Click on the red play button to listen to the audio version.
Most people consider themselves either a conservative or a liberal. I think if we forget political parties, which flip their positions on things all of the time, and instead focus on the actual definition of what it means to be a conservative and what it means to be a liberal, we might be able to temper the emotional reactions some of us have with political discourse. In a nutshell, conservatives resist change and prefer tradition. Liberals, on the other hand, advocate for change; they want to see progress occur more quickly. The word conservative means to conserve or maintain, while liberal and progressive means to progress and evolve. Neither is absolute, both expect change; however, liberals want it to happen more rapidly. Understanding that change is the primary differentiator between political parties, also explains why the priorities of the two major political parties tend to evolve.
During the revolutionary war, Conservatives were more loyal to Britain and argued against revolution. They hated and feared the idea of separating from mother England. At the turn of the 20th century, only hard-core liberals believed that women should have the right to vote or that Black people should have the same rights as White people. Most religions are rich in tradition, which appeals to conservatives. Conservatives also believe that the Bible and the U.S. Constitution are evergreen documents that should be taken literally. Liberals believe they are reflective of the eras when they were written and their interpretations should evolve.
I am sure when you think about it, most of us are conservative about some things and liberal about others.
I’ve said this many times: We are all being manipulated by politicians and the media to believe that anyone who differs from us politically is evil and is trying to destroy the country. Frankly, that’s what keeps the money flowing. Nothing inspires political and religious donations more than fear. It’s what keeps us glued to cable TV news. Very few people can clearly explain why they are part of any political party or whether they are conservative or liberal. They might point to one issue like abortion or civil rights but they can’t go much further than that. To me, understanding what drives people politically is part of what it means to be politically savvy. All of us can tell who among us are the thinkers and who are the ones that just like being part of a gang – who can only quote talking points that are fed to them from their favorite news outlet. Ask yourself honestly whether you are open to an opposing position on an issue. Try spending a week without CNN or Fox News then ask yourself the same question. Politically savvy people can rise above the noise where they can think clearly and unemotionally.
I know there are some bad people out there, but I think most of us, conservative and liberal, want basically the same things. We want to live in a country that is safe from both foreign and domestic threats and where everyone has a fair chance to live a productive and prosperous life – full stop. Our differences are not about what we want but rather how we get there. Some of us think we need major changes, and we need them now, and others think we need to move more slowly and be more mindful of tradition. In future blogs, I will break down specific issues and will explain why they appeal or repel to conservatives and liberals. I hope that it will lead to a more constructive dialogue for all of us.
I was watching a podcast recently, and something about it rubbed me the wrong way — but it also got my wheels turning. In this episode, I talk about what I love most about being American, why the system that built this country deserves more appreciation than it gets, and why some of the loudest “love it or leave it” voices go strangely quiet when powerful billionaires openly criticize the very system that made their success possible. This is a conversation about America, double standards, and what real patriotism should actually look like.
This April, the Hispanic Wealth Project is launching its High Net Worth Boot Camp, a 10-week intensive built around some of the most valuable wealth-building education I’ve seen. In this episode, I talk about why so many of us need to shift from a worker’s mentality to an owner’s mentality, why economic success has to move from consumption to wealth building, and why building wealth takes knowledge, work, and discipline. The High Net Worth Boot Camp is designed to help close that knowledge gap with modules on securities investing, real estate investments, buying and selling businesses, asset protection, and tax strategies. If building real wealth has ever felt out of reach or unclear, this is the kind of education that can change how we think and what we build.
The data tells a powerful story: Latinos are driving economic growth in America. If Latino Americans were a standalone country, we’d be the fifth-largest economy in the world, and without Latino homebuyers, the number of homeowners in America would have declined in 2025. So why doesn’t it feel like we’re winning? In this episode, I talk about the gap between growth and perception, why we still don’t have enough strong voices shaping the national conversation, and why purchasing power alone is not enough. Growth matters, but wealth matters more. This is a conversation about leadership, visibility, and what it will really take for our community to turn momentum into lasting power.