BigDeal Podcast Episode Summary: “They’re Lying to You About Getting Rich”

Host: Codie Sanchez
Release Date: February 19, 2025

In this compelling episode of BigDeal, entrepreneur and investor Codie Sanchez dismantles prevalent myths about wealth creation and shares actionable insights on achieving financial freedom through ownership. Below is a detailed summary of the key topics, discussions, and conclusions from the episode.

1. Ownership: The Cornerstone of Wealth

Codie Sanchez opens the conversation by emphasizing ownership as the fundamental principle for building significant wealth. She states:

“The one word that encapsulates my entire message is ownership. You are going to have a hard time getting rich with only salary.”
(00:00)

She highlights that 88% of individuals worth $30 million or more own a business, underscoring ownership as the highest likelihood path to substantial wealth.

2. The Four Stages of Making Money

Codie outlines a four-stage framework for financial growth:

1. Learning Stage:

   • Focus on understanding what you don’t know.
   • Emphasize continuous learning over immediate earnings.
   • “What we want to do is not really obsess so much on how to make your first million from your earnings going to your job, but how do you learn from.”
     (04:30)

2. Earning Stage:

   • Maximize earnings through career progression.
   • Typically begins after 3-5 years in the business world.

3. Investing Stage:

   • Allocate part of earnings into investments that generate passive income.
   • “This is where you start putting it into something that can pay you even when you're sleeping.”
     (08:15)

4. Mastery Stage:

   • Generate income without active investment.
   • Rarely achieved by the majority.

Codie advises young individuals to focus on learning and earnings initially, setting a strong foundation for future investment and mastery.

3. Reverse Engineering Success: Becoming Codie Sanchez

When asked about aspiring to become like her, Codie suggests:

“What part of me do you want to become? Or what part of anybody that you see do you want to become?”
(15:45)

She recommends reverse engineering her career path by studying her job history, the businesses she acquired, and her investment strategies. Key steps include:

• Analyzing mentors’ career trajectories via platforms like LinkedIn.
• Identifying pivotal moments when they started owning businesses or investing.
• Learning from existing case studies to apply similar strategies.

4. Why Most People Don’t Achieve Financial Freedom

Codie addresses the daunting statistic that 1 in 10 Americans will die broke. She attributes the failure to achieve financial freedom to:

• Surrounding Yourself with Underperformers:
  “If you sit next to a high performer, you have a 15% higher likelihood of high performance yourself.”
  (22:10)

• Lack of Ownership Mentality:
  Most people settle for salaried positions without seeking ownership stakes.

• Socioeconomic Barriers:
  The top 1% hold 30.9% of the nation's wealth, making upward mobility increasingly difficult.

Codie emphasizes the "power of place" — the importance of being in environments with extraordinary individuals to foster personal and financial growth.

5. Emotional Intelligence and Grit Over IQ

Contrary to popular belief, Codie asserts that IQ is not the primary driver of success. Instead:

• Emotional Intelligence (EQ):
  Ability to engage, build trust, and lead effectively.

• Grit:
  “How hard are people willing to work? That is the biggest reason why you will be successful one way or the other.”
  (31:20)

She references Angela Duckworth's study, highlighting that grit and the ability to delay gratification are stronger predictors of success than raw intelligence.

6. Securing Ownership and Equity in Your Career

Codie discusses strategies to obtain ownership within a company:

• Performance-Based Equity:
  High-performing employees are often rewarded with a percentage of the business. “Almost any company will give employees a percentage of the business if they're valuable enough.”
  (41:50)

• Negotiating Equity:
  Demonstrating your value and understanding your contribution can position you to negotiate for equity or profit-sharing arrangements.

• Choosing the Right Company:
  If your current employer doesn't offer equity opportunities, consider changing companies to one that does.

Codie stresses that equity is earned, not expected, and highlights the importance of being indispensable to the business.

7. Strategies for Buying Businesses with Limited Funds

For aspiring entrepreneurs without significant capital, Codie outlines four strategies to acquire businesses:

1. Get Other People's Money (OPM):
   Utilizing loans, SBA financing, or raising third-party capital.

2. Leverage Expertise:
   Offering specialized skills (e.g., podcast production) in exchange for equity or a share of profits.

3. Sweat Equity:
   Performing the majority of the work in exchange for ownership stakes.

4. Structuring Deals:
   Mastering deal structuring to acquire ownership without upfront capital.

Codie underscores the importance of structuring transactions effectively, stating:

“The difference between a good deal and a bad deal is two things. You can't do a good deal with a bad guy, and it's really hard to control the price if you don't control the terms.”
(52:30)

8. Building Repeatable Products and Retention Strategies

Codie discusses the significance of product-led growth over marketing-led growth. She explains:

• Product-Led Growth:
  Focuses on creating a product that inherently encourages referrals and retention.
  “Almost every business has what I call the one data point that makes everything else easier.”
  (58:10)

• Retention and Referrals:
  Using strategies like Chamath Palihapatiya’s seven friends rule to ensure users stay and refer others, creating a self-sustaining growth loop.

She contrasts this with marketing-led growth, which often results in a leaky bucket due to constant user attrition without a solid retention mechanism.

9. Networking and Building Great Partnerships

Codie emphasizes the importance of consistency and resilience in networking:

• First Impressions Matter:
  Every interaction is a potential interview for future opportunities.

• Demonstrate Tenacity:
  Show that you do not give up, which attracts high-caliber partners.

• Be Direct and Valuable:
  Offer meaningful value before asking for anything in return, adhering to the 10x rule — giving ten times more than you ask for.

“Every interaction we have is a little interview for a future opportunity.”
(65:00)

10. Overcoming Fear of Failure and Self-Doubt

Codie shares her personal struggles with self-worth and fear of public failure. Her coping mechanisms include:

1. Action-Oriented Responses:
   “Every time I have that big fear in front of me, I ask myself one — what would I do to remedy this?”
   (74:20)

2. Reality Checks:
   Assessing the reasonableness of potential solutions to mitigate fears.

By combining action plans with reality assessments, Codie effectively reduces anxiety and maintains focus on her goals.

11. The Power of Attention as Leverage in the Digital Age

In the concluding segment, Codie discusses attention as the modern form of leverage, surpassing traditional forms like labor and capital. She explains:

• Attention Economy:
  Companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon thrive by capturing and monetizing user attention.

• Content Creation as Ownership:
  Building an online presence is a strategic move to control attention, which is valuable leverage in today’s economy.

“Attention is critical. Our most precious thing that you and I have, like deeper than anything else, is our time.”
(85:30)

Codie advocates for mindful consumption of information and media, encouraging listeners to engage with content that empowers and motivates them to achieve their financial aspirations.

Conclusion

In “They’re Lying to You About Getting Rich,” Codie Sanchez dismantles conventional wisdom about wealth accumulation, advocating for an ownership-centric approach. She provides a comprehensive framework for financial growth, emphasizes the importance of emotional intelligence and grit, and offers practical strategies for acquiring businesses and building lasting wealth. By highlighting the shifting dynamics of the attention economy, Codie equips listeners with the knowledge to navigate and leverage modern avenues for financial success.

For those seeking to transform their financial destiny, this episode serves as a roadmap to understanding and implementing the principles of ownership, strategic networking, and disciplined investment.

Notable Quotes:

• “The one word that encapsulates my entire message is ownership.” (00:00)

• “If you sit next to a high performer, you have a 15% higher likelihood of high performance yourself.” (22:10)

• “Almost any company will give employees a percentage of the business if they're valuable enough.” (41:50)

• “The difference between a good deal and a bad deal is two things. You can't do a good deal with a bad guy, and it's really hard to control the price if you don't control the terms.” (52:30)

• “Attention is critical. Our most precious thing that you and I have, like deeper than anything else, is our time.” (85:30)

This summary encapsulates the core teachings and insights shared by Codie Sanchez in the episode, providing a valuable resource for those aiming to redefine their approach to wealth and financial independence.