The Wealth Academy Featuring Jasmine and Ellis Suazo

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Welcome. I'm Erik Fleming, host of A Moment with Erik Fleming, the podcast of our time.

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i hope you enjoy this episode as well,

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Music.

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Hello, welcome to another moment, Erik Fleming. I am your host, Erik Fleming.

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And today, I have a couple who I equate to doing the Lord's work in trying to

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build wealth in the Black community.

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So I'm going to spend a lot of time talking to them, and I hope that you gain

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something from that conversation, and I hope that inspires you to do something to help you,

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your family, or your community, especially in the black community,

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to take steps to build wealth,

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right? Because that's very vital.

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And a poll came out and said that 83% of the people who did not vote don't like

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the current administration.

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So after the interview with my guest, I'll get into that a little bit.

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So let's go ahead and have a good show.

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And as always, we kick it off with a moment of news with Grace g.

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Music.

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Thanks, Erik. Severe storms in the eastern U.S.

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Caused 42 deaths, widespread power outages, and destruction across multiple

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states, with Missouri, Mississippi, and Arkansas among the hardest hit.

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A federal appeals court temporarily reinstated Trump's ban on DEI programs in

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federal agencies and contractors.

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A U.S. judge ruled that Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil must stay in the U.S.

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While his challenge to his pro-Palestinian protest arrest moves to a New Jersey court.

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The Trump administration defied a court order by deporting 238 alleged Venezuelan

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gang members to El Salvador.

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Chief Justice John Roberts publicly rebuked President Trump for urging impeachment

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of the federal judge over that deportation ruling.

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A Rhode Island doctor was deported to Lebanon despite a judicial stay,

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with authorities citing ties to Hezbollah in her phone records.

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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated that Trump administration policies,

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notably import tariffs, have contributed to slower U.S.

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Economic growth, temporarily higher inflation and heightened uncertainty.

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned of potential economic adjustments and

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recession risks amid market volatility linked to Trump policies.

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President Trump revoked Biden's federal contractor minimum wage order,

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lowering pay from $17.75 to $7.25 per hour for new contracts,

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reversing a policy affecting 20% of the U.S.

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Workforce. The Trump administration rescinded a 1965-era ban on segregated facilities

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for federal contractors and dismantled equal employment and anti-discrimination

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policies through an executive order.

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The White House withheld $175 million from the University of Pennsylvania over

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its transgender athlete policies.

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Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwandan leaders with Qatari mediation pledged

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an immediate ceasefire in eastern Congo's escalating conflict.

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And NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams safely returned to Earth

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via SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule, ending a prolonged nine-month mission.

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I am Grace G., and this has been A Moment of News.

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Music.

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All right. Thank you, Grace, for that moment of news.

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And now it's time for my guests, Jasmine and Ellis Swazzo, better known as the Wealth Academy.

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Jasmine and Ellis Suazo are the founders of the Wealth Academy,

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a leading insurance agency in the United States focused on empowering individuals

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to achieve tax-free wealth through innovative strategies in the life insurance industry.

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Established in 2018, the Wealth Academy has rapidly expanded from its startup

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roots to become a prominent national financial firm,

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boasting a network of over 2,500 licensed agents and operational offices spanning

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Chicago, Dallas, and Atlanta.

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Together, they impart invaluable coaching and mentorship to aspiring entrepreneurs

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seeking to thrive in the insurance sector.

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Their commitment to innovation, inspiration, and impactful leadership shine

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through in all facets of their careers and personal philosophies.

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Ladies and gentlemen, it's my distinct honor and privilege to have as guests

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on this podcast, Jasmine and Ellis Suazo, the founders of the Wealth Academy.

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Music.

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All right. The Wealth Academy is in the house. I have Ms.

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Jasmine Suazo and her husband and co-partner, co-conspirator,

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however you want to do it, Ellis Suazo. How y'all doing? Y'all doing good?

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Yes, sir. Phenomenal. Amazing. Well, I'm honored to have y'all on because y'all

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talk about something that I think a lot of us need to talk about, and that's money.

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So, and y'all are in the business of trying to help people make money.

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So before we get into the deep dive into that, I do an icebreaker phase for

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the interview. And so the first icebreaker is a quote that I want either one of y'all to respond to.

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It comes from Proverbs 13, 11, and it says, dishonest money dwindles away,

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but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.

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What does that quote mean to y'all?

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Well, yeah, go ahead there. I can definitely take a stab at that because the

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quote is from my favorite book in the world, which is the Bible.

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And so it's two sides of that. I think any time it's dishonest money,

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it's income earned that lacks integrity. and oftentimes maybe even lacks transparency.

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Meaning what are the motives behind?

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Did you acquire that wealth through manipulation?

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Did you acquire wealth? And even sometimes, you know, through selfish motives,

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and I know all of us want to provide for our families, I don't think that's

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a selfish motive, but I think stepping on communities.

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Taking advantage, marginalized, disenfranchised folk,

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that's dishonest you know and then

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I think when you say little by little you

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know the one thing Ellis and I have come to know is 100 true is that wealthy

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people have this one single trait in common and that is delayed gratification

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they oftentimes you know be becoming rich is instant gratification.

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You know, let me go make it big in the stock market. I'm just looking for that

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one big break at the casino.

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I'm looking for this one quick trend or fad to hit for me, you know,

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and let me make a quick seven-figure check.

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But building true wealth, generational wealth, Bible talks about blessings that

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extend for generations beyond the seed sower.

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That takes time, that takes sacrifice, that takes strategy, that takes resilience and commitment.

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And so, and when you say little by little, you know, just kind of day in,

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day out, plants and seeds, little by little.

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And also, you know, eventually that little will become what in God's hands? A lot.

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And so for me, that's how I am, I guess, my interpretation, but there is a difference

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between information and revelation. And so I'll let Ellis kind of chime in.

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Sure. I think that was wonderful, Jas. It's something that I think about when

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I'm hearing that proverb is just reminded of what God tells us,

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that everything works together for his goodness. Right.

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And so everything that we go through in life from a kid to adulthood to high

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school, you know, working career, everything that we go through is a learning

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experience for us to become better.

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Right obtaining knowledge having revelation and

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eventually things come together for us to begin to

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multiply our income our wealth and

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just reminding people that you know even in this proverb is saying stop looking

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for shortcuts stop looking for get rich quick schemes you know just in a very

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plain you know hey this is not going to happen overnight but if you truly believe

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and you take your time and you learn,

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then wealth will come your way and it'll come in a good way and it won't be

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taken from you so quickly.

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We've seen enough movies, you know, of people rising to the top,

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you know, quickly stepping on people like Jasmine said, taking advantage of

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communities or people that are not educated.

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And sometimes it'll last for a while, but eventually it all comes down crashing

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and burning. And so don't do that.

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Plain and simple, how I take it.

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Yeah. Go ahead, Ms. Jasmine. I'm sorry. No, sorry. There was another.

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Since we're in the book of Proverbs, Proverbs 10.22 is probably my favorite.

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You know, just talking about the blessings of the Lord make it rich and add no sorrow.

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And so when God brings wealth, it doesn't bring his wealth.

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His blessings don't bring birth attached to them. And so, I just wanted to add,

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you know, at any time God has blessed me, his blessings have never been a burden.

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Have you stretched my capacity? Sure.

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At times I felt overwhelmed and needed to learn how to trust him and surrender.

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And, you know, I am not capable, which is why I need him.

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And so, yeah, we started with a good book, but you'll get me going on God's word for hours.

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Well, no, I mean, you know, and I understand your background a little bit,

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and we'll dive into that a little later.

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So there's a game I play called 20 Questions. So I want y'all to pick a number between 1 and 20.

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And this might be the most political question I ask you, but you'll actually

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choose your own. So give me a number, please.

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Seven. Seven. All right.

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So what do you consider the best way to stay informed about politics,

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current events, health, et cetera?

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For me right now, it's been social media. It's been X. It's been Wall Street Journal.

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It's been Apple News. You know, those are the ways that I get my my information quick today.

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Yeah, I would agree. I would say anything dealing with the economy,

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the economy, stock market, Wall Street will tell you what the government is about.

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Because make no mistake about it, we live in a capitalistic country.

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And so the law, the legislation, the government is there first and foremost

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obsessed with power. than every elected official primary desire is to get re-elected again.

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And I don't say that from a judgmental point of view. I think most people don't

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want to get fired from their job.

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And I think when you do a good job, you should be re-elected.

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But when it comes to, for me, I love analyzing what's happening in the market,

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because it doesn't just speak to our current rate of inflation,

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our current, the ways in which consumers are impacted.

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But it also speaks to the future. What new companies are emerging in the marketplace,

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how that could impact federal legislation, how it could impact state government.

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And so gentrification, education, housing, I mean, we've seen it.

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So I love to start with the market because I think numbers are unbiased.

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And the numbers tell the truth, regardless of what political party you affiliate with.

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And then, you know, from there, you can, through reading books,

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you know, published by economists,

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through reading just all different types of books that paint the picture of

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what's happening within our economy and how that leads out into social justice,

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how it leads out into funding for a myriad of government agencies.

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So for me, social media sometimes can be filled with everyone's opinions and

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criticism, but I love starting with the numbers.

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Yeah. All right. So what is the Wealth Academy and how did it get started?

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So the Wealth Academy is a national life, wealth, and health brokerage attracted

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to training, developing, and licensing the next insurance brokers in America.

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How it came about was out of necessity, to be quite honest with you,

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simply because I was told growing up, go to traditional route,

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go to school, get good grades, get a degree.

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Before I did that, I got an electrical engineering degree. I moved to Chicago

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after I graduated from the greatest HBCU in all the land, which is Southern

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University. Here we go. Here we go.

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So I got my degree, moved to Chicago, pursued my career there,

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you know, became successful, worked my way up the corporate ladder,

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found myself working 60, 70 hour work weeks and student loan debt.

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You know, I'm sure this sounds like pretty much every millennial out there who,

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you know, went that route and just hit my ceiling really, really quickly.

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I was making about $150,000 as a senior consultant.

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And, you know, pretty much I was told that was it. There was no more upward mobility.

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I had to figure things out. And, you know, even though people would say,

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man, you were making great income, that's not what the mortgage was telling me.

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That's not what two daughters were telling me. that's not

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what the student loans was telling me you know and so

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I said well I got to find something else and so

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I said if money is the problem that's affecting us

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so much then I need to go into something and learn more about finance so it

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was really more about a personal journey of learning how to understand money

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more and obviously also to make more because it was like man there's got to

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be a better way and essentially I was led into the financial service industry

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from a friend, and that started seven years ago,

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you know, and I just dived into the insurance industry.

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My wife eventually came along, joined me, and we started our company together.

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All right. Ms. Jasmine, you want to add something to that or that's good?

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Yeah. You know, we were created to elevate this point, truly because,

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you know, we were making decent income, having six-figure careers in corporate America.

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Following society's traditional route toward the American dream and found out it wasn't our dream.

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In fact, it was our nightmare, you know, and we started to ask these questions

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that I don't think we get encouraged to ask in high school or even college critical

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thinking questions like, how does money work?

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What are the rules to the money game?

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What are the wealthiest vehicles? I'm sorry, what are the vehicles wealthy people,

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wealthy communities are leveraging to build wealth and not just build wealth,

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but generation after generation pass wealth down?

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And we realized we didn't know that. And, you know, in our community,

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we tend to kind of stick within our environment.

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And when you don't know how money works or you're trying to climb the corporate

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ladder, you go to your parents or maybe your closest friends,

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sometimes college professors.

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And what you realize is everyone is saying the same thing.

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Sometimes it helps to step outside of the community just to see,

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hey, what are you guys doing?

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Being more inquisitive. And so I think the first step, Eric,

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is we were very honest about what we didn't know and change started from that place of honesty.

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Of, man, we don't know how money works. We've been taught how to make it.

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We've even been taught how to keep it. We've never been taught how to build wealth.

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And I'm here to tell you, you know, we tried for many years,

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but you can't save your way into wealth.

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And so we needed to know what vehicles were being leveraged to investing,

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you know, and also what were the four homes of money, which are bank,

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stock market, real estate, and the insurance industry.

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Most Americans are only ever exposed to three out of the four homes of money.

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And so we had no clue. When it comes to money, there's something called a laser

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test, which wealthy people use to dictate how they prioritize their investment.

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And so the L in the laser test is for liquidity. Have an access to your money

00:19:42.028 --> 00:19:45.168
whenever you want it. No penalties, rules, or restrictions.

00:19:45.728 --> 00:19:48.028
The S in the laser test is for safety.

00:19:48.788 --> 00:19:52.348
The R is for rate of return, interest, and the T is for tax advantage.

00:19:53.368 --> 00:19:58.188
And what I realized is that we were exposed, Eric, to three out of those four

00:19:58.188 --> 00:20:02.448
homes of money literally just by simply navigating adults.

00:20:02.948 --> 00:20:07.968
First job, after college, our bank on day one, we were told that our checks

00:20:07.968 --> 00:20:11.168
would be deposited into the bank. Well, that's the first home of money.

00:20:11.708 --> 00:20:16.068
On day one, we were also told that we would be enrolled into the company's retirement

00:20:16.068 --> 00:20:20.328
plan, which is 401k that lives in the market. Well, that's the second home of money.

00:20:20.908 --> 00:20:25.368
After 10 years worth of brainy job, many of us desire to own a home.

00:20:25.848 --> 00:20:28.648
We no longer want to rent. Well, that's the third home of money.

00:20:29.088 --> 00:20:33.788
And so for many of your listeners listening, what I love about our story is

00:20:33.788 --> 00:20:34.968
that it's not an anomaly.

00:20:35.628 --> 00:20:41.348
We don't come from, you know, a fluent community where at the kitchen table,

00:20:41.488 --> 00:20:43.668
we would always talk about investment principles.

00:20:43.968 --> 00:20:45.928
None of that. It came out of necessity.

00:20:47.339 --> 00:20:51.899
Yeah. So that segues into the next question.

00:20:52.939 --> 00:20:58.719
So, and these numbers come from 2022. I guess these are the latest numbers you could get.

00:20:59.399 --> 00:21:06.019
The median wealth of a white household in America is $284,310.

00:21:06.819 --> 00:21:12.919
The median wealth for a black household is $44,100.

00:21:14.699 --> 00:21:18.999
There are four factors that have contributed to this wealth gap,

00:21:19.359 --> 00:21:25.979
historic discrimination, income inequality, inheritance and access to resources.

00:21:26.499 --> 00:21:33.099
Would it be fair to say that your role in changing this dynamic falls under access to resources?

00:21:34.859 --> 00:21:40.479
Yeah yeah i would i would say access to resources there is no pay inequality.

00:21:41.479 --> 00:21:45.899
You know and and definitely helping people grow there so you know as you were saying that,

00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:49.199
i'm glad you gave those updated numbers because the last i

00:21:49.199 --> 00:21:52.459
was actually looking for that because the last one that i saw was

00:21:52.459 --> 00:21:55.619
from 2016 and it was 171 000

00:21:55.619 --> 00:21:58.919
for white families and it was 17 000 for

00:21:58.919 --> 00:22:01.859
black families so we grew a little bit in the

00:22:01.859 --> 00:22:05.099
last what four or five six years there from

00:22:05.099 --> 00:22:08.339
the 2022 to 48 000 but also

00:22:08.339 --> 00:22:10.999
so did the caucasian families grow up to

00:22:10.999 --> 00:22:20.439
you said 285 basically 284 310 yeah so man 285 and so one of the biggest contributors

00:22:20.439 --> 00:22:25.299
to that obviously all of the four things but there's one thing that a pinpoint

00:22:25.299 --> 00:22:28.639
said and that was access to real estate and so So,

00:22:28.759 --> 00:22:31.779
you know, our lane obviously is in financial services and insurance,

00:22:31.999 --> 00:22:33.659
but through studying, you know.

00:22:33.939 --> 00:22:39.079
Different things, we found that the reason why that gap has been so big is because

00:22:39.079 --> 00:22:42.959
we weren't allowed to get real estate, right?

00:22:43.159 --> 00:22:47.899
And then we had bad deals and, you know, anytime a major interstate needed to

00:22:47.899 --> 00:22:52.819
be created, like the Dan Ryan in Chicago, that cut through, you know,

00:22:53.019 --> 00:22:57.119
black communities. And, you know, so people were kind of pushed out of their homes.

00:22:57.319 --> 00:23:01.059
It was taken away or they were given, you know, pennies on a dollar for the

00:23:01.059 --> 00:23:02.319
value of their real estate.

00:23:02.539 --> 00:23:08.919
And so, as you stated, inheritance. And so those pieces of property and homes

00:23:08.919 --> 00:23:13.599
were passed on to the next generation and they just continued to grow in value.

00:23:13.599 --> 00:23:17.659
People were able to take lines of credit out against their homes and,

00:23:17.659 --> 00:23:22.499
you know, put their kids through college and keep the flow of income going.

00:23:22.539 --> 00:23:24.999
And we didn't have that. And so...

00:23:26.103 --> 00:23:30.683
That's something that I talk about a lot, and that is one of the key areas of

00:23:30.683 --> 00:23:35.843
the Wealth Academy is to provide the resource and the information and the way

00:23:35.843 --> 00:23:40.903
to make the income and the way to grow the money so that you can begin to invest in other things.

00:23:40.903 --> 00:23:45.903
And so, you know, one of the biggest things for us is teaching the foundation

00:23:45.903 --> 00:23:49.683
to a portfolio, which is something safe, guaranteed and secured,

00:23:49.943 --> 00:23:52.243
which can be done through insurance products.

00:23:52.683 --> 00:23:56.603
And then from there, you'll be able to invest in real estate,

00:23:56.783 --> 00:24:00.243
invest in the stock market, have your money in the bank, because we're not against

00:24:00.243 --> 00:24:01.903
any of those things. is we need all of them.

00:24:02.223 --> 00:24:06.443
And I think sometimes as a community, when you meet a real estate guru or you

00:24:06.443 --> 00:24:11.883
meet a stock market day trader or ETF or crypto, they all want to tell you that

00:24:11.883 --> 00:24:15.183
their way is the way. And that's the only way. And that's not true.

00:24:15.603 --> 00:24:20.723
We need all of them. But the first thing is that you would not build a house on sink and sand.

00:24:21.163 --> 00:24:24.063
And you will find, just go to the Rockefellers.

00:24:24.543 --> 00:24:27.843
Just go see what they've been doing for seven generations.

00:24:28.163 --> 00:24:32.923
It's called the waterfall effect. They've been utilizing insurance products for generations,

00:24:33.343 --> 00:24:38.363
seven generations to be exact, of how they've been able to maintain their wealth,

00:24:38.663 --> 00:24:43.043
grow their wealth, and keep a lot of their wealth from out of the hands of Uncle

00:24:43.043 --> 00:24:46.463
Sam, paying taxes, inheritances, and all of those different things.

00:24:46.903 --> 00:24:50.623
And so, yeah, you know, that's a nerve right there for me, man.

00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:59.779
Yeah, so I guess I'll add by first letting everyone know what the mission of the Wealth Academy is.

00:25:00.419 --> 00:25:03.699
Earlier, Ellis explained who we are.

00:25:03.919 --> 00:25:08.579
We are a national financial agency specializing in life insurance,

00:25:08.999 --> 00:25:11.559
supplemental health insurance, and retirement plans.

00:25:11.999 --> 00:25:17.239
And what we do, Erik, is we attract, train, and develop the next generation

00:25:17.239 --> 00:25:20.399
of licensed brokers within our industry.

00:25:20.399 --> 00:25:26.659
But our mission is to close the racial wealth gap by equipping middle market

00:25:26.659 --> 00:25:32.739
America with the knowledge, skills, and ability to live a life of prosperity and purpose.

00:25:33.179 --> 00:25:37.719
And I think the first part of that is the knowledge. And before we get to the

00:25:37.719 --> 00:25:42.519
resources, we must place a heavy emphasis on the financial education that's

00:25:42.519 --> 00:25:44.239
lacking within our community.

00:25:44.879 --> 00:25:48.779
We are not taught the four homes of money. for your listeners.

00:25:49.579 --> 00:25:56.359
The four homes of money is a concept that is widely known among economists, among Wall Street.

00:25:56.619 --> 00:26:00.459
Everyone knows the four homes that every single person in the world,

00:26:00.719 --> 00:26:04.019
over nearly 8 billion people have all of their money.

00:26:04.419 --> 00:26:10.139
We all have our money in one of four places. And so why aren't we being taught

00:26:10.139 --> 00:26:16.719
in school how to properly leverage these vehicles so that we can also win the money game.

00:26:17.119 --> 00:26:22.519
And so when you think of resources, I think the first step is educating people,

00:26:22.879 --> 00:26:26.879
right, and then teaching them how to leverage the resource to build wealth.

00:26:27.159 --> 00:26:31.239
So for most African-American communities of color in general,

00:26:31.259 --> 00:26:36.099
when we hear two words, insurance, we are taught, we immediately think deaf.

00:26:36.359 --> 00:26:39.359
Would you agree there? That is exactly what people think.

00:26:40.059 --> 00:26:46.399
And yes, there are communities of people in this same country who the many days

00:26:46.399 --> 00:26:48.019
of life insurance think wealth.

00:26:48.399 --> 00:26:55.739
And it's because, well, and here's an interesting stat, 56% of Black Americans own life insurance.

00:26:56.159 --> 00:27:00.539
So we are actually the most insured demographic in the country.

00:27:00.839 --> 00:27:05.979
And so then the question begs, why aren't we properly leveraging the vehicle?

00:27:06.099 --> 00:27:10.819
Well, you just answered it because we think it's just another monthly bill.

00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:13.119
And in order for you to win, you got to lose.

00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:20.119
We've never been taught that insurance is a non-traditional investment strategy,

00:27:20.119 --> 00:27:23.979
investment vehicle where people are building tax-free wealth,

00:27:24.119 --> 00:27:25.759
where you can build tax-free wealth.

00:27:26.539 --> 00:27:31.399
And so 56% of those Americans, I want to break that number down.

00:27:32.756 --> 00:27:37.556
50% of them, if I want to be clear, only have life insurance protection through their employers.

00:27:37.816 --> 00:27:41.456
And so when they are answering this poll, do you have life insurance?

00:27:41.756 --> 00:27:46.056
They're going back to, again, the trajectory of the American dream,

00:27:46.256 --> 00:27:49.136
first day on the job, sit down with human resource.

00:27:49.416 --> 00:27:53.716
You enroll into the company's benefits package. And what does the HR person say?

00:27:53.916 --> 00:28:00.096
Well, thank you, Mr. Erik, for joining XYV company. we will provide you dental,

00:28:00.376 --> 00:28:03.656
health, insurance, vision, right? These are your benefits.

00:28:03.876 --> 00:28:08.596
Well, that's actually not a licensed agent who can properly and fully educate

00:28:08.596 --> 00:28:12.376
you on how to leverage the industry. They're simply telling you where to sign.

00:28:13.056 --> 00:28:17.596
But for many of us who are bogged down with several competing priorities,

00:28:17.876 --> 00:28:21.216
I remember I was one of them, whether you're a wife, a husband,

00:28:21.356 --> 00:28:25.716
a parent, community member, a son, a daughter, you have a host of obligations.

00:28:25.716 --> 00:28:29.836
So in your spare time, Maybe you haven't, you don't Google, right?

00:28:30.016 --> 00:28:32.356
Well, how do I leverage insurance to build wealth?

00:28:32.696 --> 00:28:34.456
So now that's your knowledge of

00:28:34.456 --> 00:28:38.476
it. You check it off of your box of being responsible. I have insurance.

00:28:38.816 --> 00:28:44.216
And so when we talk about resources, the first step of what we do is bring the

00:28:44.216 --> 00:28:47.256
knowledge, equipping middle market America with the knowledge.

00:28:47.436 --> 00:28:49.656
Actually, life insurance has nothing to do with death.

00:28:49.976 --> 00:28:54.056
That's actually the third benefit of life insurance. Every policy should have

00:28:54.056 --> 00:29:00.356
living benefits that allow you to withdraw monthly income from the policy while you are alive.

00:29:00.356 --> 00:29:05.356
If you ever get sick, hospitalized from COVID, bad car accidents,

00:29:05.976 --> 00:29:10.576
cancer, stroke, heart attack, several qualifying medical conditions.

00:29:11.296 --> 00:29:15.736
And then there's also an investment vehicle built inside of your permanent policy

00:29:15.736 --> 00:29:17.696
that allow you to build cash value.

00:29:18.136 --> 00:29:24.656
And so what we do is first bring the education and then we bring the services.

00:29:24.916 --> 00:29:27.936
And I think my favorite part is that it's free.

00:29:28.176 --> 00:29:33.256
You know, all of the carriers that we represent, they pay us if and when we

00:29:33.256 --> 00:29:37.516
find a suitable service, a suitable product for our clients.

00:29:37.836 --> 00:29:42.956
But we're able to cross-reference multiple companies to ensure that our families

00:29:42.956 --> 00:29:48.816
are receiving the best policy, the best financial plan that is in alignment

00:29:48.816 --> 00:29:50.136
with their long-term goals.

00:29:50.136 --> 00:29:57.236
So I want you to kind of expand on that in a minute, but I want to go back to

00:29:57.236 --> 00:30:02.536
something that Ellis, he had mentioned cryptocurrency and forex trading.

00:30:03.688 --> 00:30:09.548
What are y'all, Ellis basically said, you know, he didn't really have a problem

00:30:09.548 --> 00:30:13.648
with it, but what do y'all think about that?

00:30:13.768 --> 00:30:19.188
Because there's a lot of folks, you know, now we've got, we might actually have

00:30:19.188 --> 00:30:23.208
a crypto savings fund at the federal level, right?

00:30:23.808 --> 00:30:29.388
So what do y'all think about that as far as, because like Ellis said,

00:30:29.508 --> 00:30:36.448
a lot of people want to say this is the only way, right?

00:30:37.268 --> 00:30:43.868
And, you know, kind of Ellis, if you want to expound on what you meant by that, and Ms.

00:30:43.928 --> 00:30:46.708
Jasmine, if you want to add into it as well.

00:30:46.808 --> 00:30:51.228
But just your thoughts, because, you know, I'm in a black community,

00:30:51.228 --> 00:30:57.028
So, you know, if if it ain't the crypto emails, I'm getting this to Forex email.

00:30:57.968 --> 00:31:02.528
Yeah, you know, I think and look, man, you know, to all the listeners out there,

00:31:02.628 --> 00:31:07.088
I was just like you at one point, just like against it in the sense of like.

00:31:07.248 --> 00:31:10.368
And the reason why we're really against a lot of things is just because we don't

00:31:10.368 --> 00:31:12.288
have understanding. We don't have enough knowledge.

00:31:12.388 --> 00:31:18.588
And it just boils down to there's just not enough people that look like us that's

00:31:18.588 --> 00:31:20.308
talking about the information. Right.

00:31:20.588 --> 00:31:24.448
Or, you know, you'll see a lot of people pop up and then you begin to go check

00:31:24.448 --> 00:31:28.248
their background and you like, what did this person do before this?

00:31:28.448 --> 00:31:32.308
And then all of a sudden you can't find any history to that person. You're like, scam.

00:31:32.528 --> 00:31:34.928
That's the first thing that you just really think of.

00:31:35.168 --> 00:31:38.608
And so that's one of the problems that we're having.

00:31:38.608 --> 00:31:42.228
You know, just any time something new comes about and there's a change,

00:31:42.368 --> 00:31:47.528
people fear change in general. And so but what the wealthy do is that they don't

00:31:47.528 --> 00:31:50.228
fear change. They take calculated risk.

00:31:50.628 --> 00:31:53.828
And so, you know, one of the things that Warren Buffett has always,

00:31:53.928 --> 00:31:59.708
you know, says some of his sound advice is, you know, don't be afraid to invest money.

00:31:59.848 --> 00:32:02.728
Don't be afraid to lose money. But the money that you do invest,

00:32:03.068 --> 00:32:04.888
it can't be what you need.

00:32:05.028 --> 00:32:08.148
Right. It can't be like this is my life savings and I'm going to bet it all

00:32:08.148 --> 00:32:12.868
on black and then be upset that it didn't work out because then you needed it.

00:32:12.868 --> 00:32:16.488
So that's not sound financial planning

00:32:16.488 --> 00:32:19.308
or investing But just to get back really to

00:32:19.308 --> 00:32:22.268
the question of crypto I think it all starts on

00:32:22.268 --> 00:32:27.368
making sure that you are following Or have some advice from a person that's

00:32:27.368 --> 00:32:32.848
been doing it for a long time They have found financial backing already They've

00:32:32.848 --> 00:32:37.568
done successful in other things And so they're not just giving you something

00:32:37.568 --> 00:32:40.308
off the whim Because they just learned it, you know what I'm saying?

00:32:40.348 --> 00:32:40.668
And so they're not just giving you something off the whim.

00:32:41.336 --> 00:32:44.776
That's really the first thing. And then if you can't afford to put a little

00:32:44.776 --> 00:32:47.976
bit into something and see how it works for you, then do that.

00:32:48.136 --> 00:32:49.996
You know, but don't go bet your house on it.

00:32:50.176 --> 00:32:54.036
You know, don't go bet your retirement savings on it because someone said you

00:32:54.036 --> 00:32:58.116
can get this put in here. You can make 30 percent and you'd be a millionaire overnight.

00:32:58.336 --> 00:33:00.276
You know, that this sounds wrong altogether.

00:33:00.696 --> 00:33:05.316
And I don't think any person that has any financial sound investment strategies

00:33:05.316 --> 00:33:10.176
would ever tell you to do something like that. So that's really just a high

00:33:10.176 --> 00:33:13.776
level general statement around anything that comes up that's new.

00:33:14.216 --> 00:33:17.856
You want to make sure you're getting advice from people who have history of

00:33:17.856 --> 00:33:23.576
being successful, credible in their industry, giving you enough information,

00:33:23.576 --> 00:33:28.816
and they're not afraid to answer the questions and they don't glaze over questions that you ask.

00:33:28.816 --> 00:33:32.656
So if you're dealing with someone that's not wanting to give you a direct answer,

00:33:33.256 --> 00:33:37.256
then you should run from that person, just to be quite honest with you.

00:33:37.656 --> 00:33:42.596
And so that's kind of my thing on anything that comes up new when it comes to

00:33:42.596 --> 00:33:46.196
crypto, ETFs, Forex trading, things of that nature.

00:33:46.616 --> 00:33:51.216
And also remember that the government is slow to move on new things because

00:33:51.216 --> 00:33:52.836
they want to see how it pans out.

00:33:53.336 --> 00:33:58.396
And they're also strategizing and watching to see if it's going to be beneficial for them.

00:33:58.816 --> 00:34:02.476
And I'm going to tell you, in the long run, crypto is going to be something

00:34:02.476 --> 00:34:07.556
that the government is going to move on because they want to capitalize on it too as well.

00:34:08.396 --> 00:34:13.816
And Eric already said here, hey, they're already talking about having reserves in crypto.

00:34:13.896 --> 00:34:16.396
So just know, it's coming. Right.

00:34:16.756 --> 00:34:20.636
I mean, you know, three, four generations ago, there wasn't money.

00:34:20.976 --> 00:34:25.556
All right. It wasn't money printed. And now we today we have money printed and

00:34:25.556 --> 00:34:29.896
now we've even moved away from money printed to more. So it's digital currency.

00:34:30.396 --> 00:34:35.096
You know, our economy is no longer based upon a goal that sit in Fort Knox.

00:34:35.676 --> 00:34:39.236
You know, so, you know, there's a lot of things when it comes to money that

00:34:39.236 --> 00:34:43.896
people have to be aware of and not be afraid of, but be smart.

00:34:44.456 --> 00:34:49.416
Yeah, yeah. I think back to that education piece, I think all of us,

00:34:49.556 --> 00:34:53.836
sometimes, you know, in our community, Black folk are so skeptical.

00:34:54.216 --> 00:34:58.296
And by the time we finally buy into something, it's too late, right?

00:34:58.436 --> 00:35:02.116
That vehicle has already been leveraged to build wealth and the billionaires

00:35:02.116 --> 00:35:04.016
are already celebrating or millionaires.

00:35:04.376 --> 00:35:08.296
However, there are three ways that your money can grow. Fixed accounts,

00:35:08.516 --> 00:35:10.176
which are safe, no growth.

00:35:10.516 --> 00:35:15.056
Variable accounts, which can grow, but no safety. and then index accounts.

00:35:15.296 --> 00:35:17.576
Index vehicles provide the best of both worlds.

00:35:18.056 --> 00:35:21.476
There's a floor and a ceiling. You have protection, but you also have growth.

00:35:22.256 --> 00:35:27.556
Crypto is a variable vehicle, and so it's relatively a risky investment,

00:35:27.756 --> 00:35:29.496
no matter which way you slice it.

00:35:30.156 --> 00:35:34.116
Generally speaking, high-risk investments should make up a small part of your

00:35:34.116 --> 00:35:35.876
overall investment portfolio.

00:35:37.258 --> 00:35:43.358
And so I always say one common guideline is, you know, take your age and that's

00:35:43.358 --> 00:35:47.018
how much at this point you should probably always say.

00:35:47.278 --> 00:35:52.718
So if you're 25 years old, 25 percent of your portfolio, your investment strategy

00:35:52.718 --> 00:35:55.438
should be in vehicles that are guaranteed safe.

00:35:55.698 --> 00:36:01.998
You're young. So if you want 75 percent of your portfolio to exist in a risky

00:36:01.998 --> 00:36:07.058
market or volatile market, Maybe you have longer to make up for market fluctuations,

00:36:07.058 --> 00:36:09.718
but the longer you live, if you're 50 years old,

00:36:09.858 --> 00:36:14.778
50% of your investment portfolio should be exposed to market loss.

00:36:15.018 --> 00:36:17.858
50% should absolutely have guaranteed protection.

00:36:18.278 --> 00:36:22.038
And so that's a rule of thumb in the world of finance.

00:36:22.038 --> 00:36:29.138
But it's interesting because the government and social media quietly missed

00:36:29.138 --> 00:36:36.358
the 2018 cryptocurrency crash, also known as the Bitcoin crash and the great crypto crash.

00:36:36.818 --> 00:36:41.878
When we saw the sell off of most cryptocurrencies, I think that started in like

00:36:41.878 --> 00:36:48.858
January 2018, it was an unprecedented amount of the price of Bitcoin fell about 65%.

00:36:48.858 --> 00:36:52.318
And so to Ellis's

00:36:52.318 --> 00:36:55.438
point you know we've seen a con of

00:36:55.438 --> 00:37:02.498
crypto has been we've seen extreme price fluctuations and and so again any anytime

00:37:02.498 --> 00:37:07.898
there's a new investment vehicle or strategy our rule of thumb is to always

00:37:07.898 --> 00:37:15.118
give it 20 years to to withstand market fluctuations and see how it performs and for most.

00:37:16.130 --> 00:37:19.990
For all intents and purposes, crypto is just too new. Bitcoin is too new.

00:37:20.250 --> 00:37:25.010
Let's kind of give it a 20-year window where we can look back and examine how

00:37:25.010 --> 00:37:27.710
it performed during recession.

00:37:28.350 --> 00:37:32.590
You know, one of the things we educate our clients on is studying the history

00:37:32.590 --> 00:37:34.150
of recessions in this country.

00:37:34.410 --> 00:37:37.830
And you'll notice that there's never a matter of question of if,

00:37:38.010 --> 00:37:41.010
always a question of when the next recession will happen.

00:37:41.430 --> 00:37:45.970
And the government is very intentional to not call it a recession.

00:37:46.130 --> 00:37:52.230
We called it the dot-com crash in 2001. We called it the housing market bubble in 2008.

00:37:52.510 --> 00:37:54.550
We called it COVID in 2019.

00:37:54.890 --> 00:37:59.650
We called it crypto, the great crypto crash. These are all recessions.

00:37:59.650 --> 00:38:05.450
If your money exists within a variable account, you lost money every time the

00:38:05.450 --> 00:38:06.670
market corrected itself.

00:38:06.850 --> 00:38:11.330
And so we don't know what the next one will be called, but it is coming.

00:38:11.610 --> 00:38:15.790
And again, if a bulk of your money exists inside of a variable account,

00:38:15.970 --> 00:38:17.410
it is subject to market volatility.

00:38:18.870 --> 00:38:24.130
Yeah. And so y'all kind of touched on, well, Ms.

00:38:24.170 --> 00:38:28.430
Jasmine, you touched on a question I wanted to flesh out a little bit.

00:38:28.430 --> 00:38:34.850
As far as what role that insurance and annuities play in building wealth in black households.

00:38:35.870 --> 00:38:42.490
You know, you talked about how we just look at life insurance as like making

00:38:42.490 --> 00:38:48.350
sure that our kids are, you know, our loved ones are taken care of when we leave this planet.

00:38:48.970 --> 00:38:56.950
How do, and you were kind of getting into how people can do that without giving

00:38:56.950 --> 00:39:00.190
a whole seminar, which I'll do on a regular basis,

00:39:00.510 --> 00:39:06.750
just talk about how important insurance and annuities can play in building Black

00:39:06.750 --> 00:39:11.070
wealth or building wealth in Black households.

00:39:11.870 --> 00:39:13.490
I'll summarize it.

00:39:14.375 --> 00:39:19.855
So I will start with our annuities. We specialize in not fixed annuities or variable annuities.

00:39:20.055 --> 00:39:23.875
I spoke earlier about three ways money can grow, but we specialize in fixed

00:39:23.875 --> 00:39:28.355
index annuities, which provide our clients, number one, with safety.

00:39:29.075 --> 00:39:34.535
Number two, they receive interest. And so their rate of return is connected to an external index.

00:39:34.795 --> 00:39:40.475
And so the performance of the market can enhance and positively impact their principal.

00:39:40.955 --> 00:39:46.855
Number three, lifetime income. Many of us know that pensions are nearly extinct.

00:39:47.155 --> 00:39:51.755
Pensions used to be the primary source of funding for retirees.

00:39:51.975 --> 00:39:55.615
The problem is we started living too long and retiring too soon.

00:39:56.295 --> 00:40:03.095
And so companies lobbied the federal government to replace pensions with IRS tax code 401k.

00:40:03.895 --> 00:40:09.415
And so now we have a need for lifetime income. Average retiree can only afford

00:40:09.415 --> 00:40:12.515
to not work after they retire for three years.

00:40:13.055 --> 00:40:17.475
And so there's a need, so pensions provide you, I'm sorry, annuities provide

00:40:17.475 --> 00:40:21.655
you with a private pension that you own where we bring back lifetime income.

00:40:21.915 --> 00:40:25.655
And then there's an optional benefit of long-term care writer.

00:40:26.115 --> 00:40:30.555
Many of us, my grandmother is Louise Jenkins in Bellwood, Illinois.

00:40:31.035 --> 00:40:36.295
She is 98 years old in just a month. She'll be 99 years old.

00:40:36.295 --> 00:40:41.675
And I'm watching my mom and a few of my other aunts on a seven-day rotating

00:40:41.675 --> 00:40:43.935
schedule to take care of her.

00:40:44.195 --> 00:40:49.375
She doesn't want external nurses to come in and the toll that it's taken on

00:40:49.375 --> 00:40:52.695
their physical health, their finances, their time with their families.

00:40:53.135 --> 00:40:55.175
And so, you know, just how do

00:40:55.175 --> 00:40:59.055
we have an additional stream of income to support us in our later years?

00:40:59.355 --> 00:41:03.955
And so that's what an annuity is. It is the technical term, a contract between

00:41:03.955 --> 00:41:09.215
an individual and an insurance company to provide you with one of two things,

00:41:09.395 --> 00:41:14.555
a lump sum payment at the time of retirement or a continuous stream of payments

00:41:14.555 --> 00:41:16.975
for the rest of your life once you retire.

00:41:17.805 --> 00:41:22.565
And so I love annuities. I've seen their wealth-building transformative power.

00:41:23.045 --> 00:41:28.525
I've seen some of my clients, instead of investing $10,000 into a fancy baby

00:41:28.525 --> 00:41:33.385
shower, the minute that child has a social security number, they make a one-time

00:41:33.385 --> 00:41:37.625
investment of $10,000. by the time that child is age 60.

00:41:37.865 --> 00:41:42.985
And this is just general numbers. Obviously, we would need to run the calculations for everyone a day.

00:41:43.105 --> 00:41:49.025
But let's say, for example, by the time this child is 60, they have access to $29 million.

00:41:50.205 --> 00:41:56.885
Or they can say, I want lifetime withdrawal. So that can be broken down to like 1.2 million a year.

00:41:57.385 --> 00:42:03.265
That's the retirement, the annuity side. And then you have the life insurance

00:42:03.265 --> 00:42:05.265
side, cash value policy.

00:42:05.905 --> 00:42:12.805
Walt Disney started Disney World from pulling cash value out of his life insurance policy.

00:42:13.105 --> 00:42:18.285
The Rockefellers have leveraged insurance as an investment strategy for generations.

00:42:19.285 --> 00:42:24.145
And so when you get a permanent policy that accumulates cash value,

00:42:24.565 --> 00:42:29.005
whether that is universal or whole life, in short, every month you pay that

00:42:29.005 --> 00:42:32.765
monthly premium, a portion of that premium is accumulating interest based off

00:42:32.765 --> 00:42:34.185
the performance of the market.

00:42:35.085 --> 00:42:43.465
And Eric, I've seen clients literally have $500,000, a million dollars supplementary

00:42:43.465 --> 00:42:47.425
retirement income inside of their life insurance policies when they retire.

00:42:47.765 --> 00:42:52.125
I have numerous clients who are sending their children to college with no student

00:42:52.125 --> 00:42:56.565
loan debt, pulling out cash value from their life insurance policy,

00:42:57.325 --> 00:43:01.605
putting down payment on home, investment property, starting businesses, you name it.

00:43:01.745 --> 00:43:07.405
And so those are just some of the key strategies we teach our community and our clients.

00:43:08.205 --> 00:43:11.305
Ellis, is there anything you wanted to add to that or you're good?

00:43:11.825 --> 00:43:15.505
I think Jasmine, she pretty much covered everything right there, man.

00:43:15.725 --> 00:43:20.025
But I think just another thing to add to what Jasmine was saying to everyone

00:43:20.025 --> 00:43:24.545
that's listening is just to make sure that you understand that building wealth

00:43:24.545 --> 00:43:26.545
takes time. It's not overnight.

00:43:27.225 --> 00:43:33.025
And you want to make sure that you are committed to these things to get done, right?

00:43:33.145 --> 00:43:36.985
To, you know, buying houses, you know, putting your kids through college,

00:43:37.565 --> 00:43:41.265
making sure that you can share generational wealth with the next generation,

00:43:41.445 --> 00:43:43.105
that it is not overnight.

00:43:43.465 --> 00:43:47.665
And I believe, you know, you know, Erik, you shared that right from the beginning

00:43:47.665 --> 00:43:52.965
with the proverb that you shared. And so that is a reminder that it's not overnight,

00:43:53.045 --> 00:43:56.525
but it can happen and it will happen for you if you take the step.

00:43:56.705 --> 00:44:00.845
I think the biggest problem in our community is that we learn information and

00:44:00.845 --> 00:44:05.925
say, oh, that was great information and never act upon the information and never take the first step.

00:44:06.345 --> 00:44:10.145
And, you know, people out here are giving the information away for free to say,

00:44:10.305 --> 00:44:12.765
go do it. Just go take the first step.

00:44:13.700 --> 00:44:19.000
Yeah. So let me, I'm going to try to get a couple of questions,

00:44:19.460 --> 00:44:20.700
a couple more questions in.

00:44:21.520 --> 00:44:25.800
The chair of the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Secretary of Treasury both expressed

00:44:25.800 --> 00:44:27.200
concerns about the economy.

00:44:27.600 --> 00:44:32.080
We know over these next few months, the cost of living is going to be higher

00:44:32.080 --> 00:44:36.320
after we have just started to recover from COVID-fueled inflation.

00:44:37.000 --> 00:44:42.540
How do you advise your clients or people in general to navigate through these

00:44:42.540 --> 00:44:43.980
tough economic moments?

00:44:44.920 --> 00:44:49.560
Well, I just met with a family of like five yesterday.

00:44:49.940 --> 00:44:55.000
And all of these individuals were, let's say, boomers.

00:44:55.180 --> 00:44:59.340
Yeah, they were baby boomers, maybe one or two of them. They were some older Gen Xs, right?

00:44:59.340 --> 00:45:02.980
And they were all complaining about

00:45:02.980 --> 00:45:06.220
their their portfolios and how their

00:45:06.220 --> 00:45:11.020
brokerage account you know their savings their retirement was taking a hit you

00:45:11.020 --> 00:45:15.160
know and the individuals that they were working with were just telling them

00:45:15.160 --> 00:45:20.800
hey just ride it out it'll come back don't worry about it and so many of these

00:45:20.800 --> 00:45:25.980
financial advisors are just telling their clients to just sit tight hold tight don't do anything.

00:45:26.980 --> 00:45:32.320
And we have the ability to say, no, you don't have to accept that.

00:45:32.540 --> 00:45:37.380
You can put your money in another vehicle, whether it's an insurance policy

00:45:37.380 --> 00:45:41.200
or an annuity that Jasmine was speaking of to say, hey, you don't have to keep

00:45:41.200 --> 00:45:44.980
taking the hit of the market because when you're beginning to get older,

00:45:45.200 --> 00:45:47.560
you don't want to take any more losses.

00:45:48.320 --> 00:45:51.620
For example, I helped an individual will roll over some money.

00:45:51.820 --> 00:45:55.560
And from Friday to Monday, by the amount of time that her check was cut,

00:45:55.700 --> 00:46:00.520
she had lost one to two months of, you know, of payment, you know,

00:46:00.620 --> 00:46:03.180
of income that she would use to pay her bill.

00:46:03.600 --> 00:46:07.740
And so every day is a critical day when you're worried about,

00:46:08.100 --> 00:46:10.000
is my money going to make it? Is it going to last?

00:46:10.160 --> 00:46:14.060
And we provide that security. We provide those guarantees, you know,

00:46:14.100 --> 00:46:16.860
to help people move their money into a secure vehicle.

00:46:17.080 --> 00:46:21.080
And so that's frankly what we're telling our people right now you know if you're

00:46:21.080 --> 00:46:24.840
younger like that's in the beginning of your 20s you can afford to take a little

00:46:24.840 --> 00:46:29.260
bit more risk because you're younger you have potentially more time to let the

00:46:29.260 --> 00:46:32.340
market recoup and gain interest back again but again,

00:46:32.920 --> 00:46:37.700
everyone should have in their portfolio some form of guaranteed and protected

00:46:37.700 --> 00:46:44.280
growing vehicle which is provided through insurance products yeah oh go ahead

00:46:44.280 --> 00:46:49.240
no i i i if you want to if you want I added that, that's fine.

00:46:49.380 --> 00:46:54.340
I was, I was going to let you close out with a, with a, with another question,

00:46:54.340 --> 00:46:57.800
but if you, if you want to add onto that, that's fine.

00:46:58.480 --> 00:47:05.320
No, go ahead. So I wanted you to close out with friend of yours stated that

00:47:05.320 --> 00:47:07.480
y'all's work is a ministry.

00:47:07.660 --> 00:47:10.740
Do y'all agree? Do you, do you all agree with that assessment?

00:47:11.927 --> 00:47:16.287
I do, 100%, because we were created to be the head, not the tail.

00:47:16.647 --> 00:47:20.727
We were created to be the lenders and not the borrowers. We were created to

00:47:20.727 --> 00:47:22.827
leave an inheritance to our children's children.

00:47:23.127 --> 00:47:25.927
So God's been speaking about wealth since the beginning of time.

00:47:26.507 --> 00:47:30.927
And so one of the things that we find in addition to, you know,

00:47:31.307 --> 00:47:35.327
ministering on the finance side, it's just encouraging people and reminding

00:47:35.327 --> 00:47:36.727
them who their creator is.

00:47:36.847 --> 00:47:40.387
And to be very specific, who the creator is, I'm speaking about the God of Abraham.

00:47:40.387 --> 00:47:43.647
All right jesus that came to this surgeon sacrifice his

00:47:43.647 --> 00:47:46.447
life but i don't need anybody getting confused on

00:47:46.447 --> 00:47:50.027
who i'm talking about and so i lost

00:47:50.027 --> 00:47:54.147
my train because i could go down a rabbit hole with that one but we remind people

00:47:54.147 --> 00:47:57.947
too that hey everything that we have in our life too as well is a testament

00:47:57.947 --> 00:48:03.107
to our creator so if you remember in the word moses was a murderer he was a

00:48:03.107 --> 00:48:08.807
stutterer you know and god told him hey go back to egypt and free my people and he was like God,

00:48:08.987 --> 00:48:12.027
I am not qualified to do these things.

00:48:12.227 --> 00:48:16.927
And it's just amazing to see how many unqualified, non-qualified people guide

00:48:16.927 --> 00:48:19.387
you throughout what we would consider, right?

00:48:19.587 --> 00:48:23.087
Because his ways are, you know, not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts,

00:48:23.147 --> 00:48:27.567
but how we would consider people non-qualified to do such great things.

00:48:27.567 --> 00:48:31.067
And you take a look at two kids like me and Jasmine, you know,

00:48:31.127 --> 00:48:34.587
today where we started, we were both teen parents growing up.

00:48:34.827 --> 00:48:39.167
Everyone counted us out when we were 16, 17 years old, right?

00:48:39.287 --> 00:48:41.387
I was in New Orleans, she's in Chicago.

00:48:42.287 --> 00:48:46.567
You know, we wind up finishing school, getting a degree and little did I know,

00:48:46.647 --> 00:48:51.687
I learned this years later, but 98% of people who are teen parents who enter

00:48:51.687 --> 00:48:53.287
into college don't finish college.

00:48:53.707 --> 00:48:57.347
And so how did me and Jasmine wind up finishing college? I don't think there

00:48:57.347 --> 00:48:59.167
was anything more special about us.

00:48:59.227 --> 00:49:06.067
It was just that we made a decision to not let our circumstances create our future, right?

00:49:07.264 --> 00:49:10.304
And so, you know, we all I'm always explaining that, hey, guys,

00:49:10.804 --> 00:49:13.224
you know, I didn't get this way because it was all on me.

00:49:13.404 --> 00:49:17.744
You know, I was an introvert. I was not into sales. I wasn't the best communicator,

00:49:17.824 --> 00:49:19.124
not the best public speaker.

00:49:19.464 --> 00:49:23.184
And God presented me with this opportunity that I thought never in a million

00:49:23.184 --> 00:49:24.404
years that I would get into.

00:49:24.844 --> 00:49:29.084
But he he would say, hey, you can do it. You can help other people to Alice

00:49:29.084 --> 00:49:32.784
who are stuck in the nine to five, who are stuck and feel hopeless.

00:49:32.784 --> 00:49:36.324
It's people that don't think that there's anything else out there for them to

00:49:36.324 --> 00:49:40.584
be able to succeed and win because corporate America and society is telling

00:49:40.584 --> 00:49:41.744
them, hey, you can't win.

00:49:41.884 --> 00:49:44.984
You can't do this. You come from here. So, no, you can't win.

00:49:45.264 --> 00:49:46.544
This is your background. So,

00:49:46.604 --> 00:49:49.984
no, you can't win. You don't have a college degree. So, no, you can't win.

00:49:50.324 --> 00:49:53.864
So, you're not you're not good in calculus and communication and this,

00:49:53.984 --> 00:49:55.504
that and the third. So, no, you can't win.

00:49:55.744 --> 00:49:58.864
And it's like everything in the Bible contradicts that when it says,

00:49:59.064 --> 00:50:02.564
no, you can win. And I've had so many examples of doing so.

00:50:02.764 --> 00:50:06.544
And we're just another example of that because we weren't qualified.

00:50:07.084 --> 00:50:10.864
We weren't financial professionals. We didn't come from wealthy families.

00:50:11.184 --> 00:50:14.164
You know, I come from eating government cheese, bologna sandwiches.

00:50:14.424 --> 00:50:17.964
I couldn't do the powdered milk, y'all. But I did cut that canned cream with

00:50:17.964 --> 00:50:22.504
some water and a little sugar and put it in the fridge and cockroaches in my home growing up.

00:50:22.604 --> 00:50:25.624
So I know what it's like to grow up poor, you know.

00:50:25.784 --> 00:50:30.284
And so, no, I was not qualified at all whatsoever. And so that's why we believe

00:50:30.284 --> 00:50:35.404
that what we do is a ministry, because ultimately we are looking to save people

00:50:35.404 --> 00:50:38.224
from what's happening and leading them back because they're like,

00:50:38.324 --> 00:50:39.264
well, where are you getting this from?

00:50:39.384 --> 00:50:44.284
And just leading them back to our pastor and our teaching and people who's helping

00:50:44.284 --> 00:50:47.464
us in that way, you know, to get that in their lives.

00:50:48.224 --> 00:50:51.424
Yeah. Ellis did such a great job there.

00:50:51.424 --> 00:50:57.684
I don't know how to, but I guess I'll speak from, you know, for me,

00:50:57.824 --> 00:51:02.644
ministry is something that you wouldn't necessarily choose for yourself,

00:51:02.724 --> 00:51:04.944
but, you know, you've been called to do this.

00:51:06.004 --> 00:51:11.044
I was heading to law school. I come from a background of political science,

00:51:11.244 --> 00:51:12.324
graduating from Howard.

00:51:12.924 --> 00:51:17.604
And when I got a master's in public policy, spent some years working on corporate

00:51:17.604 --> 00:51:21.824
at Capitol Hill and then just working my way up that corporate ladder.

00:51:22.064 --> 00:51:24.544
And I thought I had life figured out.

00:51:24.824 --> 00:51:27.744
You know, I thought I had everything mapped out.

00:51:27.884 --> 00:51:34.244
My plans for my life seemed pretty fancy. and God came as he often does and

00:51:34.244 --> 00:51:40.184
he disrupted those plans and I fought it quite a bit.

00:51:40.384 --> 00:51:44.964
When I first got licensed in the industry, I thought I would make an extra $400

00:51:44.964 --> 00:51:48.624
a month and maybe I could pay my car loan.

00:51:49.844 --> 00:51:56.084
One of the ways I know that this is a ministry is that because it's never been about deep income.

00:51:56.944 --> 00:52:00.704
Income has always been a by-product for Ellis and I at Impact.

00:52:01.344 --> 00:52:04.984
And, you know, I just thought, man, my card note at the time was $3.78.

00:52:05.144 --> 00:52:09.564
It'd be cool if I made, make an extra $400 a month.

00:52:09.704 --> 00:52:15.104
And my first 10 months of building out the Walt Academy, just educating communities,

00:52:15.364 --> 00:52:19.804
protecting families, and helping them secure their retirement,

00:52:20.204 --> 00:52:25.484
God blessed us to earn over $100,000 in 10 months with full-time careers and

00:52:25.484 --> 00:52:28.704
children and a host of competing obligations.

00:52:29.784 --> 00:52:32.724
And I remember being very nervous when God

00:52:32.724 --> 00:52:36.204
first informed us to walk away from

00:52:36.204 --> 00:52:40.664
our careers and go into this full-time and I said Lord we're leaving behind

00:52:40.664 --> 00:52:45.724
our good benefits package and we have children who are dependent on us and we

00:52:45.724 --> 00:52:51.164
have a mortgage and he just you know that I'm sending an army of people your

00:52:51.164 --> 00:52:54.104
way of people who need this information and so.

00:52:55.778 --> 00:53:00.438
I always say I'm grateful that we were obedient. It didn't mean we always understood.

00:53:00.898 --> 00:53:05.478
But he positioned the Wealth Academy for such a time as this.

00:53:05.738 --> 00:53:11.318
The U.S. is currently undergoing what financial experts call the greatest wealth

00:53:11.318 --> 00:53:13.318
transfer in the history of mankind,

00:53:13.318 --> 00:53:20.698
in which a colossal amount of assets right now are changing hands from baby

00:53:20.698 --> 00:53:23.098
boomers to millennials to Gen Z.

00:53:23.098 --> 00:53:26.798
And it's setting off a major chain reaction.

00:53:27.658 --> 00:53:35.498
You now have boomers who have done what their human resource directors informed

00:53:35.498 --> 00:53:39.138
them to do, what their financial advisors encouraged them to do,

00:53:39.258 --> 00:53:42.058
which was just wait it out. The market will come back.

00:53:42.278 --> 00:53:46.718
And now you have baby boomers and investors and wealthy people who are asking

00:53:46.718 --> 00:53:47.858
really smart questions.

00:53:48.378 --> 00:53:51.338
I don't want to wait it out because it's not just about the money.

00:53:51.338 --> 00:53:55.678
It's about the number of years that it took for me to accumulate that wealth.

00:53:55.958 --> 00:53:59.958
It may just be $30,000 to you and that could just be peanuts.

00:54:00.318 --> 00:54:07.498
But if it took me 10 years to build that $30,000, these are the questions consumers are now asking.

00:54:07.658 --> 00:54:13.918
I no longer want my portion of wealth to live inside of a market that can go

00:54:13.918 --> 00:54:17.918
up and down based off of what a few people on Wall Street decide.

00:54:17.918 --> 00:54:24.158
And so right now, we are sitting inside of a great wealth transfer where an

00:54:24.158 --> 00:54:32.498
estimated $84 trillion will switch ownership from boomers to millennials to Gen Z through 2045.

00:54:33.438 --> 00:54:37.338
And they're looking for safe vehicles.

00:54:37.718 --> 00:54:40.478
They're looking, they still want their money to grow, but they don't want their

00:54:40.478 --> 00:54:45.198
money to be exposed to market law. Right? And they want tax efficiency.

00:54:45.658 --> 00:54:47.438
They want tax deferred growth.

00:54:47.918 --> 00:54:50.738
They don't want to pay cost anymore every time.

00:54:51.664 --> 00:54:55.364
Advisor moves your money, they're making money off of your money.

00:54:55.764 --> 00:55:01.884
And so again, you know, I think the ministry part simply comes through obedience

00:55:01.884 --> 00:55:06.824
and surrendering because never in a million years did we come into this thinking

00:55:06.824 --> 00:55:09.484
we're going to build a million dollar agency.

00:55:09.784 --> 00:55:14.844
I just was looking to see if I could pay my card note, get a state license,

00:55:15.084 --> 00:55:20.604
maybe help one to two people. And through that obedience, we now serve over

00:55:20.604 --> 00:55:24.664
50,000 clients annually, and we've been in business for seven years.

00:55:24.964 --> 00:55:29.084
We have three physical locations, Chicago, Illinois, our flagship.

00:55:29.564 --> 00:55:32.604
Well, let me be clear, Erik, since we from the Chi, Oak Brook,

00:55:32.764 --> 00:55:38.344
Illinois, Dallas, Texas, and as of March of last year, Atlanta, Georgia.

00:55:38.344 --> 00:55:44.284
And so that is, I wish I could sound super sophisticated and say that's always

00:55:44.284 --> 00:55:47.564
been the goal, but it has not. The goal has always been obedient.

00:55:48.004 --> 00:55:53.684
And through that obedience, we're starting to approach upon the promise.

00:55:54.284 --> 00:56:00.264
Yeah. And, you know, real quick, that's, you know, when I was younger,

00:56:00.644 --> 00:56:06.424
we, you know, we talked about the prayer, Jabez, and the anointing about expanding territory.

00:56:06.424 --> 00:56:11.724
And that's basically what faithfulness is all about and i'm not going to get

00:56:11.724 --> 00:56:17.884
into a sermon either brother ellis but i just you know that's i wanted that to be highlighted so.

00:56:19.084 --> 00:56:24.504
Let's let's let's get to the favorite part of mine about the interview and that's

00:56:24.504 --> 00:56:30.024
y'all plug how people can connect with you all you know about you know the wealth

00:56:30.024 --> 00:56:31.724
academy if somebody wants to be,

00:56:31.924 --> 00:56:36.104
you know, work with y'all or somebody just wants to be a client or just want

00:56:36.104 --> 00:56:40.024
to pick y'all's brain like we're doing today? How can people get in touch with y'all?

00:56:40.604 --> 00:56:47.204
I'm real easy to find. Instagram, Mr. Wealth Academy. So M-R Wealth Academy.

00:56:48.084 --> 00:56:52.504
Jasmine's the same way. M-R-S Wealth Academy, Mrs. Wealth Academy.

00:56:52.704 --> 00:56:55.724
I'm on Facebook. My name, Ellis Suazo.

00:56:56.284 --> 00:57:00.844
Our Instagram for our company is called Wealth Academy Network.

00:57:01.784 --> 00:57:05.484
You know, we're real easy to find, never hard to get in touch with us.

00:57:05.624 --> 00:57:09.344
We'll always respond to our DMs, people just reaching out to us.

00:57:10.004 --> 00:57:14.264
Well, Jasmine and Ellis Suazo, I greatly appreciate y'all's time.

00:57:14.424 --> 00:57:19.284
Y'all gave me a lot more time than I anticipated, but I think this is going

00:57:19.284 --> 00:57:21.264
to be beneficial to people and

00:57:21.264 --> 00:57:26.664
hope that the listeners explore the opportunities and get with you all.

00:57:27.424 --> 00:57:30.484
And I agree that it's a ministry.

00:57:30.964 --> 00:57:37.404
A lot of people don't make that correlation, but when you're obedient, then you see abundance.

00:57:37.604 --> 00:57:41.584
So I'll just leave it at that. And I just thank y'all for coming on the podcast

00:57:41.584 --> 00:57:43.424
and sharing with us today.

00:57:44.284 --> 00:57:50.124
Thank you so much. All right, guys, we're going to catch y'all on the other.

00:57:50.000 --> 00:58:08.720
Music.

00:58:09.681 --> 00:58:17.501
All right. And we are back. So I want to thank Jasmine and Ella Suazo for coming on.

00:58:17.741 --> 00:58:23.061
And please reach out to them if y'all are interested, the Wealth Academy.

00:58:23.681 --> 00:58:31.301
Please reach out to them if you're interested in either their products or being an agent.

00:58:32.281 --> 00:58:39.441
They're continuing to build, and in the process, as they continue to build,

00:58:39.601 --> 00:58:41.481
they're trying to help us build wealth.

00:58:42.981 --> 00:58:47.921
Excuse me, so I really am glad that they took the time to come on,

00:58:48.061 --> 00:58:54.261
and I'm so glad that I was made aware of their existence, because anybody that

00:58:54.261 --> 00:58:58.681
is trying to help Black folks getting well,

00:58:58.921 --> 00:59:03.581
it really is doing the Lord's work in this country.

00:59:04.581 --> 00:59:07.001
So I want to thank them for that.

00:59:08.301 --> 00:59:17.961
I had something else lined up for you all today, and I'm kind of upset because it did not happen.

00:59:20.141 --> 00:59:24.081
And I really hate it. It's something that, you know, you plan.

00:59:24.081 --> 00:59:30.621
And most of the guests that I have on, we kind of planned this out months in advance.

00:59:31.781 --> 00:59:36.481
And when it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. But we're working to see if we

00:59:36.481 --> 00:59:38.381
can get it for the next episode.

00:59:39.361 --> 00:59:41.981
And if we can do that, cool. If not.

00:59:44.001 --> 00:59:44.901
We'll see.

00:59:46.155 --> 00:59:51.495
But anyway, so I just wanted to acknowledge that because I'm feeling some kind

00:59:51.495 --> 00:59:54.255
of way about it. I'm just being honest with you.

00:59:55.135 --> 00:59:59.055
I mean, it was like right there to happen, and it didn't.

01:00:00.615 --> 01:00:07.175
And I guess that's a good way to segue into what I want to close out with.

01:00:07.915 --> 01:00:18.275
Because, you know, in the 2024 election, we were really, really that close to saving our democracy.

01:00:18.275 --> 01:00:24.375
We were really, really that close to maintaining a sense of normalcy.

01:00:24.375 --> 01:00:37.995
And 1.5% as far as the popular vote and merely thousands of votes in certain swing states.

01:00:39.295 --> 01:00:45.875
And now we've got this air of surrender that's out there.

01:00:46.035 --> 01:00:55.235
We've got Republicans surrendering to their leader and we got Democrats surrendering.

01:00:56.435 --> 01:01:01.295
You know, you got a few folks trying to stand up for stuff, but the leadership

01:01:01.295 --> 01:01:04.395
is not ready. It's just not.

01:01:06.075 --> 01:01:07.755
And that's really, really disappointing.

01:01:09.453 --> 01:01:13.773
This was a moment. This was a moment to really show where we are.

01:01:13.953 --> 01:01:18.513
And, you know, and the American people are not stupid, right?

01:01:19.193 --> 01:01:24.993
So there was a poll that came out, I guess NBC did that, and said that the Democrats

01:01:24.993 --> 01:01:30.133
have a 27% approval rating. 27.

01:01:32.693 --> 01:01:38.573
That's the lowest a political party, at least the Democrats for sure,

01:01:38.573 --> 01:01:44.153
It's the lowest a political party has ever been in a poll as far as approval rating.

01:01:44.313 --> 01:01:50.133
Now, Congress usually gets, as a whole, usually hangs out around in the 20s.

01:01:51.753 --> 01:02:01.213
But the Democratic Party is at 27% approval rating, which is lower than President Trump.

01:02:01.373 --> 01:02:04.093
And he's in the 40s.

01:02:04.973 --> 01:02:06.493
He's below 50%.

01:02:07.953 --> 01:02:14.793
So that means that the American people don't see anything or anybody because

01:02:14.793 --> 01:02:18.773
Elon Musk is like in between the Democrats and Trump, right?

01:02:19.033 --> 01:02:23.453
They don't see anything or anybody worth getting excited about,

01:02:24.073 --> 01:02:26.893
worth following, worth listening to.

01:02:28.073 --> 01:02:32.473
Everybody's pretty much got their head down, right? Now, there's some of the

01:02:32.473 --> 01:02:36.413
people paying attention, but it's just kind of like, you know,

01:02:36.573 --> 01:02:39.293
I think people feel there's nothing they can do.

01:02:39.493 --> 01:02:43.193
And the ultimate proof is that there's this group called Atlas Intel.

01:02:43.413 --> 01:02:48.613
I guess they're a polling firm. I never heard of them until they released this

01:02:48.613 --> 01:02:52.373
poll saying that of people who did not vote.

01:02:53.153 --> 01:03:00.613
Hear me. People that did not vote, 83% of them do not like President Trump.

01:03:01.963 --> 01:03:05.403
Again, that's frustrating, right?

01:03:06.123 --> 01:03:11.223
It's frustrating for those of us who engage in the process every election,

01:03:11.603 --> 01:03:16.463
whether we're running or just voting, period. Just taking time out today.

01:03:17.043 --> 01:03:21.303
If you're in a state where you early vote, get that out the way so you won't

01:03:21.303 --> 01:03:23.183
be caught up in the lines on Election Day.

01:03:23.443 --> 01:03:26.483
But even if you wait till Election Day, people stand in line.

01:03:27.483 --> 01:03:33.023
You know, you had half of the American population take the time out to vote.

01:03:33.923 --> 01:03:41.603
We've been steady seeing around anywhere from 140 to 160 million Americans voting.

01:03:42.263 --> 01:03:46.603
But we're a population of 330 million and growing.

01:03:47.543 --> 01:03:52.223
Right. We'll see what the next census is. We forgot about what, five more years?

01:03:53.843 --> 01:03:58.843
Because the way things are going. People are trying to get up out of here, right?

01:03:59.023 --> 01:04:03.643
Even if they're just trying to go to Canada or Mexico, people are trying to

01:04:03.643 --> 01:04:06.283
get up out of here. The people, they're trying to kick people out.

01:04:06.983 --> 01:04:12.363
So it'll be interesting to see what the census is in about five years after

01:04:12.363 --> 01:04:16.243
putting up with all of this, right?

01:04:16.383 --> 01:04:21.563
But 83% of the people who didn't even bother to vote are like, what are we doing?

01:04:22.523 --> 01:04:30.403
Which I think in their minds justifies why they're not voting because they don't feel,

01:04:31.223 --> 01:04:36.023
that they can make a difference, but they're not naive to the point where they

01:04:36.023 --> 01:04:39.283
don't understand what's going on. And so they don't like what's happening.

01:04:40.343 --> 01:04:42.823
So let's do some math, right? Let's.

01:04:44.085 --> 01:04:47.045
The majority of people who didn't even participate don't like what's happening,

01:04:47.325 --> 01:04:52.785
and the alternative is not liked at all, right?

01:04:53.185 --> 01:04:56.845
The loyal opposition is at 27%.

01:04:57.825 --> 01:05:05.425
And when they had a moment to shut the process down and take a stand, they cowered.

01:05:05.965 --> 01:05:09.165
They didn't walk out during the address.

01:05:10.385 --> 01:05:18.625
10. They needed, what was the Republicans needed, 8 votes to get the budget passed, and they got 10.

01:05:19.765 --> 01:05:23.545
One of their own people didn't even vote for it, and the Democrats gave him

01:05:23.545 --> 01:05:29.105
10, including the leader of the Democrats, Chuck Schumer, on the Senate side.

01:05:29.905 --> 01:05:34.605
And, you know, he's been on the TV, and every time he comes on,

01:05:34.665 --> 01:05:39.785
I cut it off, because there's no way to explain that to rational people.

01:05:40.525 --> 01:05:47.585
You know, we don't process information the same way as Trump supporters do.

01:05:48.845 --> 01:05:56.425
We understand that you dropped the ball, and there's no way you can talk your way out of that.

01:05:57.185 --> 01:06:01.045
There's no way that you can lie your way out of that.

01:06:01.865 --> 01:06:05.045
There's no way that you can charm your way out of that. You dropped the ball.

01:06:05.405 --> 01:06:12.085
And that's why 27% of the people, only 27% of the people, like the Democrats.

01:06:12.845 --> 01:06:15.065
So that means what, boys and girls?

01:06:16.385 --> 01:06:22.405
73% of Americans don't like the Democrats, don't approve?

01:06:23.445 --> 01:06:28.045
They either don't approve or don't care. You can't win elections like that.

01:06:28.365 --> 01:06:35.865
You cannot. Now, 83% of the people said they don't like what's going on,

01:06:35.925 --> 01:06:39.665
but they're not going to vote because there's nothing to vote for.

01:06:40.105 --> 01:06:42.085
There's no option for them.

01:06:43.581 --> 01:06:51.781
So close, so close to building on the successes that President Biden was able to do.

01:06:52.001 --> 01:06:59.741
So close from disinfecting us from Trumpism and the Democrats dropped the ball.

01:07:00.261 --> 01:07:07.661
That hurts me, you know, because unlike a lot of people, you know,

01:07:07.801 --> 01:07:14.421
I actually was engaged. I was a leader in the Democratic Party in my state. I was on the DNC.

01:07:14.701 --> 01:07:18.021
I've given speeches for candidates in other states.

01:07:18.541 --> 01:07:20.301
I've done that in my life.

01:07:21.821 --> 01:07:31.341
And it almost seems like it was a waste of my time because the people that are

01:07:31.341 --> 01:07:37.341
trying to do the right thing within the party are being shut down by the cowards,

01:07:37.341 --> 01:07:41.841
which is absolutely amazing how that works. Right?

01:07:42.821 --> 01:07:47.521
How do we get to a point in America where people that are small-minded,

01:07:47.981 --> 01:07:54.681
people that are cowardly, people that are not leaders,

01:07:55.221 --> 01:07:59.641
how are they in positions of power?

01:08:00.501 --> 01:08:06.561
Now, money. Money in politics. Excessive money in politics.

01:08:07.361 --> 01:08:12.501
Everybody got their hand out to get paid. and the people that are getting paid

01:08:12.501 --> 01:08:17.721
don't give a care about us anymore.

01:08:18.600 --> 01:08:22.260
When I say us, I can mean black folks. I can just mean Americans altogether.

01:08:22.840 --> 01:08:29.640
They don't care. They have ideas. They think this is the way we should portray a message.

01:08:29.860 --> 01:08:32.520
They believe this is a particular message they should get out.

01:08:33.700 --> 01:08:37.720
And they try to force feed it. And it doesn't work.

01:08:38.580 --> 01:08:44.340
Whereas the other side has effectively taken advantage of people who may not

01:08:44.340 --> 01:08:46.560
totally understand what's going on.

01:08:46.560 --> 01:08:51.400
But they've created this whole ecosystem, echo chamber system,

01:08:51.660 --> 01:08:56.820
where they don't trust anybody else that has a different opinion,

01:08:57.580 --> 01:08:59.920
let alone like them, right?

01:09:00.600 --> 01:09:05.520
And so they just, you know, they think they're right.

01:09:06.740 --> 01:09:12.120
And so they just go ahead and vote accordingly and act accordingly, right?

01:09:14.320 --> 01:09:19.920
Then there's this incredible insecurity that's out there, right?

01:09:20.400 --> 01:09:26.300
That for some reason they think that those people who they have oppressed all

01:09:26.300 --> 01:09:28.520
these years are going to oppress them.

01:09:29.780 --> 01:09:36.920
Now, it's getting to a point where that nightmare may come true because people

01:09:36.920 --> 01:09:44.060
are tired of being ridiculed and abused and discriminated against and marginalized

01:09:44.060 --> 01:09:47.240
and not being heard. People are getting tired of that.

01:09:47.940 --> 01:09:55.020
You know, the pot is boiling. You cut the fire off. You don't slam the lid on harder.

01:09:55.600 --> 01:10:02.280
Right. Because the more pressure builds up, everything in that pot's going to blow out.

01:10:02.900 --> 01:10:05.640
Then you got a mess to clean up.

01:10:06.760 --> 01:10:13.680
You know, I have really been stressing that we need American leaders.

01:10:14.760 --> 01:10:19.520
We need people to understand that people matter, right?

01:10:20.200 --> 01:10:25.440
That these everyday struggles that we are dealing with, government can't solve

01:10:25.440 --> 01:10:29.660
all of them, but they can lift the burden off a lot of them.

01:10:30.320 --> 01:10:37.780
A black kid should not have to worry about driving their car and being indiscriminately

01:10:37.780 --> 01:10:40.720
stopped by police and having their rights violated.

01:10:41.240 --> 01:10:44.720
And the ultimate rights violation is their life being taken.

01:10:45.200 --> 01:10:47.220
You shouldn't live in a society like that.

01:10:48.620 --> 01:10:53.760
A Latino person shouldn't have to worry about going to work and folks just showing

01:10:53.760 --> 01:10:58.920
up and saying, hey, all y'all getting a bus, kicking you out of the country.

01:10:59.600 --> 01:11:02.140
They shouldn't have to feel that way, right?

01:11:03.100 --> 01:11:07.480
There's this guy, one of the shark tank guys, I can't remember his name,

01:11:08.580 --> 01:11:10.760
Kevin Leary, Levy, something, I don't know.

01:11:11.320 --> 01:11:15.760
I don't watch the show, so I've heard about it, but I don't watch it.

01:11:17.043 --> 01:11:20.383
Understand that he is of Lebanese descent.

01:11:21.363 --> 01:11:27.123
And he made a comment on CNN, and somebody challenged him on the comment,

01:11:27.263 --> 01:11:33.943
and he said, oh, well, you know, it's like, am I a second-class citizen?

01:11:34.383 --> 01:11:39.303
If I would have responded, I said, whatever you speak, it'll come into existence.

01:11:40.143 --> 01:11:43.903
You know, He doesn't identify as Lebanese, he identifies as white.

01:11:44.443 --> 01:11:46.963
So let's get that clear, right?

01:11:48.603 --> 01:11:56.003
But, you know, that projection stuff, that's almost like a disease here in America,

01:11:56.283 --> 01:11:57.743
especially in the political discourse.

01:11:57.883 --> 01:12:02.943
You say, well, you must be saying that. No, I'm repeating what you're saying.

01:12:03.803 --> 01:12:09.223
So if you say that I'm second class, either by inference or directly,

01:12:09.483 --> 01:12:12.823
if I throw it back at you, then yeah.

01:12:13.403 --> 01:12:16.463
If that's the way you interpret it, then that's what I'm saying.

01:12:18.083 --> 01:12:22.663
Because, you know, at this particular point, you can't, we've tried to be really

01:12:22.663 --> 01:12:25.243
nice. I would like people to have intelligent discussions.

01:12:25.483 --> 01:12:28.503
That's why I have this podcast, to have intelligent discussions.

01:12:29.443 --> 01:12:35.383
So far, I've been doing pretty good. But everywhere else in the atmosphere,

01:12:36.283 --> 01:12:43.843
not necessarily podcasts, but because podcasters have more control over content

01:12:43.843 --> 01:12:49.663
than people that work at network television or cable news, whatever,

01:12:50.923 --> 01:12:52.863
or newspapers.

01:12:53.043 --> 01:12:55.323
They have more control of the content.

01:12:55.703 --> 01:13:00.263
So they know what kind of guests they can have. They can set the tone.

01:13:00.263 --> 01:13:04.763
And if the guest doesn't comport, the episode doesn't air, right?

01:13:05.803 --> 01:13:10.723
Just shut it down, keep it moving. You have that freedom as a podcaster.

01:13:11.163 --> 01:13:15.923
These people do not have that freedom. And so they put people on like this Kevin

01:13:15.923 --> 01:13:20.623
Leary guy or this Scott Jennings or whatever the idiots you want to put on.

01:13:21.003 --> 01:13:25.803
And I say idiots because, you know, you might know something.

01:13:27.413 --> 01:13:32.053
That doesn't mean you know everything. I would never accept an invitation to

01:13:32.053 --> 01:13:34.573
go on a show that talks about neurosurgery.

01:13:35.373 --> 01:13:38.573
Did not go to school for that. Did not train for that.

01:13:39.653 --> 01:13:45.833
Barely even knows that, you know, that profession exists. Never had to have one.

01:13:46.313 --> 01:13:50.573
I've known a couple of people that are into it, but I couldn't be on a show

01:13:50.573 --> 01:13:54.573
and have an intelligent discussion about neurosurgery.

01:13:55.393 --> 01:14:00.253
I can't have an intelligent discussion about politics, but there are some people

01:14:00.253 --> 01:14:03.153
that are in politics that shouldn't

01:14:03.153 --> 01:14:08.913
be on a national panel either because they've been able to get by,

01:14:09.213 --> 01:14:12.253
but they don't have total comprehension, right?

01:14:12.873 --> 01:14:17.193
But, you know, you're sticking a lot of people on there. They're loud and they

01:14:17.193 --> 01:14:20.333
look good on TV, so you stick them on there and they have no clue what they're

01:14:20.333 --> 01:14:22.273
talking about, you know?

01:14:23.693 --> 01:14:26.893
We don't need sycophants on TV.

01:14:27.793 --> 01:14:32.753
You know, not unless they did something like storm the Capitol building or something like that.

01:14:33.493 --> 01:14:38.053
You might want to ask them why they did that. But as far as like discussions

01:14:38.053 --> 01:14:42.753
on issues now, because, you know, they're no different.

01:14:42.953 --> 01:14:46.773
It's it's just like a sports bar, right? You go to the sports bar,

01:14:46.993 --> 01:14:54.873
you may run into a person that actually played the sport at a professional level, but very rarely, right?

01:14:55.313 --> 01:15:01.853
And if you engage in that conversation, I usually defer to that person.

01:15:02.233 --> 01:15:07.673
I may not agree with what they're saying because it may have a negative impact

01:15:07.673 --> 01:15:10.473
on the team I'm supporting or whatever or the point I'm trying to make.

01:15:10.613 --> 01:15:15.313
But I have to respect their opinion over mine because they actually played the game.

01:15:16.153 --> 01:15:21.653
Now, if you actually had a bunch of them, say four or five of them in the discussion,

01:15:21.653 --> 01:15:26.513
and they all played the game, oh, well, that's going to be an intelligent discussion.

01:15:26.673 --> 01:15:28.393
And there's going to be different viewpoints.

01:15:29.493 --> 01:15:36.613
And everybody will learn something from it because all of them have expertise, true expertise.

01:15:37.533 --> 01:15:43.453
It doesn't matter if they rode the bench or they were like an all-star.

01:15:44.393 --> 01:15:46.073
They all made it to that level.

01:15:47.433 --> 01:15:51.793
So they all have valuable input. But, you know, you put me in a conversation

01:15:51.793 --> 01:15:56.053
with guys that are in the Hall of Fame and I'm trying to tell them about their sport.

01:15:56.933 --> 01:16:02.893
Yeah, that's not how it works. As a fan, I have my opinion and I root for who I want to root for.

01:16:04.413 --> 01:16:08.853
They have the expertise. And it's kind of like where we are now.

01:16:09.313 --> 01:16:15.673
Even though every citizen should participate in politics, but not everybody

01:16:15.673 --> 01:16:19.853
that participates is an expert in politics, right?

01:16:20.493 --> 01:16:25.873
Because if they were experts, the 83% that weren't pleased with Donald Trump

01:16:25.873 --> 01:16:30.753
would have voted and would have voted against them.

01:16:30.893 --> 01:16:36.853
But they didn't even, And their thought process was so jaded that they didn't

01:16:36.853 --> 01:16:40.973
even think that just voting for the alternative would make sure that that guy's

01:16:40.973 --> 01:16:44.173
not in, even if they didn't like the alternative.

01:16:44.393 --> 01:16:47.193
They're not that politically sophisticated. They're not experts.

01:16:47.393 --> 01:16:53.093
I do not want those people on a panel talking about issues like pertaining to

01:16:53.093 --> 01:16:55.733
how to elect people because they don't vote.

01:16:56.733 --> 01:16:59.353
Now, I do want to talk to them about why they're not voting.

01:16:59.353 --> 01:17:02.753
I do want to talk to them about things that are going on in the day-to-day life

01:17:02.753 --> 01:17:04.473
because they are experts on their life.

01:17:06.153 --> 01:17:08.213
So what kind of struggles are you going through?

01:17:09.933 --> 01:17:16.513
Is it because of the job? You're not getting paid enough? Are you on some kind of disability?

01:17:17.613 --> 01:17:22.433
Are you being discriminated against? I want to know those kind of things about their personal being.

01:17:22.433 --> 01:17:26.113
But I'm not going to put them on national television and have a discussion with

01:17:26.113 --> 01:17:32.693
people about designing a budget in Congress because they have no clue because

01:17:32.693 --> 01:17:33.533
they don't even participate.

01:17:34.013 --> 01:17:36.693
They don't even vote for the people that make the decisions.

01:17:37.733 --> 01:17:38.753
Y'all understand what I'm saying?

01:17:39.853 --> 01:17:45.313
You can't just stick. We can't just keep sticking faces in places.

01:17:46.853 --> 01:17:50.273
And we can't assume because people make a lot of money that they're smart.

01:17:51.972 --> 01:17:55.612
That all the time about this Elon Musk dude, and even this guy,

01:17:55.732 --> 01:17:58.052
Kevin Lear, these people are not smart people.

01:17:59.132 --> 01:18:03.392
I'm going to tell you the truth. The reality of the world is there are smart

01:18:03.392 --> 01:18:04.932
people and there are rich people.

01:18:05.932 --> 01:18:10.692
That's the world we live in. And the rich people can come across as being smart

01:18:10.692 --> 01:18:12.792
because they have access.

01:18:13.712 --> 01:18:17.992
But if you put them in an environment where you took away their money and had

01:18:17.992 --> 01:18:22.252
them next to really, really smart people, they'll be exposed.

01:18:22.852 --> 01:18:27.532
They could not survive. If they didn't have the money that they had, they could not survive.

01:18:27.972 --> 01:18:32.532
If they did not get that lick to propel them in a class where they could live

01:18:32.532 --> 01:18:34.692
comfortably, they couldn't survive.

01:18:35.552 --> 01:18:39.832
Could not make it at all. Would be lost.

01:18:40.492 --> 01:18:44.752
Probably be wards of the state. That's how bad I think some of them are.

01:18:45.152 --> 01:18:50.552
If they weren't born into affluence, if they weren't given a break based on

01:18:50.552 --> 01:18:55.392
privilege, they would not be, they would not have access.

01:18:55.932 --> 01:18:59.352
They might not be. They might exist.

01:19:00.272 --> 01:19:07.592
You know, because that's how things work, unfortunately, here.

01:19:08.212 --> 01:19:12.572
We got to get out of that notion that people that have money are smart. They are not.

01:19:12.952 --> 01:19:17.252
They might be good at making money, but that's it.

01:19:17.992 --> 01:19:22.212
If it's not about business, I don't want to hear Kevin Leary's opinion about

01:19:22.212 --> 01:19:24.212
immigration. I don't care.

01:19:25.172 --> 01:19:28.432
Especially somebody who's in self-denial about their immigrant heritage,

01:19:28.432 --> 01:19:31.012
except when they want to use it and weaponize it.

01:19:31.612 --> 01:19:39.012
I don't care, right? Because if you come from people who emigrated into the United States.

01:19:40.747 --> 01:19:46.087
Should understand that immigration is vital to the United States and you shouldn't

01:19:46.087 --> 01:19:49.267
be holding up a sign saying mass deportation.

01:19:49.807 --> 01:19:55.367
You shouldn't embrace that philosophy because of America here to that philosophy.

01:19:55.607 --> 01:19:59.527
You wouldn't even be here to have that discussion. You'd be in Lebanon trying

01:19:59.527 --> 01:20:02.107
to negotiate between Hezbollah. Right.

01:20:03.367 --> 01:20:07.187
I mean, that's my frustration.

01:20:08.527 --> 01:20:13.107
We got too many people. given too many platforms.

01:20:14.307 --> 01:20:20.567
And when I say too many platforms, which, you know, in the vernacular now,

01:20:20.807 --> 01:20:23.107
it's like platforming, well, it's my right to speak.

01:20:23.247 --> 01:20:25.927
No, platform means elevated, right?

01:20:26.947 --> 01:20:31.187
Space. You have space to say what you want to say.

01:20:31.627 --> 01:20:36.207
Platform means that it's at a level higher than the rest of the folks.

01:20:36.927 --> 01:20:40.947
You got to stop giving people platforms. We can give them all the space they want.

01:20:41.787 --> 01:20:48.907
Freedom of speech is tantamount for this country and this democracy to exist.

01:20:49.367 --> 01:20:55.467
But we control who has platforms, whose speech is elevated, whose speech is

01:20:55.467 --> 01:20:59.127
highly regarded more than anybody else's. We do control that.

01:20:59.527 --> 01:21:04.007
And we've got to be more judicious in how we give that control out,

01:21:04.527 --> 01:21:06.547
who we give that designation to.

01:21:07.487 --> 01:21:13.607
Some people don't need a platform. Some people just should be happy with space.

01:21:14.187 --> 01:21:18.307
You want to talk to me at the water cooler, at the golf course,

01:21:18.887 --> 01:21:22.227
at the sports bar, it's fine.

01:21:23.767 --> 01:21:26.487
But I don't think a lot of y'all should be on TV.

01:21:28.639 --> 01:21:33.999
Basis. I just don't. Because you don't know what you're talking about.

01:21:34.939 --> 01:21:39.239
And if the Republicans didn't give you the talking points to talk about it,

01:21:39.299 --> 01:21:41.039
you definitely wouldn't have anything to say.

01:21:41.859 --> 01:21:46.879
Your opinion was not important 10 years ago to the point where it should be platformed.

01:21:47.179 --> 01:21:53.239
And there's nothing that you have said that would make me think that you should have been elevated.

01:21:54.039 --> 01:22:01.379
Nothing, you know, and it's like your behavior shows that you shouldn't be able to bet it.

01:22:02.299 --> 01:22:07.959
Inappropriate touching of female guests, interrupting people while they're in

01:22:07.959 --> 01:22:11.639
the middle of a point, whether you agree with it or disagree with it.

01:22:11.999 --> 01:22:13.839
I mean, just everything.

01:22:14.479 --> 01:22:20.659
The whole demeanor shows that you are not ready for prime time.

01:22:20.779 --> 01:22:25.539
Not in that setting. On Shark Tank, you can do what you want to do. That's your show.

01:22:26.619 --> 01:22:31.559
I'm not coming on Shark Tank and trying to tell you investment strategies. I'm not doing that.

01:22:32.379 --> 01:22:35.859
Which means that you shouldn't come in my world and try to tell me about politics.

01:22:36.479 --> 01:22:41.819
Because it's clear you don't know. You have an opinion and you should have space

01:22:41.819 --> 01:22:46.539
for your opinion, but you should not have a platform. You should not be elevated.

01:22:47.299 --> 01:22:51.879
You shouldn't be on people's TV screens where millions of people can watch you night after night.

01:22:52.439 --> 01:22:56.719
You don't deserve that. And the content that comes out of your mouth is proven.

01:22:57.299 --> 01:23:01.079
Same with Scott Jennings. Even though he has a political background,

01:23:01.079 --> 01:23:05.879
he is not an astute thinker. He's not.

01:23:06.559 --> 01:23:12.439
There are people who are actually out here trying to put issues out,

01:23:12.879 --> 01:23:18.139
give both perspectives of the issues to educate the general public.

01:23:19.659 --> 01:23:23.319
They're offering themselves as a resource so you can go and say,

01:23:23.439 --> 01:23:27.379
OK, well, OK, I agree with that point. I disagree with that point.

01:23:27.879 --> 01:23:31.979
But the points are evenly presented. it.

01:23:32.619 --> 01:23:37.019
So you can make that choice in your space, right?

01:23:37.519 --> 01:23:41.339
And in your sphere of influence, whether it's your family, your friends,

01:23:41.499 --> 01:23:48.299
whoever, school you attend, you can espouse that, right, to that group.

01:23:49.159 --> 01:23:52.319
But it's because you've been given the information.

01:23:52.979 --> 01:23:57.799
And as long as the information is presented and you decide to make a choice, that's fine.

01:23:58.319 --> 01:24:01.139
Whether I agree with the choice or not, That's fine.

01:24:01.239 --> 01:24:06.259
At least I can tell you were informed because not only do you make your point,

01:24:06.339 --> 01:24:10.699
but if you understand the other side, it helps you make your point better to

01:24:10.699 --> 01:24:12.039
challenge the other point.

01:24:12.799 --> 01:24:20.119
If you understand, understand both sides of the issue, then it makes your defense of the issue stronger.

01:24:21.824 --> 01:24:26.284
Live in that world. That's why they want to destroy the Department of Education.

01:24:26.924 --> 01:24:30.324
They don't care about education. They don't want, that's why they're trying

01:24:30.324 --> 01:24:31.584
to shut down universities.

01:24:33.244 --> 01:24:41.584
How evil can you be to deny your alma mater $175 million because you disagree

01:24:41.584 --> 01:24:46.004
on the fact that they actually had one transgender athlete?

01:24:47.004 --> 01:24:51.524
You would deny, you're the most powerful person in the world politically,

01:24:51.904 --> 01:25:00.144
and you would deny your alma mater $175 million and then wonder why they don't

01:25:00.144 --> 01:25:01.824
invite you to speak at the graduation.

01:25:02.564 --> 01:25:08.544
I'm just saying, that's how warped and evil these, and if we don't engage,

01:25:08.844 --> 01:25:12.744
if we don't find motivation to vote, if we don't find,

01:25:13.764 --> 01:25:16.064
reasons to participate in the

01:25:16.064 --> 01:25:22.184
process, dummies continue to get elevated because, see, the pool shrinks.

01:25:23.164 --> 01:25:30.064
When people are not engaged, then the people who are, that's the pool you have to choose from.

01:25:30.204 --> 01:25:34.664
And there's a lot of people who have platforms who are engaged that should not be.

01:25:36.804 --> 01:25:41.944
I just I'm trying to comprehend it,

01:25:43.624 --> 01:25:48.884
I have a narrow lens because I am a black man so I'm thinking,

01:25:49.564 --> 01:25:53.804
that most of this stuff especially in the region of the country that I live

01:25:53.804 --> 01:25:58.944
in most of the support for this president comes from the fact that you don't

01:25:58.944 --> 01:26:02.044
like people like me doing anything.

01:26:03.938 --> 01:26:08.758
Me to exist. And if I do exist, I need to stay in my place.

01:26:09.398 --> 01:26:14.878
So your support for this president is a testimony to that thought.

01:26:15.878 --> 01:26:21.358
And I really haven't seen or heard any argument otherwise. I haven't seen any

01:26:21.358 --> 01:26:26.198
action by this president that would make me think otherwise, right?

01:26:27.698 --> 01:26:31.838
And definitely not from the richest man in the world who is now the,

01:26:32.078 --> 01:26:34.538
I don't know what he is, co-president,

01:26:35.138 --> 01:26:41.358
best friend number one, I don't know, sidekick, I don't know what he is and

01:26:41.358 --> 01:26:42.818
why he has all this access.

01:26:43.478 --> 01:26:49.818
But he definitely comes from an upbringing and a background and a mindset that

01:26:49.818 --> 01:26:54.638
he thinks less of me just because of the content, I mean, the color of my skin.

01:26:54.638 --> 01:26:58.798
He could give a less than a damn about my character. He doesn't want to get to know me like that.

01:26:59.398 --> 01:27:07.118
But because 83, that's because, well, people didn't vote, and then 83% of people don't like who it is.

01:27:07.978 --> 01:27:15.158
You know, it's a terrible statistic, this eye-opening, but you abdicated your

01:27:15.158 --> 01:27:16.378
power when you didn't vote.

01:27:17.058 --> 01:27:19.878
And it's just really, really tough to deal with.

01:27:22.378 --> 01:27:30.018
And, you know, it's tough to support people who look at a number and say we're

01:27:30.018 --> 01:27:36.478
at 25, 27 percent approval and not doing a damn thing to change it.

01:27:36.898 --> 01:27:43.698
It's tough. You know, in professional sports, if your team sucks, you trade players,

01:27:44.018 --> 01:27:51.958
you sign new players, you fire coaches, you do something to stop losing. You shake things up.

01:27:52.618 --> 01:27:57.138
We've even heard the term rebuilding. We're in rebuild mode.

01:27:57.918 --> 01:28:00.038
If you're below 50 percent.

01:28:02.002 --> 01:28:07.882
Polling, dealing with politics need to rebuild. You need to shake some things

01:28:07.882 --> 01:28:09.822
up. Stop doing what you're doing.

01:28:10.602 --> 01:28:14.762
Find a better way to make it happen. Listen to some other people other than

01:28:14.762 --> 01:28:16.782
folks that you pay to pat you on the back.

01:28:17.042 --> 01:28:22.782
What's the difference between President Trump hiring an administration of yes

01:28:22.782 --> 01:28:31.082
men and yes women and a Democratic Party that only hires yes men and yes women. What's the difference?

01:28:31.862 --> 01:28:36.522
Like I said, I'm really, really upset. I'm frustrated.

01:28:38.962 --> 01:28:48.742
And my only outlet is to reach out to people and just let people know this podcast is my therapy.

01:28:48.742 --> 01:28:55.462
I am not ashamed to tell people that because I love politics.

01:28:56.322 --> 01:28:59.762
I love American government.

01:29:00.022 --> 01:29:05.482
I love the concept of a nation that takes care of its own.

01:29:05.702 --> 01:29:10.602
I love the concept of a nation that is representative of every nation in the

01:29:10.602 --> 01:29:18.622
world where people can coexist and achieve and be all they really can be.

01:29:19.462 --> 01:29:24.702
And I like people that fight for that. I like people that understand and are

01:29:24.702 --> 01:29:26.982
willing to go the extra mile to make it happen.

01:29:27.662 --> 01:29:32.062
I like people that achieve in spite of obstacles being thrown in their way by

01:29:32.062 --> 01:29:35.262
paranoid, cowardly people. I love it.

01:29:37.662 --> 01:29:44.982
And I will do anything within reason and within legality.

01:29:45.682 --> 01:29:48.222
Always got to throw caveats in in this day and age.

01:29:48.942 --> 01:29:54.362
To make sure that not only does that ideal of mine survives,

01:29:54.702 --> 01:29:59.702
but thrives and expands and gets in the mindset of the majority of people.

01:29:59.842 --> 01:30:04.102
We can disagree on how to build a road, but we must agree that a road needs to be built.

01:30:05.042 --> 01:30:06.562
We got to get to that point.

01:30:08.430 --> 01:30:14.070
We know that the road for freedom is not easy. Most of that is based off of

01:30:14.070 --> 01:30:17.310
those of us who understand our spirituality.

01:30:18.590 --> 01:30:23.350
Because, like I tell people all the time, the devil thought he was in a negotiation

01:30:23.350 --> 01:30:26.030
and Jesus thought he was being annoyed, right?

01:30:28.190 --> 01:30:32.430
You know, we can't continue to negotiate with evil.

01:30:33.010 --> 01:30:36.610
We have to be annoyed by it, and we have to act like we're annoyed,

01:30:36.610 --> 01:30:41.070
and we cannot continue to give these people platforms.

01:30:41.830 --> 01:30:42.730
We cannot.

01:30:44.070 --> 01:30:49.570
The most radical thing we can do, every citizen, is vote.

01:30:50.210 --> 01:30:57.330
Now, let me take that back. The most basic radical thing we can do is vote. Don't participate.

01:30:58.210 --> 01:31:02.970
Don't let these people who have no empathy, to have no soul,

01:31:03.290 --> 01:31:13.110
to have no clear cognitive thought be rewarded with leadership because we stay at home.

01:31:13.590 --> 01:31:19.270
We seclude ourselves. We distance ourselves from the fray.

01:31:19.730 --> 01:31:25.990
We can't afford that anymore. If America is going to survive and get better,

01:31:26.370 --> 01:31:28.310
then we have to be engaged.

01:31:29.030 --> 01:31:33.710
Canada allowed a Kevin Leary's and the Scott Jennings and the Elon Musk and

01:31:33.710 --> 01:31:36.450
the Donald Trump to have their way.

01:31:36.970 --> 01:31:41.990
Steve Bannon's and the Steve Miller's and any other Steve that has evil thoughts.

01:31:43.150 --> 01:31:48.890
We can't let them have their way. We cannot. We have to fight back.

01:31:49.830 --> 01:31:52.770
As inconvenient and painful as that may sound.

01:31:53.790 --> 01:31:58.170
If you want to live the life you want to live, then you got to get people out

01:31:58.170 --> 01:32:01.990
of the way that are trying to restrict it. End of discussion.

01:32:02.870 --> 01:32:07.050
You definitely do not want them in levers of power where they can restrict it.

01:32:07.490 --> 01:32:12.150
They can talk about you all you want to. They can troll you on social media all you want to.

01:32:12.210 --> 01:32:16.330
As long as they don't stop you from doing what you want to do, let them talk.

01:32:17.010 --> 01:32:24.190
But if you give them power, Then you got a problem If you give them platforms You got a problem,

01:32:25.310 --> 01:32:32.450
So for those people who did not vote And are not happy Vote For the Democrats,

01:32:33.190 --> 01:32:38.410
27% is not a goal It's a stain Do better.

01:32:40.343 --> 01:32:47.243
If you are invited to be on a national program and you don't know how to comport

01:32:47.243 --> 01:32:50.843
yourself in a discussion where millions of people are going to watch,

01:32:51.203 --> 01:32:52.703
don't accept the invitation.

01:32:53.303 --> 01:32:57.103
Stay at home and learn from people that know what they're doing.

01:32:58.103 --> 01:33:01.963
Yeah, you know, they're going to pay you. OK, great. You know,

01:33:02.283 --> 01:33:03.383
not all money is good money.

01:33:04.223 --> 01:33:07.583
Especially if you don't know what you're talking about. Especially if you don't

01:33:07.583 --> 01:33:13.043
know how to act on TV. If you don't know how to sit next to a woman and have

01:33:13.043 --> 01:33:15.723
an intellectual discussion, don't go.

01:33:16.383 --> 01:33:23.523
And I understand people want ratings, but not all ratings are good ratings.

01:33:25.683 --> 01:33:29.743
Stop giving these people platforms. They don't deserve it.

01:33:30.143 --> 01:33:34.303
The people that deserve it are the ones that really get ignored.

01:33:34.303 --> 01:33:39.463
And one of the reasons why I do what I do is to give people who are really doing

01:33:39.463 --> 01:33:42.563
the work in the community, who are really trying to build community up,

01:33:42.723 --> 01:33:47.003
who are really looking out for their neighbor, they don't get invited to those shows.

01:33:47.743 --> 01:33:52.203
You know, they might have like some kind of special, some around Thanksgiving,

01:33:52.203 --> 01:33:56.843
and only five of those folks are going to be recognized out of the thousands

01:33:56.843 --> 01:33:59.603
that are doing really, really good work.

01:34:01.523 --> 01:34:05.443
So as long as y'all continue to support this podcast, I'm going to keep trying

01:34:05.443 --> 01:34:07.503
to elevate the people that deserve a platform.

01:34:08.603 --> 01:34:12.183
And I will criticize those folks that shouldn't.

01:34:14.000 --> 01:35:04.385
Music.