The Economy Is Breaking People. Give Each Other Grace | Let's Get Real Ep. 32

Just got out of the barbershop… and the weight of what I heard followed me to the car.

A barber who moved into a new apartment, week and a half in, lost everything in a fire before he could get renter's insurance. That hit different. Because it's not just him. I've got people in my world dealing with mental health battles, physical health crises, job losses, and no clear answer for what comes next. I've got others who feel stable on paper but still feel the weight of everything pressing down.

So let's talk about it. The real version. Not the Wall Street version. Not the version the media will cover between Epstein headlines and political theater.

Here's the truth nobody wants to say out loud:

We are in it. All of us. And there is no quick fix.

Layoffs at levels we haven't seen since before COVID. All-time highs in the stock market and gold while salaries refuse to keep up. Kids' sports getting more expensive. Grocery bills not dropping. Insurance costs through the roof. It's a slow squeeze and the middle class is catching the worst of it because they're trying to hold everything together.

In this episode, I talk about why I told someone at the barbershop to go into survival mode and why I said it with a heavy heart. I break down what that actually means, why we need to give each other grace right now, and why realistically we're looking at 12 to 24 months before things shift… depending on what happens with policy and politics.

I also get into something that fires me up every time. Money. What it really is. Why billionaires and trillionaires exist. And why the whole system is built around power and control, not prosperity.

This episode isn't about doom. It's about reality. It's about understanding what's happening around you so you can make better decisions, hold your people tighter, and stop absorbing everyone else's chaos on social media.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/KXicglbEEF4

If this hit home, drop a comment. Tell me where you're feeling it most. I read every single one.

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Transcript

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Fresh Out the Barbershop and the Weight Was Heavy

Stoy 0:00

Just got outta the, to the barber and, um, it was a heavy, it was a heavy time. There was a, a barber in there who just moved into an apartment and there was a fire. He didn't have enough time to get renter's insurance, although, you know, she probably got before, but he's only there a, a week and a half and all his stuff got burned up. I've got people who staff is going through a lot of issues, mental health, physical health. We've got, you know, kids dealing with a lot of issues. I've got some people out here who lost their job, don't know what to do next. And ultimately our, our struggle. We've got others out here who do have some sort of income and, and feel stable, but there's a lot of heavy weight going on. And so I get asked this question a lot. What can we do? What, what, what can I do about it? What, what's the next move? What's really going on? There is no simple answer, right? We've got an economy in a society that's torn apart, that doesn't feel together, whether that's world international stuff or national stuff. We've got layoffs. A degree of which we haven't seen in a, in a while and COVID doesn't count 'cause COVID was a whole different situation. We've got all time highs

The Real Economy Nobody Is Talking About

Stoy 1:00

in the stock market and gold and silver, but we've got salaries not keeping up what's really going on. We do go through these cycles where economy does well, economy doesn't do well, layoffs, hires, you know, up, down side. Side, but we always lose sight of what it feels like and what it sounds like to everyone else. I truly believe that. Right. And obviously I've done my research on when, when we go through these changes, but people don't feel it as much. We don't talk about it as much. We're gonna be, the media is not gonna talk about, right. They're gonna hide, not hide the wrong word, but they're gonna use the Epstein files as something, as the publicity, which rightfully so. Because get those fuckers outta here, they can send them. I digress. We don't focus on these issues in these topics. We let the rich keep getting richer while the poor. Keep getting poor in the middle ca class gets hurt too, and that's because we're trying to support everything that's going on. We've got kids sports that are becoming more expensive. Our grocery bills are not getting less, our gas bills aren't going down. Electricities going up. Insurance costs are going through this, through the roof. It's harder to find employment 'cause people aren't hiring. There's more layoffs. It's tough to even hire because people want paid more, rightfully so for their true value in some cases. And we're stuck here with what's,

Why I Said Survival Mode and What It Actually Means

Stoy 2:15

what's the answer? What's the outcome? I'm not sure. Uh, Barbara asked me this. 'cause we were talking about this with a, with a guy situation and what can someone do? Oh, no weed. And I, um, I told him that really the thing that we can do is go into survival mode. And I say that, I say that with a heavy heart because I don't want people to live in survival mode. Right? Survival mode is when you know, you cut everything, you're truly just trying to survive. It cuts joy out. You're just there, right? Trying to get through and get by. Now, I would say let's keep some joyful things in there. You've got to, to keep your sanity, but ultimately we've gotta get to somewhat of a survival mode a little bit across the board. But difference this time round is we need to understand that there's more people like us that are in the same situation, going through the same shit, different shit, but we're all going through a lot of shit and there's no quick answer. Yeah, you can win the fucking lottery, but, and so how do we really get outta this situation? We really need to come together and understand and give everybody some grace, give each other grace that we're all going through a lot, and that there's no quick fit. We realistically are looking at 12, 18, 24 months. Again, it depends on what the hell goes on with policies and politics and that crap, right? Like, like that's the huge piece of it. But to recover from a situation like this does take time and it takes a long time. And it's not easy. It's not tough. There's gonna be a lot of people who end their lives because of it. There's

Give Each Other Grace. We're All Going Through It.

Stoy 3:30

gonna be a lot more. Fighting. There's gonna be a lot more chaos and turmoil in general because people don't know how to act, react. They don't know their emotions when it comes to this one 'cause we've never been taught it very well. And two, because everyone's gonna take a political side to it all. Granted, there's some facts to that, but it's not all the truth. There wasn't social media. If there wasn't story talking to you right now, you would only know the people around you and help support them and what you guys are going through, not what people sound or look like you in a different part of the country or a different part of the world. And then you take on their emotions too. So let's just give each other grace, give each other grace. You did ask me this and I, I'll end on this, was, um, how do, how do you do what you do and why do you do what you do? I talked about why I do what I do all the time and, but how I'm different feel different as my boys like to say. Um, I'm different because I'll carry that weight today. In general, I carry people's weight of what they're going through and I try to come up with a solution and try to do what's best. Not everyone will do that. All planners and advisors operate that way. Usually it's about the money and then they'll just move on. I don't do that, so how, but as I take on that weight, I take on that feeling from others that

Money Is Power and Control. That's All It's Ever Been.

Stoy 4:30

they're going through. All their shit, and I try to help and understand as much as I can and why everyone deserves grace and peace and prosperity. Everybody does my opinion there. There shouldn't be people who are trillionaires and billionaires, et cetera. Fuck you do with all the money. I had this conversation the other day about what is money and why I love it so much. Money is just about a tool for power and control. Nothing else. You put a value on it that's fictitious, only for purely power and control. Think about it. It's all it is. Otherwise, couldn't we be doing all these services for free or for bartering? And you might think, well, money is a barter. Think that's bullshit. I think it's power and control. 'cause why other? Why would you need billions of dollars when you can buy everything you need So you can control and have power over people, governments, politicians, you name it. So that's why Lowe was. The money industry. It's why I do what I do. It's why I speak the way I speak. You know, it's not why my firm is a billion dollar, uh, business and has all these clients coming in the door every second of the day won't be that way because people don't, they don't appreciate, not appreciate the message, they don't understand what's going on within them. They don't understand everything that we do for them, and that's tough to, to portray. And third, we're not mainstream, mainstream matters. So with that, let's give each other grace. Let's give each other grace. Let's get through this thing together, and at the end of the day, we're gonna be better for it.