#683 - The 4 “Seasons” Of Money Making - The Tai Lopez Show

Podcast Summary: The Tai Lopez Show

Episode #683 – The 4 “Seasons” Of Money Making
Host: Tai Lopez
Date: February 24, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Tai Lopez unpacks his signature concept of the "four seasons" of making money, drawing powerful parallels between the cycles of nature and the journey of entrepreneurship and wealth-building. Speaking candidly from his farm among family, Tai reflects on the necessity of embracing each phase—Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall—not just as metaphors but as real stages every successful individual must navigate. He shares personal anecdotes, lessons from mentors and friends like Mark Cuban, and actionable insights for listeners at every stage of their business journey.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Nature’s Cycles & Money-Making: The Four Seasons Framework

Tai relates the changing seasons on a farm to the cyclical nature of making money.
Winter: “Winter is where you’re inside. Things aren’t working out great. It seems gloomy. That’s where people get depressed, oh, I’m not making a lot of money. I call those the ten dark years.” (00:34)
- Analogy to personal and business “winters”: times of setback, reflection, and preparation.
- Importance of enduring tough times, which cleanse and ready the path (e.g., snow kills parasites and replenishes water).
Spring: “Spring is when you launch a new business, launch a new product. It’s hectic, it’s muddy, still gets a little cold.” (01:10)
- Hectic beginnings, experimentation, early failures.
Summer: “Then summer is pure hard work where you’re just, you’re making hay while the sun shines.” (01:20)
- Execution, consistent grind, maximizing productivity.
Fall: “And finally the fall, the autumn, the harvest, that’s where you make your money. That’s where you sell the company.” (01:27)
- Reaping the rewards, selling, or realizing gains.
- Key example: a 25-year-old consulting entrepreneur harvesting $8 million in cash after a $6 million year.

2. The Endless Cycle: Seasons Keep Repeating

False assumptions about permanent success: “People are like, oh, once I win and make a lot of money, there’s no more winters. It’s not true.” (01:53)
Mark Cuban’s example: After early billionaire success, confronted by years-long legal battles (his own ‘winter’), then rebounded with new ventures (Shark Tank’s ‘spring/summer’). (02:06–02:40)
Message: Success is not a straight line; every phase returns, often at higher stakes.

3. Emotional Resilience & Stoicism

Many aspiring entrepreneurs are “overly sensitive and emotional,” struggling especially during the winters. (02:57)
“So when it hits the winter, they’re thinking about, oh, the cold, the dark. I feel depressed. You just gotta power through it, brother…on a farm, you just go, ‘Ain’t nothing I can do about it. So, survive or die.’” (03:08)
Advice: Accept the emotional lows as temporary, and develop the stoicism required to survive “the jungle” of money-making cycles.

4. Sharpening Tools in the Off-Season

Story of Joel Salatin, Tai’s first mentor: “In the winter, he used to sharpen his chainsaw for like an hour…he goes, ‘sharpen your tools in the winter too. Catch up on your reading.’” (04:12)
Application: Use downtime for self-development, learning, and strategic planning.

5. Audience Engagement & Direct Communication

Tai encourages listeners to WhatsApp/Text him with their current “season” and business challenges.
- Emphasizes personal answers, avoids AI—“It’s not AI. But remember, do not despise humble beginnings. Do not despise the winter of life.” (05:32)
Offers real, albeit business-only phone interaction for deeper guidance and resource sharing.

6. Humility, Celebration, and Emotional Equilibrium

Importance of not becoming “overly celebratory” during harvest (fall) or despondent in winter.
Wisdom from his friend Walter O’Brien (Scorpion TV series inspiration): “Always be a seven. Never be a ten…never be a four where you’re depressed. If you’re a ten, you get too hyped up and then everything’s downhill…it’s okay to celebrate up to a 9 or 10. Just don’t stay there long. And I think it’s okay to be depressed sometimes…but never linger in either excitement or depression.” (06:30–07:20)
Reference to Dr. David Buss on “functional depression”—sometimes, negative emotion is adaptive and corrective.

7. Making Money Means Playing a Warlord’s Game

“Making money is a warlord’s game. Warlords aren’t super emotional. Things hit them, you know, a rock hits them, they’re just, huh, wow, like that.” (07:53)
Growth means developing resilience and steadiness, not being whipsawed by external events.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Enduring Winters:
“You gotta go through your winter, your 10 dark years.” (00:42)
On Emotional Strength:
“A lot of guys trying to make money, I found, are overly sensitive and emotional…you just gotta power through it, brother.” (02:57–03:12)
On Cyclical Success:
“That was the winter of [Mark Cuban’s] life even after he was a billionaire…you just keep going.” (02:13–02:38)
On Preparation:
“[Joel Salatin] goes, ‘sharpen your tools in the winter too. Catch up on your reading, you know.’” (04:19)
On Emotional Consistency:
“Always be a seven…never be a ten. Never be a four where you’re depressed. Just be a seven.” (06:30)
On Stoicism in Business:
“Making money is a warlord’s game. Warlords aren’t super emotional.” (07:53)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |:--------------|:----------------------------------------------------| | 00:00 | Opening analogy: farm seasons & money - the ‘winter’ | | 01:10 | Launching new ventures - ‘spring’ | | 01:20 | Hard work phase - ‘summer’ | | 01:27 | Harvest phase - ‘fall’; entrepreneur example | | 01:53 | Cycles repeat, Mark Cuban’s 'winter' | | 02:57 | Emotionality and resilience during tough times | | 04:12 | Joel Salatin’s sharpening/learning in winter | | 05:32 | Message about humble beginnings and audience Q&A | | 06:30 | “Always be a seven” advice from Walter O’Brien | | 07:53 | The ‘warlord’s game’ of making money |

Recommendations & Action Steps

Embrace every phase: Don’t fear the winter; use it for learning and preparation.
Check your emotional pulse: Celebrate wins but resist excess. Endure lows, but don’t get stuck.
Sharpen your tools: Invest in skills, learning, and infrastructure during downtime.
Connect directly: Tai invites outreach for targeted advice based on your “season.”

This episode is a motivational meditation on perseverance and the inevitability of ups and downs in business. Tai’s farm-side reflections and stories from high-level entrepreneurs nudge listeners to embrace the journey, not just the outcome—whether you’re deep in a “winter” or reaping your “fall” harvest.

Transcript

A (0:00)

If you want to make money, you need to follow the seasons of life and money making. I'm here on the farm, my brother Jacob, cha cha, my mom doing a little walk. And you know, it's funny. It's kind of like when people move from the city to the country. It's snow, it's rainy in the winter, and they don't like it. They complain about the season of life, but they don't realize is that's the season where you fill up the water table for your wells. You fill up the ponds and rivers. And this kills parasites. Kills parasites so that your sheep, your horses, your cows also, it adds nitrogen. Snow has nitrogen. So really the analogy, I use this, this practical. You can learn everything you need to know from biology about making money. You got to have a winner of your life making money. Winter is where you're inside. Things aren't working out great. It seems gloomy. That's where, where people get depressed, oh, I'm not making a lot of money. I call those the 10 dark years. You got to go through your winter, your 10 dark years. Spring is when you launch a new business, launch a new product. It's hectic, it's muddy, still gets a little cold. Then summer is pure hard work where you're just, you're making hay while the sun shines. Then finally the fall, the autumn, the harvest, that's where you make your money. That's where you sell the company. Just on the phone with a guy, he's 25 years old, started a consulting business, made 6 million last year, has 8 million in cash. At 25, he's harvested. And then, by the way, the cycle rinses and repeats again. That's what people forget. People are like, oh, once I win and make a lot of money, there's no more winners. It's not true. Mark Cuban told me, you know, he became a billionaire in his 30s and 40s. He got a BS audit slash Department of Justice criminal indictment for insider trading. He had to fight that, he said, for like his whole 40s, was fighting a false accusation. He ended up winning, but he spent years and millions defending himself. And so guess what? That was the winner of his life, even after he was a billionaire. But then he came back out of it. Shark Tank launched as a spring summer, and you just keep going. So a lot of on guys trying to make money, I found, are overly sensitive and emotional. So when it hits the winter, they're thinking about, oh, the cold, the dark. I feel depressed. You just gotta power through it, brother. You know, how you get through winter on a farm, you just go, ain't nothing I can do about it. So survive or die. And some of you are in the survivor die faces and making money. Okay, welcome to the jungle. Welcome. That is the jungle that you will have to go through. And there's nothing you can ever do about it. And it'll rinse and repeat and happen again. So learn to love each cycle. Like I said, I love the snow. I love the rain. I'm like, even though it can be depressing and cold, I'm like, ah, yes, Killing the parasites, Filling up my ponds in the rivers, filling up the well so we don't go dry. You know, Joel Salatin, my first mentor, in the winter, he used to sharpen his chainsaw for like an hour. He used to have it. We could drop a piece of paper. Each little blade on the chainsaw would just slice a piece of paper and he goes, sharpen your tools in the winter too. Catch up on your reading, you know. So by the way, I got a. I've got two phones I keep with me. One I'm recording on one right here. So if you want to talk to me directly. Okay, just DM me. Seasons. Oh, sorry. Text me or WhatsApp me. Seasons. I'll give you my number here. This is a real number. It's the actual phone I keep. I don't give out my personal, but I give out my business phone. So let me remember what it is. Damn it. Give me a second. Here we go. It is 31050. Nope, that's the wrong one. It's this one. Give me a second. My bad. Why is this one? I'll have to. I'll put it in the Description below. It's 310508 something. But I don't know why I can't find the actual one. Anyway, I'll put it in the description. WhatsApp or text me. WhatsApp or text me. It's. I actually check. I check about 10 minutes a day. My assistants check it. Just WhatsApp me or text me. You can use iMessage text WhatsApp. Don't call. I'm going to answer the phone. So don't call. It's a real phone. People try to test it. I'm like, I ain't answering. But I do read it. I'll send you some stuff on scaling the business marketing. Let me know what you need to make more money. Are you already high net worth? You need to know how to get offshore asset protection. Second passport. You Know, set up a global holding company, exit your business. Are you mid net worth or you're still in the scaling phase? Or are you a beginner? You're trying to figure out how to make your money. So just send me seasons so I know you came from this video, the word seasons. And then put in the season of life you're in. And a question for me. I'll shoot you a video or my. I check on my assistant checks them. It's not AI. But remember, do not despise humble beginnings. Do not despise the winner of life. Do not despise the summer, spring or fall. And don't overly celebrate during the fall where you harvest. You know, people overly celebrate. I had a. I have a friend, a very high IQ guy. He says he's the fifth highest IQ in the world. He's a big hacker guy. They made a TV show about him called Scorpion. It was like a five season show or three season shelf. Anyway, he once told me when I first met him, he goes, you know Ty, I said, what's something genius? I said, you know, his name's Walter. I'm like, walter, you say your top five highest iq. Tell me something high iq. He said, well, always be a seven. I was like, what do you mean? He's like, yeah, never be a 10. A 10 is overly excited. He said, never be a, like a four where you're depressed. He said, just be a seven. Because if you're a 10, you get too hyped up and then everything's downhill. That's like bipolar. People go a manic depressed, you know, they go manic and then they go depressed. So I don't know if I 100% agree with that philosophy. I think it's okay to celebrate up to a 9 or 10. Just don't stay there long. And then I think it's okay to be depressed sometimes. Dr. David Buss told me most, you know, at least half of depression's environmental functional depression, meaning it serves a good purpose. It tells you stop doing that. So I think it's okay to be depressed sometimes, but never linger in either excitement or depression. Especially when it comes to making money. You're gonna have to shut off some emotions. Making money is a warlord's game. Warlords aren't super emotional things hit them, you know, a rock hits them. They're just, huh. They're wow. Like that. That's a good analogy for people trying to make money. I'm like, dude, you say ow, too easy or you get too happy. You know, warlords are kind of stoic. So get the stoic game going a little bit. Seasons of Life Leave a comment on what you want me to do on my next daily walking vlog. I'm gonna shoot quite a few here on the farm, then I'll be in Europe and back in California. But text me and WhatsApp me. I can sometimes. I'll leave you a voice message too. So. But say seasons in the WhatsApp or text and then give me a little background. What's going on, how much money you're making, what's working, what's not. Mom, I got it. I'm going to go.