Jerry Ascencio and I hosted a webinar last week on stock-based investments. It was a well-attended session with great content. Our objective is not to sell people on the stock market, but to help close the knowledge gap about investing in general, and the stock market is an important part of that. Generating income is important, but building wealth is even more important. Wealth is freedom because it gives us the wherewithal to live the life we were destined to live. I’ve said it many times, Latinos have a workers mentality, but have not yet acquired an investor’s mentality. The whole concept behind NAHREP’s Hispanic Wealth Project is to build wealth in our community by acquiring new disciplines. The NAHREP network of real estate professionals are not only in the business of facilitating real estate transactions, they are influencers and trusted advisors in their local communities. If the influencers acquire those new disciplines, the cascading effect can be exponential. In 2021, NAHREP will be organizing investor mastermind groups for our members interested in becoming more sophisticated with real estate and stock-based investing. We have always known that knowledge is power, but I would add, knowledge is wealth.
In this episode, I break down how misinformation continues to shape the way undocumented immigrants are talked about in this country, and why that matters so much. I look at what a recent Dallas Fed report actually says about housing, wages, and jobs, and why some of the loudest headlines got the story wrong. But this is about more than bad reporting. It is about the human cost of turning people into scapegoats, the damage that misinformation does to families and communities, and why ending the division in this country begins with telling the truth.
Latinos make up about 20% of the U.S. population, and our economic power is growing even faster. In this episode, I talk about why that should change the way we see ourselves and the way we move in this country. We are driving household formation, workforce participation, GDP growth, and entrepreneurship, yet too often we still act like spectators instead of stakeholders. This is a conversation about economic power, confidence, and why controlling our narrative and asserting ourselves boldly is not optional — it’s our responsibility.
There are qualities in our community that no data point can fully capture, but this episode is about one of the biggest: grit. I talk about why perseverance, resilience, family, and purpose have always been among the greatest strengths of Hispanics and Latinos, and why those strengths can be a powerful advantage in a world being reshaped by technology, wealth, and access. But grit alone is not enough. If we want to translate all of that talent and determination into lasting economic and political power, we also need stronger networks, better platforms, and more intentional leadership. The opportunity is real. The question is whether we are ready to organize around it.