Introduction
Growing up, my mom used to tell me all the time: "Money is evil." Not once, not casually—but on repeat like it was some sacred truth. Her version of financial literacy was extreme frugality, borderline ascetic. I remember family vacations that felt more like budgeting drills than breaks—cheap meals, no drinks, definitely no dessert. Like, what the hell are we even doing on vacation if I have to act like we’re dead broke? That whole setup made zero sense to me.
The Psychology of Financial Conditioning
That kind of conditioning usually sends you in one of two directions: either you become a reckless spender to rebel against it, or you evolve into a cold, calculated operator. I went the second route. I'm still cheap as hell in some ways, but now it’s strategic. If it doesn’t serve the mission or create leverage, I’m not throwing a dollar at it. Every expense has to be a chess move, not a dopamine hit. I’m not interested in looking rich—I’m trying to build actual power.
Rejecting the 9-to-5 Trap
My mom didn’t want me to chase money, but she did want me to chase security—clock-in, clock-out stability with a paycheck and some health insurance. Nah. Fuck that. I saw how much my parents hated their jobs. They were alive but not really living. Just pushing through days with no fire. That scared the hell out of me. I’d rather go broke chasing a vision than be financially “safe” but dead inside.
I’m obsessed with business. Not for status, but because it lights up my brain. It’s how I think, how I breathe. If I go on vacation and don’t read at least one book on business, something feels wrong. That’s not some hustle porn thing—it’s just how I’m wired. Without growth, I rot.
The Worship of the Bag
People get twisted when they treat money like it’s the damn finish line. The goal becomes the lifestyle—the shoes, the car, the clout. But if you build your whole identity around that shit, one slip and you’re spiraling. I’ve watched people crumble because their lifestyle couldn’t flex with their bank account. That’s not wealth. That’s prison.
Money isn’t evil. It's a tool. A weapon. A utility. The problem is people either worship it or fear it. Rarely do they learn to actually use it. Finance is a game, and like any game, it has rules. Leverage. Arbitrage. Compounding. Understand those and you stop being a pawn.
The Debt Game
Debt gets a bad rap from broke thinkers. Not all debt is bad. Buying brunch on a credit card is dumb. But taking on strategic debt to buy cash-flowing assets? That’s different. That’s how people scale.
One of my boys started with $20K and now owns ten Section 8 properties. He played the equity game, used a HELOC, and reinvested. People say he’s overleveraged. What they really mean is, “I don’t understand what the fuck I’m looking at.” They’ve never opened Excel. They’ve never stress-tested a deal. They operate from fear, not data.
Stuck on Stupid
And here’s the part that drives me crazy: I’ve got friends who know the game. They’ve heard me break it down. They know the tax hacks, the investing plays, the mindset shifts. And they still blow $300 on a weekend, then cry broke on Monday. That’s not ignorance—it’s laziness. It’s comfort addiction. They’d rather feel rich for a night than actually get rich.
The Optics Hustle
Perception matters. That’s just reality. People judge you in seconds. That’s why some folks flex before they have it—it’s marketing. Drake copped a Rolls-Royce with his last dollar just to look like he made it. Neil Patel found that luxury fits closed more deals. Welcome to the optics economy.
I wear replicas. Real talk. Not because I care about flexing, but because I know how humans work. People listen differently when they think you have money. It’s a cheat code. But if you forget it’s a game—if you start believing your own cosplay—you’re screwed. You end up chasing a lifestyle that owns you. That's how people go broke trying to impress broke people.
Building for Real
So what’s the move?
Live below your means. Kill your ego. Build a gap between income and lifestyle. Learn how to move capital. Study the real players—the ones with longevity, not just noise. Stop copying people who are all sizzle and no stake.
There are a million ways to build: businesses, real estate, content, IP, investing. But you need long-term eyes and delayed gratification. Play for freedom, not flex.
Bigger Than the Bag
For me, this was never just about money. My mission is way bigger. I want to help humanity level the fuck up. I think about the Kardashev scale—the idea that we can evolve as a civilization. Type 0 to Type 1. That shit keeps me up at night. I don’t think we get there through tech alone—we get there by leveling up people. Through education. Through empowerment. Through thinking bigger.
More creators. More builders. Fewer followers.
The future won’t be secured by louder flexes. It’ll be built by quiet killers—people who know how to use tools like money to build systems that outlive them.
So yeah, money is evil.
But only if you never fucking learn how to master it.