Podcast Summary: The $100 MBA Show

Episode: MBA2695 — Why You Are Still Poor & How To Get Rich

Host: Omar Zenhom
Date: October 27, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, host Omar Zenhom delivers a candid and practical lesson on why so many people remain financially stuck, despite hard work, and lays out the true path to building wealth: leverage. Drawing on his two decades of entrepreneurship, Zenhom explores the traps of trading time for money, breaks down four main types of leverage, and offers actionable advice on how to escape the financial dead end of working harder instead of smarter. This episode is densely packed with both personal anecdotes and sharp business insights, aimed at anyone aiming to transform their financial reality.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Trap: Trading Time for Money

[01:15 - 02:30]

• Omar identifies the central reason most people stay “poor”: they trade their time for money.
• It doesn’t matter if you’re an employee, freelancer, or solo entrepreneur—if your income depends entirely on your direct labor, you’re capped.
• “You can never work enough hours to get rich. There’s only 24 hours in the day. We all have 24 hours in the day. No one gets more hours than the other person. No matter how good you are, you can’t scale yourself. You can’t make more time.” (Omar, 02:05)

The Solution: Leverage

[02:31 - 04:50]

• Inspired by investor Naval Ravikant, Omar defines leverage as “your effort produces results without requiring direct time every single moment.”

The Four Main Forms of Leverage

1. Labor ([03:00]):
   • Using other people’s time (e.g., hiring a VA for $500/month), “you’re no longer using your own time… some else is doing that now.”
   • The bigger your team, the greater your leverage.
2. Capital ([03:40]):
   • Money that works for you via investments, loans, or by reinvesting profits.
   • “Capital is a multiplier.”
3. Code ([04:05]):
   • Technology and software that operates 24/7 without your direct input.
   • Example: Webinar Ninja, sold to customers even while Omar was sleeping or on vacation.
   • “This code…was serving me at a higher leverage because it’s doing things I can’t do 24/7.”
4. Media ([04:30]):
   • Content that scales (podcasts, videos, sales pages, etc.).
   • “Media is a form of leverage because you can create it once and then put it out, and many, many, many people can see it by just one creation.”

Why Building Wealth Requires Business

[05:05 - 05:55]

• Jobs provide, at best, incremental raises—and they always require your effort.
• “You don’t build wealth with a job. You build wealth with a business. Why? Because a business is simply a machine that uses leverage.”
• Every self-made wealthy person uses one or more forms of leverage to break the link between time and money.

The Multiplicative Power of Business

[08:56 - 09:50]

• A business, when structured right, provides exponential rather than linear results.
• “Your business is the vehicle that turns effort into exponential results. And that’s the beauty of having a business… Without it, you’re just sprinting on a hamster wheel.”
• Omar emphasizes from experience: after building real leverage, his financial life transformed.

Personal Anecdotes & Hard Truths

[09:51 - 11:48]

• Omar shares his personal story of being stuck in the “wrong game” as a school teacher, always limited by the poverty cycle.
• “That cycle just never ends because I have no leverage. I have no way to make exponential money… with a business you could do something from one month to the next and double your money, triple your money, five extra money.” (Omar, 10:45)
• “Silly games get you silly rewards. You gotta play the right game, and business is the right game.” (Omar, 10:09)

How to Start Using Leverage

[12:00 - 15:00]

• Start Small:

  • Don’t try to use all four types of leverage at once. Pick one and begin.
  • For example, Omar started with media (this podcast), then hired labor, then invested in code, then leveraged capital.
  • “Every video, every post, every podcast episode that you publish is an asset that sells while you sleep.” (Omar, 13:50)

• Actionable Steps:

  • Hire even a part-time VA to reclaim time.
  • Begin automating with software or AI, or hire out the tech.
  • Start content creation (media) to build marketing assets that work around the clock.
  • Reinvest profits rather than just collecting a paycheck.

• Mindset Shift:

  • Many people avoid leverage because trading time for money is familiar and feels safe—even though it keeps them broke.
  • Breaking out of this comfort zone is necessary for wealth.

• “Wealth, again, is not about working harder. It’s about working smarter and multiplying your efforts with leverage… If I just work hard, I’m going to be all right. No, you gotta work hard on the right things.” (Omar, 14:25)

The Emotional Toll of Financial Struggle

[16:20]

• Omar speaks directly to listeners experiencing financial stress and limitation.
• “All that passion, all that raising my voice today, it comes from a place of love. … It’s so rough not having enough money. I know it’s incredibly stressful. And it stresses every part of your life, your relationships, your family, your health, your dreams.”
• He urges listeners: start with one lever, trust the process, and see results build over time.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If your income relies 100% on your personal labor, you will never get rich. That’s just the bottom line.”
  — Omar Zenhom [02:17]

• “You don’t build wealth with a job. You build wealth with a business. … a business is simply a machine that uses leverage.”
  — Omar Zenhom [05:22]

• “Your business is the vehicle that turns effort into exponential results. And that’s the beauty of having a business. And by the way, without it, you’re just sprinting on a hamster wheel.”
  — Omar Zenhom [08:56]

• “Silly games get you silly rewards. You gotta play the right game, and business is the right game.”
  — Omar Zenhom [10:09]

• “Wealth, again, is not about working harder. It’s about working smarter and multiplying your efforts with leverage.”
  — Omar Zenhom [14:25]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Trading Time for Money Trap: 01:15 — 02:30
• Forms of Leverage: 02:31 — 04:50
• Why Business, Not a Job, Builds Wealth: 05:05 — 05:55
• Multiplicative Power of Business: 08:56 — 09:50
• Personal Story of Escaping the Trap: 09:51 — 11:48
• How to Start with Leverage: 12:00 — 15:00
• Emotional Reality of Scarcity and Call to Action: 16:20 — End

Final Thoughts

Omar Zenhom’s core message in this episode is simple yet profound: Stop trading hours for dollars and start building leverage through business. Leverage is accessible to everyone in some form—media, labor, code, or capital—and is the only real way to escape the cycle of financial scarcity. This episode serves as both a wake-up call and a roadmap, urging listeners to take their first step towards lasting wealth by adopting leverage, even in the smallest way.

“If you want to escape poverty, start playing the right game—and that’s the game of leverage.”