George Kamel - Codie Sanchez: You're Being Lied To About Getting Rich | Millionaires In Cars Getting Coffee

Episode Date: April 16, 2025

📈 Are you on track with the Baby Steps? Get a free personalized plan. In this episode, I’m taking a spin with entrepreneur and investor Codie Sanchez. Stick around to hear how wealthy people really think, what it takes to build success, and why she’s got beef with the way I order coffee. Next Steps: • 🎥 Watch my video Millionaires in Cars Getting Coffee with @AlexHormozi.  • 💵 Start your free budget today. Download the EveryDollar app! Connect With Our Sponsors: • 🔒 Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe. • 💸 Learn more about opening a high-yield savings account with Laurel Road. Explore More From Ramsey Network: 🎙️ The Ramsey Show 🍸 Smart Money Happy Hour 💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights 🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show 💡 The Rachel Cruze Show 🪑 Front Row Seat with Ken Coleman 📈 EntreLeadership   Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I think your bank account is a direct representation of the size of problems you solve and how fast you move. Oh, we say that again. Stop trying to tell people that the goal is just money. The goal is money, which equals freedom, which allows you to pick your impact, which allows you to feel like that the reason that you breathe is worthwhile. What are your thoughts about these passive income streams? I'm like, dude, it's no work. You just go collect all the money from the laundromat and call it a day. Yeah, passive income doesn't exist.

I think young people need to figure out that thing in them that loves the game as opposed to upset. on, can I do the least amount of work to make the most amount of money? I have a bone to pick because I saw this video where you said, if it takes you a long time to order a coffee, drink, you're a loser. Paraphrasing. True, we're going to get murdered on the internet for that. Most people think that to become a millionaire, you gotta launch the next big startup or climb some corporate ladder.

But today I'm talking with investor and entrepreneur Cody Sanchez about why most people are wrong. You see, Cody has built multiple businesses, brands, and an impressive net worth by figuring out how to make money work for her instead of the other way around. So today we're gonna find out how the wealthy actually think, plus my bone to pick with Cody, on this edition of Millionaires and Cars getting coffee.

Cody! Hey! Welcome! Well, thanks! This is normal. This is not normal. Okay, I'm so pumped here doing this. How has your experience been so far at the Ramsey headquarters?

Ridiculous. I'm just taking notes of all the things I want to build, so it's been super fun. Well, you've built quite a lot. Now, Dave is big into real estate, and so he likes a big physical, campus right in front of your face. How big is your team now?

Like, do you run a lean crew? Yeah, I mean, we've got about 30 full time and maybe another 50 or 60 that are contractors. Wow. And then, but we are just now, we bought headquarters in Austin. It's now too small, like less than a year. You've already outgrown it. I know. That's good problems to have.

So we've got to build a bigger one. But, you know, I do think that he's right in some ways. I think if you are young and hungry, You should get in the physical office. You should get out of your room. You should get out of your house and you should sleep at your house and be in the office. What is your take on remote work? As someone who runs a business?

Listen, is it more fun to be in your pajamas watching Netflix while you're on Zoom calls? Absolutely. I would love that too when I was younger. But isn't going to progress you further and make you more money? Absolutely not. I think remote work is terrible. From a productivity standpoint. Yeah.

It's terrible as a business owner because they're less productive. I don't care what anybody says. All the data is. seems to point for. Most people are less productive remote. Secondly, it's terrible as an employee because your ability to interact with top performers isn't there. Your ability to have those one or two medians that change your entire life, that's not there. And you're just going to progress and get promoted a lot slower being remote than you are in person. Proximity is a real power. So I think remote work is terrible for young people. Boom. Don't at me at Cody Sanchez. You got issues.

with that. That's very true. We're going to get murdered on the internet for that. So you famously started your career in investment banking, and you talk a lot about Wall Street versus Main Street. What did you learn from Wall Street that you feel like the average person like me or people watching? What do they not know that Wall Street knows? If you think that you have to be rich to make money, you're wrong, but you do have to know some rich people or be able to get in front of rich people in order to make money over the long term. I think simply just if you want to make more money, sell things to rich people. They pay more is a baseline statistic for Wall Street.

But that's what it taught me is that overall, you can actually decrease your risk a lot by figuring out how Wall Street does deals. What are your thoughts on Shark Tank in that regard? I think Shark Tank is entertainment. I don't think that Shark Tank is there for people to actually make a lot of money or moves. It's publicity for your business.

It's an incredible, like if you sell a B to C product that you can sell to viewers of Shark Tank, get on there. You can also use it for PR. You can use it for snippets. But if you're going on there with a need to get money from those investors, I think their money is actually not that useful. And maybe what's useful is their expertise and their platform and their backing if you're really clear on how they're going to give it to you. But also, you have to think about like just how much can they diffuse their time. So you can't expect if you do a deal with Mark Cuban that he's going to spend a ton of time with you. So you've got to make sure you structure the

He doesn't work for me full time. just because he struck the deal. Or even maybe at all. Are you ever going to be a guest shark? Would you do it if they asked? I would totally do it. I think it's cool for the next generation to see firsthand how dealmaking gets done.

I think dealmaking is probably the biggest skill set that anybody can learn over time. I mean, hell, it puts somebody in the president's office, which is Donald Trump, whether you like them or not. So dealmaking to me is the most valuable skill you could ever have. And so I like to show people doing that skill live. Because those people are pros. But I don't think you do it, you know, with the idea that that is what is going to catapult your business.

How did you make your first million? Like, was it on the business side or were you working a normal job? I was an employee when I made my first million dollars. I was too big of a was too scared of risk in a different way. And I was scared of, like, myself and thought that maybe I wasn't capable enough. And I couldn't bet on myself. And so I kept my salary for as long as I humanly could and I built on the side. And the reason why is because I thought, you know, what if this doesn't work out?

I need to have a back in. And so I made my first multiple millions of dollars working for other people. And only after I almost got pushed out of a company did I finally leave because I was too scared to just do it all by myself. So you're telling me there was a time where there was a version of Cody Sanchez that had a severe lack of confidence. I grew up with an immigrant mentality, which is, you know, my parents, they thought that I hit the peak. worked at Goldman Sachs. I worked at State Street. I worked in these big financial companies. They can brag about that. A hundred percent. And to go be an entrepreneur, well, they had to be entrepreneurs. They didn't get the opportunity to work at these big companies. And so they thought had versus get seemed like a bad

trade. Oh, so like as immigrants, we don't get jobs at Goldman Sachs. That's not for us. We have to start our own thing from scratch and claw away there. Exactly. And they're like, it's hard. Are you sure you want to do that? That's a lot of risk. And so it was, I suppose it was a lack of confidence. and also a belief that maybe it wasn't as worthwhile as this other thing. Now entrepreneurship and being a founder is like really cool and special. And people don't care if you founded a tech company or any company. We're starting to realize that it's cool. But back when I was starting,

I don't think people thought it was cool to own laundromats. They thought that was pretty lame. Well, yeah, it doesn't really sell on Instagram, but now it's passive income, passive income. I don't have to work at all and I can just have these businesses. But you see this in a different way. What are your thoughts about these passive income streams? I'm like, dude, it's no work.

You just go collect all the money from the laundromat and call it a day. Yeah, passive income doesn't exist. And then I've played around with this before, and I've gotten trouble on the internet for saying, there is a real tax term for passive income. Like, it is a real thing. In the tax code, active versus passive income are real. So I just want to clarify that for everybody. It's a real concept.

It's a real concept. But the idea of I will have to do no work for income at all, I don't believe exists. You have to at least do the work up front in order for you to get a bunch of money and then apply that to some other type of income. And somebody's working on it, even if it's not you. So my laundromats don't, they're not a lot to run, just like we have vending machines. They don't take a lot to run. They're not 40, 50, 60 hour a week gigs. But they definitely take some.

And so I think that's important. Like, set it and forget it seems to me like a trap. And it also seems to me like not what you'd want. You want to work and labor, actually. It makes us happy. But you just don't want to do it on something you don't want to do. So you were on Diary of a CEO, and this was the title. Again, it's YouTube titles, but it said zero to millions in two years without any hard work.

And you were the guest. So where did this come from? I don't know. I mean, you can listen to the interview, too. I was joking with Stephen about it. I'm like, I think I might have said hard work. I think my team flocked it like 22 times during the podcast. Okay. It was in there.

It was in there. So it's a fallacy. So where do you think it's all coming from then? A lot of young people are out there going, I just want to sit at home or sit on a beach and get money that shows up in the mailbox or in my email. Like, what's behind all of that? Well, it's because a lot. I mean, 85% of Americans don't like what they do for a living. Most people do not like their jobs.

And I think it's irrational to actually think when you're young, you're going to love your first job. In fact, you're going to have your first job. In fact, you're going to hate your first job. And you're not going to hate it because it's so hard. You're going to hate it because it is so mind-numbingly dull that you would rather do just about anything else than that. So they're running from something. 100%. That's all it is.

And then after a couple years, you realize it gets better, it gets better, it gets better. But it takes this series of mind-numbing work to be able to even get the right to do really interesting work that you love continuously. And so I think they're running first. that. And I also think they've been sold a bag of goods. You know, they've been told that this will make them happy because they are unhappy right now and whatever that they're doing. And yet, you know, I was sitting at the other day I was at this event where a man who was imprisoned in Russia, he was actually just let out of a Russian prison by the president in a prisoner exchange. And he was in solitary confinement for a year. And he was like, I now understand why it is torture. And it is

torture because our mind requires doing. You actually start to lose your mind when you have nothing to do. And it's like castaway. Your Tom Hanks and castaway. Right. Losing it. But you don't even actually realize how awful it is. And so for him, he was like, I learned Spanish while I was in there because I was allowed one book. And it's like, and it was a joy to learn Spanish. So I think what humans are wired for that level of growth and intellectual progress. That's exactly right. We are self-progressing entities. We are happy when we have forward progression and we are unhappy if we fall into entropy or we reverse in progression. And so I think once you realize that as a young person, you can start to love the game and you do it because of the game. And it's fun to play. Even when you

lose, it's still fun to play. So talk to me about the nine to five W-2 employee. This has sort of been villainized in social media culture. Like, basically, you're a loser. If you have a nine to five job, you should be working for yourself. But what I've found, as the people who go work for themselves, they're working like seven to seven. They don't have the pleasure of a nine to five where they clock in, clock out, and they get to just float through. So what do you tell that person who maybe sees the nine to five as the enemy? Yeah.

Well, one, I don't really care what your tax code is. Whether you're W2 or your 1099, you know, or you have K-1s, I don't think that matters. So, like, I never liked, and I like Robert Kiyosaki, but I never liked how he said that W2 was a lesser. profession. I do not think that is true. I mean, Cheryl Sandberg became worth hundreds of millions of dollars by being a W2. She's doing just fine. And she never had to quote unquote go out and become an entrepreneur herself. And so one, who cares? W2-1099, who cares? Whatever. What do we care about? We care

about doing something that is challenging to us where we continue to learn, we continue to earn, and then we take those earnings and we invest it in things so that if someday, you know, by God's poor fortune, we're not well enough to work, or we need to take a break, or we would want to have a kid, we have the ability to have earned income that is not relying on our time. And so that, I think, is what was skewed. And so, you know, for me, man, I see people on my team. I mean, I just hired a new president and a new head of video you met Casey. They could both retire. They don't need to keep working. Why would they choose to? Because when you become a high level athlete, you want to play the game for as long as humanly possible.

Even if you have broken legs, you know, even if you've got bad knees, like you want to keep going. And so I think young people need to figure out that thing in them that loves the game as opposed to obsess on, can I do the least amount of work to make the most amount of money? I think that is a path to unhappiness, actually. Well, there's this slice in the middle of that, which is the fire community, this financial independent, retire early. Sounds like you're saying that's a bad move to retire at 45. Yeah. I mean, at least for me, I think even those individuals who want to retire early, you know, they're not hanging out all day. They're like, building houses, right? They're gardening, their building community centers. Like Derek

Sivers has talked about this a lot too. There's a line that I thought was kind of cool. My time is too important to waste it making money. And I do think there's a group of people who are like, I want to become the best musician in the world. And I don't want to do it for the love of money. I want to do it for the love of the game, which is amazing. And so if what they're doing is they're like, I'm willing to sacrifice 10 years of my life doing something I don't like because I know the thing that I want to do will not make me money or I want to do it even though it doesn't make me money. Then I think that's great. But like learn to build or create something. So I'm not against fire.

I just don't think that you have to do it that way. I think you could also really just enjoy life. Again, it's kind of like what are you running from versus tort? A hundred percent. It's a very different mentality and motive. Yeah. I like the idea of spending less on things. I think that makes a lot of sense.

me. You know, really only two ways to make more money, which is earn more or spend less. And if you can control the spending a lot easier, then that allows you to pay more towards the earnings. Yeah, it's a bigger gap. I think that's great. But I don't think most people think that way. All right, before we keep chatting, a friendly reminder about cyber safety. And I know it might seem random, but you know what else is random? All these weird spam texts and calls and robo emails that you've been getting lately. So the way I stop that is with Delete Me. The response of today's episode and what they do is find and remove your info from all of these data broker sites that are out there selling your info for a profit and the best part is they send you a report showing you exactly

where they found and removed your info and how much time they've saved you and currently i'm at 86 hours of time saved which is more time i can spend cleaning my car for some more episodes millioners in cars getting coffee and as a george camel fan you'll get 20% off any of their annual plans at join delete me.com slash george or click the link in the description below another psa i'd like to share is that if you're stowing your emergency fund or any other short-term savings in a boring old savings account, making 0.01% interest, you're doing it wrong. You've got to store that money in a high-yield savings account, like the one with Laurel Road, an online bank that's a sponsor of today's episode. With Laurel Road, you're going to get competitive interest rates, FDIC insured deposits, no minimum balance required to open an account,

and best of all, no pesky monthly maintenance fees. So what are you waiting for? It's time to move that money so that works harder for you to an online savings account with Laurel Road. Get started today by going to laurel road.com slash George or click the link in the description below. All right. Let's get back to it. I'm sure you get a lot of pushback. Which can we get into that? Like what is the biggest most controversial things you say regularly that you're like, I've got to defend my honor here to the idiots on the internet?

Well, I think the biggest pushback we get is people will say, oh, that's not possible. Oh, you can't build a business like that. Oh, you can't buy a business. Oh, you can't make that kind of money. and I think that it's really easy to talk people out of possible things and it's easier to be pessimistic and sound smart as opposed to optimistic and make money. That's the biggest pushback we get is people will say, well, that laundromat never made that. I'll be like, here's the balance sheet. Like, I don't know what to tell you guys.

How much more do you want? Right. But they're just cynical toward the idea that you can be successful doing something on your own. A hundred percent. And I think there's a lot of good reasons why, because any entrepreneur knows that it has been hard. But it's also a ridiculous thing. I'm like, the only reason we make money is because we solve problems. If you don't solve a problem, you don't make any money.

That's how business works. So, ipso facto, business is problem solving at scale continuously. And the bigger the business, the bigger the problems. Which means that it'll never get, quote, unquote, easier. You'll just get bigger problems that you're capable of solving. And so if we know that to be true, then we shouldn't be surprised that business is hard. And we should also still tell people to do it because it's worth it. But I think this generation, a lot of times people tell them that they don't need risk or they don't want risk or this is too risky and don't do it.

And so my entire mission is proving people wrong and saying, no, it's actually capable. You're capable of it. It's why our new YouTube is now me actually doing different things. To show them. To show them. Listen, you don't have to start with a portfolio that does hundreds of millions of dollars. You don't have to have these big, huge companies like we have. I'm going to go and I'm going to buy three vending machines and we're going to spend five.

thousand dollars, that's it. I'm going to put in these vending machines and we're going to see what happens and then at least people will be able to see firsthand what works what doesn't but that's that's the biggest contribution. I'm excited for that. Well to that tune the other side is people don't see risk in taking on $200,000 in student loans for a degree that they may or may not use or actually finish and those are the calls we get where they go this was a real call. I'm 230 grand in student loans living in New York City with my parents. I make 50 grand a year, no upward growth in my field. And we're like, these are impossible equations because they took on all this debt thinking everything was just going to be okay. Oh, yeah. I mean, it's, I watched one of your videos

were the same. It was like, between me and my husband were $700,000 in student loan debt, which almost should just be, it's like, that's criminal, except everybody should have the right to be as stupid as they want to be. Yeah. But that, to me, is the problem with most, people who talk about education today. They hate online education. They hate people teaching you in seminars and courses and workshops for one one hundredth of the price of a university where they want you to go with unforgivable loans when you're 18 and you don't know you're from your elbow. And that's the idea of what education should be. No, absolutely not. I just don't, I don't believe in that. And so I think it's a real tragedy that we send our kids off to colleges where they learn,

you know, not how to think, but what to think in jobs and careers that don't make them any real money. And then we make that student loan debt unforgivable. Goodness. Yeah, it's a crisis. We had a whole documentary on it called Barrett Future, just laying it all out. And it was dark the more you get into it. I got to watch that. It's so good. Why do we think that that's okay? How indoctrinated have we become? All of us, me too, that college at this level makes sense and is okay, but it is not okay for somebody to go out and start a business. It is not okay for somebody to go out and get a $10,000,

even forgivable loan for starting a business. But you can allow them to rack up 200,000. Or even go into a trade where you could start your own business in the trades like that and make great money with very little investment. Yeah, I mean, we're working on a nonprofit right now that I want to roll out that is basically going to help people get free education for trade schools. and that also give them their first dollars to go start the business afterwards. And so we're talking to Mike Rowe and with Rowe works and a couple others because, hey, for $5,000,

you can have a profession where the average truck driver leaving the Balkan Shale can have a, just a truck driver after they get their license can make $95,000 with a GED. That's amazing. And so why aren't we talking about that when the average marketing degree makes $48,000? thousand dollars years. Yeah, the ROI on these degrees for what you spend is just bonkers. But one's good and white collar and one's bad. Well, one is easier to brag about. You know, it's harder for the parents to brag about the fact that my kid went to this elite school and they worked for this elite firm versus, oh, he's an electrician. Yeah. End of conversation. And we pooh-poohed

that, even though that's the six-figure earner who's doing well versus the guy who's drowning student loan debt. Yeah. And what's a, you know, what's a harder problem to solve? Is it that, you know, you're in a job where you're capped at how much you can make because you haven't learned dealmaking enough to negotiate your upside. And so you're stuck there forever until eventually you can pay off your student loans or you go and you learn a trade and you do get your teeth kicked in sometimes and it is hard if you start a business. But at the end, nobody can limit your upside but you. So yeah, I mean, I could get on my soapbox about this all day long. I love it. You know? Well, what is the thing right now on social media that you've seen the financial advice that really

ticks you off. Is there a theme you're seeing where you're like, I don't like this trend and I just want to punch it in the face if I could? Well, the two things that I think are the biggest. One is stop telling people that they can't. Like our first line and our created contrarian thinking is that those who say it's impossible should get out of the way of those of us who are doing it. And so stop telling people that they can't. Let them try. Business isn't going to kill you. and you are going to be better for having tried and failed. And second is stop trying to tell people that the goal is just money. You guys say this too.

Oh, yeah. The goal is not just money. The goal is money, which equals freedom, which allows you to pick your impact, which allows you to feel like that the reason that you breathe is worthwhile. And so it's really not profit, it's purpose, and that serving people is actually an incredible way to make a ton of money. And that is the real goal at the end of the day. If you're good and you keep going for a long enough time, you're going to eventually make a ton of money.

Yeah. Like, if you keep learning, you keep growing, you keep earning, you keep investing. The path is pretty clear. But if you don't care about anything besides money yourself, that does lead to misery, I think. Well, this, I've seen you drop some biblical principles. And I was like, oh, shoot, let's go, Cody. So what role do you think, you know, your faith or biblical principles play when it comes to building wealth? I think living is hard. Life is a struggle. And at the end of it, we all die. And that can feel depressing. And so why not have a belief that serves you day to day, which is that there's something bigger than me, that I'm not the one that has to figure everything out, that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be as long as I'm living, the ethics and morals that I say that I will? And so for me, I kind of am shocked sometimes when people don't believe in anything. I'm like, that seems really lonely and hard. Why? Why would you do that?

And so I think it's a selfish pursuit, actually, having faith and belief because it's just a lot easier to feel like there's somebody else that you can talk to in my mind. And I think the bigger games you try to play, the quote unquote harder it is or more problems you have. And so at some point, religion becomes really, really useful. So for no other reason, if you don't believe anything, thinking about it from a utilitarian standpoint, makes sense to me. Yeah, well, there's some biblical principles, too, with wealth. I'm curious your thoughts on this against the get-rich-quick mentality. If, you know, wealth gained hastily will dwindle, whoever gathers little by little will increase it. And so I know you are a, you like to make decisions fast, but when it comes to building wealth, like, it can take time.

And for some, it may happen faster than others. So how do you look at this get-rich-quick type mentality out there? Well, I love Naval Ravikot's quote, which is play long-term games when, with long-term people. And so, you know, what I've realized over time is anytime you make the decision because it is short and easy, you will have short-term gain and long-term pain. And so I think that's a beautiful biblical principle that also ends up being true in almost everything in life. Let's just take physics, you know, building a house on a poor foundation is much quicker, but is not going to work out very well in a long time because physics say that you should have

spent more time, you know, prepping the soil, putting together the foundation and building it properly as opposed to putting it together hastily. I think overall, the cliches are true. And that's why they've become cliches, because they've stuck around for so long that they've stuck in our heads. So I agree with that. And I think, you know, the other thing, too, is this get rich quick idea is such a funny one. Because anytime there's zero-sum games, in order for me to win, you have to lose, I choose not to play those games. I did public equities for a while and I didn't like it because in order for me to buy a stock, I have to think the seller of the stock is dumber than I am. And it is going to be a better trade for me than them. And I don't like that. You're betting against

someone in that regard. Yep. And so I don't think that's wrong. I just think it's speculation. And I don't want to speculate. I want to value created. And so I want to have a business where it's actually net positive for everybody. If I teach more people how to buy business. and they buy more businesses and everybody makes more money. And that is the opposite of a zero-sum game. I obsess on this idea of like, don't try to be the, they call it the last one in and first one out in finance. Don't try to play a game where you're the first one out

and you're waiting for the loser to stay in. That's a good mentality. I like that. We are at a local coffee shop. This is Millionaires and cars getting coffee. They don't have a drive-thru at this local spot. It's called Red Bicycle. Shout out to Red Bicycle if you're in the Franklin area. And our production coordinator, Chris, has our drinks.

Yay. My cold brew and everyone wants to know what does Cody Sanchez order in a coffee shop. I love a coconut milk latte. This one happens to be almond because nowhere has coconut milk. You should. I'm sure they do. These hipster coffee shops, they have it all. They got pistachio milks.

They got it all. Oh, my God. Okay, next time. I was trying to be low maintenance, you know? I'm like in Nashville. They're nice. They're southern shell, Cody. Well, I have a bone to pick because I saw this funny video where you said if it takes you

a long time to order a coffee, you're a loser. Paraphrasing. Show me how long it takes you to. order at a counter and I will show you your bank account. What was the thought behind that? If you don't know what you want, get out of line. Don't wait another, don't stay in other people's way. Don't make other people wait. Be conscious and conscientious of other people's time and order and get in line when you know what you want. And I wrote this down when I was losing my mind waiting behind somebody at a coffee shop. And there's a line of like six people behind us and this

woman was taking 452 years to figure out what she was getting. And I think that is a sure sign of lack of conscientiousness. It's not about the time it took. Yeah, the decisiveness is one part, but it's the lack of like self-awareness that, hey, other people are out here. They're trying to order. And you're sitting here going, hmm, just pre-decide. 100%. And also, like, if you are putting that much decision into one small coffee order, how do you do when a big thing comes off? That's true, like a big business decision. So is it more for entrepreneurship that this principle?

I think it's for everything. I mean, I think your bank account is a direct representation of the size of problems you solve and how fast you move. Oh, I say that again. Tweet that. Yeah, exactly. But I do think, you know, if I've been around so many truly wealthy people and you have two, and the wealthy people all really have one thing in common, they move faster than you think

is possible. And they actually chase after bigger problems. In fact, my best mentors will often tell me too small. Too small of a problem. Too small of an issue. You need to go bigger or it's not worth your time. And like another mutual friend of Dave in mind, I don't know if you know him too as Alex Formosian.

Oh, yeah. He is sat on this very seat. Okay, so that he might... He did not get a coffee. We had to get him a muscle milk in case you're curious. Between the two of us. I'm like, I will not go to a chain. He's like, I only go to protein shops.

At least we're on brand. 40 grams. Zero grams? Yeah, but no cows. Hey. His line I really like, which is, you know, you can be a level 10 entrepreneur at a level one game and still lose. Level 10 being the best, level one being the worst. But it's real hard to be a level 10 entrepreneur in a level 10 game and lose.

The game you choose to play really matters, which basically means you need to solve big enough problems. You know, fancy investing speak, they call that Tam, total addressable market. And if your Tam isn't big enough, they will actually not invest in your business. And so I remember this often, that if you're going to play the game, you might as well play at the hardest level. You can't. So it truly is it go big or go home. Or it's like just delegate the little stuff.

Stop focusing on the little stuff and aim big. Yeah. And try to keep becoming better so that you get into the next level of the leagues, right? Like, you don't want to go to the major leagues when you've never swung a baseball before. Swinging a baseball would be hard. Swinging a baseball bat. You got to swing the actual baseball. So I would belong in the B leagues or whatever the lowest league is.

But that's the idea. It's like go to the best level that you humanly possibly can play at. And I think that mentality is so entrepreneurial versus the person who wants to just phone it in and do the least while collecting the most. Like that just feels like a miserable life at some point, even if you succeed at it. I believe that God made us productive beings that he said, here is the land and go and build upon it. Make it better for the other person. And so somebody who says, I only want shortcuts. I want to find the hack.

I want to do the lazy way. That is one of the seven deadly sins, right? And so I think that somehow we've thought that is cool now. Like, I made $2 million of two hours with no work. I actually so stand against that. Not even admirable to you. Not admirable at all. And I do wonder, how is their marriage?

How's their relationships? How's their physical health? If they're that lazy with their job, they do all day long, that scares me. You can imagine. Yeah. Well, speaking of marriage. Is it your anniversary today? Yesterday.

Oh my goodness, happy anniversary. How many years? Five years married. Congratulations. Yeah, eight years together, and we've known each other since we were 11. That's adorable. That is pretty wild. She's great.

So I want to talk about this because this is another thing I get pushed back on on my YouTube channel, talking about personal finance. There is a negativity and cynicism toward marriage where they go, women exist to take you to the cleaners and good, you know, I'm like, what is going on here? I see marriage as a like a wealth hack. And if you're aligned with that person, it's a true, beautiful partnership in life, in finances, and everything.

So what is your view on marriage? How would you speak to it for those people who are hating? Yeah, well, let's say the truth, which is that those who are married are worth more as measured by net worth. You actually have somewhere between a 20 and 40% higher net worth, all things being equal between single and married. Wow. And so if for no other reason then you like math,

you should like the idea of being married because you will be worth more on average. And the second reason why, I think, is can you imagine anything better than having a partner alongside you to go through difficulties with? It's the old African proverb, which is if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together, if I was talking to a young person, I would say marriage is such a blessing, but a good marriage, because a bad marriage is also a curse. Yeah, well, yeah, there's a lot there of being aligned and being unified and having that self-awareness. So there's a lot there.

Are you married? I am. Yeah, been married. Seven years, we got a baby now, 18-month-old. Congratulations. So it's an exciting time to be alive. You look well-rested. You know, my wife takes the brunt.

So she worked at Ramsey. We met there at work. I love that. So we were already perfectly aligned. And she recently retired to stay home with our daughter. So it's been really fun. Yeah, and also, that's beautiful. Like I have a friend, Saw Hill Bloom.

You know, he talks about how in Connecticut, where he lives, when his wife wanted to quit her job to take care of the kid, that was a very weird decision there. And actually, they got a lot of flack for it. You're just a mom. You just want to stay home with the kids. You don't want to work. That's not very feminist of you.

And how fascinating is that? That is the cycle that we've gone to, where first you were kind of shamed for wanting to work, and now you're ashamed for not wanting to work. You're going to get it either way. Everyone, someone's going to have an opinion and they're not going to like your decision. Which is why you got to do whatever you think is best for you and your family. I've said that not caring what other people think is a superpower in today's world.

If you're just like, well, I need to get 17 opinions from people who really don't have a say in my life. You're losing. Yeah, and I think, you know, I've tempered on this slightly. I think that I've never been criticized publicly by somebody whom I envy or admire. and so when I think about it that way, if I am criticized by someone that I envy or admire, I will listen to that because I want to learn and get better. But for the most part, those who are pushing their views upon you negatively are those who you wouldn't trade one aspect of their life for.

So why do you care what they think anyway? That is some great life advice. Yeah, it's hard to do in practice, but really useful if you can. As we wrap and head to the office here, lightning round for you, what is a purchase you've made lately that was totally worth it? Like that improved your quality of life, no matter how big or small. Oh, gosh, that's a good one. It can be a thing, a service, a subscription, an experience. Yeah, this is a little silly because I own laundromats, but wash and full delivery service of clothes.

I am a perma for get all the clothes in the washing machine. So they all smell like foot. Yep. So I now do all wash and full delivery, which is very cheap. So they pick it up from your door? Yeah, it's like 50 bucks a big bag. And that'll probably last me like a week. So 50 bucks a week, which is not nothing.

But that's one of my favorites. That I think a lot of people just want, that's my new life goal. Yeah. Okay. It's a good one. Last one. What's a purchase you made lately that was a waste?

It could have been $5,000, could have been $5,000. Like, that was not worth it. Close, by and large. I think in this day and age, we buy so, much because we see it, Mimetic Desire on Instagram, especially for women. Is this like fast fashion? No, even I feel more comfortable with that. I think some of the really expensive things that we have are totally ridiculously expensive. And so I bought a jacket that was so ludicrously expensive for me. And every time I look at it, I keep it as a reminder

of how fallible I am and how much you can sell me. Because I don't think you're a representation of your clothes at all. And so as long as you look nice and pull together, you don't have to wear anything fancy. That's a good reminder. The woman makes the clothes. That's what it's it. That's a good one. There you go. I like that.

Quote that. Would you be so kind to ask for a like and subscribe if they enjoyed this conversation? Yeah, you guys, like and subscribe if you want to hear more of us in a car almost dying because we're getting driven around. Do you ever get pushed back on the internet? Like, how dare you do this? Always. I can't believe you looked at the camera. Oh my gosh.

Focus on the road. It is a Tesla, to be fair. So it kind of drives itself. I don't think mine's that fancy. We'll get there, guys. One of my Hermosi level subscribers, I'll upgrade to the self-driving. Well, Cody, this has been so fun. Thank you for joining us.

You're an inspiration, and I love watching you crush it. Thanks, man. All right, that's it for today's episode. Huge thanks to Cody Sanchez for joining us. Be sure to give her a follow and check out all the content she's making. And if you enjoyed her thoughts on wealth and entrepreneurship, you're going to love the millionaires and cars getting coffee with Alex Hermose. It's coming up next or click the link in the description.

Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.