Matt Paradise on Whole-Health Wealth & Lasting Recovery

Rich sits down with award-winning author and nationally recognized financial educator Matt Paradise to explore “whole-health wealth”—the blend of practical money skills, mindset, and healing. Matt shares his path from homelessness and addiction to 20 years in nonprofit credit counseling, his battle with cholangiocarcinoma, and the tools anyone can use to lower anxiety, get out of debt, and build a purposeful life. Listeners walk away with real-world frameworks for budgeting, credit repair, and changing the money stories that keep them stuck. 

Sponsored by Elite Power Washing 

Guest Bio:  

Matt Paradise is the award-winning author of Financially Capable and a nationally recognized financial educator and keynote speaker. After overcoming addiction and years of instability, he spent two decades with American Consumer Credit Counseling creating education programs from prisons and shelters to corporations and later founded his own speaking and consulting practice. A survivor of cholangiocarcinoma and a liver transplant, Matt champions a “whole-health wealth” approach that marries money management with mental and emotional wellbeing. 

Main Topics: 

·         Money as a mental-health conversation, not just math

·         Early life, addiction, homelessness, and the turning point to sobriety (July 1999)

·         Nonprofit credit counseling: budgeting, debt management, and credit reports/security clearances

·         “Process addictions” (spending, gambling, digital) and financial psychology

·         Building education outreach across prisons, shelters, and companies

·         Cancer diagnosis (cholangiocarcinoma), treatment path, and transplant; choosing hope

·         Writing Financially Capable: the “dirty B-word” (budget), practical tools, and mindset

·         Nonprofits as businesses: sustainability, staffing, and fundraising realities

·         Gratitude, community, and purpose as engines for lasting financial change  

Resources mentioned: 

·         Matts website:

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Chapters

• 0:00 10 Years of CWRB
• 2:10 “Money isn’t just math—it’s mental health”: Meet Matt Paradise
• 3:50 Connecticut roots, ironworker dad, teenage angst, and drugs
• 7:12 Open-minded to everything: daily use, school clashes
• 16:09 Overdose in high school and the missing ingredient: hope
• 18:31 Sobriety date: July 1999; process addictions explained
• 20:51 Odd jobs → retail → Bombay Co. → invitation to recovery community
• 27:52 Breakthrough: ACCC hire (Oct 1999), GED, certifications
• 33:35 What credit counselors see: debt, medical bills, and marriages in crisis
• 37:24 Sponsor: Elite Power Washing
• 38:00 Building education outreach: prisons, shelters, EAPs, identity theft fixes
• 40:16 Cancer curveball: diagnosing cholangiocarcinoma
• 44:34 The night everything changed: hemorrhage, ICU, survival by grace
• 46:32 Chemo → radiation → transplant pathway; why awareness matters
• 48:20 Pandemic pivots: writing Financially Capable
• 50:51 Book release (2023), seven awards; the “dirty B-word” (budget)
• 53:46 Three-part framework: world, psychology, and practical tactics
• 54:30 First money memories and how they shape adult choices
• 59:25 Nonprofits must run like businesses; staffing vs volunteers
• 1:01:11 Professional-quality self-publishing and mission over ego

Transcript

Wendy & Rich 0:00
Hey, everyone is rich-bendip. Can you believe it? The show is turning 10 this year. I am so grateful for each and every one of you who've tuned in, shared a episode, or even joined the conversation over the years. You're the reason that this podcast has grown into what it is today. Together, we've shared laughs, tears, tears, and moments that truly matter. So I want to thank you for being part of this journey. Let's make the next 10 years even better. Coming to you from the Freedom Federal Credit Union Studios, Harvard County Living Presence, conversations with rich-bendip, 

by all means. We're going to show you what the truth is. 

Rich Bennett 1:00
So what if the path to financial freedom wasn't just about dollars and cents, but about healing, purpose, and resilience? Today's guest knows that journey deeply. He's been homeless, he's battled addiction, he's faced down cancer, and through it all he Discovered Something Most Financial Experts Miss Entirely. Money isn't just a math problem. It's a mental health conversation. I'm joined by Matt Paradise, a word-winning author, nationally recognized financial educator, and keynote speaker. But more importantly, he's someone who has lived through rock bottom and emerged with a message that's transforming lives. Matt helps people break free from financial shame and stress by teaching what he calls whole health wealth. A powerful blend of practical money strategies, emotional healing, and purposeful living. So if you've ever felt anxious about your bank account, stuck in the old money stories or unsure how to talk about finances without fear or shame, this is the conversation you need to hear. So we're going to dive into a story of radical transformation and real world tools with Matt Paradise. How's it going 

Matt Paradise 2:15
It's 

Rich Bennett 2:15
Matt? 

Matt Paradise 2:16
going well Rich. I'm grateful to be here and have this conversation. 

Rich Bennett 2:19
Oh my pleasure. Look I want to start from the beginning because you know your journey is nothing short of incredible. From homelessness and addiction to becoming a nationally recognized financial educator. Can you take us back to the beginning and walk us through your lowest point to which I guess now would be your highest point. 

Matt Paradise 2:40
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 2:40
No pun intended. 

Matt Paradise 2:42
Well 

Rich Bennett 2:42
What about you? 

Matt Paradise 2:43
yeah. That was not a drug reference for listeners. 

Rich Bennett 2:50
Of course. 

Matt Paradise 2:51
it's it's been a journey. It's been a journey really lined with grace. It's really by grace that I'm here. 

Rich Bennett 2:59
Right. 

Matt Paradise 2:59
So I grew up in Connecticut, Northeast, Bournemouth, 

Rich Bennett 3:03
Oh, 

Matt Paradise 3:03
New England, and at Blue Collar family, my dad was an iron worker all his life and that was back in the days before there were ocean, safety and all of that kind of thing. But he sacrificed to raise a family and break some cycles of trauma that he grew up with. So amazing in a lot of ways. I as a teenager really started to struggle with some existential thoughts and crisis in my mind. I didn't necessarily see a path to financial freedom well just surviving. Really, I didn't want 

Rich Bennett 3:45
Right. 

Matt Paradise 3:45
to be an iron worker. I saw the toll that it took on my dad's body. It was really hard work. I mean, I give credit to him. 

Rich Bennett 3:53
Not healthy. 

Matt Paradise 3:53
It's not. It's difficult. And I mean, like I said, that was when I say without ocean, I mean, days of cutting as best as blocks, welding with as best as blankets and we learn, we do the best we can until we know better than we do better. And fortunately, iron working has progressed. It's still not easy. And that wasn't the path that I really wanted that for me growing up was an area of chain because it looked like we didn't have as much as other kids going to school whose parents picked them up in a suit or whatever that it was. At the time as a teenager, I didn't respect my dad for his job. And there was conflict like in many dads, son, kind of a teenage relationships, full of angst and all of that. You're nodding approvingly. Like, you know that 

Rich Bennett 4:43
when 

Matt Paradise 4:43
all too 

Rich Bennett 4:43
my father, my father was a steel 

Matt Paradise 4:44
Okay. Yeah. So some similar kind of background. It not easy work by any stretch, 

Rich Bennett 4:52
one now. 

Matt Paradise 4:52
but it was on this work. So he was able to lay his head on his pillow at night and feel good that he earned money to support his family and put food on the table. So we weren't lacking from that standpoint. We had a roof over our head. We had food on the table. We were getting by. I wanted more. I didn't want as a teen, especially the existential thoughts that I have where this all that there is. You just kind of go through life, work really hard, sacrifice. And that's it. There's got to be more. So as a curious teen, I always read a lot and got into from Nietzsche to Taoism to all kinds of stuff. My curiosity also led me to drugs. And as a teen, especially by sophomore year was really what I call addicted. And when I say addicted, drinking was a daily thing. I would drink before school, during school, drugs smoked a lot of marijuana and all. school psychologist actually said, when it came to drugs, keep an open mind. Then I took that to heart and I did keep an open mind and tried just about everything. 

Rich Bennett 6:02
Yeah, 

Matt Paradise 6:02
And that combined with rebellious nature at the time, I always love learning, but school wasn't my jam. I didn't enjoy traditional learning. I would prefer to sit there and debate teachers and they didn't like that. And lots of conflicts with school. As a rebellion, I would do other kids homework, a friend's homework or remember getting an A on Jessica's paper that I wrote. And I wouldn't turn in my own because I'm gonna stick it to him. And I mean, just kind of my frame of mind at the time. I don't recommend it. I don't advocate for it. And it doesn't make any sense now in retrospect. But that's how it was for me at the time. After a while, just of using and abusing and really not seeing a future. And I think that that's an important point for listeners that you might not be able to relate to my drug addiction and use. But trying to imagine a future and not being able to see clearly something greater than where we are currently, having hope and thinking that there's hope for just whatever it might be, even if we can't clearly picture it, having hope for a better situation than where we are currently, whether at any age in stage, really, in life. And that was me. I didn't have a clear hope or vision for my future. And as a result, the decisions that I made day in, day out were not in the best interest of my future self because I didn't picture a future self. I pictured me here now and there was pain and anxiety and stress. And I didn't want to feel all that. That's miserable. So I really tried to numb it. Highschool was in. You were in the moment. Go ahead. You 

Rich Bennett 7:47
were you were in the moment. I mean, I was the same way back back in school was like I I didn't have a career path or anything. I was the same way. I mean, I would I remember because my father's bar was fully stopped. I would take a tennis ball can and I would just grab different whiskeys and fill it up and me and my buddies would sit in the woods before school and drink that or get high or both. And yeah, it just, I was in the moment. I had no idea what I wanted to do. Well, I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a rockster. 

Matt Paradise 8:18
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 8:19
And that, well, obviously, that didn't happen. 

Matt Paradise 8:24
You are a rockstar rich. Just in a different way that you didn't quite imagine a team. 

Rich Bennett 8:29
Oh, no, I was going to be on stage. Yeah. But no, it's no, I'm with you there. It's hard. 

Matt Paradise 8:37
It is 

Rich Bennett 8:39
hard. You know, when you're trying to get that focus. And it wasn't until I actually joined the Marine Corps. It's when I was able to focus more. Even though I was drinking not 

Matt Paradise 8:49
the 

Rich Bennett 8:50
doing but I was drinking the drugs came again after the Marine Corps. And I was focused again. Yeah, but now yeah, I definitely more focused than 

Matt Paradise 9:03
ever 

Rich Bennett 9:05
before. So, all right, with you, when you were. All right, so you had the addiction going on and this is still in school. 

Matt Paradise 9:15
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 9:16
So. So what happened after school? 

Matt Paradise 9:17
So I was there at my school for four years. Though I really showed up to sell drugs. And my parents gave me the ultimatum that I either sobered up or leave. And it for me, wasn't that simple. Just kind of changing on a dime. And when I say a dime, they weren't looking like overnight. But we tried an 

Rich Bennett 9:41
A. We tried an A and I mean. 

Matt Paradise 9:42
for any real change to come about, we need a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. If we're not internally motivated to really change, then it's not going to happen. Somebody can wish us well. They can encourage us. They can push us. They can, but all that external pushing, encouraging, motivating as positive as it might be isn't going to change somebody. Somebody, 

Rich Bennett 10:07
yeah, 

Matt Paradise 10:08
need to want that change as well. And that's the combination. We also need that encouragement, that love, that grace, that motivation. Sometimes for me, I needed quick, swift kick in a butt and tough 

Rich Bennett 10:21
we 

Matt Paradise 10:21
love. 

Rich Bennett 10:22
all 

Matt Paradise 10:22
We all did, yeah. 

Rich Bennett 10:23
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 10:23
I still do sometimes. My wife and I come to the relationship, come to the table with different strengths, different weaknesses, and sometimes she's there to give me out of love, a quick swift kick in the butt. 

Rich Bennett 10:37
And, mind us 

Matt Paradise 10:37
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 10:37
too. 

Matt Paradise 10:38
She helps me be. Many ways that, I mean, that's that's a whole another podcast that we could take hours. She's an 

Rich Bennett 10:44
and 

Matt Paradise 10:44
incredible I'm grateful. So the question about, like, what happened after high school? So I bounced around. It was of homeless years were really through high school. I slept outside sometimes. After that, ultimately, I left my 

Rich Bennett 11:00
house. 

Matt Paradise 11:01
parents I was about 15 or so. And slept on couches, slept on floors, wherever I could find a spot. I remember until I got kicked out, one friend had a treehouse in her yard. Again, my circle of network, where teens were other kids. So it was on her property, and it was kind of a nice little treehouse. And I slept there until her dad found out and kicked me out. 

Rich Bennett 11:26
Wow. 

Matt Paradise 11:27
And really just bounced around, found wherever I could, whatever ways to survive. And I didn't always know when my next meal was going to come, but really survived through drugs and drug culture, selling drugs and went all in on that. So I knew that my life choices, it was inevitable that they'd lead to death jailer insanity and I needed to 

Rich Bennett 11:49
change. 

Matt Paradise 11:50
So one of the houses I was living in, with an older woman and a few other high school friends, we were selling drugs and having crazy parties and the police were there and raided the place often. And eventually knew that it was just a matter of time before they caught us. We would bear the drugs, whatever else, try not to get caught, but needed change and tried to find that by moving. So moved, that's where I first came to Massachusetts was moving from that house in Connecticut, with that same woman to a friend of a friend who owned a construction company. And that was the first place I moved to Massachusetts. We grew marijuana in the basement. It was not radical change from an intrinsic point of view. And anybody, again, not all listeners are going to be able to relate to drinking and drugging and I don't recommend that you start now. But any problem, any growth that we want, when we try to just move somewhere else without doing that internal work, we bring all our baggage with us. We're the same person, just a different place. And that was the case with me. I did cut off a lot of other relationships that were negative influences as I tried to change, but still, 

Rich Bennett 13:07
which is a plus. 

Matt Paradise 13:08
It is a plus. It's a start. And I think that that's an important note as well. Wherever we are, we need to address where we are, currently fully acknowledge that and take the next best step. 

Rich Bennett 13:21
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 13:22
Even now I need to remind myself of that, because I could compare myself to whoever it might be, Tony Robbins and say, wow, look at his empire. That's amazing. I want to be there. Well, it takes a few steps to get from where we are to where we 

Rich Bennett 13:36
get a little bit, yeah, 

Matt Paradise 13:37
little bit, a couple of steps. 

Rich Bennett 13:39
Gotta walk over those over the fire 

Matt Paradise 13:41
time. 

Rich Bennett 13:41
a lot of 

Matt Paradise 13:43
Yeah. 

So we all want to avoid those hot coals, right? We want to take the shortcut. We want to float over the hot coals and avoid any type of whatever. We won't go too far down that road of 

but for me, it was a step and it was a step that allowed other steps in through serendipity. And I have a strong faith now. Ultimately, God working in my 

Rich Bennett 14:11
good 

Matt Paradise 14:13
really can see in hindsight all of those different forces outside of myself working. So I ended up working at Plaineeded a job. I mean, drug selling high school dropout doesn't look great. I'm resumes to most companies. 

Rich Bennett 14:28
Very risky is 

Matt Paradise 14:29
very risky. Yeah. You never 

Rich Bennett 14:31
Skier 

Matt Paradise 14:31
know. 

Rich Bennett 14:31
than being an iron worker. 

Matt Paradise 14:32
true I would say so because the I mean yeah the relapse rates like 40 to 60% for those that fall into addiction. So it's it's a difficult rough journey. You asked me at the beginning where my low spot was talking about ups and downs. I overdosed in high school. I just about died. The nurse called 9-1-1 ambulance took me to the hospital and my heart almost stopped quite literally. 

Rich Bennett 14:59
bam 

Matt Paradise 14:59
So to say that that was a low point it wasn't the low point because I had many I mean day-in-day out. There were so many low points that really just are part of my journey. So I share it one not to glorify any of it by any stretch or to say that 

Rich Bennett 15:18
educate. 

Matt Paradise 15:18
Educate. And ultimately it's so that listeners can even hear themselves in the story. Again it's not just about drugs and alcohol. It's about character change. It's about growth and we all have difficult times at different times. We might all struggle with maybe it's not full-blown depression and suicidal ideation but maybe it's just feeling downed and not wanting to get off the couch or go and work towards accomplishing all that's possible in our lives and more as possible in our lives and we can ever imagine. And for me I needed people to one see that and believe that and show that to me because I didn't see it. I shared I lacked hope. And that was a big part of my drinking, drugging. I didn't necessarily see how I could survive financially and build a life and that caused stress and angst even as a teenager. And teenagers think about this for the parents out there. I mean I have a 15 year old son and he's not super expressive. He's not going to tell me everything 

Rich Bennett 16:17
the... 

Matt Paradise 16:17
that happened at 

Rich Bennett 16:18
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 16:19
But it's all worrying around in his mind. He's constantly thinking, constantly trying to figure out who am I in this world? What can I become? What's the path to get there? And whether it's teens or adults, maybe it's a second or third act after going through another career that maybe it's no longer possible or no longer provides the income that's necessary or maybe it just doesn't have that spark. Maybe it's not truly living and walking in your purpose. Well, 

Rich Bennett 16:49
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 16:49
we all can grow and having other people along that journey makes all the difference and 

Rich Bennett 16:56
did. 

Matt Paradise 16:56
for me it 

Rich Bennett 16:56
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And you did mention your low point but something that a lot of people don't realize as well, when you're in addiction, there's a lot of those low points you don't remember. 

Matt Paradise 17:11
It's true. 

Rich Bennett 17:12
Which can be very scary, very scary. So with the addiction, when did that actually end? 

Matt Paradise 17:21
So it was July 1999. 

Rich Bennett 17:26
Oh wow. 

Matt Paradise 17:27
So I've been sober since really by grace. 

Rich Bennett 17:30
Nice. Congratulations. 

Matt Paradise 17:31
Thank you. And it is still just one day at a time because not only is it chemical recovery. It's also character recovery. It's ongoing work. It's ongoing growth. And again, with addictions, not every listener can necessarily relate, but process addictions are something that's really just they're not talked about enough. And process addictions are very similar just different substance that still causes a chemical reaction in our brains. So there are reasons why 

Rich Bennett 18:00
Yep. 

Matt Paradise 18:00
they're spenders anonymous, deaders anonymous, gamblers anonymous. People joke sometimes retail therapy because ultimately it's seeking that high quote unquote, which again, it's a chemical process within the brain. It really is 

Rich Bennett 18:15
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 18:15
a high. And it's exciting. It's invigorating for the moment. You said just a moment ago, Rich, right, and the moment we feel better. But then all of a sudden, the consequences hit. And we see that credit card bill or we see the destruction in relationships or 

Rich Bennett 18:32
and here comes the anxiety 

Matt Paradise 18:34
and depression. And it's a vicious cycle that so many millions. I mean, there's one psychologist that estimated 100% of the population at some point struggles with an addiction of one type or another. 

Rich Bennett 18:45
I believe that. 

Matt Paradise 18:46
Not me, too. Because 

Rich Bennett 18:48
I mean, you think about it. There's so many different addictions out there. And, you know, people, I mean, I've talked to that have had sex addictions, food addictions, it's okay. Many people can not stop drinking coffee. That's a caffeine. That's an addiction. Yeah, there's, I just had somebody on the other day, digital addiction. You know, people that constantly have to be on their phone, on their computer or whatever, and they can't do without it, which is probably one of the worst addictions out there. Oh, yeah. And it's it's driving the mental illness up even higher. 

Matt Paradise 19:29
It is. 

Rich Bennett 19:30
ah, it's crazy. Alright, so you start recovering 99, renails here. 1999. Now, job-wise, career-wise, what were you doing at the 

Matt Paradise 19:41
Anything 

Rich Bennett 19:41
time? 

Matt Paradise 19:42
I could. I worked at a pizza shop for one day. I worked at a gas station for a week, um, really bounced around, um, trying to find my way, ultimately. Um, 

Rich Bennett 19:52
What you wanted to do? 

Matt Paradise 19:53
so I worked in retail, um, and worked at a place called the sports authority, and was recruited while I was working there. 

Rich Bennett 19:59
Is that still 

Matt Paradise 20:00
Not 

Rich Bennett 20:00
around? 

Matt Paradise 20:00
sure it is. It's not around us 

Rich Bennett 20:01
[laughs] 

Matt Paradise 20:02
anymore. Uhm, 

Rich Bennett 20:03
ok. I haven't seen 

Matt Paradise 20:03
Dick 

Rich Bennett 20:04
one. 

Matt Paradise 20:04
sporting goods, cabelas, others have taken over, um, but back in, like, 98, 99 or so. That was one near me, uh, so I applied. 

Rich Bennett 20:12
Ok. 

Matt Paradise 20:13
Uhm, work there. I was recruited while I was working there to become an assistant manager. Um, I was, like, 18 at the time and an assistant manager at a place called the Bombay Company. And I don't know if that's around anymore either. Home goods. I had never heard of it. Uhm, 

Rich Bennett 20:28
Yeah, I haven't 

Matt Paradise 20:28
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 20:28
heard of that in a 

Matt Paradise 20:29
Your 

Rich Bennett 20:29
long- 

Matt Paradise 20:29
browser- for listeners, your browser-ferring, like, what is that? I didn't know either. It was new to 

Rich Bennett 20:35
No, 

Matt Paradise 20:35
me. 

Rich Bennett 20:35
I remember it, but I haven't heard that- I haven't heard that name in a long- 

Matt Paradise 20:38
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 20:38
It got 

Matt Paradise 20:39
a- 

Rich Bennett 20:39
news 

Matt Paradise 20:39
It's 

Rich Bennett 20:39
for 

Matt Paradise 20:39
been a while. 

Rich Bennett 20:40
Holy cow. 

Matt Paradise 20:41
Uh, so started working there. And one day a week, there was somebody who came out- From Boston. This was in the suburb. So it's about 25, 30 miles west of Boston. And he didn't have a car. He took taxis and public transportation to work one day a week in the stockroom. And I was like, that doesn't even make sense. He'd probably spent about as much to get there as he made. But he was a- he was a professional musician. He had a Best of Austin band and was amazing. So in hindsight, I look at it as he was sent to meet me as an angel. Whether people believe in angels or not. So he invited me out to this church and drug recovery program. And I was like, now, I'm good. Thanks, though. I still have to smoke weed on Sunday. So that and I not even just a totally joke about, but that was my mindset. I didn't want anything. 

Rich Bennett 21:37
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 21:38
And he reached, he continued just to build a friendship. He invited me out. I played percussion. Kongas and bongos and jimbe and fun stuff that I still love. 

Rich Bennett 21:47
And he- Oh, Wow. 

Matt Paradise 21:48
And he invited me out. Played with his band and went to a gig and met some of the other bandmates and guys also who- were just living clean lives 

Rich Bennett 21:59
Right. 

Matt Paradise 21:59
and lives of purpose. So they were encouraging me and all of that kind of thing. So all that to say, there was a community of other people who were sober and inviting me to live a clear-minded sober kind of life. And at the time, I still didn't see it. I didn't picture it, but there was some persistence. And not in the 

Rich Bennett 22:22
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 22:23
knock on my door every two seconds, kind of, but we're here for you. We think that you can live a better life and we're happy to help. So eventually, I went out to- it was a Bible-based drug recovery program and took a while just to feel comfortable. At first, it was a lot of older people. Again, at the time, I was in $9. 99, like, $18. 19 or so. So there were some older people that, you know, had a beer without telling their spouse. It was a specific kind of instance that I remember in my mind like, what, that's not a problem. I mean, that's the only thing that's challenging your life right now. You must have it pretty good. It was really my thought. What woke me up was the- there was one other person in that group that I kind of related to. He sold drugs in his background and had been in and out of prison a bit, and I remember he relapsed and ended up incarcerated. And it was kind of a wake up call to say, wow, the only other person I could relate to in that group from life circumstance was the one that was now incarcerated. And that really motivated me to continue really that internal work that was necessary. Because my heart was hard, there were calluses on my heart, drug dealing, just the whole culture around drugs and drinking is a hard-hearted one, a selfish one. Yeah. And that transformation, uh, of moving from selfish to south-list, has made all the difference in my life. Because it, my story is not about me. I shared this background, not because, yeah, I was difficult and I went through it, I feel like I went through it so that I can share with others that there is always hope. No matter how dark the days, how difficult the night, there is always hope. And I didn't see it the time, I needed other people to say, 'Hey Matt, there's hope'. You can, I didn't picture myself surviving to see 20 years old. I mentioned overdosing the life that I was living, I couldn't imagine, I couldn't picture it. It wasn't tangible, it wasn't real. And therefore, I had no idea what the steps were even to get there. I needed other people in my life to show me a- 

Rich Bennett 24:38
People that weren't giving up on you, 

Matt Paradise 24:39
Very much so. People who inspired hope that there was going to be a future, beyond just surviving one day at a time, which is what I was doing still, 

Rich Bennett 24:50
yeah. 

Matt Paradise 24:51
to really moving towards a mind shift. And this part of what I help people do now, to go from surviving in a scarcity mindset, wondering when the next meal is going to- Or maybe it's not as severe as wondering when the next meal is going to be, but thinking about how am I going to pay for my kid to go on the field trip with their friends? Or Bigger questions like how am I going to pay for school or retirement? Or can we ever get out of this debt? Or all 

Rich Bennett 25:21
yeah. 

Matt Paradise 25:21
the other stresses that people feel financially day and day out. So eventually I- Completely shifted just the life that I was living. I got sober as I shared. Really became invested in this community of sober-minded people who were living lives that were biblically based, which really two major tenants was love God and love people. And it is an ongoing process for me to learn just how is it that I can use the best of what I have and live in my purpose to give to others, to serve others, and live that life 

Rich Bennett 25:58
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 25:58
of service? For me, that's exciting. That's fulfilling. So at the time, I was, yeah, I was still a kid. I'm trying to figure it out. I didn't know exactly what that meant. But needed a job. I ended up moving in with some other guys that ended up really being more like mentors to me, because I didn't have a solid income. 

Rich Bennett 26:17
It was good. 

Matt Paradise 26:18
it was, yeah. For me, I needed it, because I was living in an unhealthy situation with a couple of women and getting by day to day it just wasn't good by any stretch, physically, mentally, emotionally, all of the above. So moved in because of that needed a job. And of this company that I had never heard of, American Consumer Credit Counseling, took a chance on me. 

Rich Bennett 26:42
Oh, 

Matt Paradise 26:42
At the time, I was 19 year old kid. So this was now October, 1999. So all that long windedness was a few months. 

Actually, 

Rich Bennett 26:57
one quick question. Are you still affiliated with that group? There's men that helped you out? 

Matt Paradise 27:02
Yes, 

Rich Bennett 27:02
am. That 

Matt Paradise 27:03
I 

Rich Bennett 27:03
I wanna say drum circle. 

Matt Paradise 27:04
Yeah. I am. So I actually in our church band. So I stopped playing professionally years ago. Fun, get in, to this studio recording music and all of that. So now it's just a volunteer playing the church band. And I love it. Amazing. 

Rich Bennett 27:20
Wait a minute. You used to play professionally? 

Matt Paradise 27:24
did. I use air quotes professionally. 

Rich Bennett 27:27
I 

Matt Paradise 27:27
So playing at 

Rich Bennett 27:29
a bar at studio work. 

Matt Paradise 27:30
So yeah, going out. So we had dreams of grandeur. Maybe it was similar to 

Rich Bennett 27:35
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 27:35
yours as being a rock star and going on tour and we did some touring. But I mean, ultimately you get gas money and maybe a meal and 

Rich Bennett 27:45
still sleeping in band. 

Matt Paradise 27:46
Yeah. So I mean, 

Rich Bennett 27:47
it. Down by the 

Matt Paradise 27:48
it's not that 

Rich Bennett 27:49
river. 

Matt Paradise 27:49
glamorous. Chris Farley's hilarious. 

Rich Bennett 27:54
Oh, 

Matt Paradise 27:55
Unfortunately, we didn't fall through anybody's coffee table. 

Rich Bennett 28:00
God. 

Matt Paradise 28:01
But yeah, it was, I mean, it was a life, it was an inflection point for me in my career. So I was working at American Consumer Credit Counseling and then going out at night and playing gigs. And it was exhausting. I mean, it was hard to wake up because when you play a gig at 1-2, whatever AM and then try to get up and work at 9-5, it's only a matter of time before your body falls apart or your whole mental health deteriorates completely. So I made the choice that I wanted more stability, I wanted to be able to grow a family. I started to date someone who's now my wife, so that was about 24 years ago and eventually just made the decision. I'm not going to pursue this as a career, but I still love doing it and still play with other friends and 

Rich Bennett 28:54
Right. 

Matt Paradise 28:54
some great opportunities. Yeah, I'm just now pausing thinking about some of my friends who play in amazing careers. Joe Galliota shout out, he makes African drums and 

Rich Bennett 29:06
why do I know that 

Matt Paradise 29:06
he 

Rich Bennett 29:06
name? 

Matt Paradise 29:07
was a drummer that played on Indiana Jones soundtrack. He was a professor at Berkeley 

Rich Bennett 29:12
Okay. 

Matt Paradise 29:12
College of Music. He's 

Rich Bennett 29:14
Oh, 

Matt Paradise 29:14
been around in, but incredible man of faith. I think more than any of his other accolades, incredible man of faith and generous in so many ways. He's an 

Rich Bennett 29:25
yeah, 

Matt Paradise 29:25
amazing guy, but he was one of the ones that was there encouraging me, I remember sitting around and we were taking inventory of our lives and everybody wrote down what they had and what they envisioned and I wrote down literally, I had a sleeping bag. A couple of pairs of clothes and a drum and he just leaned over on my paper and added an S to it, drums. And at the time I was like, what 

Rich Bennett 29:50
oh, 

Matt Paradise 29:50
are you doing right now, my paper? But in his mind, it was collectively, we have drums collectively, you have more than you need to really live a life of purpose that's bigger than you than even bigger than what you can imagine. And for him, he saw that vision of infinite possibility of possibility beyond what my one sleeping bag, couple of pairs of clothes, one drum having person who was sleeping on a floor. Still, it was a wood floor, somebody moved out and there was a vacancy. He's had a vision greater than my own for myself. And again, that's part of that intrinsic, extrinsic motivations and people in our lives along the way. And part of the reason also why I never believe in self-made person, that's just a fallacy, 

Rich Bennett 30:36
yeah, 

Matt Paradise 30:37
that's ego speaking. I 

Rich Bennett 30:39
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 30:39
truly 

Rich Bennett 30:40
I 

Matt Paradise 30:40
believe. 

Rich Bennett 30:40
agree with it. 

Matt Paradise 30:40
We need people. We need each 

Rich Bennett 30:42
other. There's all. People don't realize a lot of times that they're, they have mentors behind them and don't even realize there's a lot. That's true. Third ones that have that help you. 

Matt Paradise 30:55
It's true. 

Rich Bennett 30:56
Yeah. So, you decided to give up the plan now where you still with the American, not American cancer. 

Matt Paradise 31:03
Yeah. That's a different group. I did a 300, 300, 300 mile cycle with M in March, which was 

Rich Bennett 31:10
Wow. 

Matt Paradise 31:10
amazing. That's a whole nother 

Rich Bennett 31:12
story. 

Matt Paradise 31:12
part of my 

Rich Bennett 31:13
American Credit 

Matt Paradise 31:13
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 31:14
Counseling. That's 

Matt Paradise 31:14
American 

Rich Bennett 31:14
who? 

Matt Paradise 31:15
Consumer Credit Counseling. It's a, ACA triple C is easier. 

Rich Bennett 31:19
Yeah. That's 

Matt Paradise 31:20
Most people, 

Rich Bennett 31:20
you. That's all I'm. 

Matt Paradise 31:20
yeah. It's, it's easy. I mean, it's long. So, it took me years to get the name down. I worked there 20 years. 20 

Rich Bennett 31:29
years. So, that's where you learned about finances and all that, 

Matt Paradise 31:32
Exactly. 

Rich Bennett 31:32
okay? 

Matt Paradise 31:33
So, when I started, I didn't know anything. I was a 19 year old kid and just trying to get by and needed a job. They gave a chance 

Rich Bennett 31:39
The 

Matt Paradise 31:39
on me. 

Rich Bennett 31:39
job training, baby, 

Matt Paradise 31:41
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 31:41
on the job 

Matt Paradise 31:41
For real. 

Rich Bennett 31:42
training. 

Matt Paradise 31:42
Most definitely. So, while I was there in addition to the on the job training, I also obtained my GED, took some college classes at a local community college, shout out community colleges. I know you have a connection with yours. They're amazing resources in the community for a lot of different things. I became certified. Certified as a credit counselor, certified financial educator, and a handful of other certifications that allowed me to provide more value to the organization and to people. So, I continued 

Rich Bennett 32:16
Good. 

Matt Paradise 32:16
my learning. I always love learning. 

Rich Bennett 32:18
Yes. 

Matt Paradise 32:20
And if nobody's familiar with credit counseling, they are great resources. It's a nonprofit. There's not the only 

Rich Bennett 32:25
Mm-hmm. 

Matt Paradise 32:25
one. But as a nonprofit, provides free counseling, free budget coaching. You can call and get help to get out of debt. And that's where most people call the organization. And as now, like a 20 year old kid, counseling people, the calls were heavy because people called with all the financial stress. As you mentioned, through just the introduction to our conversation, now people have a lot of financial stress. And 

Rich Bennett 32:50
Especially during that, that I keep saying housing 

Matt Paradise 32:54
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 32:54
crash but not the housing crash, uh, you know, 

Matt Paradise 32:56
There was, yeah, there was a big housing crash, 

Rich Bennett 32:58
yeah. 

Matt Paradise 32:58
there was AIG, there was lots of turbulence. 

I mean, people take advantage of other people and greet as a huge motivator to a lot of different people, not just companies, uh, and it's sad, it's unfortunate, it, it exists. So education is critical to avoid that, to avoid being taken advantage of, and to help protect our loved ones too. So, eventually, I mean, to give a specific example, one call that still sticks with me from those days, uh, a gentleman called, and just within the first five minutes of speaking, shared how there was financial infidelity, his spouse had racked up a ton of debt, and asking me if they should get a divorce. And I was like, whoa. 

Rich Bennett 33:54
Oh wow. 

Matt Paradise 33:55
I don't, like, I don't know you like that. I'm a kid. I mean, I'm still learning my way in this world. I'm not going to give you advice. And 

Rich Bennett 34:04
It's 

Matt Paradise 34:04
obviously... 

Rich Bennett 34:04
not the marriage 

Matt Paradise 34:05
So, 

Rich Bennett 34:05
counselor. 

Matt Paradise 34:05
I referred them, uh, specifically for some relationship counseling, but I could help with their credit card debt and we had a program to, to do that. But, that's one example. I mean, other people call with 500 grand in credit card debt, hundreds of thousands for others, uh, medical debt. I mean, the majority of bankruptcies have medical debt that are included, and whether it caused it, cause effect, um, whatever, ultimately health challenges cause financial stress for people. It's not just health, uh, that the finances are certainly part of that too. Um, 

Rich Bennett 34:43
they're hospitals are expensive as hell. 

Matt Paradise 34:45
And ensure I mean, yeah, insurance, all of that, um, it is, it is intense. 

Rich Bennett 34:52
You're listening to the conversations with Rich Bennett. We'll be right back. 

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Matt Paradise 36:14
I had the idea that just helping people through emergencies just didn't feel like it was enough. I wanted to be able to be proactive. I wanted to help empower people and provide tools to avoid all that stress, avoid the relational strife. For listeners, maybe you're not at the point where there was financial infidelity and maybe you were honest with each other, but there's still debt that causes a 

Rich Bennett 36:40
tension. 

Matt Paradise 36:40
lot of 

Rich Bennett 36:40
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 36:41
So many 

Rich Bennett 36:41
relationships. Oh, absolutely. 

Matt Paradise 36:43
So I helped to establish the education outreach group. And 

Rich Bennett 36:49
we 

Matt Paradise 36:50
started teaching classes all over the place. It was a blast. I loved it. So when I say all over the place, I mean, pre-K to rehab senior center facilities. 

Rich Bennett 37:02
Wow. 

Matt Paradise 37:03
We went into prisons. I created a program with the FDIC and bringing in volunteers to the Department of Corrections went into homeless shelters, family shelters, domestic violence shelters, as well as employee assistance programs, different companies, engineering firms, insurance firms, banks, financial institutions and really helping to elevate knowledge to bring just in time information for some. The difference between fixing different issues on a credit report. Sometimes it was identity theft fixing those issues so that that person could get out of shelter and become housed. Many people don't know that credit reports can affect jobs and 

Rich Bennett 37:46
Oh, 

Matt Paradise 37:46
I 

Rich Bennett 37:46
absolutely. 

Matt Paradise 37:46
appreciate your service rich and in the military 

Rich Bennett 37:49
monitor. 

Matt Paradise 37:50
credit affects people's security clearance. I remember counseling a high-ranking military official and he had a bunch of credit card debt and it was showing up on his credit report that he was having a hard time struggling with it and he called completely stressed out because his security clearance his very job was at risk because the military constantly looks at people's credit reports. It's a security, it's written explicitly, it's a security threat and many employers look credit reports when they consider who they're going to hire, they consider a matter of character, not just money but how it's managed in trying to gain insight whether people agree with it or not but to gain insight into how people manage their lives as well. 

Rich Bennett 38:34
Some nonprofits too too, when they're when you want to be a board member. 

Matt Paradise 38:39
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 38:39
Some of the not because especially if you're coming on as treasure it doesn't matter. You're still dealing with money. 

Matt Paradise 38:46
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 38:46
And it's important people need to know who they're 

Matt Paradise 38:50
with. 

Rich Bennett 38:50
dealing 

Matt Paradise 38:50
It's true. It is, it's important. 

Rich Bennett 38:54
With before we get into because I definitely want to cover was it the whole health, wealth and your business but in the beginning in the intro I mentioned how you face 

Matt Paradise 39:06
cancer. 

Rich Bennett 39:06
down What type of cancer was and when you find 

Matt Paradise 39:10
that? 

Rich Bennett 39:10
out about 

Matt Paradise 39:10
So, that was part of dr. cancer. 

Rich Bennett 39:13
I wrote what? 

Matt Paradise 39:14
I'll do dr. Cancer. 

Rich Bennett 39:15
So, white in the world 

Matt Paradise 39:16
colandio 

Rich Bennett 39:16
is 

Matt Paradise 39:17
carcinoma, shout out. Clandio carcinoma foundation it's a very rare very aggressive type of cancer so very rare fewer than 10,000 diagnosis a year. 

Rich Bennett 39:30
Wow. 

Matt Paradise 39:30
So, it's intense. So, we'll fast forward through all that career stuff. I was there at american ACCC for 20 years. My wife and I adopted a child who had just greater emotional needs than we were able to handle in our jobs. So, when I left ACCC, I was a difficult decision. I was managing other speakers and going out and speaking myself and 

Rich Bennett 39:54
said. 

Matt Paradise 39:54
like I I loved it. It was a fantastic job. And left so we could it was just burnout ultimately. 

Rich Bennett 40:03
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 40:03
My wife is a biochemist and she manages just different programs and we were both really really 

Rich Bennett 40:11
busy. Both busy as hell 

Matt Paradise 40:12
with nonprofits. I mean, there was the work during the day, but all the administrative stuff and grants and all of the above that went along with them. So, we created like an eight month plan if you ask her, she wish that it would have happened like nine month sooner. But we created like an eight month plan for me to transition out of that position to transfer some institutional knowledge set up the program so that it'd be successful once I left. 

Rich Bennett 40:39
Okay. 

Matt Paradise 40:40
And left so that I could start my own speaking and consulting company. Six months after I left and this gets back to your question and tying sort of the two together. Six months after I started my LLC, I was diagnosed with biodexcans. So it was a rough road. At first, I kind of ignored it. The symptoms, you know, kind of in hindsight. For a couple months, I didn't feel well. Oh, I probably ate something bad and dismissed it. My skin started getting itchy. I was probably just doing landscaping. It was 

Rich Bennett 41:14
around 

Matt Paradise 41:15
or so. And I probably just had some sort of rash and it's just not visible. So dismissed Oh, eventually became really difficult to eat and keep down food and became jaundiced. My skin and eyes were like glowing the on yellow and my wife said, I mean, her being the logical of the two, maybe you figured you haven't talked to her yet, but 

Rich Bennett 41:39
it. 

Matt Paradise 41:39
you get that pretty quickly. She's a logical one in our relationship. She's like, Matt, 

Rich Bennett 41:44
that same. Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 41:46
That ain't right. You gotta go get, I mean, 

Rich Bennett 41:49
Wow. 

Matt Paradise 41:50
she was much more intelligent with her choice of words to help persuade me to actually go get checked out. But I mean, I was just being an idiot, not paying attention to the signs. And I think that's the case, isn't it, for so many of us in so many 

Rich Bennett 42:04
love? 

Matt Paradise 42:05
areas of our 

Rich Bennett 42:05
Oh, yeah. 

Matt Paradise 42:06
We have financial signs that, oh, well, we kind of missed a couple of payments, but we'll get through it, we'll get past it. 

Rich Bennett 42:12
Mm-hmm. 

Matt Paradise 42:13
Trouble buying the groceries, but that's okay. We have some food in the pantry. We'll put it together and we'll get by. And after time, sometimes months, sometimes years, the problems don't just go away. They continue to build and then all of a sudden it feels insurmountable. And whether it's financial stress, mental stress, environmental stress, and thinking about where we live and organization and making sure that it's clear that effects are mental health as well. 

Rich Bennett 42:41
we're 

Matt Paradise 42:42
Because if 

Rich Bennett 42:42
yeah. 

Matt Paradise 42:42
tripping over stuff and trash, or books, or piles, or whatever that it is. Well, that's just discouraging. And then again, it builds, it mounts, and becomes insurmountable. We're not sure where to start. So for my health, that's kind of where it was. I, 

Rich Bennett 43:00
yeah. 

Matt Paradise 43:01
It all of a sudden, so July, 2020, 

2019, I was teaching a class in Boston and didn't feel well, went home, and called my wife to pick up my son, lay down and try to rest and sleep it off and woke up on the floor, and rolled off the bed in a pile of blood that I'd vomited. 

Rich Bennett 43:24
Oh my god. 

Matt Paradise 43:25
And crawled to the bathroom, more blood, and was home alone. I managed to crawl back to the bedroom to dial 911, and the ambulance came and took me to the hospital, and immediately after I coded on the table as soon as I got there. And 

Rich Bennett 43:42
wow, 

Matt Paradise 43:43
they told the doctors told my wife that I was unlikely I'd survive the night, that she should They started making plans, and they went in, endoscopically, so through the mouth and the endoscope and took a look, and there was just blood gushing, but no one focal point to intervene surgically. So my wife, being an incredible woman of faith, just started praying, she called friends, and they started praying. Obviously I survived that night, but it was really just by grace. So I did eight bags of blood for a transfusion, 

Rich Bennett 44:20
so 

Matt Paradise 44:20
I had like a main arterial pick and multiple lines to put in multiple bags of blood simultaneously, and it was it was a close call. I was in the ICU, 

and I was in the hospital, and I was in the hospital, 

Rich Bennett 44:45
and I 

Matt Paradise 44:45
was in the hospital, and I was in the hospital, and I was in the hospital, and I was in the hospital, and I was in the hospital, and I was in the hospital, and I was in the hospital, and I was in the hospital for three or four days, and took a while to 

Rich Bennett 44:56
recover. 

Matt Paradise 44:56
But essentially the bile ducts create bile, which is essential for digesting fats and foods to they basically those ducts branch out throughout the liver, out into the gallbladder, where bile is on demand through the digestive system so that we can get the nutrients and everything and live and survive. So pancreatic cancer is a little bit more common and known, so 

Rich Bennett 45:22
right 

Matt Paradise 45:22
if you think of it for a listener, sort of kind of similarly, and that it's the same area, it has to do with digestion, and it's also a pretty grim prognosis. So the average life expectancy from diagnosis with clandiocarcinoma is about 12 months or so. 

Rich Bennett 45:40
Wow, 

Matt Paradise 45:41
so the multidisciplinary medical team while I was there in the hospital came together to create a plan, and that plan was to have chemo then radiation more chemo and then a liver transplant. liver transplant really is not the only way to survive, but one of the greatest hopes currently because it's 

Rich Bennett 46:02
A 

Matt Paradise 46:02
such a rare and aggressive cancer, there's not tons of resources that are put towards it. So I mentioned the name multiple times because it's just the awareness needs to elevate, but clandiocarcinoma foundation, fantastic organization. If anybody has symptoms or anything like that, their website CCF is incredible, so they have a chock full of resources on their website to look at whether it's symptoms or help other people liver cancer, by the way, is on track to be the third most deadly cancer in the world within the next few years. So it's 

Rich Bennett 46:38
significant. I'm 

Matt Paradise 46:38
it's 

Rich Bennett 46:38
not surprised. 

Matt Paradise 46:40
It's it's significant. So the silver lining through all of that is I've been able to meet some of the most incredible, amazing people that are just involved. I never would have known without having that being said, I couldn't get on stages and speak to organizations shortly after that. I mentioned the date July 2019. It was really just a handful of months after that March 2020 when everything shut down because of COVID 

Rich Bennett 47:09
U. 

Matt Paradise 47:09
in the 

Rich Bennett 47:10
N. 

Matt Paradise 47:10
In around the world. So I did some things on zoom, unfortunately zoom was a little bit more popular. 

Rich Bennett 47:17
Yeah, I wish I had stock in them 

Matt Paradise 47:20
So 

Rich Bennett 47:20
back then. 

Matt Paradise 47:21
hindsight's always 2020. Hindsight's always 2020. Um. So I put my energy in a writing a book because I couldn't get out and about. So the book is called financially capable, a friendly guy to building whole health And really it's the culmination of the lessons learned from speaking to over a hundred thousand people all the different 

Rich Bennett 47:47
wealth. 

Matt Paradise 47:47
clients and 

Rich Bennett 47:47
Wow. 

Matt Paradise 47:47
courses that I talked people who I helped get out of dead and reach different financial goals. I learned tremendously through. I mean when we talk about the chapter on budgeting is called the dirty B word because we don't want to talk about it. I mean budgeting come on now. I mentioned 

Rich Bennett 48:04
it 

Matt Paradise 48:05
and people's like ten step right away. Like what's he going to tell me to do? Things that I have to cancel subscriptions that I love I want my Netflix I got to afford it. I have Netflix and this is not a plug for them. But we pay for stuff right that's 

Rich Bennett 48:22
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 48:22
that we live in a society where consumers and runs it if we all of a sudden stop buying stuff we wouldn't have a country as we know it. That's part of life. 

Rich Bennett 48:30
That's why you that's why you've seen a lot of things like you used to be would buy Microsoft Office all these certain things you pay for one time. Everybody went to subscription 

Matt Paradise 48:42
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 48:42
because they get more money. 

Matt Paradise 48:44
And they continued to update it and the old 

Rich Bennett 48:47
longer. 

Matt Paradise 48:47
ones no If you have a cell phone call I mean I remember the days of blackberry or it like that thing would 

Rich Bennett 48:55
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 48:55
never die it was like a brick. But now 

Rich Bennett 48:58
I'm going to share my age even more. I remember we have cell phones we have Pedro. 

Matt Paradise 49:02
Yeah 

Rich Bennett 49:03
And if you got the page you'd have to find a p-phone. 

Matt Paradise 49:06
true. That's what we use with drug dealing that we had a bag of pages so when I left we were planning on ramping operations up and memory for a different time. But it was different. It was different or yeah called collect and like really quickly try to get the message through. Hey this might I'll be home in 10 minutes. Okay. And 

Rich Bennett 49:31
We're you just call collecting they you know they hear it's from you 

Matt Paradise 49:34
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 49:35
you're safe and no to no 

Matt Paradise 49:36
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 49:37
Well likes the charges. 

Matt Paradise 49:38
Save 

Rich Bennett 49:38
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 49:38
the quarter. 

Rich Bennett 49:39
Well, so when did when did the book come 

Matt Paradise 49:41
So 

Rich Bennett 49:41
out. 

Matt Paradise 49:42
the book came out in 2023. 

Rich Bennett 49:45
Okay. 

Matt Paradise 49:45
So it took a lot to write it. I mean I was in and out of the hospital a lot through the cancer treatment. 

Rich Bennett 49:51
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 49:52
There were times where whether it was a month at a time a period where I was in and out every week my biodex continued to get backed up and I became septic. Lots of infections. 

Rich Bennett 50:01
Oh God. 

Matt Paradise 50:02
So we'd have to go get IVs antibiotics and try to get the the biodex drained shout out to Dr. Camar question and he's amazing. He called himself my plumber one of the most humble guys but he kept me going he literally kept me alive until I could get that transplant. Yeah. And then post transplant complications too but the book work and was written during that time where I couldn't get out and about and interact with people like I love doing. But I wanted to create something of value that I could still send out to people that I could still 

Rich Bennett 50:35
right 

Matt Paradise 50:36
people despite my lack of energy or ability to get out and about. And that was really in addition to that it also gave me some purpose to keep on going day in day out to wake up and know okay I have something to do besides focus on not dying. Which is just not a good place to be and I mentioned that because for listeners maybe you've never dealt with cancer but through life sometimes we can feel like I just want to not die today. Maybe it's stress from kids maybe it's other demands of the job whatever that it is. And when we walk through life with the feeling and thought of I just want to not die today. Things get kind of bleak. 

Rich Bennett 51:16
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 51:16
There's hope beyond that we can move from that mindset towards abundance and abundance doesn't mean the biggest pile of cash and doing better than everybody else that I know abundance is a mindset which for me includes daily gratitude. I'm grateful that I'm no longer in the hospital today. I'm grateful that I can 

Rich Bennett 51:34
Oh 

Matt Paradise 51:34
feel the 

Rich Bennett 51:35
yeah. 

Matt Paradise 51:35
sun on my face that doesn't cost me money. It just takes a perspective So the book was actually launched while I was in the hospital. I didn't picture it. I really wanted to go on book tour and all the things you might picture when people go on Oprah. And I pictured being on Oprah at one point or 

Rich Bennett 51:52
shift. 

Matt Paradise 51:52
whatever your other favorite talk show host is and all of the things I was in the hospital. I delayed it a couple of times because of hospitalizations but eventually said done is better than perfect. 

Rich Bennett 52:04
to just 

Matt Paradise 52:04
I needed 

Rich Bennett 52:05
and 

Matt Paradise 52:06
even if I can't do every single activity as I would want to do done is better than perfect. I can't help anybody. 

Rich Bennett 52:13
Oh yeah 

Matt Paradise 52:14
stuck in my head. So launch the book from the hospital with my team. I couldn't have done that alone by any stretch. 

And it's been an amazing journey since, it's won seven different awards, uh, so it's quality, which was my goal. Um, but the book is broken into three different parts. The first section is about the world in which we live. And 

Rich Bennett 52:36
a- 

Matt Paradise 52:36
it's just 

Rich Bennett 52:37
okay. 

Matt Paradise 52:50
We can't control day in and day out in and of ourselves, but they certainly affect us and how we live. 

Rich Bennett 52:57
So which can affect your, yeah, your will 

Matt Paradise 52:59
most definitely. So knowing and understanding that helps in is important. The second section to becoming financially capable is about financial psychology. So it gets into addictions, it gets into our first money memories. I don't know. Rich, do you remember your first money memory at all? Or maybe one of your earliest memories? Selling 

Rich Bennett 53:20
grit newspaper. 

Matt Paradise 53:21
Okay. Tell us. I'm curious. 

Rich Bennett 53:23
I, you know, the newspapers down here as a kid, you know, you always wanted to make money. So yeah, we would mood lawns, we would shovel snow and all that, but I really wanted it to deliver newspapers because it was constant. There was 

Matt Paradise 53:39
week. 

Rich Bennett 53:39
once a 

Matt Paradise 53:40
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 53:40
But there was already a family, actually, a couple of doors down for me. They already had the newspaper routes. So it's like, well, there's got to be another news. And I found great newspaper, which was nationwide. A lot of people didn't hear 

Matt Paradise 53:55
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 53:55
of it. And that's that's what I was doing. That was my, I want to say that you have my first real money moment, real job. 

Matt Paradise 54:05
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 54:06
And I forget how old I was maybe 12, 12 or 13 at the time. I bet that I was because it was after I read, um, how, uh, Burn it. Not having to win friends and influence people is the other one, um, by Napoleon Hill. Oh, I can't believe that it's going in my mind. Not the law of success. 

Anyways, it was after I read that 

Matt Paradise 54:35
book. 

Rich Bennett 54:36
Hmm. Okay. This is what I'm going to do. But you're growing up. We would do all different things, whether be milling lawns and all. But great newspapers. One that really, 

Matt Paradise 54:43
hmm. 

Rich Bennett 54:44
Sticks with 

Matt Paradise 54:45
How 

Rich Bennett 54:45
me. 

Matt Paradise 54:45
would you say that that's affected you in managing money now as an adult. 

Rich Bennett 54:51
Well, 

I really wasn't managing my money 

Matt Paradise 54:57
time. 

Rich Bennett 54:57
at the 

Matt Paradise 54:58
Hmm. 

Rich Bennett 54:59
you know, it, um, I'm better now than I was, I would say even 20 years 

Matt Paradise 55:06
Yeah, 

Rich Bennett 55:06
ago, because when I was, I would help me a lot. When I was in the car business, which is strictly commission. It was hard to budget. budget your money. Very 

Matt Paradise 55:17
hard. 

Rich Bennett 55:17
Yep. Uh, I mean, there were times where I was about to lose my house and everything. So you learn any time you do sales when it's commission. It's, 

Matt Paradise 55:25
hard. 

Rich Bennett 55:25
it's 

Matt Paradise 55:26
Hmm. Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 55:27
Um, and you know, it just, but at the same time you, you, you got to learn how to. 

Matt Paradise 55:34
That's true. 

Rich Bennett 55:35
So I think it was. There was times that I struggled. And I think the last time, because a bit lose the house and I had a bar of money from my parents. And that's embarrassing. At least it was embarrassing for me. Um, and yeah. So it's, 

Matt Paradise 55:52
that's amazing. I mean, it's, it's interesting even the name of that newspaper. I see you as someone 

Rich Bennett 55:59
tremendous, 

Matt Paradise 55:59
with 

Rich Bennett 55:59
hmm. 

Matt Paradise 56:00
who's overcome a lot of different obstacles and, 

Rich Bennett 56:03
oh, 

Matt Paradise 56:04
with that grit determination, perseverance, have been able to now be able to help a lot of other people. So commission sales is difficult. Door to door selling or bringing newspapers is, is difficult, especially when there's other neighborhood competition. But you persevered and became now a person who gives not other people and inspires other kids who are thinking about a newspaper route that I think is awesome. 

Rich Bennett 56:31
And the great thing about it is, I mean, through all those things that I did, especially when you do sales, I'm involved with a lot of nonprofit. And you learn how to ask for donation as well. The only problem is if not, especially when you get into local nonprofits, you can only ask the same businesses so many times. 

Matt Paradise 56:55
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 56:56
Because it, and you see it all the time, you, I think here just in our county, there's over 809 profits. The same business is not going to give to 800 different 

Matt Paradise 57:06
It's 

Rich Bennett 57:06
nonprofits. 

Matt Paradise 57:06
true. 

Rich Bennett 57:08
And it can be a struggle at times, not going on the doors. Hey, you know, we're here. We are. You can have the best nonprofit in the world, but some businesses cannot do it all the time. That's something that's a whole other 

Matt Paradise 57:22
It 

Rich Bennett 57:22
pie 

Matt Paradise 57:22
is, 

Rich Bennett 57:23
got to 

Matt Paradise 57:23
it is, but it's 

Rich Bennett 57:23
realize 

Matt Paradise 57:24
an, it's an important one. I think too many 

Rich Bennett 57:25
it 

Matt Paradise 57:25
people don't 

Rich Bennett 57:26
is, 

Matt Paradise 57:26
understand how much of our economic engine in the US is driven by nonprofits. I was 

Rich Bennett 57:32
mm-hmm. 

Matt Paradise 57:32
the treasure of a group here, a nonprofit called Metro West Nonprofit Network. So our job was to help strengthen and support other nonprofits. And like you said, 

Rich Bennett 57:42
Right. 

Matt Paradise 57:42
there's probably similar-ish Baltimore's demographic, not too, too much different than Boston. Obviously, 

Rich Bennett 57:48
it's 

Matt Paradise 57:49
not to compare the two. We're not going to get into Ravens versus Patriots here. And now we're talking about service in nonprofits. But there's like 800 or so nonprofits in the area. And so many are solo nonprofits. One, 

Rich Bennett 58:04
two 

Matt Paradise 58:04
maybe 

Rich Bennett 58:04
people-

Oh, yeah. 

Matt Paradise 58:06
Who are trying to compete sometimes for the same pots of money. And it difficult and challenging at the same time. 

Rich Bennett 58:12
Actually, do you cover nonprofits in your book at all? 

Matt Paradise 58:15
I do, yeah. 

Rich Bennett 58:16
Okay. 

Matt Paradise 58:17
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 58:17
Okay, good. 

Matt Paradise 58:18
Actually, the president and my mentor at American Consumer Credit Counseling Steve had a saying that if a nonprofit is not run like a more traditional business, then there 

Rich Bennett 58:30
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 58:30
is no business with a mission to be able to serve other people. 

Rich Bennett 58:34
And I think that's where a lot of people start nonprofits, I think that's where they mess up. A nonprofit is still a business. You know, you run it like a business. Otherwise, you're gonna- you're gonna fall, it's gonna end up falling. 

Matt Paradise 58:47
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 58:48
You know, you-

Finding volunteers all the time, and technically with a nonprofit, you cannot have volunteers coming on to do every day 

Matt Paradise 59:01
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 59:01
things. You're gonna have to have a staff that you got to pay. Playing is simple. If you went that nonprofit, the be successful. But you're right, that's a whole 

Matt Paradise 59:08
problem. 

Rich Bennett 59:08
another 

Matt Paradise 59:08
It's true. It's true. 

Rich Bennett 59:10
That's another episode. 

Matt Paradise 59:12
a-

Rich Bennett 59:12
Um, 

Matt Paradise 59:12
Ford nonprofit or for-profits, we got a risk it for the biscuit. If we just 

Rich Bennett 59:16
it's 

Matt Paradise 59:16
rely on volunteers, don't take that risk in hiring people bringing them on. 

Rich Bennett 59:20
same 

Matt Paradise 59:20
in for-profit or even commission sales. You got to get out there. And if you're not out there, which is risky, which is a position of vulnerability, then there's zero growth. 

Rich Bennett 59:32
Yeah. Oh yeah, you definitely have to. Granted, times have changed on the ways you get out there, but you can 

Matt Paradise 59:40
still get out. 

Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 59:41
Is the book in audio form as well? 

Matt Paradise 59:43
I haven't- no, I haven't published it in audio form. Um, 

Rich Bennett 59:47
Yet? 

Matt Paradise 59:47
yet, yeah. I've thought about it. I've thought actually about putting it out for free like on YouTube, um, in sections maybe. Um, we'll see how that goes. Um, 

Rich Bennett 59:57
Do it in a audible 

Matt Paradise 59:59
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 59:59
form. Is it actually a self-published or do you get through a publishing-

Matt Paradise 1:00:01
I created a publishing company. Um, 

Rich Bennett 1:00:04
oh, okay. 

Matt Paradise 1:00:04
Street publishing, um, is- is mine, um, that- 

Rich Bennett 1:00:08
Okay. 

Matt Paradise 1:00:09
that I built to- to publish the company. So my goal in self-publishing, I think, is such a wide scope of books available under the 

of self-publishing. Um, 

Rich Bennett 1:00:23
auspices 

Matt Paradise 1:00:24
not all are to the same level of quality as professionally published 

Rich Bennett 1:00:30
book. 

Right. 

Matt Paradise 1:00:31
Um, my goal was to have a professionally published book. 

Um, so that was indistinguishable from Penguin, Random House, whoever else. 

Rich Bennett 1:00:39
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 1:00:39
Um, I just didn't have 10 million to go and market it. Um, But, yeah. So the book, uh, I mentioned that middle section financial psychology, uh, why we do what we do. All of that's really important and a huge part of finances. Because if we're 

Rich Bennett 1:00:58
yeah. 

Matt Paradise 1:00:58
not able to be self-controlled, if we're not understanding our belief and value systems, then we're flailing, both in- in life, but also financially, because we start chasing after all different directions and all that sounds good and all that sounds good. And let me try- and it applies to our personal lives and business as well. If we in business go off in a hundred thousand different directions, then they all fail. 

Because it's impossible to put all of our energy into every single thing at the same 

Rich Bennett 1:01:29
Mm-hmm. 

Matt Paradise 1:01:29
time. And having focus, and that's something that you mentioned that that you've had focused, it's essential. It's necessary. And we can't 

Rich Bennett 1:01:38
Yes. 

Matt Paradise 1:01:38
have little tangents and try little things here and there, but we need focus in our lives. For me, a primary focus is family. And we sacrificed. I 

Rich Bennett 1:01:47
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 1:01:47
left my career that was comfortable. It was a phenomenal career so that I could focus on what was more important and at the time that was family, Raising 

Rich Bennett 1:01:56
son. 

Matt Paradise 1:01:56
our 

Rich Bennett 1:01:56
I'm William 

Matt Paradise 1:01:57
giving him everything that he needed to be able to grow up with what he didn't have at the first first few years 

Rich Bennett 1:02:04
God. 

Matt Paradise 1:02:04
mentioned he was 

Rich Bennett 1:02:05
Yeah. 

Matt Paradise 1:02:05
adopted 

Rich Bennett 1:02:05
Likewise 

Matt Paradise 1:02:05
but he didn't have love for safety security and providing that direction and support to him for us was essential. So I say that because it's necessary in our own lives not just whether we adopt or not but we need to be clear about our values and goals we need to be clear about the different ways that we think my wife and I are very very different when it comes to managing money and other parts of life too and I am the rambler the tangential runner after her she is laser focused so we come together because I say that because it's necessary for me I tend to come with vision so even when we adopted I mean she looked here's what we have to do today to overcome so that we can grow and see tomorrow and do that successfully for me it's wow this is amazing that this one kid has an opportunity and it's helped us grow tremendously it wasn't a savior complex for us it was we wanted to grow our family and we've grown in unconditional love and understanding in so many ways becoming 

Rich Bennett 1:03:15
that's great. 

Matt Paradise 1:03:18
But for me my mind automatically goes to systemic issues of foster 

Rich Bennett 1:03:23
and 

Matt Paradise 1:03:24
adoption and it starts to think about well how can we really change those things more globally and I think about that in all types of things in education he's in special education now at a private daytime therapeutic school and 

Rich Bennett 1:03:41
okay 

Matt Paradise 1:03:41
it's phenomenal that he gets help that he needs and it's essential he's diagnosed with PTSD and in public school daily it was 

Rich Bennett 1:03:48
wow 

Matt Paradise 1:03:48
just overwhelming and we've had to hire an advocate to help us to get the supports that he really needed I mean the teachers the 

Rich Bennett 1:03:57
yeah 

Matt Paradise 1:03:58
principal all said we're not able to support him with what he really needs as a young developing kid. us that was phenomenal in my mind I think about the systemic disparity between people who can afford to hire an advocate and those who can't just because they can't hire a family can't hire an advocate doesn't mean that the academic needs aren't just as great if not greater so for me my mind starts to think more globally and holistically how can we help incite change so that kids receive what they need because kids are the future I mean from economic 

Rich Bennett 1:04:38
For 

Matt Paradise 1:04:39
standpoint alone research shows that roughly for every dollar that we invest in early childhood development there's a 10x return so it produces overall in the economy it's not a law it's not just an expense when we invest in kids I mean when you stop and think about it when we invest in kids that is our future. Yeah 

Rich Bennett 1:04:59
you're invested into the future exactly. 

Matt Paradise 1:05:01
So much so I mean at some point if I live long enough I'll need somebody you know to help me get my food and hopefully I don't need diaper changing but maybe I don't know we need kids to do that. I want them to be well-trained so they can do that and not leave me like flailing. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:18
Yeah I already said that to my daughter and she said "no that's your son's job" 

Matt Paradise 1:05:22
I wasn't 

Rich Bennett 1:05:24
living here 

Matt Paradise 1:05:25
it. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:25
with It's like if I could do it for my parents I mean if granted hopefully that time will never come but you never 

Matt Paradise 1:05:35
know. It's true. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:36
So something very important because I'm looking at the time here. Something very important. Couple things. Number one you're back to speaking right. Alright so tell everybody are you coaching two or just speaking? 

Matt Paradise 1:05:48
speaking. Yeah so it's it's 

Rich Bennett 1:05:50
Alright 

Matt Paradise 1:05:50
more B2B. I'm working with businesses and employers. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:54
Alright so how can people get in 

Matt Paradise 1:05:55
you? 

Rich Bennett 1:05:56
touch with 

Matt Paradise 1:05:56
My website is matteparadice.com. 

Rich Bennett 1:05:59
Why is this so difficult? Why is such a hard way to stop joking. 

Matt Paradise 1:06:03
Hey I didn't choose the name I was born with it. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:08
Well it couldn't be said no I'm just clear you didn't do something like matte paradise wealth health and yeah I just like like a long 

Matt Paradise 1:06:15
Yeah 

Rich Bennett 1:06:15
way. 

Matt Paradise 1:06:16
yeah. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:16
And how can people your book? 

Matt Paradise 1:06:18
So it's where books are purchased. So Amazon, Barnes & Noble all different bookstores. 

Rich Bennett 1:06:25
Those of you listening you already know what I'm going to say. So when you go and buy match book, financially capable a friendly guy that building whole wealth whole health wealth. After you read it, make sure you leave a full review, whether be on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, good, wherever you can leave reviews, leave it on all of them. And then keep it. Don't pass it on to somebody else. Keep it because it's a guide. But purchase it for other people. I think it would make a great birthday present, Christmas present, present in general for anybody. 

I mean purchase it for him. Purchase several copies for people. So, Matt, before I get to my last question, which I have no idea what it's going to be, is there anything you would like to add? 

Matt Paradise 1:07:20
No matter where we are in life, there's always room for growth and there's always hope. And I think that's such an important message. As we talk about even, I know we're wrapping up on time, the concept of whole health wealth is the well researched idea that the different domains of well being are inseparable, or interconnected. So, our financial health, our environmental health, our emotional health, our spiritual health, our physical health, our relational health, our occupational health, they all affect each other. I found that out certainly through cancer. Though I've known it through my life and dealing with drugs and the ups and downs, the highs, the lows. And more importantly, I've seen it in so many people that I've had the privilege and opportunity to help and learn from. Families who struggle just to put food on the table. Families who struggle to say for their kid to go to school or give them the best possible opportunity. Families who struggle to reach for dreams that are beyond just the day to day survival, and all those thoughts, feelings, those stresses are palpable. But there's always hope. There's always a way. And that really is the heart of the book to help encourage people to know that. Life isn't just about money and being the person with the biggest pile and end up miserable, rich lonely person. We have an epidemic of loneliness in the U. S. 

Rich Bennett 1:08:53
Yes. 

Matt Paradise 1:08:53
We need each other and that mental health, that encouragement, getting out there and supporting, like some of the nonprofits that Rich is involved in, supporting your local community college, supporting your community because we are community. It is us, and it affects all of us. We're interconnected and for that I'm grateful. I'm grateful for this conversation with you Rich. I'm grateful that there's listeners who might take away something from this to really help improve their lives. 

Rich Bennett 1:09:24
Well, I have a funny feeling we're going to be talking again. 

Matt Paradise 1:09:26
I look forward to it. 

Rich Bennett 1:09:27
I just have that feeling because you have a lot to offer. So this last question, like I said, I have no idea what it's going to be because I started something different. Some of the people I've asked, somehow or another, it's aligned with what we were talking about. So I have a hundred, you heard me right, 100 different questions. So pick a number between one and a hundred, 

Matt Paradise 1:09:50
44, 

Rich Bennett 1:09:53
44, that's not the question of why 44 why look for. 

Matt Paradise 1:09:56
Number one. 

Rich Bennett 1:09:58
No, I found 44 to have a why 

Matt Paradise 1:10:00
the 

Rich Bennett 1:10:00
44 

Matt Paradise 1:10:00
first number that that popped into my head. 

Rich Bennett 1:10:03
Okay, this is actually pretty interesting. If you could share a meal with three people, living or dead, who would they be and why? 

Matt Paradise 1:10:16
I suppose I choose three different people and three different meals. If I can stretch it out, there's something special about sitting with one other person, breaking bread and getting to know them intimately. So number one, I choose my wife just to sit down, enjoy that time with the two of us. We don't always get that luxury. We're caregivers. Her mom lives with us when I was going through my cancer, her dad had lung cancer. It was diagnosed six months after me. So when I was in the hospital, I was a caregiver and my journey helped me be a better caregiver so that I could explain what Kimo was like to him and be able to carry him through that. So I say that not like in but in all seriousness with with my wife just to sit down the two of us and enjoy that time together. the 

Rich Bennett 1:11:05
I love 

Matt Paradise 1:11:07
I would say I mean, I have to go with my my son next just because 

Rich Bennett 1:11:12
big sense. 

Matt Paradise 1:11:14
ultimately it is a joy and a pleasure and incredible responsibility just to have a kid to be a dad and to be able to help just guide and nurture and direct him even though I can't make him anything like me. I can't make him to be anything like I think he should be. I love there's a collegial drawn poem on children is what it's called but ultimately children. ...they're not ours to mold in our own image likeness or what we think they should be. But to be able to sit down and enjoy a meal and help just listen to him and impart any wisdom that he might be ready open to receive, uhm, and just be together while we can. 

He's got a great plan to take away from who I might actually be able to have a meal with. Um, I guess I'll leave it rich, I'd love to have a meal with you, we're here. Zoom is incredible. Technology is incredible. But it'd be fantastic to not just talk through a screen but sit and enjoy a meal together. 

Rich Bennett 1:12:28
Bring down the lobster, I'll bring the Maryland steam crabs. 

Matt Paradise 1:12:32
Sounds like a delicious seafood meal to me. 

Rich Bennett 1:12:34
Oh yeah, I mean because I understand a lobster from up there is awesome. 

Matt Paradise 1:12:39
I enjoy it. It's good. 

Rich Bennett 1:12:40
No body does, nobody does crabs better than 

Matt Paradise 1:12:42
It's 

Rich Bennett 1:12:42
Maryland. 

Matt Paradise 1:12:42
true. 

Rich Bennett 1:12:44
So I'm, I'm all for that. 

Matt Paradise 1:12:46
Sounds good. 

Rich Bennett 1:12:47
Matt, I want to thank you so much, it's been a true honor and a pleasure. Um, yeah, I know we're going to be staying in touch and we're going to be talking against it. Thank you. Thank you so much. 

Matt Paradise 1:12:59
My pleasure. Thank you for this conversation, but also thank you for all that you do with nonprofits with the community, uh, around Maryland with, with all that you do to really elevate other businesses and people to provide encouragement and hope. I appreciate that. 

Rich Bennett 1:13:14
Thank you for listening to the conversations with rich Bennett. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and learn something from it as I did. If you like to hear more conversations like this, be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. And if you have a moment, I'd love it if you can leave a review. It helps us reach more listeners and share more incredible stories. Don't forget to connect with us on social media, or visit our website at conversations with rich Bennett dot com. See you again for updates, giveaways and more. Until next time, take care. Be kind and keep the conversation's going. You know, it takes a lot to put a podcast together and my sponsors help add a lot, but I also have some supporters that actually help me when it comes to the editing, software, the hosting and so forth. I have a lot that goes into putting this together. So I want to thank them and if you can please, please visit their websites visit their businesses, support them however you can so please visit the following. Real-life prosthetics, cutting edge solutions, restoring ability since 2001. Go to reallifeprostetics.com. Full circle boards, nobody does charcuterie like full circle boards. Visit them at fullcircleboards.com. Sincerely, Sincerely, so your photography, live in the moment, they'll capture it. Visit them at sincerelysoyer.com.