How Cities Create Millionaires

Summary

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Money And Wealth with John Hope Bryant

Episode: How Cities Create Millionaires

Date: February 5, 2026
Podcast Network: The Black Effect Podcast Network & iHeartPodcasts
Host: John Hope Bryant

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Overview

In one of his most practical and potentially life-changing episodes to date, John Hope Bryant explores how wealth—and specifically, millionaires—are often quietly created through city-based business opportunities. Broadcasting from Dubai at the World Government Summit, Bryant delivers his signature "straight talk," revealing that the avenues to wealth are often less about flashy tech startups or Wall Street gambits, and more about understanding and leveraging the reliable needs of cities and municipalities. He argues that cities are America’s true economic engines, offering everyday people the opportunity to build quiet fortunes in essential, but often overlooked, businesses.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Cities as Economic Engines

Timestamp: 03:15 - 05:30

• Nearly 90% of the U.S. GDP comes from cities, making them "economic machines," not just places to live.
• Cities purchase services, sign contracts, and outsource work every year, generating consistent demand.
• "Cities don’t ask if they’ll need things—they ask who will provide them." (John Hope Bryant, 07:10)

2. The Quiet Reality Behind Most Millionaires

Timestamp: 05:32 – 07:50

• Contrary to popular belief, most millionaires are not made in high-profile fields like tech, Silicon Valley, or crypto.
• They typically own “boring” businesses—local and essential services.
• Key Quote:

  “Most millionaires live literally next door. They own boring businesses. This is the get. They don’t chase attention, they chase stability…They simply figured out how their city works…” (John Hope Bryant, 06:00)

• The inspiration is drawn from the classic book The Millionaire Next Door.

3. Guaranteed Demand and Local Opportunity

Timestamp: 07:51 – 09:20

• Cities (and their residents) always need basic services: trash removal, landscaping, janitorial, cybersecurity, plumbing, electrical work, childcare, etc.
• Anyone can start or buy in to these essential service businesses.
• Bryant shares his experience founding and selling Promise Homes company (largest minority owner of single-family rentals in America) by simply filling essential housing demand.

4. Understanding City Budgets & Systems

Timestamp: 09:21 – 11:10

• Every city has a set structure: budgets, procurement officers, contracts, vendor compliance, and long-term obligations.
• Cities function as examples of capitalism “operating in plain sight.”
• To access these opportunities, you need to understand the system and focus on reliability over hype.

5. Why Small Cities are a Goldmine

Timestamp: 12:40 – 14:26

• Smaller cities have fewer competitors and lower barriers to entry.
• It’s often easier to meet decision-makers (e.g., the mayor, procurement officer) in small towns, which provides a “first generation wealth” path.
• Larger cities bring bigger contracts but also more complications.
• Notable Quote:

  “Why compete with everybody in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta?... Go find some place where there’s less competition and you are showing up with excellence and get that contract.” (John Hope Bryant, 13:55)

6. Essential Services = Endless Opportunity

Timestamp: 15:00 – 19:13

• Every component of a city's functioning—trash, water, lighting, plumbing, public health, safety, IT, grant writing, urban planning, mental health, etc.—creates vast, often overlooked, business opportunities.
• Bryant urges listeners to “stop thinking abstractly and start thinking specifically.”
• Find a micro-niche within these essential services and master it through steady work and specialization.
• Reference to Malcolm Gladwell’s “10,000 hours” concept for achieving expertise.

7. The Millionaire Next Door Formula

Timestamp: 19:14 – 21:00

• Most millionaires “don’t look rich” because they own necessary, not flashy, businesses.
• Wealth comes from doing common things uncommonly well, reinvesting profits, and expanding methodically.
• “They don’t chase trends, they dominate niches... This is how plumbers become landlords. How janitors become investors. How contractors build generational wealth.” (John Hope Bryant, 20:51)

8. Four Paths to Enter City-Driven Businesses

Timestamp: 21:01 – 22:53

• Start small: One truck, one contract, one neighborhood.
• Buy a business: Leverage aging owners and SBA financing.
• Specialize: Go from generic (e.g., cleaning) to specific (e.g., hospital sanitation).
• Roll-ups: Buy several small firms, specialize in admin, use AI to increase margins.
• Called “private equity without the headlines.”

9. Cities as the Most Democratic Platform for Capitalism

Timestamp: 22:54 – 25:30

• Cities reward competence and consistency, regardless of background.
• Bryant urges the audience to stop chasing “what’s hot” and focus on “what’s essential.”
• Memorable Analogy:

  “Stop rocking the mic for a one-day concert and own the stage where every concert must rent from. Own the microphones… own the systems, own the plumbing, own the contracts.” (John Hope Bryant, 23:45)

10. Practical Action Steps

Timestamp: 25:31–27:03 and 30:34–32:40

• Start local: Contact your mayor, city council, procurement officers, county officials, city managers.
• Small cities provide easier access and less competition.
• Every city has essential (even unglamorous) needs: “Every city, I hate to say it, needs a mortuary…”
• “If everybody’s going right, you want to go left. That’s why I said eagles don’t fly in packs. You’ve never seen a flock of eagles.” (John Hope Bryant, 27:00)

11. Turn Relationship Capital into Wealth

Timestamp: 30:34 – 31:55

• Athletes and entertainers often squander opportunities by only “rocking the mic”—Bryant urges using their reputation and relationships for contracts, essential services, and generational wealth.

12. Universal Work Ethic

Timestamp: 33:52 – 35:06

• Bryant closes by emphasizing that there is no shortcut:

  “All success is hard. If there’s a free lunch, it’s probably stale. Stop expecting this to be easy… If you don’t freaking quit, you can’t freaking fail. So just don’t quit.” (John Hope Bryant, 35:04)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On city opportunity:

  “Cities are capitalism machines… Your local dry cleaner is capitalism. Your local barber is capitalism. Your local daycare is capitalism.” (09:10)

• On reliability vs. hype:

  “Cities don’t reward hype. They reward reliability. If you show up on time, do the job well, follow the rules and don’t embarrass anyone, you can stay in business for decades. It’s not sexy, but it’s powerful.” (11:25)

• On the ‘Millionaire Next Door’ model:

  “Most millionaires don’t look rich. They own something essential.” (19:22)

• On specialization:

  “Somebody’s complication becomes your specialization.” (18:24)

• On action:

  “Stop asking what’s hot and start asking what’s essential.” (23:00)

• On competing:

  “Go someplace where you can be a big fish in a small pond versus a small fish in a big pond.” (31:00)

• On success:

  “Only in the dictionary does the word success come before the word work—because it’s alphabetical. All success is hard.” (32:38)

• On persistence:

  “If you don’t freaking quit, you can’t freaking fail. So just don’t quit.” (35:04)

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Action Timestamps

• Cities as economic engines: 03:15 – 07:10
• Most millionaires are ‘next door’: 06:00 – 07:50
• The power of small cities: 12:40 – 14:26
• Essential city services list: 15:00 – 19:13
• Four ways to enter city-driven business: 21:01 – 22:53
• Democratic platform of cities: 22:54 – 25:30
• Local action steps: 25:31 – 27:03 and 30:34 – 32:40
• Success is work: 33:52 – 35:06

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Tone and Style

Bryant delivers with energy, candor, and approachable optimism, blending “straight talk” with motivational urgency. He demystifies wealth-building, inviting listeners to focus less on flash and more on the real, sometimes “boring” pathways to generational wealth.

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Summary Takeaways

• Cities represent robust, reliable paths to wealth for everyday people—not just the ultra-connected or tech elite.
• Essential businesses—often overlooked—are the bedrock of quiet fortune-building.
• Small cities offer immense, low-competition opportunities; success is about reliability, service, and owning your niche.
• Relationship capital and relentless work ethic are key drivers.
• The episode calls listeners to action: shift focus from “shiny” trends to the solid basics of city-based opportunities.
• “Make smart, sexy again” by dominating practical needs, working hard, and building legacies in silence.

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For more resources and financial coaching, Bryant points listeners toward his nonprofit, Operation HOPE, and his upcoming book, Capitalism for All: Inclusive Economics and the Future Proofing of America.

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Transcript

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[State Farm Agent Narrator]

This weekend, one of the homies mentioned he closed on a new crib. While everyone's asking about the housewarming, you're asking the real question. Like, who is this State Farm agent? See, home ownership is one thing, but the right coverage is the real game changer. It's how you protect your legacy. Estate Farm agent can help you with finding the right coverage for your new place and even help you file a claim over the phone, in person, online, or on the app. They're ready to help you and they don't drop the ball. You know what I mean? Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

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[Tara Davis Woodhull]

Hey, this is US Olympic gold medalist Tara Davis Woodhull.

[John Hope Bryant]

And I'm US Paralympic gold medalist Hunter Woodhull.

[Grainger Advertiser / Mind Games Podcast Narrator]

As athletes, our lives are about having.

[John Hope Bryant]

A clear path and a team that you can absolutely trust.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

So when it came to getting the.

[John Hope Bryant]

Best mortgage, we chose PennyMac.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

PennyMac is proud to be the official.

[Grainger Advertiser / Mind Games Podcast Narrator]

Mortgage provider of Team USA.

[Bowen Yang]

And you learn more at pennymac.com pennymac loan services, llc/housing lender nmls.id 35953 licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act. Conditions and restrictions may apply. Oh, could this vintage store be any cuter?

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

Right. And the best part, they accept Discover.

[John Hope Bryant]

Except Discover in a little place like this. I don't think so, Jennifer.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

Oh, yeah, huh? Discover is accepted where I like to shop. Come on, baby, get with the times.

[John Hope Bryant]

Right. So we shouldn't get the parachute pants.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

These are making a comeback, I think.

[John Hope Bryant]

Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide, based on the February 2025 Nielsen report. Welcome to Money and Wealth with John Hope Bryant, a production of the Black Effect podcast network and iHeartRadio. Yo, yo, yo. This is John o', Brien, and I'm coming to you from my Money and Wealth podcast on the Black effect Network on iHeartRadio. Coming to you from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in the Middle east, halfway around the world And I'm speaking at the World Government Summit this week. So it's appropriate that going to talk about how this week I'm going to break down economically how cities work and how the millionaire next door gets made and how those two things are directly connected. And this all leads into my book that's coming out in two months called Capitalism for All Inclusive Economics and the Future Proving of America. It's appropriate that I'm in the Middle east in Dubai, and I'm in the library at the beautiful hotel here where we're staying, the iconic hotel that is the largest edifice here in this region, the Burj they call it. And I'm gonna let you see, for those who are watching replays this on video, we'll let you see what the library looks like. This is their library. Unbelievable. And I will put photos up on some of the social clips so you can see what I'm seeing. But it is absolutely stunning. Okay, so let's now get into this important episode, maybe one of the most important episodes I've ever recorded for this podcast series. By the way, thanks everybody for making this NAACP Image Award nominated, please go and vote. Before voting concludes how cities really work, please take notes. This could change your entire life. Understanding how cities work and how the millionaire next door is made. Most people think millionaires are made in loud places. Silicon Valley, Wall Street, Hollywood, tech startups, crypto. By the way, these are not loud places. These are places with a lot of activity. There's loudness all around, but there's quietness in the minds of the creators. And when I say that wealth is created in quiet, I don't mean literally quiet places. I mean quiet inside your mind, inside your brain, inside your space. And that it is very hard to build when there's noise running through your soul and your spirit, your mind, yet alone. Noise all around you. Like neighborhoods I grew up in, in the hood that have a surviving mindset in a thriving and winning world. So just want to contextualize. When I talk about noise, I'm really talking about spiritual. First, we're not human beings having a spiritual experience. We're spiritual beings having a human experience. Energy matters. But that's not actually where most wealth in America comes from. These fancy places, Silicon Valley, Wall Street, Hollywood, tech startups, crypto. Most millionaires live literally next door. They own boring businesses. This is the get. They don't chase attention, they chase stability. And many of them didn't invent anything at all. Nothing new. They simply figured out how their city works by the way. This is in many ways my story as well. That idea comes straight out of the classic book the Millionaire Next Door. It showed us that something powerful is at work. That real wealth in America is usually built quietly, patiently, locally. What we're going to do today is to take that idea one step forward. Because cities are not just places to live. Cities are economic machines. Did you know that almost 90% of all GDP gross domestic product for this country comes from cities? Wouldn't know that from the national commentary, the media and what's going on in Washington, would you? So cities are not just places to live. They're economic engines. They buy services, they sign contracts, they outsource work. And they do this every single year, forever. From trash collection to plumbing, from electrical work to landscaping, from cybersecurity to janitorial services. Not just the city, the municipality itself, but the people also within the city. I'll get into this. Cities don't ask if they need these things. They ask who will provide these things. The question is, is that who you. And here's the part most people miss. Almost everything a city needs is something an ordinary person can start, buy, grow, or dominate. Some of you know that I founded the largest minority owner of single family rental real estate homes in America. That company was the Promise Homes company and built it for five years from zero to owning about 700 homes from Georgia to North Florida and sold the company in December of 2021 for nine figures. And that wasn't rocket science. It was providing housing. It was buying and rehabbing and renting and providing services with a value added to local real estate. I also created Financial Literacy Platform, which is now my nonprofit that's the largest in the country, arguably possibly the largest in the world. That's why I'm here, speaking here in dub on that model. And I built 50 companies, but none of them, none of them were rocket scientists. In fact, my first patent based company, I'm just issuing a patent, registering a patent now for a company. But that, that is, you know, way into my entrepreneurial process, right? So don't complicate this, right? So you don't need anything special here. You don't need to be a billionaire. You don't need to be a venture capitalist, and you don't need a venture capitalist. You don't need to invent an app. You need to understand demand and supply. And cities create guaranteed demand. Cities are economic machines. Understand this. Now let's slow this down. Every city has a budget, right? Every city has expenses. Every city has procurement officers. Write this down contracts, vendors, compliance rules and long term obligations. A city is capitalism operating in plain sight. And the larger the city, the more complex and valuable that system becomes. Now some people say, john, forget all this capitalism stuff. Give me socialism. Aren't some of our leaders talking about socialism? Look, this is just political noise. Even if you want to distribute money like a socialist, you have to first collect it like a capitalist. I hope you got that. So cities are capitalism machines. Your local dry cleaner is capitalism. Your local barber is capitalism. Your local daycare is capitalism. The gas station is capitalism. It's all around you, right? Socialism is a taxing system. I'll cover this in a separate video. These separate platforms of capitalism, socialism, Communism, all these different things. I'll cover this as a separate podcast to really break those down. I want to stay very focused here. The larger the city, the more complex and valuable that system becomes. Cities don't reward hype, they reward reliability. I'm going to repeat that. Cities don't report. Cities don't reward hype, they reward reliability. If you show up on time, do the job well, follow the rules and don't embarrass anyone, notably yourself. You can stay in business for decades. That's not sexy, but it's powerful. Let's make smart sexy again. We've been making dumb sexy for way too long. We've dumbed down and celebrated it. It's time to make smart sexy again. Or as my friend Bishop, T.D. jakes, Chairman T.D. jakes would say, boring is the new sexy. Consistency is the new sexy. This is why so many quiet fortunes are built in city based businesses. Not because the owners are geniuses, but because they understand the system they're serving. Why city size matters. A city of 25,000 people in a city of 500,000 people need many of the same things. The difference is scale. Smaller cities tend to have fewer competitors. This is an advantage, not a disadvantage. By the way, everybody living in a smaller city, which is most of America, listen to me here. Fewer competitors, lower barriers to entry. And if you're not in a small cities, go find one, right? Why compete with everybody in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, right? Go find San Francisco, whatever the major city is, go find the. I mean in LA county, there's 88 cities in LA County. Why is everybody focusing on the city of la, which is where I grew up at? Go find Lynwood, Compton, Englewood, you know, Riverside, you know the cities in Riverside County. Go find some place where there's less competition and you are showing up with excellence and get that contract. Okay, stay focused here. Smaller cities tend to have lower competitors, lower barriers to entry, easier access to decision makers. Listen, you can walk in the door at some of these cities and meet the mayor, meet the city manager, meet the procurement officer. Right? You can't do that in Chicago. Right. This is often first generation wealth beginnings. Larger cities bring bigger contracts. Yes. More specialization, longer procurement cycles, more complications. Yes. Higher margins. This is where businesses scale, professionalize, and eventually sell. In other words, the whole purpose of business is to build it. Not emotional now so you can sell it. That's another podcast for another time. The purpose of a business so you can monetize it and do as you like with those proceeds. Understanding city size helps you understand where you fit the essential services. Now, please focus here. I want you listening to this to stop thinking abstractly and start thinking specifically. Every city needs infrastructure. Trash must be. Must be collected. Okay. Streets must be cleaned. Water must flow. Lights must turn on. Right. Plumbing systems must work. Electrical grids must be maintained. Traffic lights must function. Roads must be paved. Can you think about all. I mean, there's hundreds of vendors in these different. Just in the sectors I just mentioned, then making all this stuff. Go pick one little sector or section or subsection or the thing that is within the thing that makes the whole thing work and master it. The book, the Outliers. 10,000 offices. Specialization in something you specialize in that get put 10,000 hours in and you become the NBA player in that space, the professional athlete in that space. And you dominate.

[State Farm Agent Narrator]

This past weekend, like every other Sunday, you were on the court with the guys, playing ball. Just a pickup game, living out your hoop dreams. No triple doubles, but a mean set of threes in between buckets. One of the homies mentions he closed on a new crib. This is big. And while everyone's asking about the housewarming and making plans to celebrate, you're asking the real questions. Like, has he spoke to his State Farm agent yet about coverage? See, home ownership is one thing, but the right coverage is the real game changer. Even more than your last hot streak is how you protect your legacy. Dropping buckets and bars on the court. A State Farm agent can more than assist you with finding the right coverage for your new place. If you have a claim, your local agent can help you file it. Yep, that's right. Over the phone, in person, online or on the app, they're ready to help you. And they don't drop the ball, if you know what I mean. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is.

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[Tara Davis Woodhull]

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[John Hope Bryant]

None of this in a city I just described is optional. Every city owns buildings and buildings age they need cleaning, heating and cooling, roof repairs, pest control, landscaping, tree trimming, parking lot maintenance. My friend Jamel got rested, so his company, black owned company in Atlanta that I provided contracts for myself, Ambassador Young, and et cetera, et cetera, he had city and county contracts. That's what built his wealth. Every single year, this must happen. These services must be renewed. Cities must also manage safety and compliance, security services, fire inspections, environmental compliance, OSHA standards. Osha, OSHA standards. Hazardous material disposal. Regulation scares people, but regulation creates moats. And as cities grow, thinking itself becomes a service, right? So specialization can become somebody special. Somebody's complication becomes your specialization. Specialization becomes your. Self control, competitive moat. IT support. Think cybersecurity. Think payroll record digitization. Okay? Grant writing, engineering, urban planning, data reporting. Finally, cities manage people. Childcare, elder care, public health outreach. Are you writing this stuff down? If not, go rewind the podcast. Get out a pen or a digital marker or your digital fingers on your app or your device and write this stuff down. If you don't write it down, it's not real. Mental health services, homelessness programs, workforce training, transit support, and now soon, all that AI artificial intelligence brings to a situation. Okay, this is not a short list. This is the operating system of modern life, right? Why, this is the millionaire next door formula. This is where the millionaire next door comes alive. Most millionaires don't look rich. They own something essential. Most millionaires don't invent or reinvent some fancy thing. They do some common thing really well. They also reinvest profits. I did that. They buy equipment. I did that. I love technology. I'm on technology now. I move my. I have a portable studio, right? They hire people at 400 employees. They expand territory. I'm national, going global. See what I'm saying? They don't chase trends, they dominate niches, just like me. I have 50 entities and three of which are the biggest in their categories. This is how plumbers become landlords. Can I get an amen? How janitors become investors. How contractors build generational wealth. Cash flow compounded over time, quietly does its work. How people enter these businesses, there are four common paths. One, start small. One truck. One contract. One, neighborhood. Okay? To buy an existing business, okay? This is really important, and I've covered this in other podcasts. An owner retires, the kids don't want it. SBA financing steps in or bank financing steps in. Right. Three, specialize not cleaning, hospital sanitation. Right? Not it. Municipal cybersecurity. Right? Get very focused. Four, roll ups by several small firms. Specialize in the Administration, Right. Bring in artificial intelligence. Right. Increase what's called margins. The difference between cost and revenue is it was. Yeah. Your cost operating business, your revenue is your profit. Your margin is the thing in between. Okay. The delta between cost and your revenue. That's private equity without the headlines.

[Odoo Advertiser]

Right.

[John Hope Bryant]

What I just described, Right. This matters deeply for people who didn't inherit a roadmap. Cities have historically been one of the most democratic platforms for capitalism itself. They reward competence, they reward consistency, they reward service. If you want to build wealth at last, stop asking what's hot and start asking what's essential. Stop asking what's hot? Start asking what's essential. Stop rocking the mic for a one day concert and own the stage where every concert must rent from. Own the microphones, own the VIP bracelet making machines. Right? And rent them and lease them. Own the mics and rent them out. Own the lenses and rent them or lease them out. Right? Own the systems, own the plumbing, own the contracts. If you want to build wealth at last, do what I just said. Make smart, sexy, at scale. Find the thing your city can't live without. Learn it, master it, own it. That's how legacies are built. Quietly, patiently and next door, once again, 90% of all wealth in GDP, gross domestic product, the income of the biggest nation in the world, the United States of America, biggest economy in the world, 90% of that between 88 and 98% more. Closer again, depends on. We're talking about municipalities, cities, counties, but fully, the vast majority of income for this country comes from cities. So why are we obsessing with all day, all day, all night screaming at the TV set about what's going on only in Washington D.C. why are we obsessed with this? As if we don't have any control in our lives, Right? You have immense control in your life. You have immense optionality in your life. Work with your local mayor. In Atlanta, Mayor Andre Dickens, Right. In Los Angeles is Mayor Karen Bass. Good people, find your mayor again. The smaller the city, the easier it is to find them and access them and work with them. Find your mayor, find your county officials, right? Find a commissioner. Can't get to the mayor. Go to the city council person, find a commissioner. You can't get to the county CEO in DeKalb county, that would be Lorraine Johnson, who's just on the podcast. She's accessible, she's got contracts. She's explained how counties work in a podcast before this. Find the procurement officers, find the contract officers, find. You know, again, in a county like Los Angeles, have 88 cities in the Greater Atlanta area, it's seven counties, but people just focused on Fulton County. Just focus on the city of Atlanta. Is all these small cities. There's thousands of cities. I think it's 4,000 counties last time I checked. But there's thousands, tens of thousands of cities across America. And they are all markets for you. They all need websites and plumbing and electrical and cybersecurity and sanitation. And I mean every city, I hate to say it, needs a mortuary. I mean, whether it's the people in the city, the businesses in the city, the city or municipal agency itself, we've got to get out of this sparkly, shiny obsession that we have that everything we think is valuable is blingy. Like just the opposite is true. Really, you want to have the road less traveled. If everybody's going right, you want to go left. That's why I said eagles don't fly in packs. You've never seen a flock of eagles.

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[Odoo Advertiser]

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[Wasabi Advertiser]

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[Tara Davis Woodhull]

You've never been one to settle, stand down or stand still. You're a lifelong learner, energized by excellence. There's a fire inside you you can't ignore. You've got competition to outrun, momentum to build on and your own high standards to meet. Stop now. Not a chance. At Capella University we help you catch what you're chasing because you've always had the drive. Now go earn the degree. Capella University. What can't you do? Visit Capella Edu to learn more.

[John Hope Bryant]

The stories are endless of entertainers and sports figures who high profile, huge stars for 1 years, 2 years, 3 years, 5 years, 8 years, 10 years broke because they didn't understand what I'm saying right now about rocking the mic or owning it, bouncing the basketball or trying to get to own the contract for all the vending machines in the stadium or the hot dog machines or the sanitation work. Like if you're an NBA star, NFL star, you're a basketball star, you're a star of your college. It's your college somewhere. That means you have gravitas. You've got access, you've got respectability. Turn that into a contract after you get out of school. All those relationship capital. You have people you know in your school environment. That's gold for you, right? Turn that into an opportunity to go back and nurture a relationship, to then provide an essential Service that they need, that they trust that you can provide that is better than anybody else. And give them more than hype, give them excellence in service. Control your niche, become a moat. Become an absolute expert in what you do. By the way, I talked about how the power of silence. Normally I have to find, you know, create a specialized space to do my podcast when I'm traveling internationally. I did this podcast today pretty much in open spaces in the city of. The city space, municipal space of Dubai. Here I'm in this hotel, in a library that technically anybody can walk into. Technically, I've never done this before anywhere in the world. I've been to 100 countries. This is the only place where so far I was absolutely comfortable. It was okay. There's been no interruption whatsoever. They value the power of silence and they respect the desire, the need for space, the customer service, the sense of dignity, the sense of protocols. The respective culture here is very deep and it's a testimony to what they're building and how they're building. And Dubai needs services, by the way. But if you want to come to the Middle east or you want to go to Africa, don't just go to the places where everybody else is going because the big companies are going there. They're going to own that space before you do. They have those relationship capital. And same thing applies. Go someplace where you can be a big fish in a small pond versus a small fish in a big pond. And then when you become. That's no different than an anchor for a TV network. They start in small markets and work themselves up as a local, whatever reporter, the local anchor in that little small town of 25,000, 50,000, 100,000 people. Then they work their way up to a major market like a Chicago or Detroit or whatever, and then a national market. This is no different, right? Find your opportunity wherever opportunity is, right? And understand this, only in the dictionary does the word success come before the word work. Because it's alphabetical. All success is hard.

[Odoo Advertiser]

All.

[John Hope Bryant]

I mean, if there's a free lunch, it's probably stale. Like, stop expecting this to be easy, right? I'm not sitting comfortably in my home somewhere chilling. I came off retreat, went back to home. I was there for two days, working from can't see in the morning to can't see at night on a plane to the Middle East. It's time to work. It's always time to work. Nothing good comes easy if you're successful at whatever you're doing, raising your children, working your working for somebody else, working for me. Working for yourself, being a good husband or wife, whatever it is, being a good boyfriend or girlfriend, being a good friend, whatever it is, it's work. Love is work. Non love is laziness, Anti love is evil. Evil exists, but it's very rare. Most people are just lazy. They just don't want to do the work. If you willing to do the work and you follow the business plan I'm laying out for you and now going into season three of this podcast and you want to, you want to, how can you not succeed? As my friend Tony Ressler would say, billionaire friend of mine, business partner, owner of the Atlanta Hawks, backer of my my company Promise Homes. If you don't freaking quit, you can't freaking fail. So just don't quit.

[Odoo Advertiser]

Just.

[John Hope Bryant]

Success is hard work and failure is lazy. Just don't be lazy. Find your niche and own it and see the finish line. John Hope Bryant this is the Money and Wealth podcast series heading into season three. Make sure you do your voting at the NAACP Image Awards. If you want to support this podcast and see it grow, get my book Capitalism for All builds on my book. My bestseller, Financial Literacy for All. Most importantly, go to my philanthropy operational Hope. Get the financial coaching that you so rightly deserve and need available nationwide through scholarship. I'll see you at the finish line. Let's go. Money and wealth with John o' Brien is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network. For more podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast network, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[Grainger Advertiser / Mind Games Podcast Narrator]

If you're an H Vac technician and a call comes in, Grainger knows that you need a partner that helps you find the right product fast and hassle free. And you know that when the first problem of the day is a clanking blower motor, there's no need to break a sweat. With Grainger's easy to use website and product details, you're confident you'll soon have everything humming right along. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickgrainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.

[Bowen Yang]

Seems like just yesterday that the two Guys five Rings podcast was in Paris for the Olympics and now we're heading to Milan for the 2026 Mil. Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games. I'm Bowen Yang. And I'm Matt Rogers and we'll join athletes from 93 countries as Two Guys Five Rings hits the Italian Alps for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Did we mention it's free? Search Two Guys, Five Rings and listen.

[State Farm Agent Narrator]

Now.

[Grainger Advertiser / Mind Games Podcast Narrator]

What if mind control is real?

[John Hope Bryant]

If you could control the behavior of anybody around you, what kind of life would you have?

[Grainger Advertiser / Mind Games Podcast Narrator]

Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car?

[John Hope Bryant]

When you look at your car, you're gon overwhelmed with such good feelings.

[Grainger Advertiser / Mind Games Podcast Narrator]

Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you?

[Wasabi Advertiser]

I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused.

[Grainger Advertiser / Mind Games Podcast Narrator]

Can you get someone to join your cult?

[John Hope Bryant]

NLP was used on me to access.

[Grainger Advertiser / Mind Games Podcast Narrator]

My subconscious mind games. A new podcast Exploring nlp, AKA Neuro Linguistic Programming. Is it a self help miracle, a shady hypnosis scam, or both? Listen to Mind Games on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Black Effect Podcast Narrator]

Black history lives in our stories, our culture and the conversations we still having today, this Black History Month. The podcast I Didn't know, maybe you didn't either digs into the moments, perspectives and experiences that don't always make the textbook. Let me tell you about Garrett Morgan Bruh had to pretend he didn't even exist just to sell his own invention. Listen to I Didn't Know. Maybe you didn't either. From the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or simply wherever you get your podcast.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.