The Level Up Podcast w/ Paul Alex - Owning Assets - Your Pathway to Financial Freedom

Episode Date: June 5, 2024

In Episode 71 of our podcast, we dive deep into a fundamental principle of wealth creation: owning assets. Discover how asset ownership can transform your financial future and help you achieve financial freedom. Drawing from my own journey from law enforcement to entrepreneurship, I'll break down what assets are and why they are crucial in 2024.“Your Network is your NETWORTH!”Make sure to add me on all SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS:Instagram: https://jo.my/paulalex2024Facebook: https://jo.my/fbpaulalex2024Youtube: https://jo.my/ytpaulalex2024Linkedin: https://jo.my/inpaulalex2024Looking for a secondary source of income or want to become an entrepreneur?Check out one of my companies below to see if we can help you:www.ATMTogether.comwww.Merchantautomation.comFREE Copy of my book “Blue to Digital Gold - The New American Dream”www.officialPaulAlex.comLeave a review, like and share to help others and let’s level up together!

Welcome to the Level Up Podcast. I'm your host, Paul Alex. I went from being a cop to an eight-figure entrepreneur that helps average people like you and me make money every single day. I created this podcast to help you get motivated and to crush your goals. Let's win together.

Remember, I have your six. Get ready to level up right now. Today, we're gonna be focusing on a fundamental principle of wealth creation, owning assets. Well, let's explore how asset ownership can transform your financial future, drawing from my own journey from law enforcement to entrepreneurship. Look, what do I mean by assets? In simple terms, I'm going to break it down, guys. Assets are resources that can generate income, increase value, or do both. Think about real estate, stocks, bonds, side hustles,

and actual owning property. These are tools that when managed wisely can help you build wealth and achieve financial freedom for you and your family. So let's start with why assets are crucial right now in 2024 with inflation, with everything going on with politics, man, the world's getting crazy guys. I mean, you got to build assets. If you're not thinking about that, you need to level up. You need to listen to this. You need to go ahead and share this with somebody that you care about, because it's going to be an important episode. So unlike a salary, which you earn by trading your time for money, right? Assets work for you around the clock. They are your financial soldiers generating income or appreciating in value while you sleep. It's just like what I

always say. Look, Warren Buffett says you will die working unless you can make money in your sleep. This is the key to financial freedom, having assets cover your living expenses so you are not dependent on a paycheck. All right, let's get into story time. I'm all about the side hustles. If you don't have a business right now, don't let these gurus brainwash you and tell you, look, you got to start a business. You got to be a multimillionaire. You got to go ahead and do this and do that. No, guys, it starts with a very simple side hustle, especially if you're still working a nine to five.

People always ask me, well, how do I get money to actually start a side hustle? How do I get money to start a business? Work. This is America. Guys, you guys, if you guys have two hands, two legs, and you can think, if you can eat, if you can sleep, if you can go to the restroom, you can get a job. Okay? But it comes down to you. It comes down to your self-belief.

So, are you going to be lazy or are you going to get to work? Okay? So, with that being said, let me share my little story. My story, I was seven years in law enforcement. Towards the last two years, I was working 80 to 100 hour work weeks, guys. I was an animal. Okay. It is what it is.

But I was getting it. I was making $250,000. I had a million dollar house in the best neighborhood in the San Francisco Bay Area. I had a Porsche250,000. I had a million dollar house in the best neighborhood in the San Francisco Bay Area. I had a Porsche Panamera and I had a side hustle. How was I doing this? I don't know. I was in my late twenties. I had the energy. So it all started with a simple machine. It all started with a simple $10,000 investment. And then from there, I was able to grow it guys. And I was able to become financially free. Did that make me a multimillionaire right away? No. But I'd rather be financially free than get a million dollars in cash. Why? Because the million dollars in cash

will run out. Having assets will consistently pay you month after month after month, like my floating assets, like my ATMs. So at the end of the day, it was paying me around 12 to 15K a month. My bills was only 6K. So guess what? I had another 5K on top of what I was making on salary as a detective, guys. That's money. I had more than enough to support retiring my mom just based off of that, buy some more real estate, go on nice vacations, have fun fun and all that jazz. So what's your excuse? What's your excuse? I don't got time. But if you got time for Netflix, then your priorities are not straight. You need to focus on your priorities. All right. So from my own experience, transitioning from a steady job in law enforcement to running businesses taught

me the power of asset ownership. Early on, I focused on acquiring assets just like floating assets, like ATMs, like credit card machines, like going ahead and buying properties that generated me passive income. OK, so this wasn't just about building wealth, but about creating a safety net that allowed me to take bigger risk and invest in other new businesses. So let me break this down to you guys. So look, I would never would have been able to come onto the online space and build over $34 million in three different companies in the past four years. If I never would have became financially free from my assets, from my simple side hustles that were boring as hell, people would always talk shit all the time, but at the end of the day, it started everything off.

It was my humble beginnings, guys. I'm not shy to share this, but it did. It allowed me to get back 40 hours a week of my life, okay? I didn't just go ahead, okay, cool, I got 40 hours. I'm gonna go play Call of Duty. I'm gonna go on Netflix. I'm gonna go just fucking fart around and shit. No guys, I got to work. I was just like, I need to leverage this time because time is money. Time is money guys. And, and, and that's the biggest asset we all have in our life is time because we're just getting older.

We're not getting younger. And when I was 21, I was like party all the time, like Eddie Murphy and shit. But guys, like I'm telling you right now, I would rather go ahead in my twenties. If you're 20 years old or you're younger than this, and let's say you're, you're around my age, you're in your mid thirties or you're in your forties, share this with your kids guys. Okay. Cause it's going to change their life. But if I was in my 20s, my game plan is I would get a commission-based job, make as much money as I can, learn sales skills, soft skills, and then be an absolute savage through my 20s. Go ahead and start a side hustle with floating assets like either ATMs, credit card machines, real estate, something that's going to be semi or passive. And then just build keep building and keep building that's it make your money work for you and then by the time you're 30 guess what you're financially free and now you can do whatever you want see i did in reverse i

partied in my 20s guys i partied in my 20s and then in my 30s i was just like dude like i'm getting older and shit like what do i gotta do And then I figured it out, right? And luckily I figured it out because now I get hella tired. And dude, like I'm telling you right now, time is of the essence, guys. This is why I got four years to hit my goal of nine figures, okay? Because some of you guys, you guys are like $100 million. That's crazy, Paul. I thought it was crazy four years ago.

I don't think it's crazy now. This I thought it was crazy four years ago. I don't think it's crazy now. This is why it's the Level Up podcast. I'm here to change your mindset so you can go ahead and level up. So how can you start? First, this is the biggest needle mover, guys. So listen up. Educate yourself. Understanding what makes an asset valuable and how to manage it is crucial. You got to read books. I know it sounds cliche because my mom used to say it all the time, but it works. I should have listened to my mom earlier. So attend workshops, masterminds, listen to podcasts like this.

Share with your family and friends, okay? And then consider consulting with financial advisors. No, knowledge is not just power. It's profit. Now that's game right there. Let me repeat that because that's good. Knowledge is not just power, it's profit. All right. If you like money, hey, knowledge. So next, begin with assets that align with your interests and strengths. If you're drawn to real estate, consider real estate properties. If you're in the stock market that intrigues you, start by investing in well-diverse portfolios of

stocks or index funds. The key is to start small and scale gradually as you gain more confidence and momentum. This comes with due diligence. Guys, we live in a world where you have access to everybody and their mom now. Literally. Like you can literally send a DM to Patrick Bet David and he might answer. I know a couple people that have done that. They reached out to him. They're like, hey, Patrick, what's up, bro? And he got millions of followers.

Okay. But you never know, dude. Like when I go home and I like to decompress i like to just go see what my assistants on my social media platforms are replying to people because i get hundreds of messages a day but sometimes i'll go through there and i'll actually send voice notes and people be like what like it's actually you yeah it's me what's up and that's how i've been able to network and meet people ever since i moved to Miami and San Diego and all that jazz, guys. So at the end of the day, your network is your net worth, you know?

I got my video and audio guy right now. That's how we met. We met on social media. It's crazy shit, right? Now, dude, ballin'. Like, that's just the way the world works, guys. You have to go ahead and actually speaking into existence you have to go ahead and actually be like you know what closed mouths don't get fed

i gotta take the chance you gotta shoot your shot i'm not just giving relationship advice this is financial advice which is more important guys okay diversifying is more important guys. Okay. Diversifying is another important strategy. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Having a mix of different types of assets can help you balance the risk and stabilize your income streams. For example, while real estate can provide regular rental income, stocks offer potential for high growth. Balancing the two can help you manage the ups and downs of the market. Okay. Look, the first thing I got to say before you go ahead and you're like, dude, I'm going to go ahead and start selling businesses. Don't, don't, don't be the guy or the gal that's going to be like, I'm going to start a YouTube. I'm going to do IG. I'm going to do Facebook.

I'm going to start a t-shirt business. I'm going to start an Airbnb business. Don't do that. Don't do that because you got to think of your mind as a pie. Okay. And have you ever heard of somebody highly successful that only gives 25, 50% of their mind? No, you don't. So you have to go all in on one thing first, which for me, it was ATMs became financially free. And then I invested into another business, which was digital marketing. And then after digital marketing then I invested into another business, which was digital marketing. And then after digital marketing, I invested into merchant services. And then after merchant services, I invested into more self-education, which then I leveled up and finally launched a consulting business called New American Dream. That's how business works, guys. You keep leveling

up and diversifying as you go and grow. So remember, asset ownership is also about patience and persistence. The most rewarding investments are often these that appreciate over a long period. It's about playing the long game, compounding your investments and reinvesting in your returns to grow your asset base. Look, so to wrap this up, guys, owning assets is about more than just accumulating wealth. Okay. That's, that's a long game. That's the, that's the primary goal, right? Just like I'm saying, I'm trying to, I'm trying to retire by 40. So it's about building the freedom to live on your own terms. Like what I'm doing right now. Right. I just came back from California. I want to go see my mom. I want to go, uh, she, you know, she called me the other week and she was like, me whole, like, I want to go

to the movies. I want to go to these restaurants. You know, can we spend some time? Sure, mom. And I took a first class seat and headed over there. Five hours later, I was there at her front door. And she was happy, right? It's about your why. It's about options, guys. So start by setting clear financial goals, educating yourself.

That's numero uno. Educate yourself and gradually build a portfolio of assets. So start with your first side hustle, basically. Okay, simplify this. That will sustain you and your family into the future. So look, remember, the path to financial freedom starts with the first investment. That's the biggest step, guys. It's the step that keeps people stuck on analysis paralysis.

Don't let that happen to you. Don't be 80 years old in your deathbed being like, I should have listened to Paul. Until next time, guys, keep investing, keep learning, and keep pushing towards your freedom. Here's to owning your future one asset at a time. Keep leveling up. Remember, I always have your six. Make sure to share this episode with your family, friends, and anyone you care about. The world's already hard enough and we need to take care of each other.

Make sure to share this episode on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and share it with the world. Do me a big favor and tag me, Paul Alex. Also, keep the five-star reviews on iTunes coming. This episode is going to help change the way the world thinks and will help everyone level up in their life. And lastly, if you want to continue to level up, learn more about business and life, then make sure to get a copy of my book, From Blue to Digital Gold, The New American Dream, on Amazon or at officialpaulalex.com.