Unlocking Wealth: Transforming Money Mindsets for Lasting Success w/ Bill Cates

Bill Cates is a Hall of Fame speaker and a certified speaking professional renowned for his ability to help individuals and businesses reach new heights. As a business coach and the author of seven books, Bill has dedicated decades to empowering people with the knowledge and skills needed to achieve financial success. His latest work, "The Hidden Heist: Stop Robbing Yourself of Lasting Wealth," explores the unconscious barriers that prevent people from achieving financial stability and how to overcome them. 

The core of the discussion revolves around Cates' new book, "The Hidden Heist: Stop Robbing Yourself of Lasting Wealth," a parable that provides readers with the tools to overcome self-sabotage and harness true wealth potential. He expands on the concept that money is not intrinsically a scarce resource—a revelation that runs contrary to many ingrained beliefs. Through realistic storytelling, Cates tackles themes of self-worth, entrepreneurship, and the collective impact of financial literacy. The episode underscores the importance of understanding one's money story, seeking financial education, and reshaping financial beliefs to ensure a better future.

Key Takeaways:

• Financial literacy is pivotal in overcoming unconscious beliefs that hinder wealth creation.
• Self-worth should be detached from net worth; a healthy mindset towards money promotes true freedom.
• Embracing financial education and mentoring can significantly enhance personal and professional growth.
• Understanding the emotional response to money-related events is crucial in developing better financial habits.
• Wealth should be seen as a flowing river; finding one's position in this flow is crucial for lasting financial success.

Notable Quotes:

1. "Money is meant to be used, and people are meant to be loved. The trouble starts when we reverse the two."
2. "You can't become someone you resent, and can't become something you despise unless you do some work."
3. "The hidden heist is that there are limiting beliefs and unhelpful emotions that are robbing our future selves."
4. "A great leader needs to be able to marry three things—vision, systems, and people."
5. "Financial freedom has two levels—resource management and a healthy mindset."

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Transcript

Opening And Show Welcome

SPEAKER_03 0:01

You have to walk the talk.

SPEAKER_00 0:03

You have to be authentic as a leader. If you're not doing it, they see that.

SPEAKER_02 0:07

It is entirely universal. There's other people who are going through this.

SPEAKER_00 0:11

For me, a great leader needs to be able to marry three things: vision, systems, and people.

SPEAKER_02 0:21

Welcome to Leadership Moments if this is your first time. And if you are returning, thank you for your support.

SPEAKER_03 0:26

This show is about leaders from all walks of life, leadership tips, and maybe even a little of what you wouldn't expect to help you in leadership.

SPEAKER_02 0:35

We would appreciate it if you tell someone else about our podcast as we strive to support all leaders that want to just be better.

Introducing Wealth Beyond Money

Meet Bill Cates And His Book

SPEAKER_03 0:41

Let's get on with the show. Welcome to another episode of Leadership Moments, the show where we uncover the mindset shifts, the strategies, and defining moments that shape extraordinary leaders. I'm your host, Tracy Ann Palmer, and today we're diving into a topic that touches every leader, every entrepreneur and high achievers, wealth. The thing that nobody ever wants to talk about, but the thing we all need to talk about. But not just money in the bank. I mean, we're talking about lasting wealth. The kind that fuels your freedom, your impact, your legacy, and gets you to live the quality of life that allows you to live out the way you want to live. Right. So my guest today, who I'm extremely excited to have with us, is someone who has been transforming lives and businesses for decades. Bill Cates. He is a hall of fame speaker. He is a certified speaking professional, a business coach, a seven-time author, which puts me to shame since I've only done one, Bill, and the host of his own podcast. His latest book, The Hidden Heist, Stop Robbing Yourself of Lasting Wealth, reveals how we unknowingly sabotage our own financial potential and how to stop it. Bill, welcome to leadership moments.

SPEAKER_01 2:21

Well, thank you very much. And in case anyone just, you know, uh was confused for a moment, it's not Bill Gates. Uh Kate's with a C. I missed it by one letter and a few bucks. Uh he may have billions, but you know, I'm here to help you get on your road to your billions.

SPEAKER_03 2:43

So, Bill, okay, first of all, uh, what is up with that briefcase full of money?

SPEAKER_01 2:51

Yeah, well, um, I'm doing a TEDx talk uh coming up soon, and and it's so it's a prop I'm using. And people ask, is the money real? And the the answer is yes, some of it is quite real. Uh, in fact, I would like to give some to you right now. I have a stack of 10 grand here. I can I'd be happy to pass through the camera if you want to take that from me. Oh, yeah. Thank you. Very good.

SPEAKER_04 3:12

This is awesome. Um thank you, Bill.

SPEAKER_01 3:18

Yeah, you bet. Don't spend it all in one place. Um, yeah, so it it, you know, it's a fun, it's a fun prop to get talking about money, which is as we all know, it's not a lot of people talk about money, especially when we're younger, especially when we're in those stages of trying to learn about money and how it works. It's kind of that, for some reason, taboo topic in a lot of places. But because of that, we grow up uneducated about money and and personal finance and all of that. So that's that's uh that's my new mission.

SPEAKER_03 3:47

Yeah, you know, uh, Bill, when I was reviewing you and just uh bringing you on the podcast, and and by the way, I you know, I started to read this incredible book because uh this is a topic that I feel I learned too late in life. Uh certainly I've been very, very blessed, but I would love to educate others. And in fact, in our nonprofit, you know, that's what we we're talking about, the financial. We want to get people educated as quickly as possible, as soon as they they can in their life. So I want to talk about the book. All right. So uh your book is titled The Hidden Heist: Stop robbing yourself of lasting wealth. Now, everybody loves a good heist, okay, but what do you mean by the hidden heist?

Broken Money Stories And Beliefs

SPEAKER_01 4:39

Well, the hidden heist are often unconscious, uh, limiting beliefs, mistaken assumptions, unhelpful emotions, um that we all have as humans. Uh, and and the interesting thing is that since money intersects every aspect of our life, there isn't a part of our life that money isn't touch, influence in some way or another, that when we when we change those beliefs, when we educate ourselves and and and uh redefine our assumptions around money, uh, we can actually we can change our life. We can change all aspects of our life because the way money is intertwined. So the hidden heist is is that those limiting beliefs, uh unhelpful emotions, mistaken assumptions, that that we're you know, we're robbing our future selves because of those.

SPEAKER_03 5:28

Yeah, and I want to dig into this, okay, because I've been doing a lot of work on um uh sort of the subconscious and the conscious mind and digging into other areas of the brain, and uh just to your point, these perceived notions that come from childhood or other areas, right? So uh you did a keynote speech to a business audience and you spoke about uh most people's money stories are broken. What exactly do you mean by that money story?

SPEAKER_01 6:07

Yeah. That's that it I'm glad you brought that up because a lot of folks aren't quite sure what that really means. What another way to say it is our self-talk, uh, which is sometimes very present, sometimes it's a little unconscious, right? But it's it's it's you know, again, those these these beliefs, these emotions, it's it's all the stuff that that's going on in our head, uh, that that becomes the story, if you will, that we tell ourselves. And we we all have lots of these stories. We tell ourselves stories about our self-worth. We tell our stories self-stories about uh how we are in relationship with other people. It's just it's it's just the way we perceive ourselves, and it's a story. And the problem, uh, in my estimation, really, is that we believe those stories. Um, we tell ourselves these stories so much that we believe them to be true when they're not always true. So the the overarching premise behind the book, and what made me really want to write this, even before I got it honed down to money, is that in all aspects of our life, if if there's a problem, a challenge, a complaint, something we feel we need to fix or make better, uh, one of the places we need to take a step back and look is what do we believe? What do we believe about ourselves, about the other person, about the situation, about the economy, about our product, about our team, about our company, whatever it is, what do we believe that may actually be restricting us from seeing other strategies and tactics? We often go to the strategy and tactics a little too quickly. And so when you have a belief that's restrictive, uh, and you know, we we the old expression is you can't see the picture if you're in the frame, uh, if you have one of those, then then you're blind to some of the strategies and tactics and solutions. So that that's the premise behind the book. And then I just decided to put this uh associated with money because I've been working in financial services for 33 years, and it's it's what I know a little bit about. And uh so you know that's that's that's kind of what I mean by your money story or your story in general. And and so if we start telling ourselves a different story, or if we start to uh repair and and make that story better, then our life changes.

Scarcity Vs Flow Of Money

SPEAKER_03 8:19

I want to talk to you about that. So, what are some of those examples of broken money story?

SPEAKER_01 8:25

Yeah, I'll tell you one of the biggest ones is that money is a zero-sum game. If I have it, you don't. If you have it, I don't. Uh money is a scarce resource. And you know, you talked about neuroscience and your fascination with that. I'm fascinated with it myself. Uh, I I think personally, and some people may disagree, but from what I've learned, we're kind of born into this world with a little bit of a scarcity mentality, in that that's part of survival, right? We we we we need to survive, so therefore we see resources around us as scarce, and we need to hoard them, bring them in, et cetera. All right, well, that's pretty on the primitive level, but the truth about money is that money is not a scarce resource. Um money flows, and we talk about it in the book is jump into the river. Uh you know, money, currency is another word for money, right? Well, currency is derived from the old English current, current, current, river. And so what we need to do is we need to get ourselves in that flow. And a lot of leaders will do that by starting a business. That's one way to get into the flow by having a business. Um, getting into a higher level position of leadership, that's part of getting into the flow. Uh personally, one of the ways I've gotten into this flow is to help others make money.

unknown 9:47

Right?

Stereotypes, Resentment, And Success

SPEAKER_01 9:48

When I help others make money, then I can make money, and that's how I get into the flow. And, you know, we have a global economy, and when you have money and you put it in the bank, it doesn't just sit there cash in the bank, right? It gets loaned to a business. Everybody knows that. And then that business uses it and pays salaries, and then and it flows around the whole world. Um, and so that's one of the big ones, that scarce resource. I'll give you one more. Uh, one more is that uh money will somehow change you uh into in a negative way, and and rich people are greedy and dishonest. Well, we know that's not the truth. Some are, most aren't, which by the way came from my that little phrase, some are, most aren't, came from my co-author, Jeff C. West. Because we in the book we talk about some of the stereotypes about rich people being greedy, dishonest, poor people being lazy, not caring. And and you know, there's always a little kernel of truth that creates a stereotype. Uh, but his expression is some are, most aren't, right? So let me give you an example. Michael is uh I've conducted over a hundred money story interviews. And Michael's a gentleman that I interviewed recently, and he grew up in an environment where his father resented people with who were wealthy, with, you know, he he thought they were they were greedy, cheated, lied, yada. Well, so he grew up with that. And and you can't become someone you resent. You can't become something you despise unless you do some work. And Michael's done that work and he's gotten past that and he's become very successful, but he was battling that for a while. And and he wasn't aware of that at first. He didn't realize that was playing in his unconscious and keeping him from going to that next level of getting in the flow and bringing wealth and financial dignity to himself. So that's a just a couple of the many examples that we, by the way, we bring them to life in the book through the characters in the book, because this is a parable, this is a story, and this is how we're teaching these ideas. And all of them are based on real people that we've interviewed. We interviewed uh a hostage negotiator, we interviewed a couple of uh uh bank robbery victims, we interviewed a lot of other folks, and all of it's based on reality. And I think that's one reason it's a great read because it really is based on reality, it's not just made up fiction.

SPEAKER_03 12:12

Yeah, I'm gonna tell you um this book, just so that for everybody, I mean, uh, you know, I do a lot of reading because you know, a lot of people that I interview have got books, right? Uh and being an author myself, I love to just know how people are writing and all that kind of stuff. But it gripped me immediately. It got me in immediately. Because quite frankly, if you go to say somebody, you're gonna go read this financial book, they're gonna be like, really, you want me to read it. Nobody wants to read a book about financials. Nobody, I don't know anyone, okay? Even the people that are in finances probably don't want to read a book about finances. Your book is amazing, it is seriously like the story, it's a story, it's told in a it's so listen, whatever happens next year, you know, uh, as Bill and I are talking, you gotta you gotta get this book because it's probably the first book I've ever read uh that is about finances that I wanted to first of all pick up. And then when I opened it, I'm like, huh, oh my gosh.

Why A Bank Robbery Parable Works

SPEAKER_01 13:13

This is and if I could say it's not just about thank you for that, it's not just about finances per se. It's it's it's a it's a little more fundamental, right? Or it's our relationship to our finances. And then, so here here's the deal. Uh I'm kind of the straightforward guy. I I've written, you know, uh nonfiction, how-to books, how to grow your business, how to communicate your value uh more effectively. Um and so I'm the straightforward guy, but my co-author, Jeff C. West, he's he's the fiction guy. He's the parable guy, he's the storyteller. And I needed him to make this book work. Uh, and so I I wanted the I wanted there's a lot of parable books out there, and some are really good, and some are really not so good. And uh I wanted this to be a good one. I wanted this to have some twists and turns. I didn't want it to be really obvious what was going to happen, so there are some twists at the end. I wanted to capture the reader's attention, uh, like any good fiction story would, but not a long fiction, it's a shorter book. Now, my concern was that because people would get so wrapped up in the story, which they seem to be doing, uh, that they'd miss some of the points we're trying to make. So we have three appendices that kind of say, all right, if you missed it in the story, here's what we were telling you. And so we kind of give it this straight out. And also, if you get the book, you get access to what we call the vault, which is a bunch of other guides. In fact, I'll give one uh right quickly that everyone can get. It's free, if you don't mind. Just go to theordinarymillionaire.com, theordinarymillionaire.com, and it can show you and it can show your adult children, it can show anybody in your life how you can really become a millionaire, even without having a huge salary. Um, and so uh what's happening actually is a lot of folks are starting to give it to their adult children. Uh, we I just got a bulk order uh yesterday from someone who wants to give it to all their employees because here's what they want to do: they want to become more aware of their own thinking beliefs, self-awareness around this. But then they realize that why not as a team, let's let's let's all know what our money beliefs are and what we were taught and how it's impacting us, because that's impacting our business, right? What we bring to our business around money is impacting our business. Sometimes good, sometimes not so good. Salespeople, right? Uh some salespeople, the people who are motivated by money, have the have the worst money stories that they're telling themselves, unfortunately. Uh, and so then, and then then you can bring that awareness, your self-awareness, then your team's awareness. And now you bring that to your customer or client awareness. And so you have more empathy for their situation and what's their money story going on that may be preventing them from taking advantage of the product or service that you offer. So there's a a lot of ways that people are using this book, not just for themselves personally, but for others around them. Uh, and I I'm I kind of knew that could happen, but I'm fascinated to see how it's spreading in that regard. It's it's uh I'm loving it.

SPEAKER_03 16:22

Yeah, it was like the conversation when we first jumped on you. The first thing I'm thinking is uh, you know, we in our nonprofit, we have a little committee, and they're a committee of people that we're developing, we've gone through our program, and now they're on the committee as volunteers. And I'm thinking, I've got to give them this book. Uh because I want them to know how to be good at this through their life because they're young professionals and they deserve it, you know.

Lessons Anchored On A Pizza Box

SPEAKER_01 16:50

And they have the time. That's one of the big things we talk about, right? Is this compounding and time. Uh, when it comes to building wealth, certainly what one huge element is that of time. Uh, now it doesn't, that's not the only way to build wealth, but it's a big part, and it's a way the the the ordinary average anyone can build wealth. And and you and I talked before we started recording. Why why didn't we learn this when we were younger? Right? Why didn't anyone teach us this about compounding and about how money works? Now, you and I have caught up nicely, we've done well. A lot of the folks uh listening can identify with this, we've done well, and just think how much further we'd be had we learned about this. And it's it's the old, I wish I knew then what I know now. Well, let's impart that to the next generation. So, one of my missions is and my beliefs is that I first of all, I believe that everyone on this planet deserves to make educated decisions, educated financial decisions that are in their best interest. And so then my mission, and that's part of this book and my legacy, is to create that financial education on the level of belief and relationship to money and thinking and emotion, and then of course the mechanical things that one needs to do to uh to slowly create financial stability and wealth.

SPEAKER_03 18:11

Yeah. So I I have to ask, because you you know, you're going and you're doing all these stories with everybody, which by the way, I love because it's a way for us to really uh learn how people get to where they where they get to good or bad, right? What is your own money story like?

SPEAKER_01 18:32

Well, um, so we know that most people's money story, if you to use that term, their thinking, beliefs, assumptions, starts to solidify around age seven or eight, is what's been guessed. Uh now, uh, it's not fully formed there. Then, you know, media piles on, society, societal messages pile on, and all of that sort of stuff. But it it does start to happen in a young age. So for me, my both of my parents were children of a depression, uh, huge scarcity, you know. And when I say money is a scarce resource and and or isn't a scarce resource, it could feel scarce in your pocket or bank account. So I don't want to diminish that. That is a reality that we need to work through. But in any event, they were cautious. And my mother, both of my parents were somewhat anxious about money. My mother was anxious about everything. Um somehow I absorbed that anxiety in my life about other things and money and one of them. And and she always, I remember she always used to say, you never leave one job until you have the next job lined up, right?

SPEAKER_03 19:38

Oh, yeah. Uh, you know how many times I heard that, Bill, I know.

Money As Freedom And Attachment

Practical Starting Points For Wealth

SPEAKER_01 19:42

And how I became a business owner, an entrepreneur, and all I I it wasn't from her, that's for sure. Um, my father saved well, uh, but he didn't invest well. You know, he bought certificates of deposit and treasury bills and all very, very, very safe, but didn't grow very well. It wasn't until later, as I learned about money and actually taught my dad a little bit, uh, that he started to invest a little bit better. So my father used it had an expression, uh, this was way back when, before there was a lot of Lexuses and Mercedes and BMWs and land on the road. It was mostly if you wanted a uh, you know, an upscale car was a Cadillac or a Lincoln, right? So my dad hated it when people would show off their wealth. He, especially to a Cadillac, he called that conspicuous consumption. And, you know, of course, I've owned a few Lexuses and Cadillac. Sorry, dad. Um but I, you know, so that's what I grew up with, right? And so I had to kind of counterbalance that. And I learned for me personally, uh, the more I learned about how money worked, the more I became aware of some of these lessons and beliefs and assumptions that weren't serving me, that weren't really true. And so that's one way to overcome this, is just learn how money works a little bit better. Other folks that I've worked with and interviewed, uh, just deep introspection and wanting to grow, you become aware of some of that stuff as well. Um so anyway, so that was kind of my my growth and and my story. Now, real quick, does that that anxiety that I got from my parents, my mother mostly, and associated with money, has that ever gone away completely? No. It's one of those things that, because one thing we know about the brain is you can't rewire the brain. You can only overwire, you can overwrite what's there. So that wire, that's why we fall back into bad habits and bad thinking and bad emotions sometimes are unhelpful. And because it's always there. And so what happens for me is when that anxiety around money might manifest, even though I don't need to feel anxious about it. I just kind of that that that I turn that radio volume, you know, in my brain. I just turn the volume down a little bit. So I just say, oh, no, no, that's that. All right. I don't need to listen to that right now. So that's a little bit about my situation. And one final thing. I made a classic mistake, so many people do this, of starting to equate my self-worth with my net worth. And I became aware, you know, I think I was sometimes measuring my self-worth through the square footage of my home or something. And here's what I've learned is while our self-worth can determine our net worth, it doesn't work the other way. Now, are there folks with low self-worth or feelings of self-worth and guilt and shame and all that still become wealthy? Yeah, yeah. So it can, you can still get there. But there's also a missing piece, right? I have I have interviewed folks at 30 million, 50 million. I interviewed someone with a net worth of 96 million. Fear, anxiety, shame. One thing we know about these emotions is they they know no barrier to someone who doesn't have much money, to someone who has a lot. That it's it's a human condition. Uh, and so we need to just create a healthier relationship, a better story. And then when we when we change that story, we change our life.

SPEAKER_03 23:23

Listen, one thing I'm gonna tell you is I could spend hours talking about this conversation because it's fascinating. It's fascinating. Really fascinating. But you know, so I want to talk about this. The the the the Hidden Heights, you kind of mentioned it's you know, it's a parable book. Uh as a and it's a great story. But but but as you said, like don't get lost in the fact that it's got lessons. I mean, the point of it is that it's there to teach us these lessons, and you've done the interviews, and the lessons are strong lessons to all of us. It doesn't matter who you are. Why a bank robbery?

Resources, Links, And Closing

SPEAKER_01 24:00

Most parable books, and there's some good ones out there, the Go Giver series by Bob Berg and John David Mann. By the way, they hosted our launch party. Uh, great one, The Alchemist, the greatest salesman in the world. There's some really good parable books. Um, and most of them they have a little tension because you have to have tension to make a good story. And then, you know, the the main character encounters a problem, and then the main character encounters a guide, and the guide helps them work through the problem. Okay, but you can kind of see the ending coming. You can see what's, and and that's not always bad in a story because we'll watch movies and TV shows. We know what's going to happen. Sometimes they show us and then they go back in time. We just want to know how it's going to happen. Well, in this case, I wanted a really, I just wanted a more interesting, intricate story. All right. So I so it needed more suspense. It needed more stake. It needed a higher stake, uh, higher stakes. And so I was thinking, all right, money, we're, and I had a few different ideas. And I said, all right, bank robbery. They're in a bank, it's a bank robbery. So long before the book was written, I knew the first line of the book was going to be everybody on the floor, face down, right? Slide your cell phones to the center of the room. I just knew that was going to be the beginning of the story, which it is. And be going, whoa, that's a different kind of parable book, right? Now, with tension, you also need comic relief. And because this is a parable book, there's a lot of comic relief. Um, and the story is somewhat told through one of the main characters, and he looks at these bumbly uh robbers and how they're, you know, they thought they were going to do a smash and grab and they get stuck and they're negotiating with SWAT. And in the middle of all that, the the quote unquote hostages are in the vault. And they're taught, why are these guys doing that? And one guy says, Well, they're just trying to get their theirs, you know, money's a zero-sum game. And and so Alden Beckett, who's kind of the hero of the story, if you will, starts to teach around mindset and teach around basics around money. And then the the bank manager says, We better capture this. Well, in any good heist, any good bank robbery, pizza gets delivered to the hostages, right? So pizza's delivered, and sure enough, and the bank manager takes out a Sharpie that he had and he starts to write on the bot the back of the uh pizza box. And I'm gonna hold this to the camera. Uh, this is what it looks like in the in the book, where we've illustrated uh some of the things that are written on the pizza box. Uh, and that's one of the ways we anchor the teachings uh throughout the book. So, man, this was this was a blast writing. Uh people seem to have fun uh reading it, and then they're getting some good info at the same time. So I don't know. We it it it and I couldn't have done it without, I just got to give all praise to my co-author, Jeff C. West, because he's the one who took my ideas and a lot of his own ideas too. Uh, I don't want to, I can't take credit for all of the ideas, but he brought them to life, right? He's the one who brought them into the characters and and how the characters speak. And then we hired a professional book narrator, a book actor, Jonathan McLean, to do the audio version. And a lot of folks are loving the audio. I got a text last night at like 10 o'clock from a friend said, I'm I'm listening to the audio and I I can't stop, but I got to go to sleep. Right. And so Jonathan did an incredible job furthering that bringing those characters to life. And so, you know, yeah, it's a great read. It's got great lessons. Uh, I believe that people who buy the book and read the book or listen to the book will get something for themselves, and then we'll probably identify a few people in their life, whether it's professional with your team or friends, family, uh, that could also benefit. So it's that's what's happening. It's kind of the the everyone wants to get into the heist now.

SPEAKER_03 27:59

Yeah. Well, here's the thing. You know, I think um storytelling helps us retain information. So the key is that uh the book is a very serious topic, I would say. Uh for everybody. There's there's probably not anybody I know uh personally, professionally, no much no how much money they have, as you said, it affects and impacts every single life. Okay. So the key is that you you are sharing uh incredible lessons to impact people's lives so that they, you know, I used to do onboarding at one of the the company that actually brought me over here from uh from South Africa, and uh I used to do onboard all of the new salespeople. And I'd stand in this room and I'd say, here's the thing money is about freedom. Money is about freedom. Because when you have it, it allows you to live the life you want.

SPEAKER_01 29:10

Can I add to that?

SPEAKER_03 29:11

Yes, please.

SPEAKER_01 29:12

Um and and money can be freedom. So when people talk about financial freedom, I I kind of see it on two levels. There's what you're talking about where it gives you the wherewithal, right, to make to make better decisions, uh, different decisions. People people say, you know, money doesn't buy happiness, but it'll let you arrive at your problems and style. Uh so yes, on on the mechanical level, there's no question that uh more resources in that regard, yeah, does create a sense of freedom. Um as long as the mindset is right, right? Because, you know, the Bible is often misquoted. People say, you know, uh uh money is the root of all evil. Well, that's not what the Bible says. It actually says the love of money is the root of all evil. And I think it actually goes deeper than that personally. I think it's the attachment to money, it's it's the unhealthy love of money, where one may use it to gain power over others, or as I admitted myself, derive one's self-worth from money. That's that's the evil part, if you want to put that word to it. Uh, Alden Beckett in our book, uh, one of the things he says is money is meant to be used and people are meant to be loved. The trouble starts when we reverse the two. So, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:41

Wow, that's powerful.

SPEAKER_01 30:43

So, fight, yeah, thank you. So, financial freedom is kind of has two levels, and one could have that wherewithal you're talking about to make new and still have not the full financial freedom because they're still ruled by money and they're still ruled by their relationship to money. Uh, money it just is, it's not good or bad, it's our relationship to it that makes it good or bad. Uh, I know it's a kind of a woo-woo type way to think about it, and it's a very powerful way to think about it. And it and it's a lifelong journey. It's not like you just turn a switch and all of a sudden, you know, you got that healthier, better relationship. It it takes a little bit of work, um, but it can be done. And um, anyway, so that's that's I just wanted to add my spin to what you were suggesting.

SPEAKER_03 31:29

That's so powerful, and and uh boy, uh that very profound, very, very, very profound. So now our our podcast, you know, we we uh it's leaders, it's aspiring leaders, um it's people with families, many of them, right? Uh, you know, uh we we've also got entrepreneurs uh that that listen uh and and love uh what we what what we talk about. What advice uh do you have, apart from reading the book, because that's my advice to uh audience today. But what advice do you have for you know the lessons in the book? I don't want you to rattle all of them off, but you know, there's advice there. Where do they start? Like how how do they start this journey?

SPEAKER_01 32:19

Yes. So the f I would say the first thing is to work on on your money education. Just learn how money works, whether it's taking a course or reading a book and personal finance. I know it sounds kind of dry, uh, but just understanding good debt, bad debt, uh, understanding different ways to save, the importance of there's a there's an ad called pay yourself first, which is essentially uh making sure that you maximize money for retirement. Um I think it's Warren Buffett that said, you know, spend uh what's left after saving rather than save what's left after spending. Uh but there's really two types of saving. There, there's the there's the uh before tax for retirement, which they say will often be taxed at a lower rate when you get older. Well, yeah, maybe it still depends. Uh I'm still getting taxed at a pretty high rate, even though I'm starting to have to pull my uh some of my money for my retirement by law. Uh, but then you also want to save after tax. Uh first of all, rainy day fund. You never know when something you know can happen. You want to have that. Um, so that's part of it. And then understanding the difference between saving and investment and understanding the risk that of investment. And so all of this is educating. Uh I'm also a big believer in proper counsel and proper advice and finding a good, appropriate financial advisor for yourself. Uh it's a rare individual who actually can do well themselves. Um, most people who try to manage their own investments never do as well as even the S P 500. Now, I'm not saying put all your money in the S P 500, but you should put some of it in because over the last 50 years, it's done 11%, it's averaged 11.6% uh every year. So, I mean that's that's a huge, you know, most money managers can't even get that.

SPEAKER_04 34:13

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:14

Uh there's an old story. Warren Buffett did a uh a bet with a money manager, a hedge fund manager, and the SP 500 beat what the hedge fund manager was able to do, right? So so seek counsel. Don't try to do it all yourself. And then start to become aware of your emotions. You know, they talk about fear and greed. Um, and here's what we know about emotions around money that the emotion we feel from a gain, let's say a 1% gain in the stock market. Oh, market went up 1%. That's good, right? Versus the loss, market went down 1%. The emotional response is twice that from the loss. So what happens is that will drive fear, and that will drive you doing something that you maybe shouldn't do, like going to cash uh with your investments when you probably shouldn't do it. So it's awareness, it's building awareness and it's building awareness through education. So that's I know that was a lot. You ask what can people do? And that's where it so with the book, it starts with with the awareness building, give some of the basics, and then you continue from there.

SPEAKER_03 35:21

Yeah, that's really fantastic. So, Bill, um, if anybody wants to follow up with you, what what's what's the best way for them to do that?

SPEAKER_01 35:31

Well, Bill Cates, find me on LinkedIn. I I'm pretty easy to find on LinkedIn. Uh my email is Billcates at referralcoach.com. Billcates at referral coach.com. Just, you know, let me know that you you learned about me through Tracy and Palmer and and we'll be instant friends and uh happy to correspond. Uh the book is thehiddenheist.com uh to learn more about it there. I appreciate you asking.

SPEAKER_03 35:55

Yeah, and then the last thing I want to also just let them know is this uh the ordinary millionaire.com.

SPEAKER_01 36:01

So the author The Ordinarymillionaire.com. It's a it's a guide, it's in the vault from the book, but it's it's something we've just kind of taken out of the vault to make uh access to really anybody. Uh so if you're younger, you got a chance to really do this. If you're a little bit older, you could still do some of it. And if you're older, older, then pass it on to other people.

SPEAKER_03 36:22

There you go. There you go. Well, hey, Bill, so fantastic to have you with us. We'll definitely have you again as well. Uh, and uh thank you for sharing your wisdom. Uh and really, honestly, I uh this is an incredible read. I'll just say that. So thank you very much for sharing all of your expertise with us and impacting people's lives. So, to uh all of those listening, uh, this is Bill Cates. He will be uh on our YouTube channel, out on our Spotify channels. Please reach out to him. Uh, certainly a great wealth of experience and information. And uh with that, just remember together we make a difference and keep living beyond those boundaries. Thanks everyone for joining us today. If you enjoyed the show, please go to LeadershipMoments Podcast.com to subscribe to the podcast or on your favorite player, as well as follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn.

SPEAKER_02 37:22

You can also send us a message on what you like and don't like or what guests you want us to have on the show.

SPEAKER_03 37:27

So until next time.

SPEAKER_02 37:29

This is Stacy Caster, and what does it challenge you won't change you.

SPEAKER_03 37:32

And I'm Tracy M. Palmer. Be the change you wish to see in the world.