A Better Path to Money, Purpose, and Legacy with Dave Wolcott

What if real wealth has more to do with purpose, time, and relationships than money?

In this episode, Whitney Sewell talks with former Marine Corps Captain and investor Dave Wolcott about his concept of holistic wealth—building a life that aligns financial success with faith, family, and purpose.

Dave shares lessons from the military, entrepreneurship, and investing, including why hustle culture often costs men what matters most, how intentional routines shape leadership, and how to build generational wealth rooted in strong values.

If you want to succeed financially without sacrificing your family or faith, this conversation will challenge and encourage you.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Your thoughts and your beliefs are actually uh really imprinted on you by the age of seven, right? Now that starts to become your subconscious, whether you're 40 or 50 or 60, right? You still have these imprints in you in your DNA with how you're making decisions and how you're doing things. By the time you get generation three, it's almost 90% of wealth is lost. One of the biggest reasons that people lose in that wealth transfer is actually it's not just about passing on the money itself, it's actually passing on values, right? And things that matter.

SPEAKER_00 0:38

Welcome to the Courageous Men Podcast, where we help Christian men follow God faithfully, love their families well, and build a legacy that lasts. And now your host, Whitney Stewart.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Today on the Courageous Men Podcast, I'm joined by Dave Wilcott, a former Marine Corps captain, turned entrepreneur, investor, and author of the holistic wealth strategy. Dave has built businesses, he's helped countless families grow their wealth and developed a blueprint for what he calls freedom beyond finances. So freedom of money, purpose, time, and relationships. What I really appreciate about Dave's story is how he's built all of that while staying grounded as a husband and father of four, including triplets. Uh, that's no small feat, that's for sure. This episode is for every man who's chasing success, but doesn't want to lose what matters most. Dave's going to show us how to do that and build wealth around serving our mission and not the other way around. Dave, welcome to the show. Honored to connect with you again.

SPEAKER_02 1:41

Whitney, it's always such a pleasure connecting. So grateful to be here.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

It's great to have you here. And I know obviously we've connected before and known each other for a while now. And I know you've gone from serving as that Marine Corps captain to, you know, leading your current investment firm to helping entrepreneurs build, you know, what you call that holistic wealth. And uh, you know, there's so many things I appreciate about your story. You know, I think so much of it will resonate with listeners. And but you know, you've you seem to have stayed, been able to stay focused on, let's say, your your purpose and relationships and and some important, what I would call it some of the most important things, you know, while pursuing that freedom and success. And and so I want to just dig into how you've done that so we can help the men who are listening to build that lasting wealth as well, but without losing what matters most. And so I want to I want to dive in there.

SPEAKER_02 2:31

100%, Whitney. You know, it's certainly evolved, you know, over the years, and I've felt a strong sense of, you know, purpose and mission that, you know, I I got from uh probably really started in childhood. And then of course, you know, joining the Marine Corps, having the opportunity to serve my country uh and just work with some phenomenal people and really instill in you these values, right? Like values that are just so strong and really become guiding, you know, principles in your life. Um, but you know, I love to really frame things in frameworks for people to help them really contextualize things and really take action. So for the listeners out there, you know, one of the things that I've really discovered and for you, a way to really think about what does wealth even really mean? What is holistic wealth? Well, it's it's very different to me than being rich. Rich is kind of what you see on Instagram, right, with the Lambeau lifestyle and and flashy things and right, all of all of these toys, right, that that make us want to go for that. And sadly, the younger generations are growing up with that, thinking that that's what success really means. As we grow older and wiser in life, we know that, you know, toys only last really so far. So a great way to really think about this is that there's actually six forms of capital, Whitney, that you can acquire in life, right? And so we think about financial capital because um, you know, as Christian men, right, we want to be that patriarch to our family, we want to provide. And so financial capital is something that, you know, we're we're really kind of striving for. What I found in my journey is that there's these other forms of capital as well. You have intellectual capital, you have social capital, you have emotional capital, you have human capital. And all of these other things are really interesting because there were times in my life where I was interested in investing, I was interested in growing a business, yet I didn't have financial capital, right? So what did I do? I actually focused on, you know, building up my relationship capital, right? And starting to, you know, build relationships that could take me to the next level, open up opportunities that I didn't even really think about having. Think about emotional capital. I mean, how many times do you have a conversation with someone where you really understand kind of what level they're playing the game? You know, are they always complaining? Are they always talking about things that they can't control, right? Or are they people on the other side of that, right, who are, you know, serving others, right? And, you know, becoming, you know, they're resilient, right? And how they handle challenges, because that's, you know, what happens in life, right? That's is the reality. So I think constantly building that, you know, emotional capital. Um, and then there's this intellectual capital piece. You know, I often tell people, you know, people are always saying well, you know, what's the best investment I could do? Well, really, the best investment that you can do that's gonna have the highest ROI is actually investing in yourself because it all starts with that, you know, most important real estate, which is the real estate in between your ears, right? It's how you think about things, how you really see the world. And, you know, we can see this played out in people like, you know, it's very apparent when you see someone like Elon Musk and how he's operating and really solving like challenges that seem just beyond belief to us. And then you compare him to someone like uh who you went to maybe high school with, who's in the same town, the same set of friends, right, or working at the same job, and they haven't really evolved much. And actually, it's interesting because if you've read Elon's book, it's really fascinating uh the childhood beginnings that he came with. I I mean, it was very, very tough environment for him and his family, how you know, in South Africa and and how he kind of, you know, pushed uh really through that. But really developing that emotional capital is just so important. And again, investing in yourself, all these things would, you know, there's so many great ways to do that these days, you know, through educations, through masterminds, right, through uh through coaching and mentorship. And these are things that, you know, weren't readily available for us, you know, back in the day, Whitney. And I think, you know, one of the challenges that a lot of us struggle with, and and probably why it took me really so long to, you know, discover all these things and put it together is because, you know, when I was raised, right, money was really taboo, right? We didn't we didn't really talk about money in the household, you know. We had a middle class family, but we were very, you know, there was a big scarcity mindset in our family, right? We didn't really talk about these things, we didn't really talk about having a growth mindset.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

There was always uh worry and struggle tied to money in my house growing up, it was always a major burden.

SPEAKER_02 7:53

100%, right? You know, now I see it so clearly, right? Back then, you know, in your earlier self, you can only see like with one pair of glasses, right? But the more you really evolve yourself, you can see things you you've never even seen, and you can see people around you who just don't get it, right? Because they're playing the game at a different level and they haven't really evolved.

SPEAKER_01 8:18

You know, there's so many things there. Uh my goodness, I I love how early on you were talking about how just the challenges that come about and how people are, you know, how they handle those. I mean, it says a lot, right? How resilient they are, and you know, thinking about who you're around and all that. And I know uh you talk about you know how that your your time in the military, right, uh in the Marines is is foundational for you. I think uh similar to me uh in a lot of ways, my time in Iraq. I think back to that obviously often and think, you know, whatever situation I'm in now is is not as bad as that. You know, and the and the but the Lord has used that um amongst many other hardships to push me and to grow me and to teach me things and and is still doing that in a in a massive way. And uh uh to the point where I'm like, okay, I'm just gonna go ahead and thank you for this hardship because I know that you know you're like helping me, uh you know, helping me to improve, you're helping me to do better, you're helping me, you know, in so many ways. I was and I was recently listening to uh I was I saw John Maxwell in person and he's writing a a new book and and it's uh it's the return on failure is the name of it. And uh one thing he talked about was uh he said like everything is just is hard, like it's just uphill, like anything that's worth doing, right, is is uphill. And you don't coast to success. And so, you know, I think about that and and some of those foundational things that you're talking about. As you think about your foundational, some of the foundational things that happened even as a child that you're that you're talking about now, or military, how do some of those things or maybe some of those things you've had to alter your thinking on that's helped you to lead in your business or your family, you know, today?

SPEAKER_02 9:52

Yeah, great question. And I think the real breakthrough in thinking is to understand that, you know, these challenges that are presented to us are really the raw material for your goals. So when you can embrace those challenges that come your way and that seem, you know, sometimes so overwhelming, how are you gonna get through this? This is actually how you get to the next level and how you really work through that. You know, Tony Robbins even talks about that, right? His cause is so strong for feeding the homeless because he wasn't fed, right, as a child. He didn't always know he was gonna have food on the table when he grew up. So at the time as a as a child, he really regretted that from his mom and like, wow, this is, you know, this is crazy. Um, but that's what's driving him to, you know, now feed like billions of people on the planet, which is such an amazing cause. Um, but when I think back, you know, um, we did, my, you know, my my parents, we really had this kind of scarcity type mindset. Um, we, you know, we we weren't poor by any means, you know, and I I thought we were we were successful. Uh, but there were constantly things that, you know, my kids laugh at me today, and they're still ingrained in me, like, you know, everything from turning off the lights, right, uh, you know, all the time to leaving food on your plate table. I mean, to this day, I have a challenge going to a buffet style thing because I have to eat every morsel, you know, that's on my plate, or it'd be wasteful because there are starving children in Africa, right? Um, so there were all these things and these little sayings, money doesn't grow on trees, right? All of these things that, you know, start to permeate you. Um and it's also fascinating that most people don't realize that all of this um, you know, your thoughts and your beliefs are actually uh really imprinted on you by the age of seven, right? So those things kind of settle.

SPEAKER_01 11:55

Scary as a parent, right there.

SPEAKER_02 11:56

Isn't that really scary? So, I mean, who can even remember when they're seven, right? But now that starts to become your subconscious. And today, you know, whether you're 40 or 50 or 60, right, you still have these imprints in you and your DNA with how you're making decisions and how you're doing things. So if you, you know, came from that environment where it was scarcity, it was challenging, right? You're going to be seeing the world in a different way, right? You're going to be playing defense instead of offense. You're going to be living in scarcity versus abundance. So one of the biggest, you know, afflictions that that I kind of worked through was just, you know, uh my mother had just had a very strong, authoritative uh kind of presence, right? Which probably led me really into the Marine Corps in a way. So I'm really grateful for her because I I developed such a strong sense of responsibility, a strong sense of values and all those things. Um, but as I do, you know, deep work on myself and really understand things, it was actually some of this, like, you know, just feeling basically controlled that I'm seeking now freedom, right? I'm seeking a huge sense of freedom. And that's what drives me so much. So it's taken me many years to really kind of figure all of that out and make that connection. And I believe that, you know, most people have some sense of there, there's like in their childhoods, there's usually two of the biggest things that people are challenged with. It's like trust and control uh kind of issues, right? So once you can make that connection and then see, you know, how are you making decisions today, right? You know, subconsciously, uh, you know, in your business, in your life, in your relationships, and those kinds of things, it's it's quite enlightening.

SPEAKER_01 13:50

What was the pivot moment for you that it was like you were able to shift from say chasing success, right, to really thinking more like, hey, I want to create this holistic freedom? Like what was that that that change, that pivot in you?

SPEAKER_02 14:04

Yeah, great question. You know, I I I think we we live in a world of ever increasing grind culture, right? And it's you know, and it's never enough. And then back then, I mean, the same thing. I mean, in the Marine Corps, I mean, it it was 24-7 all-consuming. And then it wasn't enough to just be in the Marines, I had to be a Marine officer. Uh, also in there was a whole pecking order as well. Like I got into infantry, and then that wasn't good enough. So then I had to get into recon, uh, which was a completely elite unit um in and of itself, which people were operating at just an amazing level. And then you find this in entrepreneurship as well, right? Is that people have lifestyle businesses, you know, which is great. And then there's people, you know, creating nine-figure businesses and, you know, having, you know, really big purposes. So I think really that, you know, to go through that migration, was there a really pivotal event? Um, you know, I I think there was probably a few, right, that kind of came along the way and it was more a little bit more evolutionary, but I definitely came from that hustle and grind culture. And I left the Marine Corps, I got into corporate America, and it was this same thing, right? Where it's people would sacrifice a relationship with a client or a partner uh for those quarterly results. It doesn't matter that you just spent two years kind of building relationship or sacrificing your values. We had to get the quarterly numbers in place. And that really disgruntled me. I did that was dissonant with who I am. And so I felt like corporate was really like a machine. I also felt the same sense from Wall Street, right? I really learned over time that, like, why should I, I'm working so hard for my family's future, and then I'm just giving everything to Wall Street, which is just a machine, and these guys don't really know any better. It goes up, it goes down, there's absolutely no control. Maybe you make 7% and then you start to figure out you pay taxes, fees, and inflation, and maybe you're making 4%. I mean, it's complete handcuffs and things like 401ks, right? They're golden handcuffs for you to, you know, stay with the company and then not ax your access your money until 59.5. But to answer your question, long-winded uh, you know, context there, but I think there were a few moments. I think the um, you know, I took the purple pill and read, you know, Kiyosaki's book, you know, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Cash Flow Quadrant was extremely enlightening for me to really figure out that I could move to the business uh side of the quadrant, create a business system that could operate and be an asset for me, that was really compelling. Uh becoming an investor where I could generate capital that didn't require me to be there. So not being in this time and effort economy, but really having mailbox money kind of come in while I was sleeping. And so until you actually figure how out how to do that, you're always going to be trading your time uh for money or you know, working under someone else's system, but you need to create your own system so that it's working for you. And I think, frankly, this is what a lot of our holistic wealth strategy and our thinking is really about. And I know for you as well, in passive investing is okay, not only are we getting into uh less risky assets, you know, better producing assets, but it's also about like kind of creating some sovereignty in your life, right? And understanding that I feel more abundant because my family's future is taken care of. Because I'm investing in things that make a difference for people, right? I'm investing in, say, an apartment building where you're providing housing for people. And by the way, you're partnering with the government, you're getting tax breaks not because it's a loophole, that's where the government wants you to invest. So you're actually partnering with them versus just putting it in the stock market, which is just, you know, like putting it on the craps table.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

Yeah. I I would love for us to be able to dive into some of the investing pieces at some point. But uh, before we do that, or I don't know if we'll have time this episode or not, but I I want to I want to dive into uh what I would say is is a little more important, but uh is the the husband, the father component, while um you know you have been building a business and and been pushing in all these directions, like you're talking about, you know, obviously you're very driven. Uh I can relate to that. Uh you know, you're talking about all the things in the military. It's like, oh, that wasn't enough. I had to go do this and I had to go do that. And you know, then you get in corporate America and then you know, on and on. But your husband, you're you're a father of four, including triplets, uh, which is uh such an undertaking to say the least, right? Uh, you know, how have you managed to maybe stay present right at home while leading, you know, in in a big way? All right, you know, whether it's in business or you know, I I don't know the stage at which you were at as far as a parent when you were in the military and then entrepreneur and those things, but how have you managed to be present at home while being this driven? I just think so many entrepreneurs, uh, men that are listening can relate to that.

SPEAKER_02 19:22

Yeah, I think it's all about creating an intentional life for yourself, right? And having a strong vision about, you know, what are the next three years, the next ten years really look for you? What what is the quality of your relationships? What does your health look like? Right? What does your income look like? What is your freedom look like? How much time do you take off, right? All of these different things. So when you have a really strong vision, you can actually break through different walls, right? Or barriers that kind of, you know, come your way. And so for me, one of those grounding visions has always been, like I said, investing in yourself is so important. So there's been times where maybe, okay, I know I could have, you know, worked a few more hours in a week, right? Or things like that. But I intentionally never compromised my, you know, my exercise, uh, my practices, my morning practice. I call it my morning success routine, you know, which seems to be getting longer and longer every day, but is actually the most valuable part of my day where I have, um, you know, today, you know, I got to I get to ride my bike and like that thinking time. Like I do a lot of cycling. So the thinking time is so powerful and being intentional about what I want, right? So, so getting that exercise in, being healthy is really good. Journaling, um, meditation is absolutely huge. So you can stop all of these thoughts of other people, right? Kind of taking over and telling you what to do. And then you're being intentional about, you know what, these are the three most important things I need to get done today, you know, or this week. And, you know, what comes out of that is um, you know, in terms of being a spouse, of being, and I it's actually part of my vision statement is that I want to be a world-class father, a husband, a brother, a son, right? Um, a friend, right, to all of those people in my lives and like those relationships that I have. So I think about that because it is part of my vision statement. So how can I, how can I be world class? Like actually, just this weekend, you know, I hadn't talked to my brother in a little while. And um, you know, we just we jumped on a you know, video call and you know, it was great. We got to, you know, connect for like an hour and just really, you know, spend that time. So even if you can't be with someone because you, you know, the distance is too far and everything, you can connect. You can reach out in multiple ways, you know? And then different things, you know, during um, you know, when the triplets were born, I mean, obviously it was completely chaotic, right? And we got through things because we had to, you know, and there was no other choice. And I was so grateful that they were healthy. There was a point where one of them, uh, my son Oliver, was actually, he he was on an incubator for like an extra like two weeks because he wasn't breathing. And it was really touch and go whether he was going to even make it. And now I just got to see him graduate infantry training. He actually just went through the Marine Corps uh himself. It's just so amazing. And we have this bond now that's like it's amazing. Only someone like you would could appreciate that, Whitney, or anyone else who's who's been in the military, have done something like that. Um, what a special bond. And it's even reinforced the bond I have with my dad because he was in the Air Force and he served his country. So when you can kind of create these, you know, these deeper connections and more meaningful things with those relationships that you care about. Um, wow, it's really powerful. And the other thing I'll share that I think's, you know, pretty cool for people to just to just really think about is like, you know, sometimes we always think, oh, we're too busy. Like we wear that on our sleeve like a badge of honor. I'm too busy, you know? Yeah. How are you? I'm busy is the first thing we answer, right? Or you might say, like, hey, I don't have enough money, right? We we don't have enough money. But those are all mindset issues. You you're not busy. You have the same 24 hours that Elon Musk does in a day, right? So if you want to spend time with your, you know, your son or your daughter or your spouse, uh, you can do it, right? It's all just about how you are intentional, you know, with your time. Um, and funny enough, I find a lot of the things around money, a lot of us, we come up with ideas in our own head, like I can't, you know, we can't do that because I can't take a week off of work and you know, go see some friends or family, or we can't really go on this vacation. But if you change that whole mindset, I mean, half of the time it's actually not even about money. It again, it's really intentionality and how you think about things. And time off should be something that's celebrated, that's a part of you, how you can actually grow as a person and then reconnect and create those unforgettable experiences with people around you.

SPEAKER_01 24:35

Yeah, you know, it's it's interesting. You know, you talk about you the relationship you and your son have now, and that's so it's such a neat story, though, by the way. Uh, you know, from his birth now getting to see that. Man, what a what an honor, a proud moment, dad moment, right? Uh that's so that's so cool. Uh and now, you know, you hear people talk about those relationships that are built in the trenches, right? Or in the foxholes. Uh and that's it's neat. You and your son now both are understanding more and more of that together, right? And having those discussions. And I I have yeah, relationships that uh uh we it was a 20-year anniversary beginning of this, or actually this year when I was in Iraq. And I got together with with my squad earlier this year, and a number of them I hadn't talked to since we came home. Some of them I have stayed in touch with, you know, and and but there's just this instant bond, right? There's this instant, I mean, every one of them that comes up, I'm just giving them a big hug, you know. It's like um as soon as I see them, right? We just experienced hard things together. Um, that just created a a relationship, you know, lifelong relationship. And but some of it made me think of as you know, as we're talking about these hardships and these things as you know, the father and man leads their family through these hard things, is you know, oftentimes I know this is the way it was done in my family, especially just in different men I've heard about as they've grown up, those things aren't talked about right as a family. And I feel like as you know, uh, you know, in our family, I'm trying to be more and more open about hardships um and just talking through those things as a family, just you know, to a level that everybody can understand or anything that that's happening. Uh, because uh one, I I want to I want them to know how to navigate just their mindset, right, around when hardships happen, right? I want to I want to be able to train them and teach them. But there's also like kind of like you were talking about in the trenches, there's uh relationships that are built, right? You know, around even those hardships. And so when my 10 and 12-year-old sons can know, hey, things I'm struggling with right now, and they're praying for me and they're they're seeing dad struggle, but they're seeing dad, you know, work through it and you know, mind mindset about all this, and it opens doors for us to have more conversations about it, and you know, as they're growing up, you know, that everything wasn't just always perfect for dad. No, he had to push, he had to grow, he had to, you know, all these things. Uh and so I was just thinking about as a man's leading in their home, it's it's so similar it can be to you know being in those foxholes, uh, right, you know, as well. Uh but on that, on that thinking as well, I wonder like for you, are is there maybe rhythms or other boundaries? And I want to I want to talk about your morning routine a little bit again in a moment, uh, but any other rhythms and boundaries that you all had in your home that helped you to just lead well even when there's chaos?

SPEAKER_02 27:12

Yeah, uh it's a good question. Uh, you know, I think again, kind of coming from my background where, you know, topics like yeah, struggles or money like wasn't brought up as much. And there was not um, you know, that environment that fostered like, hey, how how can I help? Or, you know, let's let's kind of be in this together. And, you know, there's a there's a sobering statistic that actually um, you know, only after second generation uh of wealth builders, like up to 80% of wealth is actually lost. And then in the by the time you get generation three, it's almost 90% of wealth is lost. And one of the biggest reasons that people lose in that wealth transfer is actually because they haven't, it's not just about passing on the money itself, it's actually passing on values, right? And things that matter. So we have made it uh a point in our family. We actually have a family constitution. Uh, we do an annual family retreat where we get together and we actually talk about values. Um, we talk about money too, right? We talk about these topics that no one wants to talk about. Um, and it was really cool. I'll tell you, it was really fun because again, most people, and this kind of comes into that intellectual capital piece or emotional capital piece, is that a lot of people are just um, you know, whatever, if they just invest in the stock market, they just like outsource things, right? But all of these things are connected, right? Be right because the the wealth creates energy for you, right? That's going to amplify things in your life, right? And whether that's serving, you know, at an even bigger cause or, you know, or living in a more abundant life, right? I mean, it's it creates a massive amount of energy. So I used to do these things like in high school, it gets increasingly harder to connect with the kids. They're all going their different ways. They're, and you know, you have a big family, right? The kids are like all over the place. But we would have these little, I call them like mini masterminds. And it was so great, right? Because you kind of try to transition yourself into this like coach-like person. Because of course, if you tell the kids anything, they're not going to want to listen, right? But if you can very subtly kind of like coach something or give some kind of real-world example of, hey, I'm working through this, you know, what do you think? Or kind of just bringing them into the discussion, right? It becomes, you know, so much more powerful. And like another really good example is, you know, part of our vision was, you know, we wanted to uh, you know, connect with my my wife's roots in Italy. Uh, we'd always loved the place, and we ended up buying uh a place over there. And we've been fortunate enough to go for 13 years in a row. Uh, we've actually bought multiple places. So we've been taking our kids to Italy for 13 years, which is an amazing chance to get them to experience a different culture, um, how things, a different language, right? How how do people kind of do things differently? But the the approach that we did was we bought the apartment and then made it an investment property, and then the whole family was involved in it. So I can tell you we have memories today, Whitney, of like getting on the train with backpacks full of paint cans and you know, and tools and brushes, like going through IKEA and, you know, trying to figure things out, you know, for the first time. But all the kids had a hand in, you know, beautifying the place and kind of making it their own and and connecting with the culture. And then as kind of part of our wealth transfer, you know, we want to pass on the property to our kids and so that they have it as an investment property and then they can kind of like continue that tradition. So I think there's some pretty cool ways that you can get kids involved uh at different ages with, you know, putting your values together and you work like on a real project like that, and then it becomes really tangible.

SPEAKER_01 31:26

That's such a good example. I a mentor of mine, uh, you know, is always uh we think through like different uh areas of our life, obviously, you know, like you talk about often that you want to focus on, but it uh he talks often about getting two furs or three furs, you know, where you can like combine these things to improve in a few of these areas at the same time or uh different areas you're focusing in. But I love that one because you know it's a a major connection for your your wife, right? And her heritage and her family. And I mean, that's what a what a connection for her and loving her in that way. That you know, the whole family's like in this thing, you know, and even that time spent there, and now for generations to come potentially, there's still that connection, right, from her her family and for her lineage there. Uh so I love that. And then and then the having to figure it all out together. You know, you talked about getting on the train with backpacks of paint or whatever. Uh like that's that's precious, right? But I love the the the investment there, right? Like, like not just in Italy, but like in your kids going through that process. Right. And I think uh, you know, so often I could just think, okay, what's the return on my investment if I buy this piece of real estate here? You know, like that that could be my I could just have the blinders on and be thinking about that. And while we do need to think about that, you know, but still it's such I feel like it's a a much bigger investment, even much bigger return on having your family involved and their time invested there together uh in a project like that.

SPEAKER_02 32:48

Yeah, for sure. And I've just seen now my 27-year-old daughter, our oldest, you know, she's now living in her third house already, right? And she's done two rentals like since then, right? So, so I think, you know, these kids really will learn these lessons, you know, when they're, you know, young enough, you can kind of teach them these lessons and it really, you know, instills great things in them. So, you know, every chance you can, you know, try to get that in because by the time they hit high school, it's so hard to just get their attention, uh, you know, and now we're in the stage that they're in their 20s. So we're trying to figure out, okay, how do we, you know, how do we get them involved with things, right? Like how can we connect them? How can we get them to want to come back, right?

SPEAKER_01 33:34

Yeah, that's why most people put a pool in.

SPEAKER_02 33:36

Yeah, well, actually, you know, I can give you a good example. So we literally just spent uh we we just moved into a new house, and I can tell you it's been a three-year journey, Whitney. So part of our vision was to actually create, we wanted to build a custom house uh here in Florida and really make it a destination place so that all the kids and the grandkids would want to come here. And so we got some toys, and you know, we live near the beach and we have all of this fun stuff. And now, you know, we're we're anticipating a great Thanksgiving because everyone's coming, everyone's excited to come, you know, great weather, lots of things to do, lots of ways to, you know, connect and everything. But it was, you know, it's trying to take your environment. And and Ben Hardy talks about this, which is great, uh, like willpower doesn't work, right? How can you take your environment, right, and 10x your environment so you can, you know, you can live, you can come from that, right? And and really kind of uh magnify yourself from your environment and then also uh just make it really meaningful, right? Right, with with family and that the things that you do, and we have lots of health and wellness things, like kind of have a wellness center built in and all these kind of things. So it it really kind of supports our lifestyle.

SPEAKER_01 34:57

You know, uh, I want to get to just a couple quick things here before we run out of time. Uh, but you know, you've mentioned uh you mentioned your morning routine. And I think I maybe I've even heard you talk about that, just how it shapes your mindset, I think. And I could not agree more. And maybe just quickly uh, you know, walk us through that a little bit and just you know, what that discipline, you know, start to your day looks like and maybe how that impacts, you know, you as a leader and husband and father. Um I I would like for the men listening to to be able to think through, hey, your morning tomorrow, you know, after they're listening to this, what can we learn from from Dave here and and to even implement tomorrow? Maybe not, we may not be able to implement all of it right away, right? But hey, what are some action steps, you know, that you take in every morning that that they could take tomorrow?

SPEAKER_02 35:43

I I'm gonna go through step by step, Whitney. And this is actually one of the the most important takeaways. If you don't have a morning routine in place, um, you know, you're gonna be re reactionary to someone else's plan. But when you can own your morning, you own the day, right? It's that simple. Now, mine is extreme, so take out of it what you want, but um you don't really have to do that. You can you can do what's you know relevant really to you. But basically, I wake up, I pound like 20 ounces of electrolyte water, is the first thing I do uh to get my system going, um, get my adenosine to kind of rise on its own versus just grabbing a coffee. And I sit by myself wherever I am. I actually really like to go outside, um, even whatever time of year it is, wherever. And I work through gratitude. The first 15 minutes is a complete gratitude practice about everything I am grateful for. Um, and when you can work through that, then that eliminates any not negative thoughts coming through your mind, like, hey, I'm tired, I got two hours of sleep because of the baby last night, um, or I'm totally ramped up at work, I got no time, you know, any of these kind of things, you let that go, right? That's my initial part. Um, I love espresso, it's one of my uh favorite passions. So I enjoy kind of a espresso from there. Um, and then um I work out coming for the Marine Corps, right? It's kind of part of my DNA. Cycling's really big for me. So usually kind of cycling or weight training or swimming or I do some yoga as well. Uh so do some kind of working out, but then after that, take a little bit of time to stretch and then always really meditate. I meditate on a PEMF mat, uh, which is a grounding mat. So anytime I love to do stacks and biohacking type things. So if you're meditating well, get on a grounding mat. It's amazing. You'll just find your body like completely relaxes. And then what I do from there is like I'll have a great uh smoothie uh is really my breakfast thing. So now I get some good nutrition, I've gotten hydration, you know, I'm treating my body and my mind like a temple. And then I pick up my journal and I say, like, you know, these are the three most important things I have to get done today. This is I'm aligned to my goals, you know, where where I'm heading. Uh, I'm completely in charge with, you know, what I want to do for the day, right? And then I start my day, and my day is completely power packed with, you know, the things that I want to schedule and that kind of move forward uh from my life. Now, the last thing I'd like to add to this is that one of the things I've kind of really learned, especially in the past couple of years, and I'm working on is we always talk about morning routines, but let's talk about evening routine because your morning routine really starts in the evening. That's actually when it really starts. First of all, are you not going to bed at the same time every day? That's an issue. I get up at five as well, right? To get things going, but I always go to bed the same time every day, you know, probably like 9:30. Um I'm in bed, like out. Uh, I read before bed. I stretch. I stretch, I use a foam roller to get rid of like any tension in the body. Sometimes I'll take a hot shower, uh, a sauna or a um, you know, hot tub, anything you can will help your body actually cool itself down to an optimal temperature to try to uh really get ideal sleep performance, you know, that night. No electronics to, I mean, I'm not texting any, um, I'm not I'm off all devices by like seven o'clock. Um, you know, nothing like that. So when you can have a really structured evening like that, you get super quality sleep. Um, you know, you're on fire to own the day the next day.

SPEAKER_01 39:39

Love that. Uh, even that you went back to the evening before, I could not agree more uh the more my wife and I have really been in unity about like, hey, we got to get in bed by this time every night. Because we know it we we value the morning so much. You know, like we value that time, especially with little kids too. It's like it's the only time before everybody's up and going, right? Uh, you know, that couple hours together in the morning were uh similar, some of the similar things that you're doing. Um, and uh uh but yes, if we don't if we don't get in bed early enough the night before, man, we pay for it, right? The next morning. Uh and then we pay for it that entire day, you know, to say the least. Um that's incredible. Is that something uh you and your wife do together? Like uh as far as you know, is she that way as well? Like, hey, I want to get be in bed about a certain time, up early, you know, is that something you all have found that's good to go do together? You've been able to have different views on that.

SPEAKER_02 40:34

She's a little bit more free-flowing, you know, which I attribute, but but we're still roughly in the same thing, in the same kind of uh, you know, timing. And you know, we always have a chance to we walk the dog in the morning and at night, that's one of our great connections, gives us a chance to get outside and and kind of connect since we don't have kids with us now. Um, but you know, we're we're we're generally on the same program. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:59

That's awesome. I just wondered, I've had different guys mention that. Uh but okay, Dave, last thing. If you could issue one challenge to the men listening, like something they could put into practice this week, what would it be?

SPEAKER_02 41:11

That's a great question. We've covered so many, you know, good topics. So why why don't we leave it with this, right? And and uh, you know, we're we're at the end of the year here, right? We've got probably a little bit less than two months left to really make some things happen, maybe 50 days or by the time this airs, right? So why don't we say, Whitney, what could be the one single biggest thing that you could do to make 2025 your biggest year ever? So nailing that down this week, nailing it down and doing it. That's good. Just one thing. Yeah, and that could be morning routine, that could be signing up for that mastermind you've been thinking about. That could be it could be anything.

SPEAKER_01 41:57

Dave, so grateful to have you on the show. I I love the uh I'm really big on discipline as well. Obviously, you are so structured, and I love hearing how other men are disciplined and structured, and because it's it's a choice, right? It's a it's a choice that you're making every time to do those things. You know that, hey, this this leads to one direction, this leads to another, right? Something as simple as staying up late or not, right? Or getting up on time, or you know, all those things. Uh, and so I I love learning from men like yourself who have even done that and managed through chaos or triplets, even, or uh, you know, uh managing a business and and growing and and all those things. So thank you so much uh for how you've done that uh and just shared shared with us today and so many lessons that we can take and implement today and even tomorrow. Uh, how can the listeners get in touch with you and learn more about you?

SPEAKER_02 42:45

I appreciate that, Whitney. And I guess just to add on to that first is, you know, I I appreciate you as well. And I think the energy that you bring is fantastic. The world needs it, right? So keep doing what you're doing. And thank you for your service as well. It's gonna be Veterans Day next week. So so I appreciate you, brother, and the sacrifices you and many others have made out there. But freedom isn't free, right? And we need to be grateful for that. So so appreciate you and those who have served as well. Thank you for the opportunity. It's been a great uh, it's always great to connect. If people enjoyed that, that might like my book, which is you can get a free copy. I want to give a free copy to your listeners. Uh, you could go to holisticwealthstrategy.com.