The Deep Wealth Podcast - Unlock Your Deep Wealth—In Business and Life

Bestselling Author Leisa Peterson Reveals The Money Truth You Were Never Supposed To Know (#481)

• Jeffrey Feldberg • Season 3 • Episode 381

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“ Start a business instead of the security of well paying job.” - Leisa Peterson

Exclusive Insights from This Week's Episodes

Bestselling author and money mindset coach Leisa Peterson rips apart the myths that keep entrepreneurs trapped in scarcity. From her journey through corporate finance to the life-altering loss of her father, Leisa reveals how to heal your money story and unlock true abundance. You’ll learn practical strategies to shift your mindset, embrace an abundant life, and make decisions that align with your purpose. 

Top Episode Highlights:
00:05:00 Leisa shares her childhood scarcity mindset and her mission to redefine wealth.
00:12:00 A personal story about bringing her family together to build a house, sparking her daughter’s million-follower business.
00:19:00 Leisa discusses how a potential ninth catalyst would focus on embracing new beginnings.
00:28:00 The impact of her father’s death on rethinking her obsession with money.
00:41:00 How daily meditation helps align your present actions with your dream future.

Click here for full show notes, transcript, and resources:

https://podcast.deepwealth.com/481

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481 Leisa Peterson

Jeffrey Feldberg: [00:00:00] What if the way you think about money is actually the way you think about yourself?

Leisa Peterson is not your typical finance expert. A former high level executive at major financial firms, She spent decades climbing the corporate ladder until a series of life altering events, including the sudden loss of her father, forced her to ask the one question most of us avoid.

Is this all there is?

That question led her down a path of radical reinvention. Today, Leisa is a money and mindset coach, the founder of WealthClinic and the author of The Mindful Millionaire, a bestselling book that fuses spirituality, psychology, and financial strategy into a deeply human and deeply practical approach to wealth.

 Her latest book, The Money Catalyst Reveals how money can be more than a tool for transactions. It can be a powerful force for personal growth, healing, and purpose.

Her work sits at the intersection of inner peace and [00:01:00] financial abundance. She's guided thousands of entrepreneurs, leaders, and change makers to break free from scarcity thinking, not just by changing their bank accounts, but by transforming their beliefs, their nervous systems, and ultimately their identities.

This is not a conversation about money tips. It's about healing your relationship with worth. Understanding the invisible scripts that you inherited and stepping into a life that's both prosperous and whole. Because as Leisa teaches, when you change your story about money, you change everything.

And before we start the episode, a quick word from our sponsor, Deep Wealth and the Deep Wealth Mastery Program. Here's Bill, a graduate, who says, the Deep Wealth Mastery Program has transformed the KPIs we're using to accelerate growth and profits.

Or how about Emry, who says, and I love this, and I quote, the Deep Wealth Mastery Program helped me create the right mindset for both growing my business and later my future exit. I now know what questions to ask, [00:02:00] what to do and what not to do, which is priceless. The team and I have found dangerous skeletons and gaps that we're now addressing due to the Deep Wealth program. Today, our actions have a massive ROI. 

Absolutely love that. 

And now, speaking of growth and adding value, check out what Bruce says, and I quote, As a business owner, I'm always looking for new programs, systems, CEO peer groups, and strategies to improve my business. Hands down, the Deep Wealth Mastery program is the absolute best. I'm both growing my business and preparing for a future exit at the same time. It doesn't get any better. 

And I gotta tell you, as I hear these testimonials, this is exactly why I do what I do. My mission, the team's mission here at Deep Wealth, is to literally change the social fabric of society, one business owner at a time and one liquidity event at a time.

The Deep Wealth Mastery program, it's the only one based on a nine figure deal. And that deal, that was my deal. You know my story. I said no [00:03:00] to a seven figure offer. I created a system that we now call Deep Wealth Mastery and that's exactly what helped myself and my business partners welcome from a different buyer, a different offer, a nine figure deal.

So if you're interested in growing your profits, preparing for a future liquidity event, Whether that's three years away or 33 years away, and if you want to optimize your post exit life, Deep Wealth Mastery is for you. 

Please email success at deepwealth. com. Again, that's success, S U C C E S S at deepwealth. com. 

We'll send you all the information about the Deep Wealth Mastery Program, otherwise known as the Scale for Ultimate Sales System. Better yet, why not hop on a complimentary strategy call? We'll see where you are at your business and what's standing between you and your financial independence and your dreams.

So that's where you want to be. You want to be with other successful business owners, entrepreneurs, and founders, just like you, who are looking to create market disruptions, whether you're a startup, whether you've been in business for three or four decades, whether you're [00:04:00] manufacturing, whether you're a high tech, SaaS, low tech, whatever the case may be.

Come on in and network with other business owners, with other businesses, just like you, because they all want to lock in their financial freedom and enjoy both success and fulfillment. Again, the 90 day Deep Wealth Mastery Program, it has your name on it. All you need to do is take the next step. Please send an email to success at deepwealth. com. Deep Wealth Nation welcome to another episode of the Deep Wealth Podcast.

Deep Wealth Nation. When it comes to money, what's the first thought or story that comes to mind? And I know if I look at myself, particularly in the early days, it wasn't always the best. So what can we do and how do we get true success, joy, and fulfillment.

Particularly when it comes to our relationship about money and our mindset, what to do and not to do. We have a very special guest in the House of Deep Wealth. You heard the official introduction. Leisa, welcome to the Deep Wealth Podcast. An absolute pleasure to have you with us. Wow, you've written some incredible books.

We're gonna be talking all about that, but let's go back to beginning. There's always a story behind the [00:05:00] story. So, Leisa, what is your story? What got you from where you were to where you are today?

Leisa Peterson: My story is definitely marked by the fact that I grew. Grew up in a home that was embodied with scarcity, and I feel like I made it my life mission early, eight years old, to say that first of all, if I could have money, then all my problems will be solved. We kind of know how that works out. But on another, a more positive possible note is that I learned early on what I didn't want and I started building a life of this is what I want. Even though I didn't have it growing up, I decided early on to make decisions, getting my MBA after I went to college and studied design and couldn't get a job for more than minimum wage, like going back and getting my MBA and going into finance really started this pattern of I wanna figure out money because if I understand money, I'll probably have a different life than [00:06:00] the life that my parents had.

Jeffrey Feldberg: And so as you say that, and my goodness, you did have quite the journey there and DePaul Nation, please go to the show notes. In the show notes. It's all there. The mindful mil. An error, one of your earlier books, and now your more recent book, the Money Catalyst. Click on the links, buy the books. You'll come out a whole lot better than what you came into it.

So Leisa, why don't we start with this. Where are most of us, perhaps just, I don't know if the word wrong is the right word, but where are we just not getting it or we're going down a different path and what we should be when it comes to money and our relationship to money? What would you tell us?

Leisa Peterson: I would say that this isn't for everyone, but there are a lot of us who have been affected by the society that we live in, and we. Put money on a very high pedestal at the expense of our health, our personal relationships, the relationship that we have with the planet and the environment. And I think I've really made it my mission because I [00:07:00] needed this teaching many years ago of questioning how important we've made money.

Of course it's important, of course we wanna have it, but are we making choices on a regular basis that orient around money rather than living this life that we're here to live?

Jeffrey Feldberg: Yeah. And. What's interesting, Leisa, as you're talking about that, I'm actually reflecting on my own journey. I'll put myself under the microscope. So when I was grinding it out in my e-learning business, e Bennet, and I thought about my Exit to your earlier point I'm just so naive and I thought to myself, okay, Jeffrey, just sell the company, do well, and then all those extra zeros in the bank account, you will not have any problems.

You'll be walking on water the entire time. Life will be great. Fast forward. Past the Exit and I never had thought about the post Exit life. That's a whole other story. My biggest mistakes, my worst mistakes, my, if I can use the word dumbest mistakes came postex Exit when there were the zeros in the bank because I didn't have [00:08:00] that proper narrative within and that proper mindset.

And so when I look at the Money Catalyst, and I love how you have. Eight different catalysts for us to take a look at. And again, deep nation go the show notes. Pick up the book. But I wanna go to catalyst number three. I don't think I'm alone with this. When you talk about unearth the abundant world, because even now it's been many years since my Exit, I catch myself.

To your point, Leisa, like you back in your early journey. Scarcity as opposed to abundance. So talk to us about abundance and the abundant world and what it means to be living in abundance in terms of our mindset and our thought and not in what we can do about that.

Leisa Peterson: I love this question because. What I first wanna say is, even though I've been writing about this for many years, I need resources to go and look at what is an abundant world? What do I even mean by that? What does it mean for each person to live an abundant life? This isn't just about more is better.

[00:09:00] It's not as simple as that. It, and so, first of all I, I wanna say that we have not been taught how to live abundant lives. We've been taught about working really hard. We've been talking about making more money, building the business as, selling the business ultimately, but. Very rarely do we spend a lot of time, and I say that because this isn't something that we can do overnight, it's a series of inquiry questions of what makes me really happy, what brings me a lot of joy?

And then we go out to go out and test those ideas because sometimes we think that it's, something's gonna bring us a great deal of joy and it doesn't. Maybe we think, oh travel. And after we travel for a while we were like. You know what? I really like it at home like. Like we've gotta try things out.

But the point is that an abundant life is different for each and every one of us, and it's up to us to figure out what that is. And so my [00:10:00] books and the things I talk about are an encouragement. Of understanding what that means for you, testing those ideas, and then it's not like it's just about you.

Most of us are in relationships. We have children, we have partners, we have parents. We also owe it to our relationships to understand what does abundance mean for them. How can I embody that in my relationship with others? I've made it a study. And the cool thing is 12 years ago I left my financial advising role and I started this company.

And I will say that every morsel of time and energy spent on this mission of what is an abundant life has created that for me. And it wasn't just about the money. The money actually is a really small part of that equation.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Leisa. There are listeners in Deep Wealth Nation, they're listening to us. It hasn't been their time yet. They're still in the grind. They're paying the [00:11:00] bills. They have money and bills and everything else is all piling up. Yeah, Jeffrey, Leisa. It's very easy for you to say that because you're now in a different position and people who have some zeros in the bank, they always say those kinds of things and until you get there, it's hard to really comprehend or even understand that it's not just about the money.

So for the listener and de both Nation who's saying, come on, Leisa. Of course it's about the money. Of course, the money, once I have it, is gonna make the problems go away and give me that joy and that fulfillment and everything else that goes along with that. That is a material world that's gonna make me happy.

And asking this question, I know everyone is different and they have their own unique journey and know who people are alike, but to that listener who's saying money will solve, if not all, most of my problems I'm hearing you say, well actually, Jeffrey, on my own journey and when I'm working with clients or others in my community.

Money and the material things are relatively low on that pecking list of what actually means for success and to be happy and [00:12:00] fulfilled. So how would you counter that person who's saying, yeah, I'm not buying that.

Leisa Peterson: Yeah, I love where this is going, and I wanna just. Go into a story because there's nothing like my own personal experiences to share with you how I think I answered that question. And I wanna say that back to what I was saying before. I needed to look at my life in a different way through a different lens.

And one example of me doing this was several years ago, my husband's a general contractor. A lot of our Wealth has been built through building and flipping houses over the years. In the middle of a pandemic, I realized that my daughter who had graduated from college was in a job that was causing her very high blood pressure.

She wasn't healthy, she was just struggling and. She lived in a different state. My husband and I had the opportunity to buy a lot next door to our house, and I came up with this scheme of I really want to spend more time with my daughter. I really wanna get to know her boyfriend [00:13:00] better. This is coming from an abundant place.

And I said, honey, if I could convince Zoe and Kelby to quit their jobs and come here to Sedona. And live with us for a year in our guest house and help you build this house next door rather than somebody else building a house next door to us. What do you think about that? And in the moment, didn't really wanna build the house and he, thought my idea was crazy and he thought, they're not gonna say yes.

 they're busy in their own lives. In the end, they actually came back and said, we'd love to do that. it shocked me, shocked my husband. The next thing was like, you need to buy this lot. Thankfully he bought it. They came. We got to spend a year and a half living and getting to know our adult, children.

My son is eight years younger than my daughter, and so he got to know his sister in a new way. Like we did this crazy thing where. We brought the family together and built a project. And in the time that we were doing that, yes, we were building additional Wealth for ourselves, but that became very [00:14:00] secondary to this wild idea of what if we bring everybody together?

What if we try and do this project together? Now, that in and of itself was incredible, but here's the other cool thing. My daughter and her boyfriend now husband ended up starting a business on Instagram where they wanted to find people that they could go hiking with. Now that business has over a million followers.

They are one of the most successful content creators in their genre. They would've never been able to start this company that negotiates deals with the biggest brands in the world. Had we not just. Done this crazy thing that started with me thinking I wanna spend more time with my family. That is the kind of stuff I'm talking about.

Yeah, we had some resources to pull that together, but I'm telling everybody in this moment, we need to think more creatively about the lives that we have and what it is that we really want out of our relationships with ourselves, with our family.

Jeffrey Feldberg: What I love about that actually, you're taking me back to [00:15:00] the Mindful Millionaire with your eye prosper process, with that story of going through that step by step, and again, both nation go the show notes and pick up the book. Really, it's. Looking at the Wealth that's right in front of us, and that Wealth usually doesn't involve dollars and cents.

It's finding our unique aspects and our own journey and our strengths and playing off of that. And so I love how you're sharing with us. Hey, abundance is everywhere. We have to perhaps change the glasses that we're wearing. And I'm, when I say glasses, it's figuratively that we're gonna take off the scarcity glasses, put on the abundance glasses, and then look, okay, where do I have the abundance that I, I can play off of the strength that I have in this area and make the most of it?

So with you, it was with having your daughter come back and building out this home because that's what you did for another listener in Deepp Nation, it'll be something else that they'll figure out of, Hey, I really like doing this. I love how now your daughter and husband, they have this incredible business [00:16:00] that likely came from that experience.

So from abundance to abundance, it's one after the other is just amazing. With that. And I know if we were to go through each one of the catalysts, each one very openly could be an episode in and of itself. It's an unfair question. As you look to the eight catalysts, though, we talked about abundance, what else would pop up as perhaps one of your favorite ones?

Leisa Peterson: I think the idea that we all have a different relationship with money. One of the stories behind the stories with writing the Money Catalyst is that even though my husband and I have been together for a long time, there were still things that. That went unspoken inside of our relationship with money.

And so the Money Catalyst is taking us through communication challenges that we might have with other people, especially our partners around money. And so it's not necessarily one catalyst, [00:17:00] it's all eight. But over and over again we're brought into this partner relationship where they have different backstories about money and.

Even though eight, 30, 40 years together, my husband and I, and we're still learning about how to improve our communication about money and. It came out in the stories that between Maribel and her husband Ethan. And so yeah, I just, I think it's comical because my point would be I work on this, I write books about this, and yet I'm still uncovering opportunities to deepen my relationship with my husband by understanding the language that we use with money and that it can improve our relationship substantially when we become more conscious about those nuances.

Jeffrey Feldberg: And what's interesting, and this has been one of my own personal beliefs, and I shared this with my family, society has demonized the word selfish. And for me, being selfish means if I can take care of myself first, I'm actually [00:18:00] taking care of everyone else around me. I'm showing up, I'm happy, I am energized.

I have the energy, I have the creativity. To, for myself to really be a resource, but for those around me to be a resource. And as you're talking through that I couldn't agree more with you in terms of what you're saying and why it's really important for all of us really go within, find what's gonna make things tick for us and bring out that happiness for us.

And in your case, it's with your friends, your family. You're just paying it forward, doing it that way. Let me ask you this, when you're writing the Money Catalyst. If there were to be a ninth catalyst, any thoughts about that, of what that would be and why?

Leisa Peterson: I think that the ninth catalyst would become. Oriented to you're not dead until you take the last, your last breath, like every single day represents a new opportunity for growth, for personal expansion. Don't ever lose that zest for life, for [00:19:00] curiosity for. Like new opportunities and I told you when we started this conversation, I'm sitting in a camper in front of a house that my husband and I just bought in Tahoe and we had promised that we were never gonna do this again.

In fact, people are laughing 'cause we're like you guys said, no, you were done. But we tried to find a house near my daughter 'cause we wanna be spending more time with them and we couldn't find anything we liked. And the next thing we buy this like massive fixer and we've never lived in a camper before and it's just comical.

But what I'm realizing through this experience is it's keeping us young and vibrant and excited, even though it's there's a bit of dread of what have we gotten ourselves into? And so I'd say that's the ninth chapter. there's always new beginnings if you're open to it.

Jeffrey Feldberg: I love that. Always new beginnings. You gotta be open to it. And actually it really goes back to catalyst number one. Awaken to possibility of what's actually there. I mean, How many [00:20:00] times do we just dig ourselves in our own hole, not seeing what's there when there's so much there? And there's a lot to be said with that.

So speaking of Catalyst One, if we go back to the beginning now. And I'm a listener and I'm saying, okay, Leisa, I hear you. I'm gonna check out your books. That said, wow, time is not my own. I am running the business. I'm building it up. I show up. I am pulled in a zillion different directions. I barely have time to think for myself.

So what would be a low hanging fruit that coming outta this episode, a listener in nation they could implement today? To start getting some results for them. When we look at the framework of the Money Catalyst, where would I start?

Leisa Peterson: When we live really busy lives and we're inside of our business and everything going on, I think that it can be really fun to go do something that maybe we've done before, but come at it with a completely different perspective.

So [00:21:00] go out to dinner at a really nice place, but instead of coming at that dinner with, oh, I've been here before. I know what to expect. Act as if like almost improv your way through a meal where it's like, I've never done this before and every single thing I taste is going to activate senses that I've never paid attention to.

My point is, is that I think each and every day, no matter how busy we are, we can approach the things we do or we can plan them out to say. I'm gonna try this differently. I'm gonna experience this differently. And as you've read the many catalysts. But the reason I think of that is I went, I took a client to Paris as a thank you a couple years ago, and she had never been to Europe before.

I had been to Europe and France many times and seeing France. Through her eyes changed my [00:22:00] whole life. Like I needed to witness someone who was so fresh and so excited about every morsel of the experience to realize that I wasn't living as fully as I could. And that's what began the experience of writing the book.

But I feel like everybody can do that no matter how busy you are.

Jeffrey Feldberg: You know what's interesting about that? As you're talking about that, I know for a lot of people in the alt nation as we're going through this journey, as we're networking, as we're meeting people, they'll say, Jeffrey, I met a super successful person. They are levels. Ahead of where I am. What possible value can I add?

But what's interesting, Leisa, to put that in perspective, here you are. You've been there a number of times. This person, it was their first time, and from the outside looking in. You could say what value would this person bring to the trip? Not that we would look at it that way, but just for the thought experiment.

And because they were new, because it was a fresh set of eyes, a first time for everything. That excitement, that newness, if I can use that [00:23:00] word, if there's such a word that was exciting for you, and through them, you relived and probably saw. Through a different set of eyes, what you would've not seen had you just been there once again on another return trip.

And so that freshness, that unique perspective that we're bringing is really something of a gift, not just for ourselves, but for those that are around us. And let's go back to the business side, and I wanna go to catalyst number seven where we're talking about negative decisions. And particularly in the business world.

Stuff just happens and it's always good intentions that have gone awry. So how do we deal with that? What would you want us to know when it comes to negative decisions? Count of the seven, and we're trying to have this terrific, overall mindset. This very healthy relationship, not just to money, but to life, and fulfillment, joy, all those wonderful things.

Leisa Peterson: What I realized in all. Of the years of working with people and money, is that because money is so. Often emotionally driven. When we get into big decisions, whether that be [00:24:00] buying a big piece of equipment or selling your company, all these emotions come in that may or may not be welcome. And the idea with.

The simplification of making better decisions. In the process that I talk about, it's about slowing down. It's about making sure that we have done all the practical research that we need to do. Sometimes we're really strong in the practical research, but then we don't sit back and trust the intuitive nudges that we feel inside.

So it's about bringing both parts together, making sure that you have time. More than one night, sitting with things. Don't rush into big decisions, but slow it down, make sure you've got all your details in order, but you're also giving yourself time to be like, how does this feel? How does this feel in my body?

How does this feel for my future? How does it feel for my family if I make this decision? Really go all in with both parts? And I feel like when we do that, we are [00:25:00] far less likely to make decisions that we later regret.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Yeah, it's always, hey, it's just part of the journey. I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, and I know for some of my bigger setbacks, what appeared to be setbacks at the time, Leisa. Wow. I just wasn't feeling great. I look back now and say that was. One of the best things that could have happened to me, because if it weren't for that, then this wouldn't have happened or I wouldn't be where I am today from that.

And so enjoy the journey. It's not about the destination. I know we hear that a lot. It is so true in terms of the meaning and the depth that it can bring to us. So let me ask you this, because Leisa, you're dealing with a topic of money and the mindset of money. If money were a person and money was now sitting across from you and yet all the time to strike up a conversation.

What would you be saying to money? What would you be saying to each other? What kind of conversation would you be having? I.

Leisa Peterson: We'd be having a really fun conversation. I think it would be part comedy and exactly what you were just talking about. Oh, isn't it [00:26:00] funny some of these decisions that you've made in the past? I like the ability to laugh at all of that, that might not have gone the way we planned, but. The conversation would be very focused on, I'm so glad that you've cared about me as much as you have over your lifetime, because the life that you have created is beyond your wildest imagination.

So by caring about money, by understanding it. Not just, spending and saving and investing, but like really understanding the energy underneath money. You've created so much joy for yourself and for thousands, if not tens of thousands of people. How great is that?

Jeffrey Feldberg: And as you're talking about that, it reminds me that oftentimes money gets a bad reputation or name. It's blamed for a lot of things that really have nothing to do with that. And I know for a lot of people. It's their parents growing up that [00:27:00] really, for better or for worse, it's in both camps can make a difference.

And I know in your journey a bit of a sad story there with your father and the passing of your father. How did grief play into your journey? And when it comes to money and life and time, what would you want us to know about that difficult time in your life that you went through that you can now look back upon and share with us?

Leisa Peterson: Yeah, money was a big turning point because up until my father's death in 1999. I had put it on a pedestal and just did everything, made all my decisions like what does the money look like? And then I'll decide everything else after that, when my dad was brutally murdered, unfortunately. And he had been estranged from our family at the time, so it was even, I'd say more painful because I kept thinking when I found out that he had died, had I been in his life, there was a lot of shame.

There was a lot of regret. Like I could have maybe helped [00:28:00] him. So in the wake of that sadness and that grief, I started a journey of looking inside to understand who I was as a person. What was this obsession with money? Was it healthy? Was it helping me? And that began this turning point of the work that I do today.

I was able to use his death in a positive way and that. I think that unfortunately, had I not been woken up, and this is early thirties for me, I think I would've stayed on a trajectory of money. But instead, I slowed down. I started questioning my career. I started questioning the decisions that I was making.

I think that sadly we live in a society that, at least for me, when we're coming from scarcity, there's a lot of what can I. Exploit out there in the world to make more money. I definitely came at the world from that place and it would take me years of [00:29:00] deconstructing that belief system that's not what I'm here for.

I'm not here to exploit anything or anyone I wanna create a beautiful world I wanna use my life for a good purpose, not to just. Extract. And so that turning point with my father's death began this whole second chapter of my life that I'm grateful for now.

Jeffrey Feldberg: When you look back on that, because you were in the world of finance, that was your career before you decided to walk away and without any judgment. You're looking back now from what you experienced in the world of finance, high finance, as some people would say, in terms of what you're doing to where you are now.

As you look at that, what would be some of the takeaways that you've seen for yourself? You're thinking, wow, didn't realize it at the time, but I'm glad I finally see that now. What would you want us to know? What could you share with us?

Leisa Peterson: The industry that I worked in for many years. Is very oriented to selling products to people, to [00:30:00] positioning money from a place of, I would say the undertone is fear. Like, You've gotta take care of yourself, you've gotta do all these things, and I'm here to help you do that. And that industry wore me out after a while.

I realized that I was never going to feel. Like I was making a difference in the way that I wanted to and here's the big turning point. I think that finance, especially personal finance, mortgages, financial advising, insurance, they. Are very numbers driven. So the people who are in sales are all their numbers are tied to you've gotta do these, we won't call 'em quotas, but it's like quotas.

You gotta do these things or you don't keep your job. And it's just this engine that keeps going. And what really bummed me out is I was. Wanting to educate people, right? Not just sell them products, and the system isn't designed for [00:31:00] education, whereas education is the area that people most need. Because when you're educated about finance, you realize that, especially nowadays, you can do a lot of the mechanisms for yourself.

Even if you have great Wealth, there's a good chance that you could be managing that on your own. By just understanding what it is you're doing and how to do it. It doesn't mean you don't need resources, but I don't know that you need to pay them as quite as much as they, that they get for the services that they provide.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Absolutely. In fact, there's many, financial luminaries, and I'll keep the names out of it, but everyone has heard of this one particular. Very successful investor and he's been very vocal about it though, when it's his time to be abducted by aliens. So go on to the next life for him.

He's told his wife, Hey, set it and forget it. Here's some ETFs. Just invest in this and enjoy your life. And there's a lot to be said with what you're sharing with us. And speaking of what you're sharing with us when it [00:32:00] comes to money. What would be one question about money that people don't ask that you wish they would ask?

What would that be?

Leisa Peterson: The question would be, do you know how much money you need to live a comfortable life, period for however long you think you're gonna live?

Do you know that number?

Have you worked it out?

Because until you figure that out, you're pretty much just what is that?

don't have a plan. And when you have that number and when you figure out what that is, granted it may be bigger than that. You may have more. But there is nothing like having a very clear idea that I'm set, I have enough for the rest of my life. And anything that comes in is extra, but I'm good.

And maybe I do feel like sometimes women are more interested in this particular question than men. So if not for you, [00:33:00] please do this for your, partner because they may have a different opinion about this. But once you know what your number is, I feel like you sleep better at night. You have a really clear idea of what is possible and it's a really lovely feeling.

Jeffrey Feldberg: It's a powerful question, Leisa. I've talked about this before on the Deep Wealth Podcast. I will give you the short version of a story, an investment banker that I know through Deep Wealth, and we were talking one day and he said, Jeffrey had this client, and this client, by the way, was not a Deep Wealth Mastery graduate because if this client or.

It would not have happened this story. Anyways, this particular entrepreneur sold the business with an investment banker. The investment banker, a short while later, saw this entrepreneur working at one of the big box stores because the entrepreneur never asked that question, and the entrepreneur told the investment banker when the investment banker said, Hey, why are you working?

I just told your business, you did very well. And he said, I never figured out how much I needed after I paid the taxes and the fees and everything else. My [00:34:00] living expenses were at a burn rate that would not last for the money that I had sold my business for. And I don't wanna start another business, so I'm just here to tie things over.

So it's a very powerful question to be asking and one that you should know, and we talk a lot about that in our 90 day default mastery of, Hey, what kind of money on a monthly, yearly basis, when you're not in the business, when you're not getting that dividend or that paycheck, or whatever it is that you get from the business.

What does that mean for you in terms of what you need, not just to live, but to thrive and to have fun and to live comfortably. And so really important question. And speaking of money and questions, and we've been talking about life lessons on the personal side, Leisa, is there a lesson, and it could even be a life lesson.

It doesn't have to be a business lesson, that money unexpectedly taught you.

Leisa Peterson: What's coming to me is humility. I think because of my understanding and knowledge of money, I crossed paths with people [00:35:00] who are very open and vulnerable about their lack of understanding of money, or their struggles with money. And had I not done this work, I would not know the power of being humble when it comes to money.

Like people appreciate. knowing. They don't care how much money you have. They care that you care about wherever they're at, and that you're willing to listen and pay attention and not solve their problems, but just be like, you're not alone. And I hear what's going on because. We live in a world that's very stratified, and people are okay, if I have a lot of money, I'm a good person and if I don't have a lot of money, I'm a bad person.

And all this shame and all this stuff, and I'm just, the best lesson I've learned through all that I've done with money is the power of humility as it pertains to money.

Jeffrey Feldberg: [00:36:00] Absolutely. And as you're talking about that. That humility and in fact, once you cross a certain threshold, financially, I would say, and I've seen this in myself, there were times where I was just not the nicest person. To be blunt. I was just a jerk because I lost that humility and it took some very humbling experiences that brought me back to appreciating humility and being kind to people.

Is actually a great segue for another question I have, because whether it's. A team member. It could be someone on leadership, it could be a frontline team member, or on the personal side, it could be a wife, a husband, a significant other, a child. Money ultimately is going to come into play one way or another.

And how each person approaches money is gonna have an impact on how we react to it and the outcome of it. And relationships, businesses have ended because of difference of opinions on money. So when it comes to money, you either in the. Personal side or on the business side, what's the [00:37:00] best way that we should approach it when we're dealing with others?

What should we be mindful of as we go into what can be a challenging conversation or a discussion?

Leisa Peterson: One of the best ways to, I think. Prove our relationships with others is to know what their story is, know where they come from when it pertains to money, and have deep respect for that story. So one example, in the Money Catalyst was I created this character, Ethan, and he had come from immigrant.

Parents who had really struggled with money, and it wasn't until. Mirabel, his wife started thinking about oh, this is why he does these things to me. This is why we get into these fights, is it has so much to do with what was happening when he was growing up with money. And then the minute that happens, you have [00:38:00] humility, you have compassion, you are, you are curious if you can become curious about that person.

And you can ask questions like honey. I see that you're doing this thing. Do you think that has anything to do with what was going on at home when you were growing up? And if so, do you wanna talk about it? I write about this in the Mindful Millionaire when I started asking my financial advising clients if they would tell me about their backstory with money.

I thought these questions would be 15 minutes, and three hours later I'm like, okay, anything else you wanna share? It opens up a whole beautiful backstory that many times nobody's ever invited to talk about.

Jeffrey Feldberg: I love that. Get curious, know the life story of the person that you're speaking with, and particularly in the workplace. 'cause with family, that's hopefully a given. We are gonna know that and we have that dialogue with our family members. But in the workplace, get beyond, Hey, do this, do that, or Here's what we need to do for the business.

Find out [00:39:00] what they're all about so you can relate to them and help them and be that fun resource in the business, but also from a coach and mentoring side of things. And I'm curious, Leisa, before we start going into wrap up mode, there's one quote that really stood out for me and I highlighted, I'm just going back to it now, and it's going back to Catalyst three under the Abundant world and the quote that you chose, which I love.

Look closely at the present you're constructing. It should look like the future. You're dream. And the quotes by Alice Walker and I just stopped and I re-read that again and again in Default Nation. Let me read it again for you. Look closely at the present you are constructing. It should look like the future you are dreaming.

And I know Leisa for myself. For a long time, that was never the case. It was in my mind. I know what the future I wanted that to be like, but in reality of what my thoughts were, what my narrative was, it really wasn't. It was in fact the complete opposite. I didn't [00:40:00] even realize it at times that I was even sabotaging myself and think and Grow.

Rich. Napoleon Hill talks a lot about this, your inner thoughts. That becomes your outer world. Thoughts are things and so many other ways of saying that. So from that perspective, two questions on that quote for you. Love your insights. So what can we do to get the real narrative of what we're currently telling ourselves, whether we realize it or not?

And then what do we need to do to make sure that how we dream about the future and how we're looking at the present, that the two are in harmony with each other.

Leisa Peterson: I think what we're exploring here is how scarcity and abundance can often manifest in our lives. So the conversation that we're having today. Is a chance, and this is the question for everybody to think about, is the question we're having today motivated more by scarcity, or is it motivated more by abundance because.

I talk, my book is called The Mindful [00:41:00] Millionaire. I'm a daily meditator for 30 years now and or close to 30 years, and I think that there's incredible merit, whatever you call it, to have some kind of contemplative practice, particularly in the morning and perhaps before bed, where you're really getting in touch with here's how I start my day.

How am I feeling? I, my eyes open. I do this as part of my meditation practice every day. How am I feeling? How does my body feel? Is there anything missing? Is there anything I need to pay attention to with my body? What kind of day do I have in front of me? Who do I wanna be in this day that's coming forward?

What's important? What are the most important things going on here besides work? Like with my family, come back to work, what's the most important thing with work or my employees or the people that I'm gonna be seeing, like rehearse. The day that you want from a place of [00:42:00] abundance rather than scarcity.

what I've seen is over time the daily conversation will be more oriented to an abundant life and then it becomes really easy to vision out what we're wanting. Because if we're doing a good job, what we want is just more of what we're creating today for ourselves.

Jeffrey Feldberg: Have some great insights there in terms of what we should be looking at and thinking about that. I know you mentioned meditation. I've been meditating for a number of years, myself. For many though, it's not easy and I often hear, yeah, I tried it. The monkey mind came in 30 seconds later, two frustrating.

You just gave up. And again, how to meditate. That could be an entire series. Forget an episode. Any quick tips before we go into wrap up mode of where someone can start on the meditation side and what they should be doing.

Leisa Peterson: The good news is, is that the mindful millionaire is written for people who like money and want to meditate more. So it's a match made in heaven. 'cause the second part of [00:43:00] the book takes you through some very basic. Techniques that I've learned over, this two plus decade experience of daily meditation and how hard it was for me.

But one thing we can do is before we try to clear our mind and get all like meditative, it's very helpful to do five minutes of breath work. Before we begin, because the breath is this natural, cool tool that calms the nervous system, that calms all those thoughts in the monkey mind and brings us into the present moment.

So by the time we've done five minutes of breath work, we're ready to like sit and explore perhaps these deeper questions of self-reflection.

Jeffrey Feldberg: So some breath work, some reflection. No pressure on myself going through that. All great advice and speaking of advice is actually a perfect segue, Leisa, as we're go into wrap up mode. It's a tradition here on the Deep [00:44:00] Podcast. It's really my privilege, my honor, to ask every guest the same question. It's a fun question.

Let me set this up for. When you think of the movie Back to the Future, you have that magical DeLorean car that will take you to any point in time. So Leisa says, tomorrow morning, you're looking outside your window. And this is the fun part, the DeLorean car. It is curbside. The door is open. It's waiting for you to hop on in what you do.

You're now gonna go to any point in your life. Leisa, as a young child, a teenage. Whatever point in time it would be. What would you tell your younger self in terms of life lessons or life wisdom or, Hey Leisa, do this, but don't do that. What would it sound like?

Leisa Peterson: She is going back to probably 32 years old, and in that moment I would love to tell her please go start a business rather than relying on the security of a really good paying job. That would've totally changed things. So, yeah, that, that's what comes to mind.

Jeffrey Feldberg: While [00:45:00] you're speaking to the right community for that, as entrepreneurs, I completely get it. Really the only time I worked in my life, it was an internship, and Leisa, I would've fired myself on the first day. I was a terrible employee although had said we do need team members. But I love that of, hey, start a business instead of relying on the security of a good paying job.

There's a lot to be said for that. And Leisa, before we wrap things up, someone in Deep Nation, they wanna have a conversation with you, ask you a question, get some of your insights, perhaps even have some coaching going on here. Where would be the best place online to reach you?

Leisa Peterson: Sending me an email at l Peterson at Wealth clinic.com. Totally welcome. All questions are awesome questions, but you can also go to Wealth clinic.com/vision and you can get first chapters of my books and some meditations and other great resources.

Jeffrey Feldberg: And Deep Wealth Nation, it doesn't get any better. It's all in the show notes. It's a point and click. Well, Leisa, congratulations. It's official. This is a wrap and as we love to say here at [00:46:00] Deep Wealth, may you continue to thrive and prosper while you remain healthy and safe. Thank you so much. I.

Leisa Peterson: Thank you. 

Jeffrey Feldberg: So there you have it, Deep Wealth Nation. What did you think? 

So with all that said and as we wrap it up, I have another question for you.

Actually, it's more of a personal favor. 

Did you find this episode helpful? 

Have you found other episodes of the Deep Wealth Podcast empowering and a game changer for your journey? 

And if you said yes, and I really hope you did, I have a small but really meaningful way that you can actually help us out and keep these episodes coming to you.

Are you ready for it? 

The dramatic pause. I'll just wait a moment. Drumroll, please. Subscribe. Please subscribe to the Deep Wealth podcast on your favorite podcast channel. When you subscribe to the Deep Wealth Podcast, you're saving yourself time. Every episode automatically comes to you, and I want you to know that we meticulously craft Every one of our episodes to have impactful strategies, stories, expert insights that are designed to help you grow your profits, increase the value of your business, and yes, even optimize your post exit life and your life right [00:47:00] now, whatever you want that to look like.

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So all that said. Thank you so much for listening. And remember your wealth isn't just about the money in the bank. It's about the depth of your journey and the impact that you're creating. [00:48:00] So let's continue this journey together. And from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for listening to this episode.

And as we love to say here at Deep Wealth, may you continue to thrive and prosper while you remain healthy and safe. 

Thank you so much. 

God bless.


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Jeffrey Feldberg

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