Speaker 0
I had so much fun chatting with doctor Brad Klontz and Adrian Brambila. These two guys are co authoring a book that's almost out. Will be out in October. It's called, Start Thinking Rich, twenty one harsh truths to take you from broke to financial freedom. Man, we we cover some controversial topics, and they do not, pull any punches. And, but they bring such a positive energy to the discussion. And it's really just, you know, a discussion that needs to be had in our culture. Adrian, talks about he he, has a ton of social media followers and and has a lot of influence. And one of the main things he's known for is how he made one point seven million dollars while living in a van, and we we cover that, later on in the episode. And so he's kind of the the street smarts, guy in the discussion, and he, also worked years ago with T Pain, the rapper, and he and he shares a pretty cool story about that. Doctor Brad Klontz is the research guy. He's a professor, you know, has done all kinds of research about psychology, the psychology of money and the psychology of success. And these guys to together just have a synergy that is just phenomenal. It's it's hard to explain. I can't really get across how fun and impactful this episode was. So you'll just have to find out for yourself. Buckle up for this conversation with doctor Brad Klontz, financial psychologist, and Adrian Brambilla, the minimalist millionaire. Enjoy. Speaker 1
Welcome to From Adversity to Abundance, the go to podcast for real estate entrepreneurs seeking not just to thrive, but to conquer with resilience and mental sharpness. Each week, join us as we dive into the compelling world of real estate through the lens of mental fitness, where challenges transform into opportunities. Get ready to transform your mindset and expand your understanding of what it takes to succeed in real estate. Let's explore these stories of triumph and resilience together. Speaker 0
Welcome everybody to another episode of the from adversity to abundance podcast. I am your host, Jamie Bateman. And on today's episode, this is gonna be a fun one. We've got two guests with us. Adrian Brambila. Hopefully, I said that right, Adrian. Is that right? Awesome. Close enough. It. He crushed it. Awesome. And doctor Brad Klontz. Doctor Brad, how are you doing today? Speaker 2
I'm doing great. Happy to be here. Speaker 0
Awesome. So, Adrian, you are known as the guy who made one point seven million dollars living in a van. Is that right? Speaker 3
Yeah. That you know, I was making I've been making content since two thousand ten. Early on YouTube, I used to be a professional, dancer for t Pain. So my first business was teaching me how to dance a robot. And that that had, like, a pretty small audience, but I was living in a van during the pandemic, and that's when van life became more than an SNL skit. It actually became cool. Trending. I just happened to be living it, and I was just used to documenting it. And so I was I've kinda just timed the luck of, like, documenting van life and and kind of being a minimalist, but also I've always talked about finance and wealth. And one thing that's a very big contradiction I learned, it was a happy accident, is that people that live in a van, there's a expectation that they're poor or that they have no money. Mhmm. Not that you would ever do it by choice, especially if you have or have a high net worth or a high income. So I was a visual contradiction of, like, there's no way this guy's actually a millionaire if he lives in a van because why would you do that? If you live in a if you're a millionaire, you need to have a Lamborghini, and you need to have a mansion. So I didn't fit that mold, but that's how we got popular. And that's how we came to collaborate with doctor Brad Klontz and make our first book, which Speaker 0
is awesome. So slightly different, different than, Chris Farley living down by the river. So, doctor Brad, you were an author coauthor with Adrian, and you are the world's leading psychologist on money and success. Let's talk a Speaker 2
little bit self proclaimed self proclaimed title. Proclaimed. Yeah. I challenge anyone. You know? Come on. Let's go. Speaker 0
Absolutely. How can you disprove Speaker 0
So talk a little bit about what you have a little bit about about your background before we dive into your story, but a little bit about your background and what you have going on today. Speaker 2
Yeah. So so I, got a doctorate in clinical psychology. That's where I started my work. So really helping people overcome adversity, trauma, all that. And then I early in my career, I stumbled on how traumatized people seem to be about money and how, how frequently they self sabotage, their they'll start to to, gain some assets, start to invest, and then all of a sudden, they sabotage themselves psychologically. And I I got really curious about that. Part a big part due to my own personal story of adversity. But also actually, I started to do a bunch of research on the psychology of success, the psychology of mindsets, looking at ultra wealthy, middle class, lower income people, looking for patterns Mhmm. So that I could essentially arm myself with a better mindset and then teach as many people as possible who are wanting to better their lives. Speaker 0
That's awesome. I'm finishing a book called The Big Leap by, Gay Hendricks, and he talks about the upper limit problem and all about how people self sabotage without even knowing it oftentimes. So that's very relevant for me. Before we jump back into your story, Adrian, speak briefly about the book, and then we'll get and then we'll we'll talk more about the book later on. But what's the book all about exactly, and and why did you, work on it together? Speaker 3
I think the reason we wanted to create a book is to help people. It's it's a it's really a money finance mindset book. It's called Start Thinking Rich, twenty one harsh truths to take you from broke to financial freedom. Brad and I, we're total opposite in our background. He's super edumacated. And, I come from a immigrant family here. And, although on paper, we're totally opposite, our mindset is the same when it comes to wealth, and we actually connected through TikTok. We have couple million followers, each, and we noticed we kept popping up in each other's pages, and we were saying the same message despite having totally different backgrounds. And, the foundation for sure is is we wanna help people. And I think right now in today's world, there's a lot of soft approaches that aren't working. If you just look at the average American in terms of how much debt they have, lack of savings, lack of investing, and so we're taking an opposite approach. We're taking a harsh approach. We have really aggressive points that we make. For example, if you wanna get rich, you have to get rid of your poor friends. We can explain what that means later. We, we also say, for example, that your political party, whoever you vote for, doesn't really give a shit about you. Like, they're not gonna take you to financial freedom. So we're making these very aggressive points, and twenty twenty one of them in the book, and then we explain through a loving, perspective how, even though the headline kind of punches you in the face, the the the chapters are like, a hug that that kind of teaches you the right mindset of how to think about wealth, and and to grow it. Speaker 0
Yeah. I think your timing is good because, I mean, I I can't speak for other people, but I know I'm I'm getting a little tired of, you know, everybody being afraid of of saying the wrong thing. And, you know, let's focus on what actually works, and that may hurt in the short term. Right? And so let's get somewhere and make some get some results. And and and like you said, you're trying to help people. Your your goal isn't to hurt people. It's actually to help people. And sometimes the kid gloves need to come off in order to do that. Doctor Brad, let's switch it up. Let's go back. That's a little more into your your story, your personal story. We're not gonna spend an hour on that, but let's dive into your personal story of, from adversity to abundance, focusing on on finances. What did that look like? What what age do you wanna start with? Speaker 2
I think I'll start with age two. Okay. And that's when my parents divorced. And, you know, back then, I'm I'm old enough where that was a rare thing. So I was the only kid I knew who had divorced parents, throughout my entire elementary school. And, you know, so the divorce was pretty hectic. There was lots of drama related to it. But one of the biggest impacts, at least on my psychology, had we we were extremely poor immediately. You know, single mom, working part time. And so I grew up not having much, and I, come from a family system that didn't have much. So both my grandparents, lived in trailer parks, which by the way were way, way better than living in downtown Detroit, which is where they lived when I was, really young. Mhmm. A very, very dangerous situation. Sure. I remember I remember being at my aunt's house with hearing you know, everyone drops on the floor. Bullets are flying through the walls. And so for me, I I saw Speaker 2
Right. Yeah. Exactly. And and after a while, I'm like, why are we coming here for for Sunday dinner? Like, mom, what what are we doing here? Anyway, I had that thought later. But it was it was growing up not having much, and, and, frankly, you know, I lost a sibling to violence as a young kid. And so I think, you know, combination of all that thing, I definitely had trauma and but I but I really had a poor mindset because I I had negative attitudes about rich people. I didn't know any rich people, and I saw my family working really hard. They're good people. Mhmm. So I I figured, well, to get rich, you must be taking advantage of other people, or there's something wrong with it. So I had a negative association with that. Yeah. But but early on, I realized, you know, being poor sucks. You know? And, there's a lot you can't do, and there's a lot of problems that come along with it. And so at a very early age, I think I became a psychologist. I remember going over to my friend's house in middle school, and I thought they were rich. You know? I couldn't believe how rich they were. In retrospect, they were middle class. You know? But to me, they had more than one bathroom in their house, Jamie, and I'm like, holy shit. Like, I just couldn't even imagine that. And I remember at the dinner table, interviewing my friend's dad. Like like, almost like I'm a reporter. Like, almost like I want a road map. Like, how do I get a house with more than one bathroom? What did you do? What do you do for a living? I mean so I think that sort of curiosity and that desire to better my life for my kids someday, really drove me along this path. And then when I became a psychologist, I I realized nobody had done any work in the area of the psychology of money, which I thought was pretty weird. And so, eventually, I just started to research. Like, what does the research show us about the psychological differences? So I I took the interview with my friend's father at at the dinner table, and I've now interviewed thousands of people. Yeah.
Speaker 0
Took that to the next level.
Speaker 2
Psychology. Exactly. The mindsets. Just try to figure out what works and what doesn't.
Speaker 0
That's awesome. I, you mentioned the negative, association or or you you assumed that, rich people were bad or, you know, you had a negative association with rich people. I I was just listening to a podcast with Cody Sanchez, and she was talking about how, you know, if you want less of something, that's a great way to do it is create a negative association with that thing. So you're probably not gonna attract money if you associate, you know, negative thoughts. And and all rich people are bad if you have that mindset growing up, or or as you're older. So okay. So now today okay. So you came from poverty. You know? Obviously, it's it's up to you how personal you wanna get, but what does abundance look like in in your situation financially today?
Speaker 2
Yeah. You mean, like, what's my net worth? Or Well Is it like Look.
Speaker 0
You know? Feel free to answer that, but you you describe the the adversity, the financial adversity you came from. What do things look like today for you? How is it different?
Speaker 2
Yeah. So so I I'm super blessed, to be, you know, multimillionaire status many times over. But but the thing for me is I got out of grad school. I owed a hundred thousand dollars in student loan debt. So I had a a net worth of zero. And in my training as a psychologist, I was told, like, we're here to help people that make money. And coming from a lower income environment, I'm like, what what? Why do I rack up all this debt if I can't make any money to pay off this debt?
Speaker 2
And so at at that moment, I saw a mentor of mine who is a mentor in psychology. He made a hundred thousand dollars in one year trading stocks. And I was like, this is the first exposure I ever had at the stock market. I remember sitting down next to him at the computer, and he's, like, buying stuff. And I'm like, what's that? He's like, I have no idea. Flicks it. And I'm like, I could do this. Okay. And, so I sold everything I had of value. And it sounds extreme, but it is absolutely extreme. I I was driving a five hundred dollar car. I had one plate, one fork. My wife can attest all this. I had lawn chairs for furniture. I mean, I'm a get rich. Yeah. And so, I had a fabulous run for about three months, and then a tech bubble burst. Mhmm. And I lost all my money, and that was that was my wake up moment. I'm like, what is wrong with the way I'm thinking about money? And and so that's really started me on this journey Yeah. And, of of, you know, learning everything from the ground up. So now I'm a you know, I happen to be a financial planner also. I'm an asset manager. I I'm own multiple businesses, and I've done tons of research. I'm a professor in this whole psychology of money.
Speaker 2
But my my true passion right now and and, you know, you asked us before the show, what are we trying to promote? We do have all these businesses. We just want people to buy this book. Now I'll tell you this, dude. You're an author. You you probably know this. There's no money in books. Like No. No. We you're not gonna get rich from this book at all. But my passion really is to try to help as many people as possible because frankly, I don't really need the money. Adrian doesn't really need the money. We we're we wanna teach as many people as possible. Yeah, sort of writing the book, I wish I I had when I was a young man or or even a teenager. That's the book that's the book we wrote here.
Speaker 0
No. And and many times many many times on this show, I we've kind of bashed the public school system and, you know, and and my my family, has a long history of of teachers and and, but they you know? So we're not here to do that, you know, but it's it's a they just don't teach you these important tools and these mindset pieces and what especially about money, in school. So you've gotta learn it the hard way in a lot of cases. So it does sound like your book is serving a filling an important void there, and filling a serving an important purpose and filling a void. So, Adrian, it sounds like a van is actually, wealthy compared to what doctor Brad went through. But let's jump into with your story a little bit. Tell us about your background. Before we hit record, you mentioned, your family, and I think you mentioned them when we did hit after we hit record. Tell us about your your story.
Speaker 3
Yeah. My I I tend to start with my parents. I feel like I I I love them so much. My my they're they're superheroes to me. My daddy immigrated here when he was thirteen from Mexico. My mom was born here, but, she was also born really poor, also Mexican. And, I learned from them even though I grew up and they didn't have much. They taught me that I could achieve anything. Like, I if I want something nice or wanna do nice things, have nice experience, I can work for it. So that's, like, a really great in like, mindset I inherited from my parents because I watched them go, and my my parents were the first, millionaires in in the Brambila family tree. And they did it honestly, you know, they didn't do it with, like, proper investing. They just saved, like, in ways that seem insane today. For example, they went, like, a few years without buying new clothes. And, like, that's like a sacrifice. Like, today, it seems like, oh my god. How could they do that? That's correct. We're such big consumers today that just we're just used to buying. They didn't go
Speaker 0
I think I'm actually fine with that, but most people Yeah.
Speaker 3
Yeah. Right. Right. Right. And most people, like, if if you don't have enough money, if you're trying to, for whatever reasons, trying to invest more
Speaker 3
Or just save more if you're buying on bills, like, cut out on all these things we take for granted. And and I learned I saw a lot of my parents do this. We never went out to eat. We always cooked food. Like like, all these little things that seem like, what? You guys didn't go out for a whole year? That's terrible. No. But it's like, what was my what were my parents doing behind the scenes? I didn't know this until I I was in Dallas. Like, they were saving they were saving almost majority of their income. It's like, you know, part of some of the content I talk about online is, like, the fire movement, financial independence retire early. So they were basically doing it before it was trendy thing. Cool.
Speaker 3
It was like it's like this immigrant mindset. It was like it's like we're gonna save as much money as as we can. Now if they would have learned about, like, investing into, like, real estate, or even the stock market, I think they could have done even so much better. But Sure. They taught me that. I'll just briefly mention that in high school, I was really bullied, and I felt like I was really boxed in. So and I went to school in SoCal, and I feel like I had to go far away. I went to I ended up going to school in Iowa. Very private. Yeah. Small college. It was totally random. Yeah. Honestly, my motivation was, like, I need to get away from bullies, which is funny because bullies are everywhere.
Speaker 0
Bullies also exist in Iowa.
Speaker 3
That's exactly. They exist everywhere. So, I had learned that, there's gonna be bullies in every walk of your life. As adults, like, we have bullies today. Like, there there's mean people. And so you have to you have to stand up for yourself, and you have to conquer it through. And you can't let other people affect, your life. That's one of the biggest regrets, people have is is they're living life based off other people's expectations, and that actually affects wealth tremendously. Hence, people buying, name brand designer stuff. Why are they buying it? Do they really love it? No. So they can to other people. Yeah. But Dave
Speaker 0
Ramsey talks about that. Right? Yes. Buying things you don't actually need for to impress people you don't actually like, something like that.
Speaker 3
Yeah. It's so true. Yeah. But, and then the most random thing happened while I was in Iowa. I I, I stopped while I was partying and drinking alcohol like most college kids, but then, I stopped because when I came home on my first semester, my parents who worked so hard and saved more money for my college to to pay for it than than they did for themselves is when they said, how was college? I lied to them. I was like, oh, it's great. I'm studying really hard. I'm working I'm working great. I felt so guilty when I came back, to school. I was like, I'm gonna stop drinking. So I did. Now Nice. In in, college, that takes up so much time partying, drinking And recovering. Hangover.
Speaker 3
started, yeah, I started dancing. I learned how to dance the robot in Iowa, and I got, like, I think it's God's miracle. After two years of dancing, learning from YouTube, I got a audition for T Pain, and I ended up making it as a professional dancer for T Pain. That basically changed my life. But, T Pain was the very first wealthy person I feel like I met. When I first came to his house, he did have a mansion. He had thirty cars. I remember he had this Mini Cooper that was souped up like a monster truck. Like Wow. He had all the gadgets and stuff. And that and and we talk about in the book, you know, rich is what you see, wealth is what you can't see.
Speaker 3
And so, you know, many, many, many years later, you know, T Pain, did have to file, you know, some bankruptcy stuff. So but for me as a I'm just seeing all this stuff. It's like, oh, this guy wants eyes, Speaker 0
you you've just never been exposed to this much abundance, like Right. Financial abundance before. Right? Speaker 3
Right. And, but yeah. So that that, that changed my life. And and, when tour abruptly ended, I I started posting on the Internet, teaching people how to dance the robot. And that ended up being my first online business, and I've created many since then. But I failed mostly at all of them, and probably out of, like, hundreds and hundreds of failures of just getting used to, you know, not making money, trying something, and failing. It's just become a habit. And Yeah. Ultimately, I haven't given up, and now I have a a few business that do well on the team of fifteen people now. Speaker 0
Wow. That's awesome. I mean, that's you know and I'm sure, doctor Brad, you probably had a a couple of failed businesses as well. You know? I probably got Speaker 2
a couple failing right now. Speaker 2
They're talking. Speaker 0
She probably started a couple during this interview. No. I'm just kidding. But, yeah, I mean, that's the fact that you both come from poverty, you know, may help you realize that, hey. It's okay. You that's not you know, wealth isn't necessarily where your self worth comes from, and maybe you're willing to take more risk or bounce back better than those who maybe were born into extreme wealth, and then they maybe has almost have a scarcity mindset because of that. They don't know if they're gonna be okay without that that money. But, yeah, the entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. You definitely gotta be willing to roll with the, you know, ride the roller coaster through the the lows and the highs. And, that that's okay. So so now, Adrian, so so briefly talk about the the one point seven million from a van. How did that how did that work? I'm I'm sure there are more lots of videos online people can check out as well, but what's the what's the synopsis there? Speaker 3
After, my dance business I was working on working on online, I was hitting a ceiling of five thousand dollars per month. And that was enough for me to quit, but it wasn't enough it wasn't a six figure income. And, I was so surprised. Why didn't more people wanna learn how to dance the robot, Jamie? Speaker 2
Do you know? Yeah. Speaker 3
so, like, I You'd have Speaker 0
your work cut out for me for you. Speaker 3
Well, maybe we create a a special episode of robot dancing. But, after that, I I started learning all the different ways people can make money online. I tried them all, like, without selling feet pics. You know? I tried all the legit ones, but they're blogging, affiliate marketing, am selling on Amazon, selling on Etsy, eBay. Like, there's so many different opportunities exist online, and I gravitate towards that kind of from, just it's like a video game to me. Sometimes it feels like online. I grew up playing video games, so it felt like it. And I and, I never put myself in a financial situation where all these times, all these things I'm mentioning, I'm failing at all of them. But I never would put myself in, like I never used debt to basically, like, try Amazon and then be out of thirty thousand dollars in debt. So, like, I I always would take these very, very small risks, and I would learn. And then never and despite failing, they never took me out of the game. Eventually, I I I started to sell, other people's products from my dance audience. For example, my YouTube channel maybe had, like, sixty thousand subscribers and say, Adrian, what's that beanie that you're wearing? Where are those headphones? Where did I get those? And I was just sending them, oh, they're they're here. They're Skoll. The Skoll is the the name. Speaker 2
And And then they Speaker 3
say, you know what? If you actually give me an affiliate link, you can make money from that. So I had a subscriber teach me how to do, affiliate marketing. And then that gave me the idea of, like, wait a second. So I actually don't have to make headphones, but I can make money from headphones? Speaker 3
And then that really snowballed to, today now this is something also I don't know if any I'd have to say who can challenge me on this. I'm I'm probably the the most We're versioning that. Most most most versatile affiliate marketer in the world. Like, today, I promote over five hundred different companies. And, again, it's not just myself. And, and I'm the number one affiliate for for many different companies across all different ranges. I have dozens of blogs and brands. So before living in the van, I actually had all those in place. I just, all that, you know, being a minimalist at heart, I I we live way underneath our means. Mhmm. Where's most of our money go? Goes towards investing. Like, that's what that's my biggest where does my money go at every single month or year? It's investments. My cost of living, if if I make more another ten million or something, my cost of living, I don't know if it's gonna change that much. Like, right now, the biggest splurge I have is, like, I have a pickleball court that that will be done in my house, like, in three weeks. So but besides yeah. Besides that, I my cost of living is super low. And so living in a van, although it's it seemed like a shock to the external world, to me, it's like, oh, this makes sense. Everything I own is in this van. That's perfect. Speaker 0
And, and, again, it's never it's never gonna be enough anyway. So, you know, whether you have five mansions or not, you're it's it's there's still that there's always more. Right? I'm I'm a hundred percent addicted to pickleball now, and, the last year has been really fun. And and I'm also super lucky a friend of mine, put in a court, and we've been, borrowing his real estate, if you will, for a lot. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL, so he hasn't been able to play, not through pickleball. But, but, yeah, pickleball is so much so much fun. But, yeah, we we'll have to do that'll be a third episode. We can do the dancing one and a pickleball one. So, yeah, man, it's a I'd I'd there's so much more so many rabbit holes I'd love to go down with both of your stories, but, obviously, we don't have the time. Okay. Doctor Brad, so how did you two meet? You met online. Talk about how you you met and why you decided to work together. Speaker 2
Yeah. So we did. It's it's a it's kind of a a strange story. I guess it's not that strange nowadays, but for my generation. Yeah. So Adrian and I ran across each other's content. We were early adopters on TikTok. And, you know, here I you know, I'm a I'm a respected professor, I guess. You know? And I'm still worried I'm still worried that my dean's gonna, like, turn on TikTok and be like, what the hell? Right. Because because I still teach. But we're early early on there. My nephews actually showed me that app, and they it's really it was really engaging at the time of the algorithm, all this funny stuff. And then all of a sudden, I saw this video pop up, and somebody was selling day trading. And I was like, now remember, I just lost all my money day trading Right. Couple decades ago. And I was so appalled. Speaker 0
I was like triggering. Speaker 2
Oh, no. No. No. Is it back? Is it back? Oh, no. And then I was like, of course, it's back. The market's been screaming. And so, literally, I got on TikTok to start making anti day trading content, and because I read all the studies on day trading. So I know the statistics. Not only do I have my own experience. And so, so I was making content like that. And then sure enough, like, they funnel your feed based on your interest, and I started to see videos of Adrian popping up. And, I just loved his message. I loved his vibe. He he brought the robot into his videos too, which was kinda fun. And, we just started to comment on each other's videos, and then eventually, we started to really, we started to make videos, insulting the other one, you know, like, pretending to be each other and everything. We just had a lot of fun with it. And then in the pandemic, I met actually met Adrian in person when he was driving to get his van across the country to pick up his van. And then we just connected, you know, on, he he turned me on a pickleball too. I'm an addict. Awesome. We all have a problem. We should start a support group. Yes. But we just started to Much more Speaker 0
things to to be addicted to. Speaker 2
Exactly. True. And then we we just got sort of passionate about finding ways to collaborate to help Yeah. Bring our message to more and more people. That's awesome. Speaker 3
I think there's a there's a lesson here, though, for everyone that's listening too is Brad and I would have never crossed paths, and we've we've formed, six figure incomes together. We've collabed on projects, and now we have this book coming out with and we have a really serious, publisher. I know I would have had access to that, and Brad's had access to both of our networks. And I think no matter what you do for a living, creating content and willing to get over the cringe factor and, you know, seeing your face online Speaker 3
Radically impacts your net worth and your experience and your network. It it it it's I've landed real estate deals, like, connections that that I I would have never had, but someone someone found my content fascinating, totally irrelevant to real estate, but it's like, this guy's good. I like, hey. I I I really like what you're doing. You seem like a good guy, and we actually got this project. And and, like, literally stuff like that. I got to wake up to an Instagram DM of an opportunity. So, like, I encourage everyone to create content. No matter what you do, I can't see a bad thing in it. It's only every time you create content, it creates opportunity and exposure. You never know who you reach. Sure. Speaker 0
That's really that's really good. Awesome. Let's dive into the book a little bit, and then I do have some some rapid fire questions too. Doctor Brad, what's the book all about? I know there are twenty one harsh truths. Speaker 0
They're they're pretty Speaker 2
they're pretty harsh. And so, and really each each chapter it was kind of a fun book for for me to write. It's my ninth. But but, anyway, don't tell my other children, but it's it's the best one by far. Nice. And each chapter is is a unique essay. So it's kind of fun Yeah. In that sense. And you mentioned teachers. Like, one of our chapters is your teachers can't teach you how to get rich. And, your boss is not going to teach you how to be a financially free entrepreneur. Like, there's a good chance your boss isn't financially free themselves. And then secondly, why would they wanna equip you to leave your day job Right. And leave them hanging? Yeah. You Speaker 0
gotta really consider who you're taking advice from. Right? Speaker 2
Exactly. Exactly. So we have twenty one chapters that are sort of hard hitting. Another one I'll just mention is, you know, you don't wanna become a millionaire. You just wanna spend a million dollars. And and we give people the millionaire test. You know? So if Adrian and I gave you a million dollars, what would you do with it? And you can tell whether somebody has a an abundance rich mindset or a poor mindset based on their answer. Absolutely. The the typical answer, most Americans, they'll rattle off all the stuff they wanna buy. And when you when you put all that in a calculator go ahead and try it. You know, there's a million dollars and then subtract all that stuff. You don't have a million dollars pretty soon. And as a matter of fact, you have nothing very soon. Whereas the rich mindset, millionaire mindset would look at that million dollars and how can I invest that? I'm gonna take that. I'm gonna invest it, and it's gonna spin off cash for me for the rest of my life. Absolutely. And so it's it's truths like that that we really try to hit, with compelling titles that sort of shake you up a little bit. Speaker 0
Yeah. Adrian, what else is in the book that may be controversial? Speaker 3
I think the the one we've gotten the most heat from, and I've I actually think we're gonna get some bad press is if you wanna get rich, you have to get rid of your poor friends. Speaker 0
Mhmm. Talk about that more. Yep. Speaker 3
Yeah. So we define in the very first page of the book what poor actually means. Poor is a mindset where broke actually means I have no money. Like, we've all been broke. And and broke is a can be a temporary state. Poor is is your ability. You could like, people that inherit a lot of money, they can invest in really bad deals and lose it all, or they can just start spending. So it's like, on paper, they're rich, but they have a poor mindset. And so I think it when we talk about this, people are like, what am I supposed to do? Like, I can't go around saying, hey. Are you a millionaire? Can you be friends? I wanna be like you. It doesn't work like that. But it's more about finding people around in your circle in person, online, like your community here, people that are listening to your podcast. You like and with your content, everyone I would assume everyone here that's listening has a rich mindset because you're you're you could be watching Netflix right now, binging something, but you're trying to improve your your your to go to the next level. So Absolutely. These are things. Like, imagine if all your podcast listeners got in a room together, like, that'd be an amazing room of people who have a have a rich mindset. So it's like trying to find those, in in real life. And sometimes our family members tend to be people who are holding us back. They don't really have a poor mindset. And that's that's the trickiest one because when we got comments like that, it's like, no. We're not saying, k. Sorry, sis. Like, sorry, brother. Sorry, dad. You betcha. It's it's it's more it's more of, like like, knowing what to talk about or or conversation to avoid. Yeah. Because sometimes and I think Brad has done a lot of research on this on on why why being around, like, even your friends that you grew up with and you start going on a faster path then then they why why sometimes it feels like they're holding you back or even put you down. Brad, do you wanna do you wanna share some of the psychology that Speaker 2
Yeah. It's real simple. It's like, it's because they love you. That's really what it is. And their phrase are gonna lose you. Right? So we are Interesting. We are all we're wired to be around in tribes. Right? This is how we spend ninety nine percent of our time on Earth. And and if all of a sudden somebody you love is starting to leave your tribe Right. It's gonna make you anxious. You know, it's one of the reasons why people come into money and then blow it all because reverse on the reverse side, they're afraid of leaving their family. Mhmm. Right? And so, subconsciously, they get rid of it all. This happens a lot to people who who question, why am I always sabotaging myself? Well, it's this this is probably the reason why. Yeah. And so it's it's not because they're evil or bad. It's because they're afraid of losing you. And it's it's important to know that. Speaker 0
And so you're a lot of sense. Yeah. I mean, that's And Speaker 2
it's lonely. It's lonely to leave your tribe. Speaker 0
Yeah. I mean, that makes sense to put you have more of an empathetic empathetic view of of the people who are holding your holding you back. They're not trying to hold you back to hurt you. It is because they love you. And they and if you were in their shoes, you'd probably be doing the same thing. Right? So, I can identify with that. When I I worked for the federal government for fourteen years, the second half of that was I was part time, and I was building my businesses. And, man, so it was not a quick, you know, rip off the Band Aid, you know, jump in with two feet kinda thing into entrepreneurship. But over that seven years, I mean, I I loved a lot of people I worked with. They're great people, but there was such a just a pull on me, you you know, in two very different directions, and I felt very held back, not by any one person. Like like, it was a personal thing, but I just felt like they just don't understand what I'm even thinking about right now. It's a it's it's a different mindset, literally. And eventually, eventually, I did, did quit a couple years ago, which has been which has been great. But, absolutely, this they're they're very good people not trying to hurt me at all. They know their world, and they and, yeah, that's a great way to look at it. They didn't wanna lose me and lose not that not that it's all about me, but, yeah, I have a lot less contact with with my coworkers now. So that makes a lot of sense. They're operating out of love and and fear and and and a combination of those two. Besides your book and your nine books, doctor Brad, what other book would you recommend, to our listener? Speaker 2
Well, I I don't remember the author's name. You can look it up, but it's Sapiens. This is the book that I read. I reread this book every year. It's just called Sapiens. And it really talks about well, it really talks about sort of inner subjective reality. And I I don't wanna go too far on this, but but, essentially, we are making up so many stories about everything in our life. And what what's mind blowing about that, that's that's actually how human beings became the dominant species, by the way, is our ability to make up stories. Right? Speaker 2
You know, oh, like, we need to all get together for this one reason. You know? And it's all it's all sort of made up. But what is so fascinating about that is if you if you can really deeply understand that as a human being, you are wired to just make up stories all the time. Speaker 2
It's a light bulb moment for you because you can then look at your life right now and realize, oh my gosh. I've made up all the stories that are running through my head right now. Mhmm. Those stories are giving me the results I'm getting in my life. Mhmm. If I'm not happy with those results, maybe I should come up with a different story. And once you have that awareness Yeah. Speaker 2
course, you need to search for what story I should come up with. And by the way, that's a fun search, you know, that read books, study people who are living the life you wanna live. But for me, that I I revisit that one every year just to remind myself to to think about what is the story I'm making up about my wife today because I'm kinda irritated her. You know? So what story am I making up? And is this a good story? Is this gonna help me, or is it gonna hurt me? Speaker 0
Well, that's really cool because it's empowering and and it you know, you talked about the stories. And, Adrian, earlier, you talked about the video games and and, essentially, how a lot of this could be approached like a like a game and you're playing a game. You know, this is obviously a little more real than just, turning off the PlayStation or whatever. But, so I like that, though, because we they're both empowering viewpoints. They're both empowering mindsets where you can you can approach. You have a lot of influence over your own your own life and and what what happens with that. Adrian, how about a book or two that you could recommend? Speaker 3
For sure, the book that has continues to make the biggest impact, in my life is the four hour work week by Tim Farris. Mhmm. And I think I it's it's so popular. I almost, like, don't like saying it because it's almost so cliche. But what I'll mention is that's super relevant because although that book is geared towards online business, the thing that I feel like I still implement, it's like an ingrained mindset, is this idea that I don't have to do everything in my business. And so if you think of, like, whoever the president, whoever it is in present at any point in time, they're the president of entire country, but and they manage that, right, to the best of their abilities, but they have so much people and staff. And I think and we take a Fortune five hundred CEOs, they have people. They have assistants. And so all all this the four Hour Workweek concept is, like, is part of the problem of being entrepreneurs that people sell the dream of you get financial freedom and time. But a lot of entrepreneurs I know are trapped inside their business. Instead of working forty hours a week, they're working eighty. And out of ego, they say, well, I'd rather work eighty for myself. It's like, not me. I don't wanna work eighty ever. Speaker 3
In in order to do that, I have to have someone actually read my emails before they get to me, or else that sucks up a lot of my time. I need I need an assistant. I need someone who's posting my content. I need someone who's researching collaboration. So I have people that are doing these things that, I I'm not doing, although I've trained them how to do. And and that that I think is the true essence of the four hour where we it's not online entrepreneurship. You can make a lot of money online. Mhmm. I think the most powerful thing is, like, you you need to let go and you need to outsource, and that's how you streamline where when you go to bed, you've got people still thinking and how how do I make Jamie more more money Speaker 3
more deals. When you wake up, then you have more that momentum never stops. So I think that's something I I think about. And I I'll just mention very briefly. I think I realized after I was living in the van and I moved, and I'm here in Austin, Texas, I remember we we got a house and stuff, and, my businesses were so four hour work week optimized, and my personal life wasn't. So I I would cook, then I would clean, and I was like, wait wait a second. Like and I was doing these chores, and I was doing yardboards. Like, how did I, like, create financial freedom so I could do chores? No. So then Right. So then, like, then I got, you know, it's like the same concept. It was like, do how do you wanna spend your life after you've achieved financial freedom? Do you wanna do it? Do you wanna be spending it doing chores and cooking? And I've I even we have a chef, and we have, a cleaner. We have a house admin. Like and these are all things, like, when you when you start creating income, it's like, I'd rather spend money on that to own my time than buy all these all this stuff. You know? So I think that's again, it's still really awesome book that I think about a lot. Speaker 0
Yeah. I love it. I mean, just because it's popular doesn't mean you it's not good. Right? Speaker 0
yeah, I mean, I imagine your fifty person team is making you money when you're playing pickleball, which is awesome. I I love that. So, let's see. As far as just in your I know you're kinda coming both of you are coming to your industries. You have very different backgrounds. But what's one thing you see that's maybe controversial whether let's say let's say creating content or in the the world of, you know, psychology. I know those are two massive massive industries, but what's something that you disagree with that's controversial that you see a lot of today? Either one of you can hop in on that one. Speaker 3
Wait. Brad, I don't know if you wanna do this, but there was one chapter in the book that we did disagree on, and and we had different perspectives, and it was actually about real estate. Speaker 0
Okay. I like that. That's what was that? If you're if you're good with it, doctor Brad Speaker 2
Yeah. Sure. Cool. Speaker 2
Well well, so, anyway, this chapter, we talk about, it it's controversial. We're basically saying, you know, giving all the data on going to college and marriage and buying a house and and millionaire status. Right? So you don't have to do any one of those things, but it is associated with being much wealthier overall. And so Adrian got all nerded out. You know, usually, I'm the nerd, and he got his spreadsheets out. And he's he made a very compelling case that's really difficult to argue with, in terms of the spreadsheet on that renting is actually a better financial move for you than buying a house. Mhmm. And so he and I, had a fun discussion and and sort of battle with their because I I definitely come from the psychology side where I think that the home what it does for most Americans is it's for savings. So it locks money away in something that you can't just go blow on shit, which is what most people would do. Yeah. But but I think the the point of that chapter, I think, is to, you know, should do are married people richer? Yes. Absolutely. Like, you know, between twenty five and thirty five, they're ten x richer than single people. Now should you get married? Well, that's entirely up to you because divorce will wipe you out. You know? Yeah. And same thing with college. Like, the average college grad, we can say that everything's changed, but they make one point two million more during their lifetime. Like, that's and, by the way, those are numbers from, like, today, you know, when they study those things. But is college a good idea? Well, look. I make videos on the worst college degrees. You can you can go spend fifty thousand on a college degree that pays less than minimum wage, and I think that's a horrible idea for everybody, unless your parents are rich. So Right. It really we we were trying not to give advice because we don't know you. We don't know the listener. Speaker 0
No. That's okay. Speaker 2
But we're just trying to give the facts and have people think it through so they can make a conscious decision. Speaker 0
And I like that you're not you I mean, and I do note investing mentorship, one on one mentorship with people, and that's one of the key components to our program is I don't know where you're coming from, and I don't know where you wanna go. So let's let's not slap a one size fits all, you know, solution on you. Let's talk about this and let's so I can get a better understanding of where you're coming from and where you wanna go. Adrian, do you, you disagree with anything doctor Brad just said? Speaker 3
No. Well, he he mentioned it. It was it was the the home aspect. So people in the in the fire movement specifically and I and me living in advance living proof that, like Speaker 3
Like, your home although I think Brad phrase it perfectly is, like, for the smart investor, I would say everyone that's listening here, you guys are the smart investors. You you could live efficiently off rent and the difference between all the extra phantom cost of of adding a home. Instead of going and spending that, you go invest that. Right. But that's not what the normal average does. Speaker 0
Consumer is the average American. Right. Speaker 3
And so so so Brad's point is a really great point of, you know, it it it's forced savings into that into that mortgage. Speaker 3
And, but on paper, it's I I went through so much research and, like, and data to prove that. Speaker 3
If on paper, if we tee up the emotion, which is possible, like, it's better to rent and then invest. You make better return. But Gotcha. I think that was that was the thing. I'm curious on on your take, Jamie. Speaker 0
Yeah. No. I I think and it look. It's this is gonna sound like a cop out, but I think for someone like you, Adrian, it probably makes more sense to rent, you know, because you are smart with your money. But I think for most people, they're not going to save and and or invest the difference. They're gonna they're gonna waste it. So Yeah. I think for most people, owning a home does make sense because of that forced savings element. And also on the school point, you know, that's a tough one because, I mean, my daughter's gonna go to college most likely. You know, I'm you know, we're gonna we're gonna pay for that, and it's I think that's gonna be a good investment for her. Is it it's a chicken or the egg kinda thing. It's a correlation kinda thing. You know? They I studied some some criminology back in the day, and I remember learning that, crime goes up when the ice cream sales go up. And, you know, is is does one is one causing the other? Of course not. It's you know, during the summer, there just tends to be more of of both. I could argue that people go to college or get an advanced degree or multiple degrees like doctor Brad has because they're smart and driven, and those people would be successful without those degrees. It's not that they got the degree that that that this would cause them to be successful. So, yeah, it's, we're back to if there's not one, you know, one answer for everyone and everyone is different. Speaker 2
But but I'll say this. Nobody has ever commit committed a crime while eating ice cream. So that's the one thing Speaker 0
possibly do that? That's a that's a great point. A friend of mine has a real estate podcast called ice cream with investors, and and, that's that's the first, part the first segment is they talk about your favorite ice cream and everything. I mean, how can you not have a great conversation when you're having ice cream? Right? How about the the role of luck, Adrianne, the role of luck in success, what is luck real? Do you make your own luck? What's your what's your take on luck? Speaker 3
I don't know if I believe in in luck. I I think I shared this the other day when I was talking to Brad is Brad and I probably have combined created ten thousand videos online. Wow. And out of those twenty five or sorry. Out of those ten thousand, I think I have, like, twenty five that went viral. I'm talking, like, millions and millions of views. So and so split fifty fifty, five thousand videos, twenty five actually went viral, and most of them probably have, you know, ten thousand views or less, on on average. Speaker 3
looked I looked up right before actually, in prep for some podcast. I've had a hundred and eighty three million views on on my TikTok. Speaker 3
This the so, like, I think effort, you know, effort is the is the thing I I try to focus on. And and the more effort I I'm gonna keep posting because I I I have optimism that if I'm if I'm in the I'm doing this right strategy, it's gonna create success. I I'm not banking that I had a viral video, which is like trying to hope for luck to happen. Mhmm. I don't create content to go viral. I create content to create value. And maybe one of those is gonna blow up. And, of course, does that help everything? Absolutely. What like, that those were my highest record income days and followers and leads and business opportunities. Like, of course. I wish it would happen all the time. But I know that if I I I focus on the strategy long term, you know, so I know yeah. It's a tough one for me because, like, I don't know if I believe I'm not I'm not thinking about that luck. I'm thinking about, am I doing the right thing in strategy? And that's, for me, as a content creator, keep creating, creep keep, adding value. Speaker 0
Well, it's it sounds like you're building off of the the work ethic that your parents gave you early on, and you're putting yourself in the in the right position to get lucky, but that's not your focus. But if you keep showing up consistently, put keep like you said, focusing on adding value and serving others, luck has a way of finding finding you. Anything to add there, doctor Brad? Speaker 2
Yeah. So, you know, one one perspective on luck that, I think about all the time is how incredibly lucky we are, frankly, to be here in the United States at this time in history. And, obviously, I can't control any of that, but, I know I have friends and and clients who are in Europe and and European country. I'm not gonna name it, but he's like, you there is a zero percent probability you can go from poor to rich in this country. You cannot you cannot start a business unless you're connected politically Mhmm. Or you have affiliations with organized crime. I mean and and so so I think it's really, really I remind myself all the time of of this incredible land of opportunity. Sure. And to to whatever degree, if you're here, you're blessed you're more blessed than ninety nine point nine nine nine percent of people who've ever lived on earth. Speaker 2
And so part of that can't control. But but I'm a firm believer in making my own luck, including my bad luck. Like, when the so the studies that we've done on ultra wealthy people is they are more likely to blame themselves for their bad luck. They're like, okay. So something bad happened. What did I do to contribute to this? What did I miss? And if you're not asking yourself those questions, you're doomed to have bad luck the rest of your life. Speaker 0
It's a great point. Awesome. Alright. These are gonna be real rapid fire, and then we'll get out of here. We'll we'll go back and forth. Adrian, if you could go back and give your eighteen year old self some advice, what would that be? Speaker 3
U YouTube. Like, day one, learn YouTube. Don't be afraid. Speaker 0
Love that. Doctor Brad, if you were given ten million dollars tomorrow, I know you guys asked a similar question. What would you do with it? Speaker 2
I would invest all of it, and I would immediately start taking about four hundred thousand a year, to, Speaker 0
spend. Awesome. Adrian, what is one challenge that you're facing in your business? Maybe maybe you're working five hours a week instead. I'm just kidding. What's what's the challenge you're facing in your in your business right now? Speaker 3
I have a software, called Bramify, which, is like a all in one solution for, running your online business. And, it's six months in, and churn rate, is, like, ten percent. So, we're losing ten percent of customers every time. We have, we've had we have twelve hundred customers right now. And so, like, I super new. What do I what how do I keep people on and stay on and making sure that the platform is adding value? That, man, if someone wants to hit me up with the answer to Speaker 0
Awesome. Doctor Brad, if you could start a business tomorrow, what would that be? Speaker 2
Oh, I would definitely first of all, I'd wanna have some some glide time. You know? Like, so Adrian and I, we're not the type to go take out loans to start businesses because most businesses fail. Yeah. But I would start a, frankly, consulting business on helping professionals Mhmm. Utilize social media to create personal brands and increase their income. That's probably a business I would start. Speaker 0
That makes sense. You've you alluded to that earlier, Adrian, as far as the asymmetric bets and where if if it goes south, you know, you maybe lost some time and effort, but not millions of dollars. Adrian, what's one question that you wish I'd asked you that I haven't? Speaker 3
I think how much money do you need to be happy? Speaker 3
I I think I well, this is only this is only my answer. Speaker 3
So everyone's answer is different, but I believe that if you have the freedom of time and the freedom of choice, you may I think that whatever the money it is for you to do those things, because I truly believe objects don't bring us happiness. They bring us sadness. Like, every object you own actually owns you. So with that mindset, I think for me, I just need enough money to if I and I and by the way, I'm not saying live in a van. I'm saying, like, if I if I wanna if I wanna go to Ireland, which I lived for a year because I just missed my friends over there, I can fly to Ireland, tomorrow. Like, that's still freedom. That's, like, there's still a lot of money that I need to do that. But the the that freedom of choice, the freedom to pursue an art right now, you know, we have a book coming out. Maybe I'd this is on my first book. What I love it so far. What if I when I'm on my ninth book, like, Brad, I'm like, I hate this. I never wanna write a book again. And and, I'm not trapped to it that I have the freedom to change. Mhmm. Speaker 3
so so, like, I think that freedom, whatever that number is, that's that's my answer because I think that freedom is is empowering, and I I can choose, to spend my time however I'd like, whoever I'd like to spend it with. Speaker 0
Is there a number that, you don't have to give it, but for you, is there a number? Speaker 3
Oh, like a specific number? Speaker 0
Worth the number that that, Speaker 3
you I I feel like my cost of living right now, is fifteen thousand a month, and I and I I I live off, like, my investments pay for that. So for me, like, I'm my my I'm not living higher than fifteen thousand dollars a month, and I haven't for a long time despite income. So I would say that's that's my number. Speaker 0
That's good. Doctor Brad, what is the biggest psychological barrier that you are facing right now? Speaker 2
The biggest barrier that I'm facing is, essentially, it all comes down to locus of control. And so, successful people have an internal control. They're blaming themselves for for things. I'm always looking to blame myself for more and more things. And if you can find something, that I could change in my thinking, because to me, it's super empowering, and we all have blind spots related to it. Like, I feel like I'm I'm functioning pretty well, but I know I must be missing something. Like, is there a different way I can look at something? Is there some other way I can take, you know, even more responsibility for something in my life? Because I find it not shaming. I find it incredibly empowering. Speaker 0
I love that. That's really good. Adrian, where can our listeners find you online? Speaker 3
Right now, if you wanna learn more from Brad and myself, start thinking rich dot com. I can't believe we own that domain for our book, which is awesome. But it has I think our book, that's the best way if you like mindsets. Maybe I feel like, especially with your listeners, Jamie, they might not need our book. They sound like they're super savvy audience, but maybe you guys know someone who who aspires to change. Maybe you guys would know someone to recommend it. But, on that page, you'll find links to to Brad and I. And we also have a a special page, if we're just listeners that come from, this podcast. So that's gonna be start thinking rich dot com slash jamie. And then and then we're we're gonna try to make the context of, like, some bonus offers that are more relevant, for for your audience here too. Speaker 0
I love that. I mean, I would challenge that a little bit in in the sense of I mean, I think everyone needs a you know, it's a it's you're never you've never arrived. Right? So you always need that that that growth and that that reminder even if your book, has some fundamental truths that my listeners are are familiar with and have, implement daily, they still need that exposure to those those harsh truth and truths. And you said you come at a come at things in a in a in a challenging way, so I'm excited to read the book myself. Doctor Brad, anything to add as far as, where to find you online? Speaker 2
Nope. That's it. You can, find us on any of your social media platforms too, at doctor briar klants, at brambilabong, or at adrian brambilas. So we're we're there pumping out videos, trying to get in your head. Speaker 0
Yeah. I love what you guys are doing. It's such a you know, it's not a soft approach like you said. It's challenging, you know, which is what we need. We need real conversation, not not this beating around the bush, you know, soft approach here. It's it's hard hitting truth, but you're trying to help people and you're adding value. And, clearly, you know, money does matter. Right? It's not it's not something to pretend. We shouldn't be pretending that money has no value. It does matter. But it's not all about collecting toys and and and just, you know, gaining, you know, the number of things you own. And the it's it's like you said, Adrienne, it's about options and being able to control your time and do what you wanna do and and serve others through that abundance mindset. I love it. Guys, thank you so much for for joining us. This has been great. Speaker 3
Dude, thanks so much for having us. It was a blast. Speaker 0
And to the listener out there, thank you for joining us. Please check out our website, adversity to abundance dot com. That's the number two, adversity to abundance. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend. Thanks all. Take care. Speaker 1
Thank you for joining us on from adversity to abundance. We hope today's episode has equipped you with valuable insights and practical advice to elevate your real estate journey. For more inspiring stories and resources, visit us at w w w dot adversity to abundance dot com. If this episode has inspired you, please share it with a friend who could also benefit from our conversation. Together, let's turn adversity into abundance. Until next time, keep building your mental fitness and your real estate empire.