Episode Summary

Podcast: Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF
Host: Vivian Tu
Guest: Suzy Welch – NYT bestselling author, entrepreneur, NYU professor
Episode Title: Making Million-Dollar Decisions: Suzy Welch's Tools for Success
Date: October 8, 2025

Overview of the Episode’s Theme

Vivian Tu sits down with Suzy Welch to unpack how we can make smarter, more authentic decisions about our careers and money. Suzy shares actionable frameworks that bridge personal values and practical career strategies, debunking some common career myths and offering advice for listeners at any life stage. The heart of the conversation is Suzy’s “Values Bridge” tool, which demystifies the process of finding your purpose and making decisions that align with what truly matters to you.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Myth of the “Last Best Deal”

• Suzy’s Early Financial Lesson
  • Suzy learned in her 20s that there’s no such thing as the “last best deal”—a principle that applies not only to real estate but to jobs, relationships, and everyday purchases.
  • Quote:

    “There's no last best deal. And you make such dumb decisions in your life thinking it's the last best deal… The truth is: there is no last best deal. You've got to be sensible about it. That little line has saved me from more stupid decisions over the years.”
    (Suzie, 04:06)

2. Purpose versus Passion (and Why “Follow Your Passion” is Bad Advice)

• Suzy argues that purpose—formed at the intersection of values, aptitudes, and economically viable interests—is more sustainable than passion.
• Quote:

  “If you have a big passion and you don’t have the aptitudes, that’s what we call a hobby… But if you gotta make money at it, you better be good at it.”
  (Suzy, 09:03)

3. The Values Bridge Tool: Unpacking Your Purpose

• Purpose is at the intersection of:
  • Values (what you actually want—very few can define these correctly)
  • Aptitudes (what you’re truly good at, including personality fit)
  • Economically Viable Interests (what the market will pay you for)
• The Values Bridge tool helps people identify and reconcile their authentic values, aptitudes, and interests for better-aligned life and work decisions.
• Quote:

  “Your purpose lies at the intersection of your values, your aptitudes, and your economically viable interests. These are three gigantic data sets that, frankly, we just never access.”
  (Suzy, 06:11)

4. The Authenticity Gap

• Suzy introduces the idea of the “authenticity gap”—the disparity between the values you hold and how much you are living them.
• Closing this gap requires honest self-assessment, trade-offs, and sometimes tough life changes.
• Quote:

  “The work of our life is closing the authenticity gap on all of our values as best we can. Sometimes we can't, because we have constraints... but it is never too late.”
  (Suzy, 13:25 & 15:00)

5. Values in Conflict and Personal Trade-offs

• It’s common to have values that conflict (e.g., wanting to help others as a teacher, but also desiring high affluence).
• The Values Bridge assessment can quantify value conflicts and facilitate conscious trade-offs.
• Quote:

  “90% of the time, the Values Bridge reveals that you have values that are in conflict, and we actually give you a score that tells you how high your conflict is... You're going to have to make some choices and make some trade offs.”
  (Suzy, 17:10)

6. Values and Relationships

• Taking the Values Bridge with your partner can reveal different priorities and help prevent long-term conflicts, especially regarding money.
• Notable Moment:

  “You don't have to be debt free. You don't have to come from a similar background, but you better value a dollar the same way.”
  (Vivian, 21:16)

7. Workplace Differentiation and Generational Gaps

• Suzy’s research: The traits that hiring managers look for (achievement, scope, work centrism) are present in only 2% of Gen Z, whose top values are self-care (eudaimonia), authenticity, and altruism.
• Differentiation—leaning into the values employers actually seek—can be a major career unlock.
• Quote:

  “If you’re in that 2%, my advice to you is when you go into job interviews… identify as in the 2%. Say it, say it, say it.”
  (Suzy, 25:01)

8. The “B Life” versus the “A Life”

• Many people settle for a “B” (good-enough) life and can spend decades in that lane; Suzy challenges listeners to pursue their “A+” life before a moment of reckoning (such as a crisis or loss).
• Quote:

  “It's a dangerous thing because when we are, 'it's good enough', which is a B plus, you just settle and you can live there for a really long time... I want you to live an A life if it's available to you, an A+ life before you're having a moment of reckoning.”
  (Suzy, 28:38)

9. Timing, Risk, and Life Stages

• Our values are largely set by age 25, but it’s important to revisit and reassess as circumstances change.
• Betting on yourself—taking big risks—is scary but often pays off (“Owners” vs. “Employees” principle).
• Anecdote: Suzy shares the story of seven classmates who moved to Silicon Valley before it was cool and became billionaires:

  “They were just zero Fs given... They just walked right into it. What a lesson I learned from that… the guts that it took.”
  (Suzy, 36:02)

10. Failure, Loss, and Learning

• Suzy talks candidly about the collapse of a promising family startup (Quadio), the pain of calling investors with losses, and the importance of resilience.
• Quote:

  “Some of the worst phone calls I've ever made in my life...calling the investors and saying, I lost your money… But to a person, except for one, all the rest said, I'd bet on you again. Suzy, this happens in business.”
  (Suzy, 38:31)

11. Entrepreneurship Versus the High-Paying Job Track

• There are many valid paths to significant wealth—picking the best path comes down to values (scope, belonging, affluence).
• Success leaves clues: The ultra-successful tend to have high achievement, scope, and work centrism, but are rarely primarily driven by money itself.
• Quote:

  “The most successful people I’ve met… To a person, almost none of them care about, they’re just not driven by money. Money only was a measure of success, of the win.”
  (Suzy, 41:00)

12. Suzy’s Income Streams and Investing Approach

• Professor salary at NYU Stern
• Speaking business
• Revenue from the Values Bridge tool
• Revenue from teaching “Becoming You” workshops
• Passive investing (with expert advisors), particularly in vegan/ethical businesses and teaching her children values through a family foundation.

13. Rapid Fire: Suzy’s Best & Worst Money Lessons

• Best lesson: “No last best deal.”
• Mistakes: Overinvesting in a startup, buying real estate too quickly after grief.
• Grief advice: “Find fellow travelers. Don't do it alone.”
• Splurges: Shoes
• Never again: “I will never spend money again on marketing until I know the product-market fit is real.”
• Travel: Moving away from excessive travel, toward joy at home with her dogs.

Memorable Quotes & Notable Moments

• On late blooming:

  “I found my purpose at 60. Okay? At 60. So I'm a person who's like, keep on going... It’s never too late.”
  (Suzy, 15:00)

• On the “scarcity mindset”:

  “The world is manipulating you into thinking that there is a last best deal...so that you buy or you do something against your best interest.”
  (Suzy, 05:10)

• On tradeoffs in life:

  “Maybe someday there’s going to be a world where you can have eudaimonia as number one and affluence and achievement... But that's not how it works—usually you have to repress or suppress eudaimonia to achieve those other two.”
  (Suzy, 19:05)

• On authenticity and job applications:

  “You don’t want to sound like an asshat... but... it is a real human being to say, can I say something that’s maybe kind of cringe? I think I’ve got the right stuff. This is your shot.”
  (Suzy, 27:26)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• No Last Best Deal & Scarcity Mindset – 03:46–05:45
• Values Bridge Tool Introduction – 06:11–08:56
• Purpose vs Passion – 09:03–10:04
• Authenticity Gap Defined – 10:08–12:44
• Values in Conflict; Value Inventory – 16:41–19:05
• Relationships & Money Values – 20:14–21:46
• Generational Workplace Values Gap – 23:16–25:01
• Living a B+ Life – 28:30–30:13
• Timing and Life Changes – 31:45–34:22
• Silicon Valley Success Story – 34:22–36:57
• Suzy’s Startup Failure – 37:05–38:31
• Climbing the Ladder vs Entrepreneurship – 39:19–40:53
• Qualities of Success – 41:00–42:12
• Suzy’s Income Streams – 42:25–44:25
• Rapid Fire: Money, Mistakes, Indulgences – 44:43–48:22
• Self-Compassion & Reflection – 48:22–49:38

Tone and Style Highlights

• Vivian brings casual, “best friend” energy, asking big questions but keeping the conversation lively.
• Suzy is humorous, direct, deeply self-aware, and unafraid to get real about mistakes, values, and the realities of life and business.

For Listeners Who Haven’t Heard the Episode

This episode is an illuminating masterclass in aligning your career and financial decisions with what truly matters to you. Suzy Welch delivers tough love, actionable frameworks, and reassurance that it’s never too late to pivot—backed by research and plenty of personal experience (successes and failures alike). Whether you’re a college grad, midlife re-inventor, or aiming for greater workplace authenticity, this conversation offers both practical tools and inspiration.

For more, check out Suzy Welch’s resources and take the Values Bridge assessment at susiewelch.com and becomingyoulabs.com.