🎙️ The School of Greatness: This Simple 5 Step Program Builds Lasting Financial Freedom

Transform Your Financial Future Through Mindset Shifts and Strategic Wealth Building

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One-Sentence Takeaway

Building lasting financial freedom requires transforming your money mindset from scarcity to abundance and following a systematic five-step approach to convert earned income into generational wealth.

Brief Summary

In this eye-opening episode of The School of Greatness, Lewis Howes sits down with financial expert Jaspreet Singh to dismantle conventional wisdom about money and reveal a proven system for building lasting wealth. Singh, founder of Minority Mindset, exposes how our economic system is designed to keep people poor and why 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck despite having sufficient income.

The conversation begins with the psychological foundations of wealth, exploring how decades of conditioning creates limiting money beliefs that sabotage financial success before introducing his revolutionary five-step wealth building system. Singh breaks down the critical difference between making money and building wealth, revealing why high-income professionals like doctors earning $500,000 can still be broke.

Through practical frameworks like the 75-15-10 plan and the "middle man" investment strategy, he provides a roadmap that works regardless of income level. The episode addresses the emotional challenges of investing, the best asset classes for 2024 and beyond, and the three biggest financial mistakes to avoid in uncertain economic times. This is a masterclass in transforming your relationship with money and building lasting financial freedom.

Frameworks & Models

The Five-Step Wealth Building System:
A systematic approach to converting income into lasting wealth:
- Earn Money: Generate income through any means (job, business, side hustle)
- Don't Spend All Your Money: Create a gap between earnings and spending
- Buy Investments: Use the gap to purchase assets (the "middle man")
- Reinvest Returns: Put investment earnings back into your investments
- Increase Income: Work to earn more to invest more "Becoming wealthy comes down to five steps. You got to earn money, not spend all of it, buy investments, reinvest what those investments make, and work to make more money to invest more."
The 75-15-10 Plan:
A simple allocation system for every dollar earned:
- 75% Maximum Spending: The highest percentage to spend on living expenses
- 15% Minimum Investing: The baseline to allocate toward investments
- 10% Minimum Saving: The foundation for emergency funds and opportunities "For every dollar that I earn, 75 cents is the maximum that I can spend. 15 cents is the minimum I'm putting aside to invest. 10 cents is the minimum I'm putting aside to save."
The Money Mindset Framework:
Four core beliefs that transform financial reality:
- It is my duty to become wealthy: Take responsibility for your financial future
- Money is abundant: Recognize there's enough wealth for everyone
- Money is a tool: Understand money as a means, not an end
- I will become wealthy: Commit to wealth as an inevitable outcome "Number one is it is my duty to become wealthy. Number two is that money is abundant. Number three is money is a tool. And number four is I will become wealthy."
The Subconscious Belief Hierarchy:
The four layers that determine financial outcomes:
- Outcome: Financial freedom (what most people focus on)
- Action: What you do with money (investing vs. spending)
- Thought: What you think about money (conscious mindset)
- Pre-thought/Subconscious: Deep-seated beliefs about money (the real foundation)"What's before the thought? I call this your subconscious or your pre-thought. Where this is now really getting into your true beliefs, not just your thought, your true subconscious beliefs."
The Snowball Wealth Effect:
Visual representation of compound growth:
- Start Small: Begin with whatever amount you can invest
- Initial Slow Growth: Early stages show minimal progress
- Accelerating Returns: Growth compounds as the investment base expands
- Exponential Growth: Eventually reaches rapid wealth accumulation "When you want to build a snowman, you start with a small snowball. In the beginning, you're not seeing any growth. But if you keep rolling, it starts to get a little bigger. Then once it gets bigger, every time you turn the snowball, it gets a lot bigger, a lot quicker."

Insights

The Economic System is Designed to Keep People Poor:
Our financial education and consumer culture actively work against wealth building. "Our economic system is designed to keep people poor. We're taught to go to school, to get a job and spend our money. We're never taught what to do with that money." The system trains people to make others rich rather than building their own wealth.
Making Money is Not the Same as Building Wealth:
High income doesn't guarantee financial security. "There's a difference between making more money and building wealth. Some people who have made millions and millions of dollars died with nothing in their name, died being broke and lived broke." Building wealth requires systematic investing, not just earning.
Subconscious Beliefs Determine Financial Outcomes:
Your deep-seated money beliefs sabotage conscious efforts to build wealth. "The real reason why generation or poverty is generational, isn't because of the circumstances that you're dealt with externally. It's because you grow up being told, we can't have this, we can't afford nice things." These beliefs form before conscious thoughts and drive financial behavior.
The Beginning of Wealth Building is the Hardest:
Early investing requires discipline with minimal visible rewards. "The beginning part sucks. There's no way around it. You got to start by spending less money. You got to start by investing your money. And you see no returns because the markets might be going up, they might be going down." Most people quit before reaching the accelerating growth phase.
Emotional Decision Making Destroys Investment Returns:
Psychological factors cause most investment losses. "90% of people lose money in the stock market. Over the last century, the stock market has gone up by an average of 10% a year. Yet most people are losing money." The difference is emotional reactions to market fluctuations rather than long-term strategic thinking.
Home Ownership is Not the Only Path to Wealth:
The American dream has been distorted by financial institutions. "We demonize the wrong things. People coming at this from a good perspective that you have to own a home to build wealth. But there's also a difference between making more money and building wealth." Renting and investing the difference can sometimes build wealth faster than homeownership.
Attention Economy Drives Poor Financial Decisions:
Media manipulation triggers emotional investment decisions. "In order to get somebody to click, that's the only way you're going to make money, right? You've got to get somebody to actually watch your stuff. You create an emotion." Financial media creates urgency that leads to buying high and selling low.
Winter is Always Coming — Prepare in Advance:
Economic downturns create opportunities for the prepared. "You don't start getting prepared during the downturn. You got to start preparing before bad things happen. When times are good." Financial preparation during prosperous times positions you to capitalize on recessions.
The "Who Not How" Principle Applies to Finance:
Success depends more on who you learn from than how you invest. "If somebody doesn't have what it is that you want, you probably shouldn't listen to them on how to get where you want to go." Seek financial guidance from those who have achieved the results you desire.
Wealth Building is a Matter of Priorities:
Financial success requires choosing future security over present consumption. "Life is really a matter of priorities. If building wealth is really a priority, that means you're going to have to de-prioritize some other things that you're spending money on." Every financial decision reflects your true priorities.

Quotes

On the Economic System:

"Our economic system is designed to keep people poor. We're taught to go to school, to get a job and spend our money. We're never taught what to do with that money."
On Money Mindset:

"Number one is it is my duty to become wealthy. Number two is that money is abundant. Number three is money is a tool. And number four is I will become wealthy."
On Making vs. Building Wealth:

"There's a difference between making more money and building wealth. Some people who have made millions and millions of dollars died with nothing in their name, died being broke and lived broke."
On Generational Poverty:

"The real reason why generation or poverty is generational, isn't because of the circumstances that you're dealt with externally. It's because you grow up being told, we can't have this, we can't afford nice things."
On the 75-15-10 Plan:

"For every dollar that I earn, 75 cents is the maximum that I can spend. 15 cents is the minimum I'm putting aside to invest. 10 cents is the minimum I'm putting aside to save."
On Investment Psychology:

"90% of people lose money in the stock market. Over the last century, the stock market has gone up by an average of 10% a year. Yet most people are losing money."
On Wealth Building Difficulty:

"The beginning part sucks. There's no way around it. You got to start by spending less money. You got to start by investing your money. And you see no returns because the markets might be going up, they might be going down."
On Financial Priorities:

"Life is really a matter of priorities. If building wealth is really a priority, that means you're going to have to de-prioritize some other things that you're spending money on."
On Home Ownership:

"We demonize the wrong things. People coming at this from a good perspective that you have to own a home to build wealth. But there's also a difference between making more money and building wealth."
On Economic Preparation:

"You don't start getting prepared during the downturn. You got to start preparing before bad things happen. When times are good."

Habits

Mindset Reprogramming:
Transform limiting money beliefs through daily practice:
- Repeat the four money mindset statements daily
- Identify and challenge inherited money beliefs
- Visualize wealth as abundant and achievable
Automated Wealth Building:
Implement the 75-15-10 plan systematically:
- Set up automatic transfers to investment accounts
- Track spending to ensure it stays below 75% of income
- Review and increase investment percentages with income growth
Financial Education Immersion:
Continuously expand financial knowledge:
- Dedicate 30 minutes daily to financial education
- Study successful investors' strategies and biographies
- Learn from multiple sources to avoid biased perspectives
Emotional Regulation Practice:
Develop discipline to avoid emotional financial decisions:
- Implement a 24-hour rule for major financial decisions
- Create pre-defined investment criteria and stick to them
- Practice viewing market downturns as opportunities
Wealth Priority Alignment:
Ensure financial decisions reflect wealth-building priorities:
- Conduct monthly spending reviews to identify non-essential expenses
- Calculate the long-term cost of discretionary purchases
- Regularly remind yourself of financial goals and timelines
Opportunity Fund Development:
Maintain capital for investment opportunities:
- Build and preserve an emergency fund separate from investments
- Keep a portion of savings liquid for market opportunities
- Develop criteria for identifying worthwhile investments
Income Growth Focus:
Continuously work to increase earning capacity:
- Invest in skills development with high ROI potential
- Explore multiple income streams beyond primary employment
- Track and measure the return on time and money investments

Sources

Foundational Concepts

Generational wealth and poverty cycles
Economic systems and financial education gaps
Compound interest and investment mathematics
Consumer psychology and spending behavior
Market cycles and economic downturn patterns

Business Frameworks

The five-step wealth building system
75-15-10 allocation methodology
Subconscious belief hierarchy model
Snowball effect visualization of compound growth
"Who not how" principle for financial guidance

Financial Principles

Asset allocation and diversification strategies
Risk management in investment portfolios
Long-term vs. short-term investment approaches
Passive income generation through assets
Tax efficiency in wealth building

Economic Research

Historical market performance data
Consumer spending statistics and trends
Homeownership vs. renting financial comparisons
Inflation impact on wealth preservation
Interest rate effects on investment returns

Case Studies

High-income professionals who remain broke
Successful investors who started with little capital
Market downturn recovery patterns
Generational wealth transfer examples
Economic crisis opportunity capitalization

Resources

Core Books & Frameworks

Make Money Easy by Jaspreet Singh – Practical guide to transforming relationship with money
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki – Mindset shift around assets and liabilities
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel – Understanding behavioral aspects of finance
The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins – Long-term investment strategies
Minority Mindset YouTube channel – Financial education content

Assessment Tools

Money mindset assessment tools
Financial health calculators
Investment risk tolerance questionnaires
Retirement planning calculators
Debt elimination strategizers

Investment Platforms

Index fund providers (Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab)
Real estate investment platforms
Robo-advisors for automated investing
Cryptocurrency exchanges for diversified exposure
Small business investment platforms

Educational Resources

Financial literacy courses (Coursera, Khan Academy)
Investment newsletters and research services
Economic analysis publications
Personal finance blogs and podcasts
Community forums for financial discussion

Conclusion

Jaspreet Singh delivers a transformative blueprint for financial freedom that begins not with tactics but with mindset. This episode reveals that building lasting wealth requires first dismantling the limiting beliefs inherited from family, society, and an economic system designed to keep people financially dependent.

Singh's five-step wealth building system: earn, don't spend it all, buy investments, reinvest returns, and earn more to invest more. This simple yet powerful framework that works regardless of income level. The 75-15-10 plan offers immediate actionable guidance, while the money mindset framework addresses the psychological foundations that determine financial success.

Perhaps most valuable is Singh's distinction between making money and building wealth, explaining why high-income earners can remain financially trapped while those with modest incomes can achieve financial freedom. By addressing both the emotional and practical aspects of money management, this episode provides a comprehensive roadmap for escaping the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle that affects 78% of Americans.

As Singh reminds us, "The path to building wealth is not that complicated. You have to have some money. You have to put this money aside for your investments. If you're spending all of your money, you're never going to build wealth." In an era of economic uncertainty, this systematic approach to wealth building is essential for anyone seeking lasting financial freedom.

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