How You Can Become A Millionaire w/Rachel Rodgers EP 1183

Today’s guest is Rachel Rodgers. She’s the founder of Hello Seven, a multi-million dollar company that teaches you how to earn more money and build wealth. As a business coach, attorney, CEO, Black woman, working mother, and self-made millionaire, she’s known for her blunt, sensible advice and for calling out the elephant in the room—whether it’s racism, misogyny, or centuries of unfair legal practices that have stripped financial power away from women. She’s written a new book called We Should All Be Millionaires where she teaches how to succeed financially in spite of the very real obstacles along the path. This is actually part 1 of our conversation, so make sure to check out part 2 coming this Wednesday. In this episode we discuss how to feel worthy if you’re going through a difficult financial situation, how everyone can become a millionaire and the fastest way to do it, why it’s so difficult for people to be transparent about money, the most important conversations to have around money, and so much more! For more go to: www.lewishowes.com/1183Check out her new foundation: http://helloseven.org/Check out her website: www.helloseven.coThe Wim Hof Experience: Mindset Training, Power Breathing, and Brotherhood: https://link.chtbl.com/910-podA Scientific Guide to Living Longer, Feeling Happier & Eating Healthier with Dr. Rhonda Patrick: https://link.chtbl.com/967-podThe Science of Sleep for Ultimate Success with Shawn Stevenson: https://link.chtbl.com/896-pod Get more from Lewis! Get my New York Times Bestselling book, Make Money Easy! Get The Greatness Mindset audiobook on SpotifyText Lewis AIYouTubeInstagramWebsiteTiktokFacebookX

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Lewis Howes?

  This is episode number 1,183 with Rachel Rodgers. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin.

• 0:27Lewis Howes?

  Welcome back everyone. Today's guest is Rachel Rodgers. She is the founder of Hello7, a multimillion dollar company that teaches you how to earn more money and build wealth. And as a business coach, attorney, CEO, black woman, working mother, and self-made millionaire, she's known for her blunt, sensible advice and for calling out the elephant in the room, whether it's racism, misogyny, or centuries of unfair legal practices that have stripped financial power away from women. She's written a new book called, We Should All Be Millionaires, where she teaches how to succeed financially in spite of the very real obstacles along the path. And this is part one of our conversation, so make sure to check out for part two coming later this week.

• 1:10Lewis Howes?

  In this episode, we discuss how to feel worthy if you're going through a difficult financial situation, how everyone can become a millionaire, and the fastest way to do it. This was really cool what she shares. Why it's so difficult for people to be transparent about money and having money conversations. Do you ever struggle with talking about money? How much you make? What things cost with your friends and family? So we'll talk about that there. The most important conversations to have around money and so much more. And if you're enjoying this at any moment, make sure to share this with a friend or two that you think would be inspired by this. Someone you think just wants to learn more about money, making more, earning more, and believing in themselves that they have the capacity to do so. And if this is your first time here and someone sent you this episode, just subscribe over

• 1:54Lewis Howes?

  on Apple Podcast right now and leave a review at the end, sharing the part about this that inspired you the most. And again, text a friend that sent you this and thank them for spreading the message of greatness. And I am so excited about this episode. So in just a moment, I bring you the one and only Rachel Rodgers.

• 2:15Lewis Howes?

  Welcome back everyone to the School of Greatness. Very excited about our guest, Rachel Rodgers is in the house. Good to see you.

• 2:21Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes, let's do this.

• 2:22Lewis Howes?

  Very pumped about this. You've got a book called, We Should All Be Millionaires, and I believe that. But according to the Credit Suisse Wealth Global Report, only 1% or 56 million people are millionaires.

• 2:36Rachel Rodgers?

  Interesting.

• 2:37Lewis Howes?

  Now, I'm curious, that's in the world, right? 56 million people in the world are millionaires, or 1%. Is it possible for anyone listening to become a millionaire in your mind? Is it possible for anyone to become a millionaire? And if so, what would they need to have the first three things in mind in order to work towards becoming that?

• 2:56Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes. So, first of all, yes, I do think that it's possible for anyone. And if there really truly is somebody because of their environment or systemic conditions that they're living in that they can't, then that's our responsibility for the rest of us to do it, so that we can help lift that person up, right? So, that's kind of how I see it. So, I think we should just assume that we can.

• 3:14Lewis Howes?

  What if all the excuses in the world, though, of like, my parents won't let me do this, where I grew up, or this, or that, I don't have the education, you still think it's possible?

• 3:23Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes, and you can find examples of millionaires in every circumstance. I myself grew up low income, like, my parents were drug addicts and alcoholics at different points in their lives. Like, there was, on paper, I was not a potential success story, right? And I could let that stop me, or I could just say, that's just part of my story. It doesn't mean any, in fact, I think it's actually propelled me. I think sometimes when you are at a disadvantage, you are in a better position. And if you think about people who are systemically and historically marginalized, right? Like, there's not as many black people, for example, who are teaching on a certain subject, or who are experts in a certain field, right? You have an opportunity and a perspective to serve a segment of the market that's probably underserved right now,

• 4:06Rachel Rodgers?

  if you are a marginalized person, you know? So, I think that there is a wealth of opportunity, and we have tools now. Like, it's a miracle that we have the internet, right? That's how I was able to do it. So, I think it is within reach, and I think we have to believe it. I mean, that's the first thing, is you have to believe it's possible. And I think the way that you get to start believing that is possible is surround yourself with other people who also believe, right? Like be in an environment like listening to a podcast like this, or reading books, or joining communities where you can be surrounded with people who believe. Because there's any number of naysayers in the world who will tell you it's not practical, it's not possible. So you have to surround yourself with people who believe and who are doing it, who are working towards it. I think that's the first thing.

• 4:48Lewis Howes?

  Okay.

• 4:49Rachel Rodgers?

  I think the second thing is we have to really get clear on the way that we add value. I think we are so like talented and we think that we're not. Forget about the what the world says, forget about what your last boss said about you, forget about what degrees you do or don't have, right? Like really think about your natural talents. Like every single one of us is born with natural talents and skill sets and a perspective that other people don't have. And the problem is we undervalue it. We think everybody can do what we do. Everybody can't do what I do, right? Like everybody can't rock this hair, you know what I mean? Like, you know, so we have to get in touch with what are our talents? And the way that we do that is look back at like when you were a kid, right? Like what were the things that people came to you for, or you were just naturally did? Like I used to get in trouble all the time for talking too much.

• 5:34Rachel Rodgers?

  And now I get paid to talk, you know? So I think that there's, we can look back and see, or and it doesn't even have to be like sometimes people think, oh, you gotta be a big personality. No, you don't. Like there are people that I know who make millions just being someone who thinks like an engineer, who knows how to systematize things and create process. And they use that as a way to like invent strategies or processes that make them millions, right? So we all have talents, so we have to tap into that and really think about what is the value that I have to bring? I think personality tests can help with that, just to start to give you an inkling towards, you know, become a student of yourself. Who am I, right? What do I have to bring to the world? What is my perspective?

• 6:17Rachel Rodgers?

  How does my growing up with a parent who struggled with alcoholism at one point in their lives, how's that benefited me?

• 6:24Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 6:24Rachel Rodgers?

  And make me relate to more people and make, you know, me more able to become a millionaire rather than less? So I think recognizing our value is also a big piece of it. So we had mindset. We have value. I talked a little bit about environment. And then you know what, like, I think for the last one, I'm gonna just say, charge accordingly. Like, just start asking for more money, right? Like, just be audacious with your requests. Like, just ask. So I think, you know, one of the simplest things we can do is like, oh, you wanna pick my brain? Let me charge for that.

• 6:59Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 7:00Rachel Rodgers?

  Or, you know, put an offer out, right? Offer to tutor your neighbors, or offer to whatever that skill is that you feel that you have, try to sell it and see what happens. See if anybody wants to buy it.

• 7:11Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely.

• 7:11Rachel Rodgers?

  You know?

• 7:12Lewis Howes?

  And the more valuable you become, and the more people want your talent and your skills, you can start to charge more accordingly. Maybe when you start out, you need to charge in a certain way, but as you grow, you can really start to charge premium levels.

• 7:26Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes. And honestly, here's the thing. I think we could charge premium on day one. I just think that we're too afraid to do it. As long as you could back it up.

• 7:33Lewis Howes?

  You gotta get results.

• 7:34Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes, exactly. If you can get results, then you, then, then why do you have to, you don't have to charge lower because everybody else does. I think we do that because we're scared. So we're like, oh, you know, this very valuable thing that I have to give, I'm gonna give it for a hundred dollars instead of a thousand dollars because a hundred dollars scares me less. And it's like, okay, fine, put it out for a hundred dollars, and then see the results that you get for people. They get mad about it and then raise the price.

• 7:59Lewis Howes?

  Exactly.

• 7:59Rachel Rodgers?

  Which is what I did.

• 8:02Lewis Howes?

  You mean, you charge less, they got incredible results, and you're like, oh, I should have charged ten times more.

• 8:07Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 8:08Lewis Howes?

  I think it's, I think it's okay when you're first starting out, the first six months of a venture or something, it's like, you know, I've done things for free for friends to see.

• 8:15Rachel Rodgers?

  Oh, totally.

• 8:15Lewis Howes?

  Can I actually get the results? Let me try. I got it for myself. Can I do it for one person?

• 8:19Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 8:19Lewis Howes?

  Oh, I did. Okay, let me charge the next person.

• 8:21Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 8:22Lewis Howes?

  Man, they made a lot of money from my help. Let me charge more for the next time, and then keep going up.

• 8:26Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 8:27Lewis Howes?

  I think that's the best way to do it.

• 8:28Rachel Rodgers?

  I think so. And you can do market research as well. But the key thing that I want people to understand, especially like, everybody in my office, my audience, is basically everybody except straight white guys, right? So like, everybody except you.

• 8:42Rachel Rodgers?

  That's who

• 8:43Lewis Howes?

  Why is that?

• 8:43Rachel Rodgers?

  That's why, because the world is created for straight white guys, right? Like, literally. So, I really try to focus on those. And I also think there's a different pathway, right? Like, I think there are issues that we experience as people of color, as queer people, as people living with a disability or chronic illness, that other people don't have to deal with. And so, we might get advice that's like, "Oh, just do these steps, it's so easy." Right? When it's like, "Oh, but we're dealing with, I gotta take care of my mother as well." Like, I, when I make it, I also have to take care of all the family members who didn't make it, right? Who need help now that they're approaching retirement, right? Like, there's, there's issues that we have that typically straight white guys don't have, right? And so, that's why I focus on this audience.

• 9:26Rachel Rodgers?

  And it's also just who is attracted to my work as well.

• 9:29Lewis Howes?

  Right, right.

• 9:29Rachel Rodgers?

  Um, so, I don't even know where I was going with that.

• 9:34Lewis Howes?

  Well, we're saying the third thing is to charge accordingly, and I think that's, I think it's to know your worth in general.

• 9:39Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 9:39Lewis Howes?

  And that's, that's applied to everything in life. Like, know your worth with your friends, with your family, in your partnership, with your relationship.

• 9:45Rachel Rodgers?

  Exactly.

• 9:46Lewis Howes?

  Don't sell yourself short in any area of your life. And you've gotta learn to believe in yourself to do that, which goes back to step one for you.

• 9:52Rachel Rodgers?

  Exactly.

• 9:53Lewis Howes?

  Surround yourself with people who've done it, and then learn to believe in yourself.

• 9:56Rachel Rodgers?

  Exactly. And that's what I was getting at, is the worthiness and the confidence. I think sometimes when, you know, when, like, there is probably not a black woman in America that hasn't worked in a workplace where she felt undervalued. And when you do that for a couple of years, you start to believe that your, your value is less. And so, I think that it's important that we have confidence, and it's important that we ask for the money, right? When we put ourselves out there, when we create work, that we charge for it, right? And, um, demand that people recognize our value.

• 10:26Lewis Howes?

  What if someone doesn't wanna pay it? They say, "Okay, I recognize the value, but that's not the value I'm willing to pay for, 'cause I don't want that value." Or it's not a need in my business, or whatever it might be.

• 10:35Rachel Rodgers?

  So, goodbye to that person, and move on to the next. Exactly. Find who your audience is. And I think, you know, you gotta have, you gotta put it out there to get those no's, to be like, "Oh, these are my people. Let me actually write my copy or present my offer in a way that makes them go away."

• 10:47Lewis Howes?

  Exactly.

• 10:48Rachel Rodgers?

  And only attracts the people that are really my people, right?

• 10:51Lewis Howes?

  That makes sense.

• 10:52Rachel Rodgers?

  Yeah.

• 10:52Lewis Howes?

  And how does someone Learn to feel worthy when they're broke.

• 10:56Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes. Well, you have to recognize that you are inherently worthy. I was just as valuable as I am today. You know, 15 years ago.

• 11:05Lewis Howes?

  How do you believe that?

• 11:06Rachel Rodgers?

  20 years ago.

• 11:06Lewis Howes?

  When in the bank account and the relationship accounts don't show that value.

• 11:12Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes. Well, I think, again, it's environment, right? Like, the way that I became a badass woman was surrounding myself with other badass women, right? Like, starting to spend time with people who had confidence and believed in themselves and starting to, and what they saw in me. Right? Like, realizing what other people see in me that I don't see in myself. And you need that reflection back, and that's why you gotta surround yourself. I mean, I have to tell you, like, I've been spending time in L.A. this week with, you know, black women entrepreneurs that I talk to on Twitter all the time. And like, listen, the way that they will hype you up, you know?

• 11:49Lewis Howes?

  You got this, girl.

• 11:50Rachel Rodgers?

  Exactly. We hype each other up, and, and that's so important. You need that. And I've had that since I was a kid. Like, I had friends who would hype me up, you know? So I think we need that in our lives, and we gotta put ourselves out there, be a friend first, right? And then you'll find that squad, and you'll start to create that community around yourself. And then there's no way you can't believe it when you're surrounded by people who are constantly reflecting it back to you.

• 12:15Lewis Howes?

  I love that approach of surrounding yourself with people that will hype people up or that are inspiring, that have already done that. And I've also heard people say, when I'm in those rooms, I feel like an imposter.

• 12:25Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 12:25Lewis Howes?

  I feel like all these incredible women, you know, if I was a woman in these rooms of women, for this example, but these women have done incredible things. How am I be able to, why should I, I shouldn't be in this room, because they're all amazing. You know, starting to downplay my talents because they're all at a different level or have more experience or have their careers or financially successful. How does someone get over the imposter syndrome of being in the room when they are the, whatever label they want to call it, the least successful financially, the least intelligent, the least experienced, whatever they want to say to themselves.

• 12:59Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 13:00Lewis Howes?

  I shouldn't be here.

• 13:01Rachel Rodgers?

  Yeah.

• 13:02Lewis Howes?

  Because I don't have X. How can they overcome the imposter syndrome?

• 13:06Rachel Rodgers?

  Well, I think it's a process, right? It doesn't happen overnight. I think sometimes we think like, just think better thoughts. And it's like, that's lovely, but that's not working for me, you know? I think first of all, challenge that belief when it comes into your head. When you have that thought, oh, I'm going into this room and I'm excited about it, but I'm intimidated because I don't know that I belong there. And really, just check the receipts. Are you sure you don't belong there? Like, think about who you are as a person. What do you have to offer the world? What is the value that you bring?

• 13:34Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 13:34Rachel Rodgers?

  What do people ask you to do that, you know, is valuable, right? What do they ask you advice on? You really just start to check your own receipts to see like, really? Is that true? Because usually the people who have imposter syndrome are people who have a very long and impressive resume, right? And I wrote about in my book how Maya Angelou and Michelle Obama, like, these are people who have imposter syndrome, like, way far into their career, they felt like they didn't belong in certain rooms.

• 14:00Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 14:00Rachel Rodgers?

  Right? Exactly. It's like, what? That makes no sense. And it's true for us as well. Like, we'll think that we're not valuable, or we'll have that same imposter syndrome. And other people are like, are you crazy? Like, you're amazing. You know, like, you're bugging. So, I think.

• 14:15Lewis Howes?

  If someone's in the room, and they're, they're, they're going to remember this conversation that you shared here, and they're about to be in a room with a bunch of powerhouse, whatever, individuals.

• 14:25Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 14:26Lewis Howes?

  That they want to be around. And they're like, this is the first time I've been around this group of people. I'm terrified. I'm nervous.

• 14:31Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 14:32Lewis Howes?

  What can they remind themselves in that moment when the Oprah of their industry is talking to them, and they are potentially a nobody in that space?

• 14:40Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 14:40Lewis Howes?

  They're on their way up or whatever. What can they remind themselves?

• 14:43Rachel Rodgers?

  I would say like, ask, they should ask themselves, what do I love about myself? Right, like, I'm funny, you know, um, I'm smart, I'm strategic, you know, I have great fashion sense. Right, like, whatever it is, what is something that you love about yourself? And think about how you're bringing that energy to that room.

• 15:01Lewis Howes?

  Mm-hmm.

• 15:02Rachel Rodgers?

  Right, and just recognize that that is a lie, and it is a practice. I used to be such a mean girl to myself in my head.

• 15:08Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 15:08Rachel Rodgers?

  Every single day. I, I said that I was not smart, stupid, you know, I said that like, I can't figure this out. Um, I'm bad at business, I'm not good at making money, um, I'm not good at practicing law, which is what I did before, you know, my current business, like, I would, I'm a bad mother, like, I mean, I said every cruel thing that I could possibly say.

• 15:32Lewis Howes?

  What did that do for you?

• 15:33Rachel Rodgers?

  Um, I mean, it made me feel bad, right, like, it made me feel bad and it made me wanna go get under the covers for three days, and sometimes I did, right, and then I would get my up and go back, go back to work, because I had to, because I had kids to support, but I would do that too, and what helped is meeting women who believe in themselves, and just being around that energy, they, it's just like, that energy's gonna bring you along. Because I think sometimes we think like, oh, I have to do all of this in my head, and once I fix it in my head, then I can go be around people. No, no, no, you need to go be around people, because that's what's gonna fix it, you know? Being in that environment, our community, our environment, it affects us so much.

• 16:10Lewis Howes?

  It does.

• 16:10Rachel Rodgers?

  So, it's so crucially important to be surrounded by positive people who believe in possibility, you know? So, that's what I would say, and when I go into, into rooms, like, I go into intimidating rooms all the time, and I think now, I just think like, I'm just gonna be myself. And if myself isn't good enough in this room, then I don't wanna be in this room.

• 16:30Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 16:30Rachel Rodgers?

  Next, you know?

• 16:32Lewis Howes?

  Next room, next room. What if someone's listening and they're, or watching, and they're in their, their mid to late twenties, and they haven't really figured out what they wanna do with their career, or their, their business aspect of their life yet?

• 16:46Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 16:48Lewis Howes?

  What would you suggest in terms of the fastest path to making millions? The fastest path to being a millionaire? Based on their skills, how can they assess their skills? What would that industry be? What would that lane be? Is that a career? Is that investing in something? Is that earning as a solo entrepreneur to an entrepreneur? What lane should they take or think of?

• 17:09Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 17:09Lewis Howes?

  What are kind of these three different lanes you would suggest?

• 17:12Rachel Rodgers?

  So, I don't believe that we should choose our path based on like what industry is hot right now. You know? I think what's going to make you the most money the fastest is the thing that you're willing to consistently do. And that's usually connected to something that we actually care about and are interested enough in. So, I think sometimes we're like, "Oh, this is hot," or "This is a hot idea. We should jump on that." And it's like, you could. And I'm not saying that that won't work. But I think the way that I've been most consistent is if I'm doing the kind of work that I enjoy, that I enjoy, that I believe in, where I feel like I'm making a difference, and where I'm having fun. If it's a drag, I'm not gonna, I'm gonna stop showing up.

• 17:50Lewis Howes?

  It's gonna be tiring after a year, two years. You're like, it's exhausting.

• 17:54Rachel Rodgers?

  Right, so finding that thing that you're willing to do for 10 years. And sometimes you don't know, right? Like, when I graduated from law school, I started a law practice because I knew I didn't want any of these other jobs that I was being offered at these firms or at nonprofits. And I was just like, "You know what? I'm gonna go do my own thing." And I started my own practice. And law wasn't it for me. That wasn't my thing. But through doing that, I discovered that I really love running a business, and I'm actually good at it.

• 18:19Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 18:20Rachel Rodgers?

  And so, that, I would have never gotten to that. So, I think there's advice by Denzel Washington. You know, they asked him like, "What would you advise young actors?" And he says, "Act."

• 18:30Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 18:31Rachel Rodgers?

  Right, just get out there and do it. And so, I think that's what you have to do, is just pick something and do. And through that, you're gonna learn what you do like, what you don't like, what you're drawn to. You're also gonna get a perspective that's gonna show you opportunity. Like, I figured out Small Business Bodyguard is a digital product that I created while I was running my law practice, right? In 2013. But when I was a law clerk in 2009 and working in the courts every day, I identified that like, there's people who, you know, can get legal aid and get a free attorney, and then there are people who can afford attorneys. And there's a whole lot of people in between that.

• 19:03Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 19:04Rachel Rodgers?

  Where they don't qualify for legal aid, but they also can't afford $3.50 an hour for an attorney, right? And so, I was like, "Wow, wouldn't it be amazing if there was some DIY option? Like, they could do it themselves if they just had a little bit of guidance?"

• 19:16Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 19:17Rachel Rodgers?

  Um, and so like that idea was planted then, right? And then years later.

• 19:22Lewis Howes?

  You executed on it.

• 19:22Rachel Rodgers?

  Exactly, exactly. So I think sometimes we just have to get out there, get into something. Right? Start doing something and just getting information from that and seeing and go where you're drawn. I think we have, our instincts are so powerful. We collect too much information, too many advisors, too much content, right? So I think sometimes we just have to follow our instincts. Where do we feel led?

• 19:44Lewis Howes?

  Do it.

• 19:44Rachel Rodgers?

  Do it and see what happens. Nothing is, it doesn't have to be permanent.

• 19:48Lewis Howes?

  Right.

• 19:48Rachel Rodgers?

  Just gather some information from it and see what's next.

• 19:51Lewis Howes?

  Why do you think it's so hard for people to be transparent about their money? And talk about money? Why is it such a taboo topic in general?

• 19:58Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 19:58Lewis Howes?

  I think for all classes, all individuals.

• 20:01Rachel Rodgers?

  I totally agree. It's like you have, it's so funny because, and I wrote about this in my book, like for women, we have shame if we don't have enough money, but we also have shame if we have quote unquote, too much.

• 20:12Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 20:12Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 20:13Lewis Howes?

  Why?

• 20:14Rachel Rodgers?

  Because it's like, you know, oh, I have more than them and let me hide it because people are going to think I'm showing off. Or they, they have imposter syndrome, right? Am I worthy of having this much money? I've, I've experienced that myself at different times, right? Like you've worked hard for it, but you think that you don't deserve it for some reason. And I think that we just have, I think society was sort of designed so that we wouldn't talk about money.

• 20:38Lewis Howes?

  Why?

• 20:39Rachel Rodgers?

  Because I think it's designed so that we have a few people at the top and a lot of people at the bottom. And so now, you know, then of course the middle class emerged and we've gone through different things as a middle class, as a collective, right? Um, but I think it's, I, I, I think that's part of the reason why it's like, don't tell, you know, employer saying, don't tell your coworkers how much you're making because I'm paying you more than I'm paying this one and I don't want y'all to know. Right? So it's like, it comes from those places, but it's reinforced everywhere, you know?

• 21:10Lewis Howes?

  Right. Everyone's reinforcing it.

• 21:12Rachel Rodgers?

  Exactly. And I think.

• 21:13Lewis Howes?

  Not just corporations or.

• 21:15Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes. And because there's so much mystery, it's like, I don't, I don't know how much you make, right? You, you don't know, maybe you know how much I make because I talk about it all the time, but. I don't, you know what I mean? So like, we, we don't know and we're scared to make assumptions and we're sort of guessing. And we're like, well, if I put mine out there, I might be embarrassed because I discovered that like, I'm actually either making too much related to my peers or too little. And I think it goes back to belonging. We just want to belong to a community, to a group. You know what I mean? And so because of that, it's like, we don't want to do anything that's going to make us not belong. It's such an inherent human need to belong. And so I think that we don't talk about money because we think it's going to affect our ability to belong, whether it means we're too broke or we have too much, you know,

• 22:00Rachel Rodgers?

  or somewhere in the middle.

• 22:02Lewis Howes?

  So what conversations should we be having around money? How consistently should we be having them? And with who?

• 22:07Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes. Okay, so in terms of the conversations I'm having, I'm telling people like, if I get a speaking gig, here's how much they paid me, right? And I asked for more and they gave it to me. So make sure you do that too, right? Or I negotiated for higher pay. Or I negotiated for profit sharing. Or I asked for more vacation days, right? Like, we need to share our money-earning strategies with each other, especially with, you know, women and people of color, right? Like, putting more money, like, that's what allyship is, in my opinion, is putting money in the, in the pockets of the groups who need them, right? Um, and who, you know, we have this huge wealth chasm in this country. So like, how can we start to change that? And so that's why I share how much I got paid for a book deal, like, all these things that you're not supposed to share.

• 22:52Rachel Rodgers?

  I'm like, I'mma tell y'all. This is how much I got, this is how I got it, you know? Um, and I think it's important. So I think sharing money-making strategies is very important. I also think one of the things that has been so valuable to me with some of my, my peers, especially, I will say, my white guy peers in particular, have showed me, like, they have taught me things about like, you know, uh, investing strategies or, you know, like, oh, here's a strategy that I'm doing with my money, or I'm investing in real estate, or I'm doing these different things. Like, what are people doing with money once you have some, right? Like, once you have a little bit more than you need to live off of, what do you do with the excess? And sharing those things, right? Sharing that information, because it's usually hidden.

• 23:35Rachel Rodgers?

  And it's like, there's a small group of people that know, and you don't know until you have peers who have done it, and then you find out, right? In those quiet conversations that aren't on, you know, on Facebook, right?

• 23:48Lewis Howes?

  Should people be talking with their friends, their family members, their spouses?

• 23:53Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 23:53Lewis Howes?

  About money?

• 23:54Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 23:55Lewis Howes?

  What if someone's really uncomfortable and says, you know what? I don't want to talk about the money I make and what we should be doing. What conversation can you have to try to break the wall down?

• 24:04Rachel Rodgers?

  Well, I think you could say, here's why I want to talk about money. And here's why, like, we have to be, I think if we're willing to be transparent, people will be transparent with us. That's what I've found in the conversations that I've had. And that's how I've learned a lot about money is by having conversations. You know, like, the friend that I was spending time with last night, she's an investor and a financial advisor. And so I was asking her, like, okay, well, what are you investing in? And how are you thinking about it? And what is an investment thesis? Like, I don't even know what that means, right? Like, you know, we were having conversations and she was teaching me all of this stuff. Because I was willing to tell her, like, okay, here's how much money I want to invest, but I don't know where best to put it. You know, that kind of thing. So I think you just got to be willing to put yourself out there first.

• 24:48Rachel Rodgers?

  And I find that people want to talk about it. So when I bring it up and I start sharing, they immediately start sharing. Because it's like they were like waiting for an opportunity to talk about this.

• 24:57Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 24:57Rachel Rodgers?

  Is what I find. So I think we've just got to start doing it and create more transparency around it.

• 25:06Rachel Rodgers?

  And then, yeah, it creates, it creates opportunity for all. And that's the other piece of it is like, I recognize that, you know, even someone who would be considered a direct competitor. I mean, they sell the same thing I sell. I don't, I don't believe in competition in that way. I think there's more than enough money to go around. I think there's more than enough opportunity to go around.

• 25:25Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 25:25Rachel Rodgers?

  And I choose to, like, be friendly with and, and support my, my competitors, quote unquote, and vice versa. And that just means that we all get better at what we're doing. We all conserve our clients better, right? We all can make more money.

• 25:40Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely.

• 25:42Rachel Rodgers?

  I just choose to believe that. And sometimes, like, there are times where I'm too trusting. And someone, you know, I don't know, I guess you could, for lack of a better phrase, steals from me, right? Or takes an opportunity or says one thing but does another behind my back, whatever. And that's going to happen too, but I'm like. But I don't want to be a person who's closed. So I'm just gonna, I just gotta be me and it is what it is, right? Like, there's gonna be some occupational hazards when you're being transparent.

• 26:09Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely.

• 26:09Rachel Rodgers?

  Um, and you've just got to navigate that as best you can. But I just choose to be who I want to be in the world instead of who I feel like I need to protect myself, you know?

• 26:19Lewis Howes?

  What was harder for you, making your first hundred thousand dollars in a year? Or making your first million dollars in a year?

• 26:25Rachel Rodgers?

  One hundred thousand dollars, for sure.

• 26:27Lewis Howes?

  Why is making a hundred thousand harder than making a million in a year?

• 26:30Rachel Rodgers?

  Because it's like, I think we're just figuring it out. I also think we're charging too little for our work at that point.

• 26:38Lewis Howes?

  Is this when you were working as a career or when you had your own business? Or freelancing?

• 26:43Rachel Rodgers?

  I never made a hundred grand prior to starting my business.

• 26:46Lewis Howes?

  Got it.

• 26:46Rachel Rodgers?

  You know, I went from college to like, I had a job in between college and law school and then I went to law school. And then I started my own practice, so.

• 26:53Lewis Howes?

  So you didn't work at a law firm after law school?

• 26:55Rachel Rodgers?

  Mm-hmm.

• 26:56Lewis Howes?

  So you started pretty much right away being an entrepreneur?

• 26:58Rachel Rodgers?

  Right.

• 26:59Lewis Howes?

  Which is really hard to do.

• 27:00Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes, my last salary before I became an entrepreneur is, was forty-one thousand dollars a year.

• 27:05Lewis Howes?

  Got you.

• 27:05Rachel Rodgers?

  And like, really good health insurance.

• 27:07Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 27:07Rachel Rodgers?

  And I was thrilled.

• 27:08Lewis Howes?

  That was in between law school, or in between school and law schools?

• 27:11Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes. No, in between, um, this was after law school because this was my clerkship.

• 27:16Lewis Howes?

  Okay, got you.

• 27:17Rachel Rodgers?

  Yeah, so you know, you kind of sign on for a year, you, your paycheck is not that big. But like, and you're a lawyer, right?

• 27:25Lewis Howes?

  You're running the ropes, you're getting reps, you're, yeah.

• 27:27Rachel Rodgers?

  Exactly.

• 27:27Lewis Howes?

  Getting experience.

• 27:28Rachel Rodgers?

  And that's kind of why I decided to start my business at that time because I'm like, I already don't have a lot, right? Like, I already know how to live off of this amount of money.

• 27:36Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 27:37Rachel Rodgers?

  Yeah, so I'm like, if I can live off of this now, let me keep my expenses this way or lower them even more. Like, I sold my car and we owned a house and we rented it out, moved into a smaller place.

• 27:47Lewis Howes?

  And how many kids do you have at this time?

• 27:48Rachel Rodgers?

  I had none yet.

• 27:49Lewis Howes?

  Okay.

• 27:49Rachel Rodgers?

  Oh, well, actually, that's not true. I had my, my stepdaughter, but she didn't live with us full-time.

• 27:53Lewis Howes?

  Okay.

• 27:53Rachel Rodgers?

  Um, and so, that's what I did at that stage is like, I cut down my expenses as much as I could so that I could build this business.

• 28:01Lewis Howes?

  How old were you then?

• 28:02Rachel Rodgers?

  I was. Twenty seven, I wanna say, two thousand nine. Or, yeah, two thousand nine to two thousand ten.

• 28:09Lewis Howes?

  Okay, cool.

• 28:10Rachel Rodgers?

  Is, this was that year. Um, and then I clerked for the judge and I started my, my practice. And I was like, you know, I made like, there were months where I made five hundred bucks and months that I made two thousand dollars. And that's why like linking together, you know, I was doing, my friend bought a salon. She was a style hairstylist, she wanted to buy her first salon. I did the transaction, she was purchasing a existing business. And I charged her five hundred bucks for that. I don't think I've actually ever told anybody that.

• 28:37Lewis Howes?

  That's cheap.

• 28:38Rachel Rodgers?

  And I, cause I was ashamed, I was ashamed that I didn't know what to charge for that. And that I undervalued my services so much that I like literally have never told anybody I charged five hundred bucks for that. Um, and she's still a good friend of mine, um, and she-

• 28:52Lewis Howes?

  That's not her fault.

• 28:53Rachel Rodgers?

  No, it's not her fault. She made bank with that salon and she's since now, um, sold it.

• 28:58Lewis Howes?

  But you also got experience doing that, you know, doing that transaction, that deal, which you'd probably never done at that level.

• 29:05Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 29:05Lewis Howes?

  Seems like, so you gained confidence from that.

• 29:07Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 29:08Lewis Howes?

  So there was a win there for you as well?

• 29:09Rachel Rodgers?

  There was a win and, but when I saw how many hours of labor were involved.

• 29:13Lewis Howes?

  You put like weeks probably, right?

• 29:15Rachel Rodgers?

  I guess, I'm negotiating with the other side, dealing with like a difficult lawyer.

• 29:19Lewis Howes?

  Five hundred dollars is a steal.

• 29:20Rachel Rodgers?

  I mean, for the whole thing.

• 29:21Lewis Howes?

  Can I hire you for that?

• 29:22Rachel Rodgers?

  I should've, I should've charged five thousand dollars minimum, you know? Um, but it was like, but I learned from that. Oh, I add value, I could, I can figure it out and I have a skill in that. I'm trained in knowing how to figure it out.

• 29:35Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 29:35Rachel Rodgers?

  You know what I mean?

• 29:36Lewis Howes?

  And that was kinda like working on the job experience. Like you weren't fully probably experienced for that yet, it sounds like, but you learned, okay, I didn't need to do these ten hours of calls that I did here, I could've done this in an email, whatever. I don't know how that works, but whatever it was, you, you learned your process to simplify it, to maximize it, so.

• 29:54Rachel Rodgers?

  Exactly, and back to that hundred grand question, I think that's why. It's like, we're figuring it out. Usually we don't know exactly what we sell in those early stages of the business, so we're selling everything.

• 30:03Lewis Howes?

  Everything.

• 30:03Rachel Rodgers?

  Whatever people come to us with, we're like, yeah, we could do that. We just created a custom offer for them.

• 30:08Lewis Howes?

  Whatever money we can bring in, we'll do it.

• 30:09Rachel Rodgers?

  We will take it. And so you're very busy. Uh, I call this stage busy bee, cause you're very busy at this stage, but you're, nothing's refined, nothing's efficient. Everything is just sort of like your massive labor towards whatever you can make happen. And so that first hundred grand, I think you are hustling for that. But in order to get to a million, or at least to do it in a way that feels sustainable, you need systems, you need process, you need team, right? And so now you're starting to build a sustainable business. You're not just, you know, by brute force, making money.

• 30:44Lewis Howes?

  And you need to clarify your offering and your, your audience and your niche and what your specialty is.

• 30:49Rachel Rodgers?

  Exactly.

• 30:50Lewis Howes?

  I'm not just a lawyer that can do anything you want me to do, but here's what I really specialize in.

• 30:53Rachel Rodgers?

  Exactly.

• 30:54Lewis Howes?

  Here are my three packages at these different levels and.

• 30:56Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 30:57Lewis Howes?

  And you go all in on marketing that.

• 30:58Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes, and there's money that you're saying no to.

• 31:01Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely.

• 31:01Rachel Rodgers?

  You learn that lesson that not all money is good money.

• 31:04Lewis Howes?

  Isn't that crazy?

• 31:05Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 31:06Lewis Howes?

  I say this a lot to people, I go, it's weird that I'll turn down massive checks all the time.

• 31:11Rachel Rodgers?

  Yep.

• 31:11Lewis Howes?

  But I'm just like, that's not what I want to do and it doesn't serve my mission.

• 31:14Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 31:15Lewis Howes?

  If it's not serving the mission and I don't need the money, then I shouldn't do something just to bring in more money.

• 31:21Rachel Rodgers?

  Exactly, because it's a distraction.

• 31:22Lewis Howes?

  At different stages of my life, a different season, now that I've said yes to everything, you know, when I'm broke, you say yes to all these things.

• 31:28Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 31:29Lewis Howes?

  But then when you're like, okay, I'm here for a mission and to serve at the highest level of my skills and abilities that brings me the most joy and brings others the most joy and benefits the most number of people, then you start saying no to money, which is crazy.

• 31:41Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 31:42Lewis Howes?

  It sounds crazy, doesn't it?

• 31:43Rachel Rodgers?

  It's delightful. I love it. I feel, I feel like, to me, it lets me know that I'm not, it's like I've not made money my master.

• 31:52Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 31:52Rachel Rodgers?

  Right? Like, it's very important, but it is a tool.

• 31:55Lewis Howes?

  That's good.

• 31:55Rachel Rodgers?

  You know what I mean? And I'm not beholden to it and I won't trade anything for it. There is plenty of things that I will not do and I don't care how much you pay me, you know? So I think that it's good to remember that. And so when you're turning down opportunities, it's, it's just an example of like, okay, I'm, I'm, I'm doing things right.

• 32:12Lewis Howes?

  Well, I think you gotta understand that just because you turn down money over here, doesn't mean it's not going to keep coming to you. Like, just because you turned down something that's not right for you, doesn't mean abundance of something that is right.

• 32:23Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 32:24Lewis Howes?

  Will keep coming to you.

• 32:25Rachel Rodgers?

  There's so much opportunity, there's always more where that came from.

• 32:27Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely.

• 32:28Rachel Rodgers?

  You know?

• 32:29Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely. That's powerful. Okay, so the first hundred thousand, how long did it take you? How many years until you made a hundred thousand in one year?

• 32:36Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 32:37Lewis Howes?

  Roughly.

• 32:37Rachel Rodgers?

  So my first year in business, and it was like, I started September first, two thousand ten. And so from that year till like September two thousand eleven, I made like sixty grand that first year.

• 32:47Lewis Howes?

  That's great.

• 32:47Rachel Rodgers?

  But I think the first full twelve month calendar year was like year two. So it wasn't, it didn't take too long.

• 32:54Lewis Howes?

  And then how long until you made seven figures in one year?

• 32:57Rachel Rodgers?

  Yeah, that took me seven years.

• 33:00Lewis Howes?

  After that, yeah.

• 33:01Rachel Rodgers?

  Yeah.

• 33:01Lewis Howes?

  From starting business.

• 33:02Rachel Rodgers?

  From, from, from September two thousand ten, I think it was, maybe it was six, it was like twenty sixteen, twenty seventeen.

• 33:07Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 33:07Rachel Rodgers?

  Um, I think twenty seventeen was my first seven figure year. And I had gotten close, but not, you know, like almost there, but not quite. And twice, and you know what, it was interesting, what happened is, like, I had my business, my revenue was doubling in the beginning, it was like, I made a hundred grand, then I made two or two fifty, and then, you know, then I made five hundred.

• 33:29Lewis Howes?

  Then it's like.

• 33:30Rachel Rodgers?

  I plateaued.

• 33:31Lewis Howes?

  It's like, okay, five sixty.

• 33:32Rachel Rodgers?

  Right.

• 33:33Lewis Howes?

  Six twenty.

• 33:33Rachel Rodgers?

  I know, it started to make me mad, like, from five hundred to seven hundred thousand, I think I was there for like three years. And there was all kinds of stuff going on in my life. One, there was a lawsuit that, I, one of my business partners, so like, this is one of the things where you're too trusting too quickly, caused some issues, so that was a huge distraction for me at that time, I had had two babies back to back.

• 33:54Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 33:54Rachel Rodgers?

  So, you know, I was busy with them, and then there were just a lot of lessons I needed to learn, like, I had all these people working for me, but I didn't have good boundaries, and I didn't, I just kind of let them do whatever they wanted, and didn't have, you know, like, I was learning how to become a boss, I was learning how to become a leader and a manager.

• 34:13Lewis Howes?

  So much more challenging than just doing your skill.

• 34:15Rachel Rodgers?

  Mm-hmm.

• 34:16Lewis Howes?

  Like, let me just be good at the law thing, which is what people wanted me for.

• 34:21Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 34:21Lewis Howes?

  Now they want my business for that, and me, but I've got to train the team and.

• 34:26Rachel Rodgers?

  To deliver, right, exactly.

• 34:28Lewis Howes?

  It's a different skill.

• 34:29Rachel Rodgers?

  It's totally different, and it's, it can be challenging, and I think that's why a lot of times we're like, well, I'm just gonna go back to doing it myself. And it's like, you can, but it's gonna keep you small.

• 34:36Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 34:37Rachel Rodgers?

  You have to say yes to those challenges and learn that new skill, right? Um, and I think leadership skills are so valuable and, for everybody, so. Um, yeah, I had to learn that and it took me a couple of years to like, figure out how to have stronger boundaries, figure out how to stop letting people waste my time. Figure out how to charge for what I, what my services are worth, right? All of those things, those were lessons that I was learning in that time.

• 35:03Lewis Howes?

  Who was wasting your time, like clients or employees?

• 35:07Rachel Rodgers?

  Clients were wasting my time, team were wasting my time. Uh, even family members, right? Like I, I, my desk was like right in the front door. So like, it's like the door is here, my desk is right here. My husband would like be coming in and out. He's a stay at home dad at the time, taking care of the kids. Um, and he just ran a tight ship with our household. It was amazing, like I had so much support in that way. Uh, but he would like, every time he came through the door, would talk to me, interrupt me. Yes, exactly. It was like, I didn't know how to create boundaries around my work time. Uh, and I did eventually learn it. I started getting up at 4am because I was like, I'd get up at six and these kids would, it's like they could tell, like they had a radar the moment I woke up. So then I would get up at six, like I would be like, okay, I'm going to beat them. I'm going to get up at 5:30. Nope, still get up with me.

• 35:51Rachel Rodgers?

  Five, nope, 4:30, nope, 4am and they stayed in their beds. So I was like, fine, I'm getting up at 4am every day then. So that's what I did for a while, just to find that quiet time so I could focus. Um, so those were like, I had to learn those lessons, you know? And, and now with my clients, I try to teach them those lessons as early as possible. I wrote this book because it has some of those lessons in there. Um, so that people don't have to spend three years figuring it out, you know?

• 36:20Lewis Howes?

  You know, I'm, I'm a big believer that going through the process is the best way to learn, but there are also some things that we could learn from mentors or teachers ahead of time that could hopefully save us some time in some of our decisions that we waste time on. I still feel like even with that, we're still going to learn things the hard way in certain ways. But if you could go back to that, uh, 27 and, and say, you know what? These are the three skills you need to learn in your first year of business or before you launch that first year. Only three skills, obviously there'd be many, but what would be the three most important things to develop a millionaire mindset faster?

• 36:55Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes, one, learn how to say no. Learn how to say no and learn how to not feel responsible for other people's feelings. Number one, because I think especially as women, we are socialized to be nice. And that niceness is frittering away our dollars, you know? And so we have to stop being so nice all the time. And you know what? You're mad that I can't spend this extra time doing this extra thing for no money? Oh, well, be mad. That's okay. You can feel your feelings and I'm gonna go over here and protect my time. So I think learning how to say no is a top priority. Um, I think the second thing is get a personal assistant. Like from day one, as soon as you possibly can.

• 37:36Rachel Rodgers?

  If you can afford to pay somebody 20 hours a week, uh, for five hours a week, like as soon as that you can eke out a part of your budget for that, absolutely do it because as soon as you start learning how to delegate to somebody else, how to explain something to somebody else, you're gonna learn those leadership skills and then you'll be able to run a team later. You know, so the sooner you can start learning those skills of how to lead others, how to delegate to others, how to communicate, um, how to support the person that is working, you know, for your company. I think that is so, uh, crucial. So saying no, um, getting a personal assistant and let's see, what is number three? God, there's so many. I think raise, double your prices would be my number three. Like whatever you think your price should be, double it.

• 38:21Rachel Rodgers?

  Because especially women, we so undervalue our services that we can afford to double it and we'd probably still be undercharging.

• 38:29Lewis Howes?

  And what if you're saying, this is my price, say it's 5,000 for whatever you're doing, uh, and I've doubled it to 5,000? And then for a few months, no one's saying yes to this price. Do you then make concessions and discount? Because you're like, well, I gotta pay rent now, I gotta figure out how to.

• 38:45Rachel Rodgers?

  Never.

• 38:46Lewis Howes?

  Never discount?

• 38:47Rachel Rodgers?

  Never.

• 38:48Lewis Howes?

  But if you're broke, what if you, no one's saying yes? You've got all these different audiences of people. You're knocking on doors, you're making calls, you're following up, you're doing things, people are like, nah, I don't need it, or it's too much.

• 38:58Rachel Rodgers?

  Mm-hmm.

• 38:59Lewis Howes?

  What do you say when someone says?

• 39:00Rachel Rodgers?

  I'm not dropping the price.

• 39:02Lewis Howes?

  So I gotta feed my babies, I gotta pay rent, I gotta do all these things. I got family that didn't even help. They rely on me.

• 39:10Rachel Rodgers?

  I think what happened, you gotta solve the real problem, right? Like, so if it's not selling, then either you don't believe in it, or you're not describing it clearly, so people can, like, know what it is.

• 39:20Lewis Howes?

  Or you're not showing the results you could get for someone.

• 39:22Rachel Rodgers?

  Exactly. Maybe you're not good at these sales calls, and you're like, "A lot of people will do this." They'll get on a sales call, they'll have the whole conversation, explain, you know, hear the person out, match the person's problem to a solution they have, and then like choke at the end and not ask for the business. So it's like, get comfortable asking for the business, you know? Usually when that's the case, there's a problem there with the entrepreneur that they are afraid of, and so they avoid solving that problem by dropping the price. And so I'm like, "No, no, no, keep the price right where it is, and actually deal with whatever that challenge is that you are struggling to overcome."

• 39:53Lewis Howes?

  What is that challenge usually for people?

• 39:55Rachel Rodgers?

  I think it's being afraid to ask for the business, not marketing themselves, not putting themselves out there, right?

• 40:00Lewis Howes?

  What is the inner feeling, though? What is the inner fear?

• 40:03Rachel Rodgers?

  Of asking for the business, that somebody's gonna say no. I guess rejection. Nobody likes rejection, right? But the sooner you can get comfortable with rejection, like, you are free. That creates so much confidence when you can be rejected a ton. And I feel like one of the best things that happened to me is when I was applying for a clerkship at the end of law school, and I just got rejection after. I mean, I applied to like ninety different judges. And then I also applied to a whole lot of law firms, got a lot of rejections there, right? It was super competitive. It was like the 2008 recession, right? They were hiring less people. I was not at the top of my class. So it was like, I just kept getting rejected. I mean, literally every day I would open my mailbox for like two months, and it was like three rejection letters a day. And I'm like, "Awesome," right?

• 40:47Rachel Rodgers?

  Because I just got, at first, it was, it hurt my feelings. But by the, by the second month, I was like, "Oh, well, keep it moving," right? And just figure it out. So I think that being rejected, learning how to get rejected, and be okay with it, and it not make you fall apart, is one of the best skills in the world.

• 41:07Lewis Howes?

  What's the process of learning that skill of? Is it just facing rejection over and over and putting yourself out there? And then learning, okay, I'm still alive, I'm still here?

• 41:17Rachel Rodgers?

  Exactly. It's like Denzel said, act, right? Get rejected. And there was like this thing going around that was like a hundred no's, like collecting a hundred no's. So like, the person was like, you know what? My goal is to be rejected a hundred times, collect a hundred no's. So I'm gonna put myself out there enough, ask for something enough that I could be denied, right? Have that many people say no. What you will learn along the journey is that there's gonna be people who say yes. And so for every 20 or 25 rejections, you're gonna get a yes, right? Like, and there's so many stories about this, like The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, you know that story? Of like, you know, how it was rejected, it was a complete failure, you know? In Brazil. And then it got translated into English and it's like one of the bestselling books of all time.

• 42:01Rachel Rodgers?

  And it is an amazing book. Can you imagine us not having that book?

• 42:05Lewis Howes?

  It's incredible.

• 42:06Rachel Rodgers?

  It's incredible. And it's like, he just believed in it. And he, you know, kept pitching it. And when, when his publisher was like, I'm not gonna print this anymore, he took it to another publisher and just like, believed, right? So there's something to be said about learning how to be rejected, continuing to have that tenacity, not letting it shake your belief in what you're here to do.

• 42:27Lewis Howes?

  If someone wasn't raised around the language of money and they weren't in an environment or a household that spoke about it in a good way, maybe they said money, you know, rich people are mean or bad people. Or their parents always got angry when they saw someone who had money on TV and associated wealth with a bad person.

• 42:50Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 42:50Lewis Howes?

  How do they break that mindset that not all wealthy people are bad people?

• 42:54Rachel Rodgers?

  Yeah. Well, challenge that belief, right? The way that we change our thinking is to challenge those beliefs. So like, literally write down the thing that you believe and then, you know, write down all the evidence that you can collect. That tells you the opposite. Like, that's how we change our mindset, right? You know, so if I'm telling myself I'm not smart, I can collect all the evidence. Well, I graduated from law school. I graduated from undergrad, uh, summa cum laude, right? Like, a- actually, there's evidence that I am smart. You know what I mean? Let me, let me point that out. So, I think it's the-

• 43:27Lewis Howes?

  So it's being a lawyer of your life-

• 43:29Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 43:29Lewis Howes?

  Of that belief system.

• 43:30Rachel Rodgers?

  Exactly.

• 43:31Lewis Howes?

  Which is something you understand.

• 43:32Rachel Rodgers?

  Collect evidence to prove what you want to believe, right? And see if you can find out that it's true. Maybe it won't be, but you probably will find that it is. Cause a lot of our thinking, it's just like, it's just something, it's a thought that was planted there in childhood, or from whatever interactions we had that are memorable moment, that, that are, that are kinda stuck, right? And it's creating this like, this neural pathway that we just keep walking every day. We just keep saying that to ourselves. And so, the way we create a new pathway is we gotta start digging that path, right, to go a different direction. And the way you dig that path is start collecting evidence of the opposite. So, look for examples of wealthy people who are, you know, trash humans, right? I hope that I'm an example, right?

• 44:13Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 44:14Rachel Rodgers?

  And that there are plenty of others out there. So, you know, try to challenge those, you know, just, and I think it's just societal views. It's things that we tell ourselves. I don't know why. Maybe to make ourselves feel better for not trying to go after what we want. I don't know why we do it, but we do it. And I think we can change it.

• 44:32Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. And do you think money buys us happiness?

• 44:35Rachel Rodgers?

  No. I think, but I think it buys a roof over your head, which is happiness, right? Like, so, you know, sometimes people, when people talk about like, money doesn't matter, or whatever, I'm not beholden to money, or they think it's a moral high ground to act like, I don't care about money, right? So like, you feel better about yourself, cause you don't care about money, and your nose is in there, cause you don't care about money. I'm just like, this is a person who has never been poor. You know, like, this is a person who is not aware of the real- Economic situation for so many people. And I think if you are aware of that, then you recognize that money is a powerful tool that enables you to take care of and feed your children, that enables you to house yourself,

• 45:16Rachel Rodgers?

  right? Like, just like the baseline, I have been in a place for many years, my family was, and then I was as a young adult, where like, I, you know, my, like, electric went out, right? And we didn't have lights for a week until my mom got paid again. Or where, you know, we didn't have food, or we were on food stamps and I'd be embarrassed to use it and there's only certain things we could buy with it, right? Like, I've had that real financial insecurity and I think anybody who has had that understands that money is very important. Like, the idea that it's not important is complete nonsense, you know? And it's like, that's the reason you're telling yourself that. I would love to coach that person and dig into, why are you telling yourself, why do you have that story? What

• 45:58Rachel Rodgers?

  is it doing for you? Right? Because the reality is, is that money is an important tool in the way that our society is organized today. And so, we need it and, you know, we need to learn how to get it. And that's exactly why I do what I do, to teach people how to get it and show them that it is possible for you to create it on your own, you know? But yes, this idea that like, you know, money's not important, or whatever, money is for bad people, I'm like, look, money pays the bills. Okay? Like, let's get back to basics here, alright? I think y'all are forgetting something. And then, once you have that baseline level of security, you can decide, do I want more? And if I do, how much more? And here's what I say all the time, you know, when people are like, well, how much is enough, right? You're a millionaire, or your business is making X amount of money, like, isn't that

• 46:42Rachel Rodgers?

  enough? Why do you still strive for more? And I tell them, because I am black. Because there is a huge wealth chasm in this country, and as long as my people need money, I'm going, and I'm good at earning it, I'm gonna keep earning it, and then put it where I think it belongs. Right? So, there's a certain amount of security I want for myself and my children, and frankly, I feel like I have that at this stage. So, I've done that part. So, it's like, check. And so, now the next thing to do is, how can I spread it around?

• 47:08Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 47:08Rachel Rodgers?

  You know, like, how can I have it be making change for people and change people's lives? Because I recognize, money changes lives. And so, I think it's important to just recognize, money isn't, is neutral. It's not positive or negative, it's a tool, and it's how we use that tool that determines whether something bad happens, or something evil happens, or if you have a positive goal with it.

• 47:30Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. Have you, have you met a lot of? Uh, millionaires who are unhappy.

• 47:36Rachel Rodgers?

  I've met millionaires who are unhappy, um, and I know plenty of happy ones.

• 47:43Rachel Rodgers?

  I think there's both and I think it's like, I mean, here's the benefit, right? If you're a millionaire and you're unhappy, you could probably go purchase some therapy. You can maybe go to a retreat, right? Like you can spend some money.

• 47:54Lewis Howes?

  Take some time off.

• 47:55Rachel Rodgers?

  Right. You can spend some money on figuring out how to solve that problem. Um, I don't think it's money in itself that's making them miserable.

• 48:02Lewis Howes?

  Really?

• 48:03Rachel Rodgers?

  You know, maybe it could be, but maybe it's just because they're choosing to make it their master instead of really leading their own lives and directing their own lives. Like you were saying, right? Like living in LA, right? Everybody's got a Ferrari or a Lamborghini or something and you got a scooter.

• 48:15Lewis Howes?

  I drive a scooter. Scoot down the street with a smile on my face. Wave at the guys in the Ferrari. Like, I want what that guy has, you know, it's like.

• 48:23Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes, but see, that's where we get into trouble is if we're like, oh, because somebody else has it, I have to have it. It's like, do you want it? Is that something that you even care about?

• 48:32Lewis Howes?

  I think want, want something because you want it, not because you're trying to impress someone else or show off or.

• 48:38Rachel Rodgers?

  Or you think you should want it.

• 48:40Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, or, or because your friends have it, you're supposed to buy it.

• 48:42Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 48:43Lewis Howes?

  Do it because I was, um, I was with a friend recently and he bought this like, I don't know, forty or fifty thousand dollars souped up like ATV type of thing, like a four wheeler thing with like the music, the, but it's like forty thousand dollar ATV thing. He's like, I got it because a friend had one and I thought it'd be cool. I was doing it to like celebrate a big launch I had.

• 49:04Rachel Rodgers?

  Yeah.

• 49:04Lewis Howes?

  So I wanted to buy myself something. I bought this and I've used it three times in a year.

• 49:08Rachel Rodgers?

  Hmm.

• 49:08Lewis Howes?

  It's like it wore off after the first couple of times and I just sit in my garage. So I think, so if you're going to celebrate and buy something, that's one thing. But if you're going to buy things to try to impress or keep up with your friends, just know what you're doing it for. And you may not use that thing.

• 49:22Rachel Rodgers?

  Yeah.

• 49:23Lewis Howes?

  And that money could have been invested in something else or, or.

• 49:25Rachel Rodgers?

  Someone else.

• 49:26Lewis Howes?

  Someone else or whatever.

• 49:28Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 49:28Lewis Howes?

  So.

• 49:29Rachel Rodgers?

  And I think we're gonna have starts and stops like that where, where we think we want something and then you get it and you're like, actually I've learned that I don't care about this.

• 49:35Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 49:35Rachel Rodgers?

  My husband loves cars. I don't really care about cars. I just want to be comfortable and get where I'm going.

• 49:39Lewis Howes?

  Me too.

• 49:41Rachel Rodgers?

  Uh, but my husband loves cars and like he, he lights up and he gets so excited. He loves to tinker with them and all of that. And so I'm like, awesome, have cars because you love cars, right? And like, I, what I love is, you know, we have horses, which, you know, if you want to lose a lot of money, buy a horse.

• 49:58Lewis Howes?

  Man, the upkeep every month on that is probably five grand a month just to maintain a horse.

• 50:03Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes, I mean, we have a full-time person who takes care of our horses. But when I see like my black children in an equestrian world where like it's literally 98% white, wealthy white, you know? And so like watching my black children ride their horses on their ranch, I'm like, I will pay.

• 50:21Lewis Howes?

  It's cool.

• 50:21Rachel Rodgers?

  I'm happy to pay it.

• 50:22Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 50:23Rachel Rodgers?

  Brings me great joy and it brings them joy, you know? And they also are learning, one of my favorite things about it is that they have to groom them.

• 50:30Lewis Howes?

  That's good.

• 50:31Rachel Rodgers?

  The barn manager, they makes them go up there twice a week and they've got to muck the stalls and take care of the horses and I feel like it's hopefully teaching them not to be spoiled. I didn't have that problem when I was a kid because we didn't have money. My parents couldn't spoil me.

• 50:42Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 50:43Rachel Rodgers?

  But I do have that problem with them, so.

• 50:45Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, well, any kids with horses are spoiled already.

• 50:50Rachel Rodgers?

  Exactly.

• 50:50Lewis Howes?

  So you have to teach them hard work in that process.

• 50:53Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes, exactly. And so I like them doing manual labor and I like when they're like, I don't want to do it today. I'm like, guess what? That horse still needs to get taken care of today. So you got to get up there and go do it, whether you want to or not.

• 51:04Lewis Howes?

  That's good.

• 51:04Rachel Rodgers?

  So it's, it's good. It teaches them good lessons, but it brings a lot of joy to us and it's, it's, the horses provide an experience to us every day that is so valuable. So I, you know, but it's also possible I could have bought a horse because I thought I wanted one and then realized I don't. And then that's okay. Sell it and figure out what you do want, you know? Don't just build a big house because other people have a big house, like build a house.

• 51:27Lewis Howes?

  Because you want it.

• 51:27Rachel Rodgers?

  Right. Like I, I do have a large house and I have it because I love having people over. So we invite people all the time and have big parties and it's amazing. And it's like that being together is how I celebrate, you know?

• 51:41Lewis Howes?

  Yeah, I think you'll regret decisions more often than not when you do something because you think you're supposed to do it.

• 51:46Rachel Rodgers?

  Oh, yeah.

• 51:47Lewis Howes?

  Like I live in an apartment still. I've never bought a home. I've invested in real estate, but I've never bought a home because for me that doesn't excite me.

• 51:53Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 51:53Lewis Howes?

  Having a property and then spending 1,500 a month on the pool and the landscaping and the management and the taxes and all these things and the roof leaking. I'm like, that doesn't excite me, that idea. Investing in real estate where someone else manages it excites me.

• 52:07Rachel Rodgers?

  Right.

• 52:07Lewis Howes?

  Because I'm not doing that work. I'd rather put my effort on serving humanity and doing the things that I'm skilled at and not 10 hours a week on a house that, you know, obviously I'd hire someone to manage it, but it's still. I'm thinking about it.

• 52:19Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 52:20Lewis Howes?

  And, and I'm thirty eight and I don't have a house and most people might be thinking, what are you doing? You're like, what are you doing with your life, Louis? You should be owning a house. Like, why are you not doing this? And I just see it differently. And maybe in the next year or two, I'll say, you know what? I want a yard, I want a space and I'm down for this, for this season of my life. But I haven't been up until now. And I don't want to make decisions because other people are telling me to do it.

• 52:42Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 52:43Lewis Howes?

  Unless I feel called to do something.

• 52:45Rachel Rodgers?

  Exactly.

• 52:46Lewis Howes?

  And so, you know, I may be right or wrong, but at least I feel peace.

• 52:49Rachel Rodgers?

  Totally. You gotta be willing to like, separate from the pack and, you know, figure out what your path is. And it's cool, because when you do that too, you inspire other people to be themselves, you know? Like, I was talking earlier about Arlen Hamilton and, you know, she is like this amazing VC, obviously a millionaire. And she wears like hoodies and like everywhere she goes. And she's like, I refuse to get dressed because she doesn't want to. And like, just being around her in her hoodie frees me to be like, I do want to get dressed up. So like, I am. Right? Like, I'm not gonna ask, what's the dress code? I'm just gonna wear what I want to wear. Right? Like, so I think it's so important when you are living the way that you want to live and doing things differently, it frees other people.

• 53:33Lewis Howes?

  Yeah.

• 53:34Rachel Rodgers?

  You know, to do the same.

• 53:36Lewis Howes?

  What about your, you have four kids, right?

• 53:38Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 53:39Lewis Howes?

  Four kids. What are the age ranges?

• 53:41Rachel Rodgers?

  I have a twenty-one-year-old.

• 53:42Lewis Howes?

  Okay.

• 53:43Rachel Rodgers?

  And then a nine-year-old, she's gonna be ten later this week. So she's about to be ten. Eight-year-old and a three-year-old.

• 53:51Lewis Howes?

  Get a new horse for their birthday.

• 53:54Lewis Howes?

  Ten-year-old, get a new horse.

• 53:55Rachel Rodgers?

  She is having an equestrian birthday party, but she's not getting a new horse.

• 54:01Lewis Howes?

  Yeah. What are the, uh, the main themes that you teach your kids about money from all these different age ranges? You know, if you could share three things that you teach them consistently at home?

• 54:13Rachel Rodgers?

  Yes.

• 54:14Lewis Howes?

  Whether it be a simple or you know profound principle, what are those three things that you talk about on a consistent basis with all of them?

• 54:20Rachel Rodgers?

  Well, I like to teach them about consistency, which I think is about money.

• 54:25Lewis Howes?

  It's huge.

• 54:25Rachel Rodgers?

  Yeah, like you gotta show up and you gotta do this every day. And it's like you did it for five days and they're like, well, I did it for five days. Why can't I get credit for that? And it's like, that's great. But this is the kind of thing where you gotta show up. So teaching them really about habits and about like having a work ethic. If you want something, are you willing to put some sweat equity into it so you can have it?

• 54:47Rachel Rodgers?

  And so teaching them that, I think is a core money principle.

• 54:50Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 54:51Rachel Rodgers?

  And then I also teach them about business. I teach them about entrepreneurship, that you can create a business and sell anything and you know, make money from your own creative ideas. So I want them to learn that. So my daughter is always like making books or she's making like little gifts for people for their birthdays. And she's an artist and I want to teach her to value her art. This beautiful thing that you created, we can hang it on the wall and that adds value to people's lives. So you can charge for that. So just having those conversations and showing them even things that they're creating now have value.

• 55:22Lewis Howes?

  Absolutely.

• 55:22Rachel Rodgers?

  Or things that they're willing to do, like my son is like very techie. So I'm like, oh, the remote's not working. My eight year olds, and he's been doing this since he was six, he's like, mom, just give it to me. He like fixes it all. So you know, he has that natural skill, like it's obviously a natural skill. Who taught him? I didn't teach him nothing. I don't even know how to do it. Maybe he learned by watching my husband, I don't know. But you know, I want him to see that like, oh, your ability to come in and fix that for somebody who doesn't know how, that adds value. That's, that's something you could charge for if you wanted to in the future. So like teaching them that and asking them to do things and telling them like, you know, if you do X, Y, Z, I will pay you. So I negotiate a lot with them.

• 56:04Rachel Rodgers?

  So you know, it's like, we did this family photo shoot recently and my son absolutely hates taking photos. He hates getting dressed up. He hates the whole production of it. And so I'm like, okay, so you do this for mommy and you make sure you smile in all of the pictures. And you have to like not like untuck your shirt and do all those things. And if you do all of that, then I'm going to allow you to play video games tonight for two hours on a weekday.

• 56:29Lewis Howes?

  Wow.

• 56:30Rachel Rodgers?

  So like

• 56:30Lewis Howes?

  That's big time.

• 56:31Rachel Rodgers?

  And then we shake hands and then there are times where he tries to go back on the deal, you know? And he makes deals with his sister too. And like he'll try to go back on it. I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. If you make a deal, you have to stick to it, you know? So making sure that he understands that if you say, if you give your word on something, you have to back that up.

• 56:48Lewis Howes?

  Yes.

• 56:49Rachel Rodgers?

  Um, so, so teaching them that, I guess, is another part of the, the money story. And I like them to just, it's so funny. My husband and I will go for walks or whatever, and we'll be talking about business. My husband's the CFO. Um, and so we're having business conversations, and my daughter's hanging out with us, listening in. And my husband's like, yep, you stay right there and listen to all of this, you know? Soak it in. Um, so teaching her just about like the different strategies that we, we try and, you know, marketing moves are making or whatever, different investments that we're making and why we're doing it. Um, and explaining that to her, willing to have that conversation, you know, like, we bought a beach house. Let's talk about how, you know, we're only going to use it for the summer, but we're going to rent it out during

• 57:32Rachel Rodgers?

  the other parts of the year, and that's going to cover the cost of what we're paying for the summer, or like what we're paying for it all year long. Um, so this is the strategy, and explaining it to her so she can start to see. And it's like, it's repetition, right? It's us having those conversations over and over again over time. Um, and there's something about the eldest daughter, I don't know what it is, but she's going to be running this whole empire.

• 57:54Lewis Howes?

  That's great.

• 57:54Rachel Rodgers?

  Can already tell.

• 57:55Lewis Howes?

  That's great. That's funny. Thank you so much for listening. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and it inspired you on your journey towards greatness. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a full rundown of today's show with all the important links. And also make sure to share this with a friend. Leave us a review over on Apple Podcasts and subscribe over on Apple Podcasts as well. I really love hearing feedback from you guys, so share a review over on Apple and let me know what part of this episode resonated with you the most. And if no one's told you lately, I want to remind you that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter. And now it's time to go out there and do something great.