9 to 5 Investors: The SIMPLE 5 Year Rule That Builds Real Wealth

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Earn Your Leisure

Episode: 9 to 5 Investors: The SIMPLE 5 Year Rule That Builds Real Wealth
Hosts: Rashad Bilal & Troy Millings (iHeartPodcasts)
Date: February 2, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, hosts Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings, along with their investment advisor guest, break down the essential "five-year rule" for 9-to-5 investors seeking real, generational wealth. They dismantle the myth of short-term trading leading to lasting riches and emphasize the proven merits of long-term equity holding. The discussion is packed with personal anecdotes, straightforward advice, and sharp critiques of the temptation to flip stocks for fast gains. The tone is direct, honest, and focused on actionable wisdom for working-class investors.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Five-Year Investment Rule

[01:11]

• The main advice for everyday investors: Pick four quality companies, commit, and hold for five years.

• Long-term holding is the simplest and most reliable path to wealth, no matter your starting point.

• Impatience and the urge to “flip” stocks usually ends in disappointment for the average person.

  "If you're not willing to hold for half a decade, you don't want wealth, you want to flip."
  — Investment Advisor [01:26]

• The real game isn’t in meme stocks or quick wins—it’s in disciplined, patient compounding.

• Institutional investors and regular folks follow the same core principle: hold some positions long term.

  "If you're not holding for five years, you're gambling, truth be told."
  — Investment Advisor [02:15]

2. The Risk of Taking Profits Too Early

[02:40]

• Many investors cut profits short, selling after initial gains instead of letting winners run.

• True outsized returns (think: Bitcoin, Tesla, Nvidia) occur over 5, 10, or even 20 years.

• The advisors urge listeners not to envy tech stock success without reproducing their patience.

  "Would you want to miss out on a 10-year Bitcoin run, a 10-year Tesla run, 10-year Nvidia run and be up several thousand percent? No."
  — Investment Advisor [03:53]

• Trading for short-term gains compared to long-term discipline: the latter, while “boring,” is where wealth accumulates.

  "All the wealth accumulation happens in 5, 10 and 20 year cycles... It's the discipline of holding that gives you the freedom to say what you want and do what you want."
  — Investment Advisor [04:08, 04:28]

3. Investor Discipline and Personal Responsibility

[03:24 & 04:10+]

• The guest openly critiques spending investment gains on luxury or frivolous purchases.

• He emphasizes the importance of not cashing out just for lifestyle: stick to your true long-term goals.

  "To take the money out just to go blow it on bags and go buy Balenciaga... I don't want to hear that."
  — Investment Advisor [05:13]

• Long-term holding brings leverage and negotiating power (i.e., "all the chips in your favor").

  "You can't tell me that you want generational wealth and you won't hold for a generation."
  — Investment Advisor [04:24]

4. Portfolio Construction for 9-to-5 Investors

[05:41+]

• Use shares for long-term asset growth; options can provide income or "cash flow."

• The core rule: if you’re betting on a company's future (options), you should hold the underlying stock, too.

  "If I have an option on, on the company, I must own the company, because I believe in its future growth."
  — Investor/Trader [05:41]

• Cited companies for this approach: Nvidia, TSMC, Meta, Amazon.

• Compare holding equities to keeping valuable intellectual property: sells early, sacrifices long-term value.

  "For the equities, man, hold that. Minimum five years, ideally 10 to 15."
  — Investment Advisor [06:30]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On short-term vs. long-term investing:
  "You can't take the shortcut just because you want to f off your money. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Right?"
  — Investment Advisor [05:38]

• On discipline and freedom:
  "It's the discipline of holding that gives you the freedom to be able to say what you want and do what you want."
  — Investment Advisor [04:28]

• On generational wealth:
  "You can't tell me that you want generational wealth and you won't hold for a generation. Somebody's going to finesse you out of your spot too early."
  — Investment Advisor [04:24]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:11 – The Five-Year Rule Explained
• 02:15 – Short-term vs. Long-term Debate
• 03:24 – Temptations to Take Profits Early
• 04:08, 04:28 – Boring Nature, Power of Holding
• 05:13 – Critique of Lifestyle Spending
• 05:41 – Shares vs. Options, Portfolio Construction
• 06:30 – Final Advice: Hold Equities 5-15 Years

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Takeaways for Listeners

• Wealth is built, not flipped.
• Hold top-quality stocks for at least five years—even longer if possible.
• Resist the urge to cash out gains too soon, especially for short-term consumption.
• Use options for cash flow, but retain core shares for long-haul growth.
• Think in decades—if you want generational wealth, you have to stay the course.

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This episode delivers no-nonsense, practical advice: the simplest path to true wealth isn’t complex strategy or trendy stocks—it’s timeless discipline and the conviction to let your winners run long enough to change your financial life.

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Transcript

[Podcast Host]

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[Investment Advisor]

Should properly Invest I like this question and I know it's been presented a few times. How do I properly Excess profits or investors? A 9 to 5 investor that this time frame has to be the same. Find four quality companies hold for five years. Don't deviate from that. I know it's not the answer that you want to hear, but like you, if you're not willing to hold for half a decade, you don't want wealth, you want to flip. I'm not in the show you how to flip because most people don't have enough discipline for that. But if you hold for a five year period, you're doing incredibly well. If you've held something that I recommended for five years and made money, please put yes in chat. I know some want a short term one year answer and we're back in the gamification of making everything a meme stock. So I get it. But the easiest way to get those high returns is to hold four or five year period. So I hope this helps. There's no difference between if you're an institutional investor, fun to fund to me nine to five four time trader. You have to have some positions long term and if you're not holding for five years, you're gambling, truth be told. So y' all know you want to argue with it. Some of y' all may want to argue with it, but those outsized returns of the returns that bitcoin have gotten over 10 years and Nvidia have gotten. You can't get those unless you're holding for a five or six year period. So hope for the long term.

[Investor/Trader]

Do you, do you ever. This is interesting, right? Because I feel like what's happened is we've created portfolio where you have shares, right? And if I have shares and I get options contracts and any profit comes from the options, but I never really take profit from the shares. Is there any point. Do you like, you know, like I used to say, like a percentage. If we go over 100, we're going to take out our initial profit and we'll let the runners run. Is, is it just keep in the portfolio, right? Like do you just keep. I got 2000 shares of Nvidia, I'm keeping it for the next 10 years. Or is. You know what, Nvidia has grown by 200% since I purchased it. I may, you know, I mean like what do you suggest for that 9 to 5 investor?

[Investment Advisor]

I don't, I don't want to give the. The select trading has considerable risk. Please consult your advisor. Just, just because it has happened for some tech stocks does not mean that it will happen for all. But if you hold for a 10 year window, you could be up 5,000%. So some people are cutting profit off too quickly and like well wow, I got 2 and 3,000%. The other part that they don't tell you and I've done this at every invest fest in my presentation they always tell you that long term investing is boring when all the wealth accumulation happens in 5, 10 and 20 year cycles. So would you want to miss out on a 10 year Bitcoin run, a 10 year Tesla run, 10 year AMD run, 10 year Nvidia run and be up several thousand percent. No. And as a person who and I, I'll tell you, it's really hard to sit on equity and not buy shit. I know, but there's nothing better than if a deal doesn't go through. It don't matter. It doesn't matter now you have all the chips in your favor. A lot of times we say, and I've said this before going back to 2020, you can't tell me that you want generational wealth and you won't hold for a generation. Somebody's going to finesse you out of your spot too early. So one of the best things I've done in my portfolio, Xander's portfolio, is just hold for a long period of time. And that's why a lot of times when people like oh, things are going well, it's the discipline of holding that gives you the freedom to be able to say what you want and do what you want. So I, I get it. Behold. For the long term, maybe take some out in a five year period and be disciplined with the money. But to take the money out just to go blow it on bags and go buy Balenciaga and because you want to go buy a car and you want to spend some money on your side piece. I don't want to hear that. I don't want. I don't. If you don't like this. I was rich when y' all met me. I don't care if you like the answer or not. This is the truth. Even at Nvidia, you're looking at some of the smartest people on earth to ever be in tech and they've been holding for 10 years. You can't take the shortcut just because you want to f off your money. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Right?

[Investor/Trader]

I think that's kind of like one of those, those core principles is like if I have an option on, on the company, I must own the company.

[Vanta Representative]

Right.

[Investor/Trader]

Because I believe in its future growth. And so if I believe in this future growth, then I could take a leap on this. Which is why you see TSM in a portfolio all the time. Which is why you see Nvidia, you see Meta, you see Amazon. That makes a lot of sense.

[Investment Advisor]

Yeah, I mean on the options and future side, that's what it's for. For thinkative as like income, if you will, but. Or cash flow. But on your long term portfolio, you want to hold it like you guys haven't sold the IP to Invest Festival. There's a reason why it's more valuable in 15 years than it is if you sold at year three. Trade. If you need cash flow, I'm not mad at that. But for the equities, man, hold that. Minimum five years, ideally 10 to 15.

[Podcast Host]

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