.

For example, we have tons of positions, but one in particular,

we're looking to take this YouTube channel to the next level with emotions.

Graphic Designer You guys are interested of that.

Just click on this email below.

I know when I was 20 years old that I always wanted to get rich quick.

Well, I can assure you that this strategy is not a get rich quick strategy.

This is a long, drawn out process for when you start to be a very

good business person, you'll understand how the money system works

and you'll understand how to get other people's money

to grow your net worth and help other people make a lot of money

by investing in you. Just start stuff.

Even if it doesn't work, just start because you'll learn a lot.

You learn a lot when it doesn't work and you learn very little

when it does, just start.

One of the ways a young person can get quicker in

life is to surround themselves with people that are to make a lot of money.

Be careful who your teachers are.

If you're listening to somebody that just has theories and standing

in front of a room teaching something, but they themselves have never done it.

Stay away.

Always align yourself with real people that are doing real things

and have real businesses that have made a lot of money

somehow because they will invest in you if you just ask.

So everyone always asks me, How do you build $1,000,000,000 company?

I just made a video to show exactly how.

Watch out here.