EP 167: How to Transform Your Life Through Big Dreams and Hard Work

This episode of the 5 Year Millionaire Podcast is brought to you from Lake Tahoe, California. If you told me 15-20 years ago, when I was at one of the lowest points in my life, broken down car, moving in back home with my mom, that I'd be recording a podcast episode from Lake Tahoe, I'd probably have a hard time believing you. In fact, maybe I'd even consider you a little crazy. I share with you my personal story to success and how having big dreams, creating an action plan, and the courage to be a little "crazy" can turn your dreams into reality. 

Transcript

Jason Brown [00:00:01]:
Alright. Welcome to the podcast. I am taking it on the road again this time in a little bit of a different scenery, a little bit of a different location. Coming to you from Edgewood Resorts in beautiful Lake Tahoe. Oh my goodness. Look at the scenery behind me. It's so beautiful. So, obviously, if you listen to the podcast on any of the audio platforms, you cannot see the beautiful scenery.

Jason Brown [00:00:30]:
But for all my people that are on YouTube, welcome to Podcast on the Road, Value Millionaire Podcast, Lake Tahoe Edition. This one is a very special addition to me for a few different reasons. We're still in the month of July. And what's special about July for me is it's my freedom month. July 5th was the day that I left corporate America about 8 years ago and put in my notice I put in my notice before that, but July 5th was my actual last date in corporate America. And one of the things that you may not know, but one of the biggest regrets that I had in life and I know that's like dramatic, but yes, in life, one of the regrets that I had was that when I made money the first time in the stock market before I went broke initially, one of the regrets that I had was that I didn't travel anywhere. I didn't go anywhere special. When I look at the money that I spent, I spent a lot of my money just we call it, like, being big time local, meaning it had a nice car, so I'm just driving around Metro Detroit, in a nice car, moved to a nice apartment, went out to eat fancy meals, stuff like that.

Jason Brown [00:02:03]:
So we had fancy stuff, but we never did anything that was like when I say we, me and my cousin, we were trading together. I felt like we were a duo at that time, but I never did anything that I never did anything that was like, wow, I went to Europe. I went and saw the world. Never did anything like that. And when I went broke and had to move back home in Detroit, It was a very interesting time in life because having made all that money, and not just about the money, but also being at a point where I had the free time to actually travel. I didn't have a job. I didn't have kids. No wife.

Jason Brown [00:02:52]:
None of that stuff. So I had the free time to travel. Had the money to travel and go see the world and I didn't. And I said, this time around, when I start making some money and get my time back, which is another very important component about it because I think a lot of people just focus on making money and they don't think about drop this book bag off. They don't think about they don't think about the time component. And I said, man, when I make money and have my time back, I wanna go see the world. And so that's why this episode is special because full time trading, full time running a business, teaching people how to trade in the stock market, how to use options to protect themselves, how to start their millionaire journey within 5 years, and to be here in beautiful Lake Tahoe recording a podcast. It's just a testament that anything could happen.

Jason Brown [00:03:54]:
Your life can change in a very short period of time. So no matter where you're at in life, when I was in my darkest moments back when I lost all my money, had to move back home, I had to drive my 1985 color supreme. That was the most expensive car that I could afford at the time. And I remember driving that color supreme. I'll never forget, I was on my way to the gym. I was on my way to the gym. It was Bally's at that time. I don't think there's any Bally's anymore.

Jason Brown [00:04:23]:
I think they're all LA Fitnesses now. But I was on my way to Bally's and I remember my car broke down right in the middle of the road. So my car broke down in the turning lane. Like, I was getting in the turning lane to turn in the valleys, and the car just for whatever reason, it just conked out. It just it just conked out. It would not go. And so I was so pissed off in life. I was so pissed off at my circumstances, my situation that I remember I just got out of the car and I left it right there in the middle of the street.

Jason Brown [00:05:08]:
My thought process was like, look, it ain't going nowhere. It's probably gonna take at least an hour for a tow truck to come get it. I might as well go finish my workout or at least get into the gym and take my mind off the stress, take my mind off the fact that I'm broke, the fact that my car is broke down, the fact that I don't even know how much it's gonna cost to fix it. I hope I can get it fixed so I can get to work the next day. And that was just a super dark time in my life, And it was imp I just like to share those moments or recap them. Number 1, for myself. I really just like documenting my story. I really like shooting video recording, talking to camera, thinking about my story because I feel like I'm put on this earth to do something big, do something interesting, do something unique.

Jason Brown [00:05:56]:
And I just think one day when my kids look back or somebody's like, how did this guy do it? What was his mindset? What was his thought process? They'll have these audio tapes, these videos to understand what I was going through, what I was thinking about at these different stages in my life. And I think back on that stage of my life, and it was a tough time. I did not, at that moment, think, you know, one day I'm gonna be in Lake Tahoe with the beautiful mountains in the background, recording a podcast talking about this. That did not cross my mind at that moment. What crossed my mind at that moment was, this sucks. This is effed up. This is messed up. And why is this my life? And why me? All of the different things that we think when things are going our way.

Jason Brown [00:06:51]:
But, man, I'm telling you, 5 years. In 5 years, it don't take that long if you don't give up, if you have a game plan to get out of debt, you have a game plan to have your money work harder for you than you can work for it, which for me, that was the stock market. If you have a game plan, it can all turn around for you in a few short years. And so I'm down here at the mastermind, and one of the things that me and one of the members was talking about that's in the mastermind, we were like, you kinda gotta be a little crazy to do what we do or to at least to believe how we believe. I was talking to my girl, Kat Norris, miss XL, and we were just like, you gotta be a little crazy for us to do what we do or at least believe what we believe because coming from where we come from, coming from mediocre circumstances, challenging circumstances, coming from where the deck is stacked against you, whether it be from your skin color, your education, maybe it's because of something your parents did and maybe they were, you know, maybe they went to jail, maybe they're drug ads, maybe they don't have the best reputation in your community. People expect you to not do as well in life. The point is all these things are stacked against you, and we were just talking about how you gotta be a little bit crazy to think that you can arrive, whatever arrived means for you. And I wanna encourage people to lean into that crazy and not, and not question it and not not lean into normalcy.

Jason Brown [00:08:41]:
Right? Because normalcy says, this is how it's gonna be. This is how it's been for my parents. This is how it's gonna be because of my skin color. This is how it's gonna be because I didn't go to college. That is what normal people do. They lean into they just play into the cars they were dealt. They play into the situation or circumstances they were dealt. They play into the victim mentality or they buy, unfortunately, and very sadly, they buy into this is the way it's gonna be for the rest of my life.

Jason Brown [00:09:08]:
And that one is super sad because the rest of your life is a long time. Even though we're on this earth for a short time, the rest of your life is a long time to accept and commit to mediocracy, especially especially when with a little bit of work, little bit of dedication, little bit of a game plan, you can actually turn it all around. And so when I used to say stuff, like, on my vision board, like, when I was flat broke, on my vision board, I wrote, like, I'm gonna be a millionaire, and I wanna be a millionaire before I'm under age 40. I also wrote that I wanted to drive a Lamborghini or Ferrari, one of those exotic cars. I wrote that I wanted to have 3 homes, 1 in Michigan and one, like, in California or somewhere, you know, warm like Mexico or something like that. And if you would look back at the state of my life at that point, flat broke, 1985 Cutlass, parked in the middle of the road, broken down while I go work out in the gym, because working out was all I had. It was the only thing I had control over. It was, like, might as well go get in shape.

Jason Brown [00:10:27]:
It also was very therapeutic for me. It helped my mind. They say motion creates a motion. And so keeping your body in motion helps, you know, positive endorphins and different things like that. But on the outside, you would 100% say, This dude is crazy. He gotta be crazy. What it there's no way this guy's gonna amount to none. Look at where he's at.

Jason Brown [00:10:52]:
He has to be, maybe he'll amount to something, but he's gotta be crazy to think he'll hit those levels, millionaire status, drive exotic cars, control us on time, impact the world. In fact, you gotta be a little bit crazy to be me to think that after losing all your money to believe that one day, I'm gonna teach people how not to lose all their money. You gotta be a little bit delusional though. You're like, wait a minute. So you had a little bit of success in the stock market, ran your account up to about $300, and then you're telling me you lost it all. I'm like, yes. And now you're telling that's why we gotta be a little bit crazy in the stock market. That's why we gotta be a little bit crazy in a good way.

Jason Brown [00:11:43]:
I'm not using I'm not talking about crazy for anybody who's dealing with mental illness or anything that's, anxiety or something like that. You know, I know that those are real issues, but I'm talking about we gotta be a little delusional about our dreams, which is why they're called dreams. Right? Dreams and goals. Why why why would you just write on a piece of paper? Like, the point the whole point of dreaming is to reach and stretch for something that you don't believe you can have. And then the transformation from that dream dream, then it just stays a dream, and that's okay too. Sometimes with some people, it's just like, you know, the dream, then it just stays a dream, and that's okay too. Sometimes with some people, it's just like, man, one day, if I hit the lottery or one day, I'll drive one of those cars or one day, I'll live in one of those places, and that's okay for some people. But then when you move that dream to a goal, the difference is you now have action steps that you're ticking off, checking off, and moving forward to hit it and make that dream become a reality.

Jason Brown [00:12:51]:
But unfortunately, the first phase is where people stop. They don't even dream. They don't even give themselves permission to be a little, dare I say, crazy? Most people and, man, these mountains are so beautiful in the back. I gotta turn around and let you see them. Most people do not even and then you got the sun kissing my face right here. Oh, it feels so good. Most people don't even give themselves permission to dream. Most people don't even give themselves permission to just say, man, if I had no restrictions on my education, no restrictions on the amount of money I can make, no restrictions on the different types of people that I can learn from.

Jason Brown [00:13:36]:
Like, what would I go after? What would I wanna do in life? For me, that was like, I'm gonna teach all these people someday about the stock market. Where do I want to live? Where don't want to drive? Most people stop short of just that piece right there, allowing yourself to dream. And when you don't even allow yourself to dream, what you're doing is you're putting the cap on hope. You're putting the cap on hope because once I start dreaming, then hope came into my life. I'm like, okay. Let's get the car fixed so I can get to work. Because if I can get to work, I can make some money. If I can make some money, I can buy a educational course and learn about the stock market as well as figure out what I did wrong.

Jason Brown [00:14:20]:
If I could figure out what I did wrong and start again, I need money to start investing again. If I can invest again, I can get back up to 300,000. Wait a minute. If I get back up to 300,000 and I got more knowledge, maybe I can get to a1000000. But all that starts with dreaming, giving myself permission to believe that, yes, I can do this again. Giving myself permission to believe that month one day giving myself permission to be crazy. Give myself permission to realize that one day, I could get there, but I can't get there if I don't have any dreams. I can't create any action steps if I don't have any wants and desires, which is why I think it's so it's so important that people want and desire stuff.

Jason Brown [00:15:13]:
You know, when I buy watches like this, and when I buy, you know, I mean, these are some of the hottest Rolex watches, and I know to the outside world, and and for some people who are on YouTube and Instagram, for some people, it's a flags. They're showing off all this all this, you know, other stuff. But for those of us who always as poor kids, didn't grow up with much, would see the Rolex sign, and only saw people who could wear these watches that were rappers, athletes. It represents something different. It doesn't represent a flex on how much money I got or look at me or, oh, I'm wearing a Rolex. I think I'm somebody special. No. I'm quite the average guy.

Jason Brown [00:15:59]:
If you actually get to know me, just a dude who was passionate about changing the situation. But what these watches or, you know, you see the Ferrari or the Rolls Royce, what they represent is that I allow myself to dream, and then I mapped out a game plan to officially get to a place where we can afford these things. And to be able to buy these things was a representation that I didn't stay where I was at. It would mean I got knocked down, but we got back up and we put together a game plan to not just get back up and get back to where we were at, but it was a game plan to, go further than we've ever been, if if that makes sense. So it's not just about putting together the game plan to say, well, if I could just get back to that exact place that I already was, then that's not dreaming again. That's just to some degree being average, which is okay, which is okay. Some people may say if I just get back to that level, I just be okay right there. But these items to me represent somebody who didn't quit, somebody who got knocked down and got back up, somebody who not only when they got back up, they said I'm gonna come back bigger, badder, and stronger.

Jason Brown [00:17:39]:
And that's what sometimes these items like the watches represent. That's what these vacations and being around these masterminds represent. Like, one of the most powerful things about coming out here to a mastermind or being invited and being out here in Lake Tahoe around other investors, stock traders, business owners. One of the one of the best things about it is saying, like, wow, I'm invited. I am in a room that I used to be on the outside of wondering what do those people do. I used to be standing on I I wish there was like some you see the glass railing around the pool. I feel like I used to be on the outside of that pool pressed up against the glass saying, wow. Look at those people sitting out there by the lake.

Jason Brown [00:18:35]:
I wonder what do they do? Look at those people on vacation. Oh, look at those people, in the room having a business conversation. I wonder what do they do. I wonder if I'll ever be in the room with those types of people. I wonder if I'll ever be respected by those types of people. I wonder if I'll ever have something to contribute, Not just be a person that's there to take information, but I wonder if I'll ever be able to contribute and they say, wow, because you were here, I actually learned something from from from you. So that's what that's what that's what this all represents. That's why I wanted to do I said, I wanna do a podcast.

Jason Brown [00:19:20]:
I wanna record a video from beautiful Lake Tahoe. Because to be standing here and talking to you right now is a reminder that this kid was also the same kid standing in the middle of Van Dyke Road in Michigan with his 1985 Cutlass Supreme broke down in the middle of the street not knowing how he was gonna get it towed, not knowing how he was gonna get it fixed, not knowing how much it was gonna cost. And I was just at my breaking point where I'm like, if one more thing goes wrong, I don't I don't even know if I can survive another day. You ever I don't know. I know somebody's felt like that where, like, man, if one more thing go wrong, like, I don't even know if I wanna be here, which is a which which I thank God that I listened to the motivational tapes. I read the books, and and those books gave me that little glimmer of hope and said, document this. Take a picture that your car broke down so that you can reflect back on this. I am grateful that I allowed myself to be crazy and be like, because my car broke down, I'm gonna buy one of the hottest cars one day, a Ferrari, a Rolls Royce.

Jason Brown [00:20:32]:
And so as we wrap up this episode, I'm really just giving you I don't have to give you permission. You're a grown adult or you're a young adult watching this. I just wanna encourage you to be a little crazy. At least that what society calls us. You know? If you if in my circle, we not the crazy ones. We the sane ones. But if in your circle, you're the crazy one, If you have no if there is no spotlight, no reason why you should be successful, I want you to lean into that. If you like, there is no way I'll make money from the stock market.

Jason Brown [00:21:09]:
I don't know how to read charts. I don't understand it. I'm not good with money. I want you to be like, because of that, I will be rich. I would be one of the best stock traders because I'm hungry. I'm willing to learn. I'm willing to change. I'm willing to dream, and I'm willing to map it out and turn those dreams into a goal by creating action steps.

Jason Brown [00:21:31]:
And more importantly, you're willing to take a step towards those goals. I'm not saying it's gonna be easy. I'm not saying your friends go agree, your spouse, your husband, your significant other, your boss on your job. A lot of people ain't gonna understand. They might snicker, they might joke behind your back. But one thing I found out about us crazy people is that once we finally quote unquote make it, it's very interesting how we go from crazy to he was so focused, he was on his grind. He that was commitment. Right? All of a sudden, we go from crazy to genius once we quote unquote make it.

Jason Brown [00:22:15]:
So don't worry about being called crazy today because tomorrow they might be calling you a genius and you might be recording a podcast from Lake Tahoe or wherever you wanna be in the world, letting people know it's okay to be a little bit crazy. It's okay to dream. It's okay to go after it even when it don't look you are the least likely choice to be successful. So So thanks for listening. Thanks for watching. Let me know in the comments where my crazy people at, who go get crazy with me, who will go after these dreams and grows. I'm getting ready to write down some new goals that's even crazier, but that's what keep me motivated. That's what keep me fired up.

Jason Brown [00:22:58]:
That's what keep me pushing. And what's even more special is once you reach them, you look back and you say, wow. Maybe we weren't the crazy ones. We were the same ones. I'll see you on the next episode.