You know the story…Guy lives in a mansion with five luxury cars and a wife who looks like a swimsuit model. He posts videos on Insta where he talks about the lavish lifestyle he enjoys while driving in a car with the Ferrari logo strategically in focus. He speaks about the time when he lived on a friend’s couch, broke and without direction. He recalls how he didn’t have a clue how he would turn things around, but always believed in himself and never gave up on his dreams. He says that he is glad he went through such difficult times because it makes him more grateful for the incredible wealth he enjoys today. He shares images of exotic vacations and private jets and says with conviction that all he wants to do today is help other people achieve their dreams – the way he did. What a guy!
Of course, we all know how the story ends. For a small fee, you can attend a seminar where he will show you the secrets to his phenomenal success. Okay, not so bad, but the first seminar only gives you a taste, and it leads to a special one-of-a-kind workshop that is even more exclusive – and more expensive. It goes on and on from there, upsell after upsell, eventually leading to the ultimate level. The crème de la crème, where you finally learn how to make a fortune doing, you guessed it, selling success seminars of your own.
It’s astonishing to me how many seemingly smart people continue to fall prey to scams like this. But it’s not about intelligence. The reason guys like this exist is because so many people have no idea what money is all about.
This past week, I posted on Facebook the following message:
I know some wealthy people. I mean some REALLY wealthy people. Not one of them has ever posted a picture of themselves in front of a mansion with Rolls Royce cars in the driveway. They just don’t. Conmen in get-rich-quick infomercials are who do that…
The post got a ton of engagement. While a few people misinterpreted the message as a critique of people who celebrate their success, the remarks I received were mostly positive and insightful. One person said “a lion doesn’t need to tell you he’s a lion”, and another said “rich is loud, but wealth whispers”. I liked both of those, but the intended message was more cautionary. I was trying to say that there are a lot of swindlers pretending to be rich and selling snake oil – so be careful. That said, I think the comments I received on Facebook may have been driving to an even more basic question: What is wealth?
Depending on our backgrounds, our perceptions of wealth may vary. Most people stumble when asked what they truly want out of life. They can’t give a concise answer. For me, I define wealth as having the financial means to live the life I was destined to live. That may sound lofty, but in my mind, wealth is about freedom…freedom and time. There is a line in the movie Wall Street where Gordon Gekko describes success as being “rich enough not to waste time”. The Gekko character wasn’t intended to be a pillar of wisdom, but I thought that was a pretty deep thought, and it stuck in my head for years. Having the time and freedom to do the things I love and am passionate about. In a nutshell, that’s wealth to me, and it includes being in a position to help people who are less fortunate as well as living a consequential life – that matters. That’s just me, it’s not the same for everyone. Do I want a nice house and a comfortable lifestyle? Sure, but those things are more tactical to me. In other words, they are part of a bigger picture but they aren’t in themselves the goal. The articulation of the goal matters a great deal. I once read that some kids set their goals to play in the NBA, and if they don’t make it, the skills they acquired along the way such as shooting and dribbling a basketball aren’t very useful for any other career. Other kids set their goal to be the next Bill Gates, and if they don’t make it, the skills they acquired along the way such as coding and executive skills are useful for a number of great careers. You can aspire to play professional sports, but your goals should be larger and more substantial than just playing a game well.
If your goals are clear and more evolved than having material things, you will be much happier and you will eventually also have the material things you want and need, but your actions need to be consistent. I guarantee you, if you asked Jordan Belfort from the movie, the Wolf of Wall Street, what was the most important thing to him, he probably would have said something like “spending time with his family”. He might have even meant it, but that’s not what his actions demonstrated. It’s not only what is in your mind, it’s how it is personified in your actions.
Most people spend a majority of their life chasing things that in the end won’t provide them with much happiness. That’s why so many of them fall for get-rich scams. They aren’t clear about what truly matters. We all have a destiny; some people call it living their best life. Does it include driving a Rolls Royce and living in a mansion? Maybe…but it certainly doesn’t have to. My wife’s best life is being the best mother possible to our kids, which includes having the means to visit our daughter in NYC whenever she wants, attend all of our son’s college basketball games, and of course, spoiling our new granddaughter. The Gekko character also says “the most valuable commodity I know is information” – in this case, I disagree. Time and freedom are the most valuable commodities on earth…and money, if you have a mature understanding, can provide you with an abundance of both. If you haven’t read the NAHREP 10 in a while, take a look at it. It was written with a lot of these ideas in mind.
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.
For years, we’ve been told that mass deportations would mean more jobs and higher wages for U.S.-born workers. But this episode looks at why the opposite may actually be happening. I break down new research showing how immigrant and U.S.-born workers often play complementary roles in the labor market, why removing one group can hurt the other, and how these policies may be making labor shortages, housing challenges, and economic instability even worse. This is a conversation about jobs, economics, and the unintended consequences too many people still refuse to confront.
Something important is shifting, and this episode is about why it matters. For a young and fast-growing community like ours, the rise of AI may be opening doors that were previously harder to reach — not by eliminating every barrier, but by expanding access to knowledge, tools, and opportunity at a scale we’ve never seen before. But access alone won’t determine who wins. This moment calls for strategy, community, and a serious commitment to turning potential into power. The opening is real. What happens next depends on what we do with it.