← Trading Secrets
Trading Secrets
224. Mimi Bouchard: From a net worth of $8 to becoming a decamillionaire! The secrets to rewiring your subconscious, utilizing Activations, and building your dream life
01:11:25
Loading summary
Transcript121 lines
- [00:00]
Jason Tardick
Foreign. Welcome back to another episode of Trading Secrets. I'm your host, Jason Tardick. And welcome to the pre market trading segment where I'm going to tell you a little bit about what you can expect from today's guest. A quick financial tip and an update from my life. Today's guest is Mimi Bouchard. Now, I don't even really wanna give you much of a tease, but here's what I'm gonna tell you. From $8 to a deca millionaire, or decimillionaire, if you need a good laugh in the recap. From $8 to a massive net worth on the theory of visualization activation and rewiring your mind. And yes, you're gonna hear in this episode. I test a little bit. I'm like, okay, we're not going into woo woo here. Like, I want technical, I want science, I want quantum physics. Explain to me how this works. And let me tell you this. Mimi Bouchard showed up and had the answers. This was an episode. It doesn't matter who you are, what you do, where you live. You're going to take away something from this episode that you can instantly implement into your life. And I don't know, I just don't know what is in the water lately with our recaps. I don't know if it's 20, 25 change. I don't know if David and I are just more connected, we're more connected with ourselves. But these recaps are absolutely lit. And just honestly, please listen to today's recap. Just like the last three episodes. You gotta listen to these recaps also, because I'm curious, like, what do you think of them? Because we're just like pouring our brains and hearts on the table lately. I feel like, um. And it feels good. A little scary. You know, I was joking around with David last week. I. I said something about how I, I was, I was lonely. And in the last recap, and it hit a headline and I'm like, fuck. Cause I don't, I don't want these things, like, where I'm like talking about my dating life to hit headlines. I just, I'm like, ah, here we go. And he's like, dude, just like, embrace your vulnerability. Like, just let you be you. Speak you embrace. And who cares about a headline, Whatever, Just be you. And I'm like, you know what? Thank you. You're a great friend for letting me be me and encouraging me to continue to be me. Okay, enough of that. But Mimi Barshard, you're gonna love Mimi's episode. It's unbelievable. Quick little tip. Wake up call. Wake up call. As of today, when I'm recording this, 52 days until tax day, which falls on April 15, 2025. So one big tip. Make sure you have all your information organized. Make sure that you are ready to go and maximize your deductions by contributing to Tax Advantage accounts. Like, like traditional IRAs, 401ks health savings accounts. You know, a little tip, what I'd say is go into any AI chatgpt and just say list every single Tax Advantage account I should be considering before tax deadline. You have 52 days. Make sure you are on it. We'll update from My Life. I talked a little bit about the RV life. If you paid attention to the recap a few weeks ago, I'm giving a little test, a little baby test. Here I am taking an RV with John Gurney. We are gonna go from Nashville, Tennessee to New York City because I have to be up there for podcasting and to speak at TikTok headquarters. So we're gonna try it, we're gonna see, we're gonna test out a little bit. We have some other things to test out too. We talk about those in the recap. So more to come. Enough of me. Let's get in it. I'm telling you, Mimi Bouchard, this one is a game changer. Foreign welcome back to another episode of Trading Secrets. Today's episode is presented by Geico, but we are joined by entrepreneur, investor, podcaster and thought leader in the self improvement and wellness space, Mimi Bouchard. Mimi is the founder and CEO of the incredibly popular Activations app. Her groundbreaking luxury motivational audio app was founded just two years ago. It is quietly a mass tag, tens of thousands of subscribers and millions in yearly revenue. And it's changed the way we think about meditation from a net worth of $8 to now a decimillionaire. David, I know if you're listening you're going to ask me what that means in the recap. She came from nothing from lonely to finding her dream partner. Mimi became everything she ever wanted by listening to Visualization Audios. I also want to let you know you could pre order Mimi's debut book as Active your future Self today. Mimi, thank you so much for joining us on Sharing Secrets.
- [04:42]
Mimi Bouchard
Thank you Jason for having me. And wow, my PR team really knows how to big me up with that intro. So I really appreciate it.
- [04:48]
Jason Tardick
I. I mean just I always love to talk behind the scenes. There's a lot of most of the guests that we have have PR and they give us prep. I will tell you this, your PR team of any PR team 200 plus episode was the best at prepping us by far. So you got a good PR team. Well, Mimi, there's so much to talk about. I mean, your story is so cool. You like rock bottom to where you are. And I know everyone here listening wants to hear all your tips, all your strategies, the ways they can implement change in life the way you did. But what we're going to start with, because this episode is sponsored by geico, I have some GEICO theme questions. We're going to do three of them and they're going to be centered around. Consistency is key. Making big life changes without fear. Investing in your future. You ready to rip into this?
- [05:32]
Mimi Bouchard
Let's go.
- [05:33]
Jason Tardick
All right. Consistency is key. Just like how GEICO emphasizes consistency in saving money for its customers, building a mindset and daily habits require consistency. How do you help people stay committed to their personal growth journeys, even when motivation fades?
- [05:49]
Mimi Bouchard
I always say you cannot rely on motivation if you want to create your best life because it fades so quickly. We've all felt that. So what you really need to do and how I teach people to change their lives is not to rely on motivation. It's actually to create a new self image that aligns with the version of you that already has everything you want. Because when you change your self image, you naturally start making different decisions and you're naturally more consistent with the things that you want to achieve in your life. So I would say I help people get to the core of why they want that thing and who they need to become, most importantly to create that, that life that they desire. And that's all through self image, reprogramming work and simply rewiring your mind to become the new self, your future self.
- [06:36]
Jason Tardick
I love it. We're going to get into the intricacies of all that rewired prep, but I totally agree. I just think about self image like when my switch is off, like my self image switches off and I'm just like letting loose. I make the worst decisions when it comes to, like my eating habits or working out. And when my switch is on and I like have this positive image, direction and energy, it's all tightened up. So I completely agree with that. And your point about motivation is bang on. And I feel like that's where discipline comes in in a huge way. But let's go to number two, which is making big life changes without fear. GEICO simplifies the process of switching insurance, helping Customers make confident, stress free decisions. You have made several bold life pivots. How do you approach major life and career changes with confidence? And what advice do you have for those of us afraid to take that leap?
- [07:21]
Mimi Bouchard
Whenever it comes to fear, I always just ask myself, will you regret this at the end of your life if you don't do it? Because being in tune with our mortality I think is the most important thing. If you're feeling fear because it reminds you that life is so short, you don't have another go at things once it's over. And I know that sounds grim, but it really does remind you of how important it is to live your life fully. And if you feel like an opportunity is there and that you're feeling so much fear about starting or moving to that place or creating this new career, you need to remember that you likely will regret this at the end of your life if you don't do it. And that fear of regret is overpowering. For me, it over it helps me overcome any fear of doing the thing in the moment. So that's what I would say is connect with your mortality and remember that life is so freaking short and you just have to be that ultimate version of yourself, your potential. You have to at least taste it and experience that life before you know you're 80 years old and it's too late.
- [08:26]
Jason Tardick
Yeah, it's perfectly said. I mean, I think when like you reverse engineer these things, it makes you, it gives you a different perspective and changes those big, those big life decisions that you gotta be making. So I couldn't agree more with you. Let's go to number three, investing in your future. People often view insurance as an investment in their future security. In the same way, investing in personal development is a long term game. How do you convince people that prioritizing their mindset and mental well being is just as essential as financial security?
- [08:56]
Mimi Bouchard
Well, absolutely, it really is. And I love what you said there about that like investors mentality. That's something that I've actually written about in my book. I like to have an investor's mentality with everything in my life, from finances obviously, but also with my health and my personal development and my relationships. If you start to take on this investor's mentality towards every aspect of your life, you're going to reap the benefits of that compound effect that you also achieve when you are in the market for a long time. So yeah, it's just understanding that, you know, small, like little habits every day really does add up to something big. And as humans we're always you know, looking to do like this big thing to make a big change. But in reality, you know, as as annoying as it is to say like the small daily consistent habits are the ones that make the biggest, biggest difference.
- [09:53]
Jason Tardick
I read something that said the organization in your house is a dictation of the organization in your life. When we think about self care, I want you to think about something you could do to improve your self care and I have it for you. The change is upgrading your sleep. Now you can do that with the softest 100% organic cotton sheets from bowl and Branch. The one time upgrade will bring you years of better sleep wrapped in the most luxurious feeling imaginable. No matter the kind of day you had. You'll go into instant relaxation mode when you climb into these sheets. They are breathable, buttery, soft and they even get softer with every wash. Change the way you relax and sleep with Bull and branch on their 30 night guarantee. So bull and branch is ready for you now. Your choice to change the way you sleep is with them. Get 15% off plus free shipping on your first set of sheets at bullenbranch.com trading secrets that's bullenbranch.com trading Secrets to get 15% off B L A N D branch.com trading secrets exclusions apply. See sites for detail. Okay. Unbelievable. Well, it's a good transition, right, Because I said in the intro, but you go from $8 of net worth to now a decimillionaire. And this morning I was on the activations app and I was walking around and I was listening to the activation that was geared around the amount of money you want to make in a year. And a lot of the things that you're saying in this activation were about like picturing what that looks like, what the affordability looks like, what the cash flow looks like. What would you do with the money? So peel, you know, the onion back, you know, give us a little look behind the curtain here. How is like the psychology, like how does that actually work when we're listening to these activations on the app where we'll truly rewire our brain for it to happen? Because I'll even tell you, like I remember five, six years ago, I thought manifesting and I thought the idea of activating your brain in a certain way to achieve something was just garbage. I'm like, no, you just got to do it. You can't just think it. And then it comes true, like poof. But I've learned in the last five, six years it is A very, very real thing. But talk to me about like the science behind it. Show us a little behind the curtain how it works.
- [12:06]
Mimi Bouchard
Yeah, absolutely. So specifically with activations, the new type of audio that I've developed, it is not meditation, it's activation, it's motivational audio that helps you visualize your future self in everyday moment. So the science behind activations that meditation doesn't necessarily have is that you're listening to these activations in everyday moments while you're cleaning, while you're in the shower, while you're driving, while you're getting ready in the morning, while you're walking. And just like how Pavlov's dog theory, we all hear heard of this theory, you know, Pavlov rings the bell, the dog salivates. That is classical conditioning. When you are using your, your brain and you're thinking these new thoughts and, and you're experiencing a new state of being tied to everyday moments. Like every morning when you're getting ready, or every day when you're walking your dog, you really start to change very, very quickly. And this is one of the most, you know, incredible things about activations, is that you can just habit stack it, you can listen to it in everyday moments and it's actually rewiring your brain as your eyes are open, as you're experiencing your life as your future self in these everyday moments. So that's one piece of science. Another is that activations help reprogram the RAs in your brain. We all have a filtration system in our brains called the ras. It's the reticular activating system. And the reticular activating system acts as essentially a filtration system in our brains. If we didn't have an ras, we'd literally, our brains would explode with information because there's so much happening around us at all times. You'd be noticing the air conditioning sound in the background, you'd be noticing the siren, you know, happening over there, the light flickering. Our brains would be way too much information overload. So the RAS is a good thing and a great example of what the RAs, when it's triggered is. For example, like if you're thinking of buying a red convertible and you start seeing it everywhere, that's your RAS in action. So when you reprogram your RAs and you ask it to filter new information, you start to see opportunities that haven't, that you once hadn't seen. And the same thing acts as if you have a belief system in your mind that, you know, says, I'm a victim And I can't create success in my life. Your ras is going to be programmed by that belief and it's going to look for reasons why you are a victim in your life. So these activations really help you rewire your mind. They embed new belief systems into your brain and it helps reprogram your RAs. Because you're our problem. RAS is programmed by your beliefs and your thoughts that you have repeatedly. So when you start really, you know, thinking to yourself with these activations, like, I am an abundant person, opportunities come to me. You know, I'm a lucky person, things are happening exactly as they should in my life. You start to actually see and notice reasons all around you why that is the truth. And that's pretty incredible because our brains have that power and so many of us think that life just happens to us and it is how it is. But the difference between someone who is very successful and creates success for themselves versus someone who is stuck in this cycle of just not doing enough, not creating enough is I believe their, their subconscious mind because it's what's being presented to them. Their ras is showing them opportunities.
- [15:23]
Jason Tardick
Interesting. It's the science of manifestation and it's this idea of rewiring just like the subconscious mind and how to reposition rethink things. And I think all of us can relate to, even like probably the most basic theory is you, you hear about something you never knew before and all of a sudden you see it everywhere. Right. Like that's the most basic thing. Or the red Corvette scenario is exactly, exactly what we're talking about on this podcast. We also talk obviously a lot about money. Right. So it's a business and money podcast. Talk to me a little bit about your story. So how. Give us the example of how activations allowed you to rewire your subconscious, which then led to your financial success of having a net worth of almost nothing to being a decimillionaire. Like give us the example that those specific to you.
- [16:10]
Mimi Bouchard
Yeah, and it's kind of a crazy story because this shouldn't have happened to me, Jason. Like I'm a 28 year old girl. I. My parents didn't have a lot of money. Like they're artists. Like I kind of, I grew up in Toronto, Canada and then I moved to London when I was 19 and I kind of just tried basically everything to be a successful entrepreneur. But at 28 years old like this, really the odds were not in my favor. Being so young, being able to create, you know, a business like this and to see the success I See, today I truly pinch myself every day, but I am truly a product of the work that I do. And back in 2017, I was getting really into personal development. I was broke. Like, I literally had $8 in my bank account and I was partying a lot. Like, I felt like absolute. And I was doing a lot of drugs and just like I was just lost and broke and unhappy and like my body didn't feel good. I had never been in a relationship before. I was just numbing a lot. And then I started getting into self help and personal development. And this was before it was cool, by the way. This was almost a decade ago. This was, you know, when all personal development books just had like an old white guy on the COVID with their thumbs up and it was like lame to read. But I got really into it for some reason and I started doing what all these books were telling me to do, what all the Tony Robbins seminars on YouTube are telling me to do.
- [17:31]
Jason Tardick
And.
- [17:31]
Mimi Bouchard
And the one thing I couldn't get into is meditation. And I really tried because I was learning about all, you know, the reasons why visualization helps you so much, achieve this life. And I was really trying to do the thing, but I just couldn't stick to it. I couldn't stick to meditation. I felt like my mind worked so quickly and I felt like I just didn't want to sit and think about nothing. It didn't make sense to me as to how that would help me reach my goals of being, you know, wealthy and happy and, you know, in a beautiful relationship. Like, I didn't understand how that had the effect. And of course, meditation is amazing if you want to calm your nervous system and de stress. But I just, I didn't want something, you know, to help me do that. I wanted something to invigorate me. I wanted something to help me just excel and I wanted it to launch me into this new self image. So really out of nowhere, one random day in 2017, I decided to take out my phone and to open up the voice memo app on my phone. And I kind of just recorded a visualization to myself. This was a description of my future life. And I explained in depth how it felt to be abundant, how it felt to have millions in the bank, how it felt to be able to retire my parents, how it felt to have whatever I wanted and, and have an amazing relationship with a man who's just incredible. And I'd only dealt with buck boys up to that point. So it was definitely a big visualization for me. You know, just, I I described it and would listen to this audio every day while doing the dishes, while going on, you know, the bus to work, while just doing everyday activities. And then I got bored of it after a few days so I recorded another one and then I wanted to add inspiring music behind it to really like, you know, enhance the effect. So I did that on GarageBand and then I just started creating this whole collection of the original activations for myself without even realizing that I would be sharing this the world years later. And then fast forward, years and years pass. I had tried many different businesses and then one day I decided to share some of these activations with my audience because, you know, why not? And they blew up. When I tell you, Jason, that overnight I had like thousands of people subscribing to this random, you know, platform, the original activations platform, to use these activations, it was pretty insane. Like the word of mouth growth was out of control. So the business mind in me was thinking, okay, well great product market fit, what can I do? Okay, I'm going to create an app, I'm going to trademark activations, create a whole brand around it. I'm going to start creating loads of these now. There's over 700 activations on the app and we work with like the world's top composers for some of the best movies and it's really this whole thing now. And yeah, I launched the brand three and a half years ago and it's like, it's insane. We had our first million dollar month last month and we haven't raised any money. I've bootstrapped it myself. I have a very small team. Like I ended up like moving to the Bahamas and it's just been like a pretty incredible experience. So I am a product of what I preach and this work has just radically changed my life. I'm also just very good at manifesting at this point. I feel like, you know, I remember the month that I knew I was going to hit my first six figure month and I was doing all the things and I was really stepping into this new self image. I had to get so familiar with the feeling of being comfortable making that amount of money. And I remember my, you know, I knew which months these certain financial milestones would happen just because I'm so tuned in. And now it's actually beyond my own story. Pretty crazy to see our users stories like we have tens and tens of thousands paying users and they literally change their lives and we get messages, we have a whole slack channel internally called customer love and we just share like Our customer support team shares like dozens of these incredible stories every day and it's just pretty incredible to see that not only did it change my life because obviously I created the business and it's, there's a bit of a tie there. But seeing other people that are just normal people, you know, like randomly start a business that kicks off or finds the love of their life or you know, finally just feels good in their body for the first time because they've achieved the self image of someone who has a certain, you know, look and you know, just every single goal that you have can be related down to this self image reprogramming work that, you know, activations helps you achieve. So all in all, it's been a pretty wild experience. It is surreal. I still feel like now it just has made me believe in the work so much more because it just shouldn't have happened like it shouldn't have happened like this and it, you know, figuring.
- [22:06]
Jason Tardick
Out how to get ahead in today's world isn't easy. The old playbook feels pretty outdated, especially for millennials and Gen Z. With rising housing costs, student loans and unpredictable economy, it's no wonder we're all rethinking what success even looks like. That's why I like finding companies that help cut through the uncertainty. And that's where today's sponsor, Geico, comes in. As a leader in car insurance, Geico has built a reputation on trust with a 97% customer satisfaction rating. Customer satisfaction is based on an independent study conducted by Allen Newman Research 2024. To me, that says a lot. And the claims team is there when you need them. 24. 7. Whether you need to file a claim for your car over the phone or through the app, Geico's team is always ready to help out. Fast, friendly and fair. In a world where reliability is hard to come by, Geico stands out by making sure their customers and their vehicles are covered at all times. Yeah, think about how interesting that is. That activations of the idea of visualization is what you were doing to put yourself in a better position. And weirdly enough, it was just sharing visualizations that you were doing that turned you into where you are today. The question I have for all my analytical and literal listeners out there, the idea of I'm going to predict when I make six figures in a month or I'm going to predict when I do this, it sounds like a little woo woo, like for my literal people, so talk to me about this. For my analytical minds like me, how long do I have to Be doing visualizations to really start to see the rewiring happen. To start saying in my head like, okay, it's going to be October of this year that I make this. Much like talk to me about that.
- [23:43]
Mimi Bouchard
Yeah. And I will preface this with saying that, you know, I don't say that you can get things in a certain amount of time to the public. Like I'm just, maybe it's coincidence when it's happened to me, but the, I guess principles of manifestation is that you can't decide on when. You can just decide on what you want. I know deep down that if I have a goal, I can achieve it. But the timing is not always up to me. But going back to your question, it's less about how long you need to visualize for. It's more how quickly can you be your future self now. So if some random person off the side of the street is just really good at acting as if and embodying this new self energy, they could become that version of them right now. And then, you know, it's just a matter of time for that to manifest into reality the things that that future self version of them has and the life they get to experience. But it's, it's really just about being that version of you in this moment. That's what all this work comes down to. You know, you, the listeners listening right now. You don't even need to use activations to do this. It's just a tool I created to make it easy. If you can do this yourself right now, like whatever you're doing, you can just step into that future self feeling. And when I say energy, I don't want that to come across too woo woo, even though you know it is a little woo woo. It is because energy is something you can't physically see, but it exists. And scientists have measured biofields around humans bodies. I write about this in my book. Like there is a lot of science to prove a lot of the research that we've been sharing. But I will say there is also a lot that's not fully proved yet. You know, I have one foot into the science world, but I also have one foot in to more of the woo woo world and where I'm looking at quantum physics theories that state, you know, that energy like energy attracts like energy or you know, you can always step into a new reality. There is, you know this quantum physicist that I like to study, his name is Vadim Zeland. He wrote Reality Transurfing this book that was translated from Russian. It's this humongous book about his theories on quantum physics and what he believes is reality and what he states to be true is that there are at any given moment unlimited lifelines slash, parallel realities at any given moment. And he states that if you align yourself with a certain lifeline energetically, you can just immediately step into that. You can like leap into that new lifeline. So I know this sounds very woo woo, but I kind of have started to realize that that's what I've experienced in my life. I feel like when I change my baseline of energy, how I'm. And when I say baseline of energy, I mean how I'm feeling, how I'm feeling about myself, my personality, how I feel like I'm coming across, how, you know, my. Just the energetic field around my body, like, feels specific. And when I am in this state of, you know, just pure abundance and unlimitedness and love and opportunity, good things will happen to me. And that's not to say that bad things never will happen to me, but it, it means that my response to it will end up making it a positive situation. There's something that I, I read once that really stuck with me. It was about five years ago. I read this in a book and it's the event plus your response equals your outcome, not the event equals the outcome. It's the event plus your response. You're 50% of the outcome. So yes, bad things can happen to you when you're in this magnetic state, but your response is 50% of the outcome. So just remember that. And I have no idea, I forget what the question was. Jason. I hope I answered it. I just went on a full tangent.
- [27:13]
Jason Tardick
Oh no, you answered it. And tenfold, I was just over here listening. I forgot I had to interview you. But no, I think that's really cool. That's interesting because like with, with why I go to therapy, we talk a lot about reaction versus response. And so it's fascinating to take, you know, therapy work and tie it into the idea that an event plus your response will actually equal your outcome. You did not say event plus reaction equals outcome. So I find that interesting. And just like there's, there's so much here because this is a little like, you know, where the question stem from, right? Was like, how long do you have to do this? And like, what would expect? And your answer was exactly what I would expect. It's not literal, it's not analytical, it's not a perfect blueprint. It's interesting because people like me and there's definitely people that are Listening to the show that are a very analytical and literal. Want that subscription to the answer. It's going to take 10 days. It's going to take 10 hours. And what's interesting for any of my analytical people out there, my literal people out there, is someone who has like been battling with this to overcome it and start to step into things like visualization, manifestation, activation. I will tell you, it's the very thing that makes us literal, which puts the ceiling on our expectations and actually is decreasing the likelihood of the success that we always want to live because we think that percentages are always going to be the outcome of what should occur. Like how many people out there see something be like, oh, that couldn't happen to me or oh no, they just got lucky or that's not my world or all the chances of that are zero. Well, when you're saying that you're now exactly doing what everything Mimi's talking about in the opposite direction, you're rewiring your brain to say it's not achievable, to say it can't happen, to say the likelihood is too small. And so as an analytical person and a literal person, I could tell you battling and like, and taking that for like the good and making sure I'm using it in a productive way but not a negative way is something I've been working on for years now.
- [29:02]
Mimi Bouchard
And you know what, the other just quickly on that thought, Jason, like the other thing to keep in mind when you have those analytical, more maybe pessimistic thoughts come in, it's like, which belief will serve me more? Like, would you rather be right or happy? And I really do believe in the placebo effect, that if you believe something, you know, you're more, it's more likely to happen. And that's another, I guess, you know, piece of proof to all of this work. It's like, maybe manifestation is completely fake, but the placebo effect is completely real. Like, you have no idea. We there is obviously a lot of proof to share. You know, the neuroscience, like I was sharing earlier, the Ras and Pavlov's dog theory. But it's like, which belief is going to serve you more? You know, is it going to serve you more if you believe that you stepping into this new identity and this new self image is going to help you because you're already going to be happier even waiting for the thing to happen because you're in this new future self self image energy, you're already feeling happier, you're already feeling more abundant, you're already Feeling more magnetic. And it's actually fun to be in the process of it. It's not like, oh, I have to do 10 of these activations and I'll finally get to this goal. It's like, this is a way of life. If you want to just enjoy your life more and start living as your future self right now, being that person right now. That's the trick to it, because then you start responding like that person. If you're in a room full of people and you start exuding that energy of that person, people will come up to you, you know, like, diff. They'll respond to you differently. And that's really the trick of it all. It's just to be that person now. It's so simple, this work. It's. It's being them in this moment.
- [30:41]
Jason Tardick
And it is. I'll tell you, it is very fun because as I was walking around today on the Activations app and I was listening to it, I started to, like, tell myself what I was hearing. And I remember when I was walking today, I was like, kind of looking up and I was like, wait, what would it be like if I made a million dollars a month? I'm like, wow, everyone that's hearing this right now, you're probably thinking, a million dollars a month, shut up. Like, right, like, that's what I'm thinking. But then you, like, just for a second, like, close your eyes and you think about, like, okay, if you made a million this month, just let's picture it. Like, what would you spend it on? And as I'm walking, I'm actually seeing boats and stuff, man, I get a badass boat or something like that. And it's fun. It is fun. You're right. So it's not like it' you're going to the gym, grinding your ass off, just sweating, and like, it's actually like a fun exercise. So I believe in that. And then the other thing too, Mimi, is I saw that you were referenced in this article and they interviewed you, and it was about this idea that people are now using ChatGPT to help them achieve their dream life. And in this article, I was just, like, reading, and I'm like, no way that some of the kids these days or Gen Zs or people that are really leveraging AI are like, typing in the life that they want. And then ChatGPT is actually helping them with the visualization. Tell me a little bit more about this. This.
- [31:50]
Mimi Bouchard
Oh, yeah, I don't even. Was this, like, a Cosmo article? I think I was like, Randomly emailed.
- [31:56]
Jason Tardick
Yeah, I actually it was that new.
- [31:57]
Mimi Bouchard
Oh, okay. I think, yeah, I don't even remember to be honest. But yes, like there's this trend right now I think on TikTok happening and it's like asking chat GPT to like help me visualize my ideal day when I've achieved all of my goals. And that is so Gen Z. You're right. Like I think, I don't even know. I think I'm a millennial. I'm like on the cusp. I'm 96 so I don't really identify as Gen Z. I don't really know what they're up to but I know that their cool kids are on ChatGPT. Well I use it too but I haven't actually done this particular exercise. But yes, it is very interesting, people leveraging AI for it. I think that like just thinking into the future, it's going to be really cool when VR is more of a thing. You could like put on your headset and really visualize your future life and like be on stage in front of you know, a 100,000 people or like receive a Grammy or you know, have these big incredible life experiences happen to you like in VR. I've thought about that before, how cool it will be when technology is there. Like I just think taking advantage of technology to you know, create this amazing life, it's, it's a no brainer. Why not anything that makes it more real.
- [33:04]
Jason Tardick
Well I already talked about stats in literal and analytical and I have some stats for everyone out there. 91% of users feel shift after trying activation for the first time. I felt I was one of that 91% today. I've never done it before. 74% of users experience a life altering transformation in just 90 days. But I want to get some stats from you. So for anybody that's interested in even building an app or want to know more about your app. You know you said you self funded at bootstrap, so what did it cost to build the app? And then talk to us just a little bit about some of the numbers behind the business revenue, users, stuff like that.
- [33:36]
Mimi Bouchard
Yeah. So actually when I first launched this is a reason why I how I was able to bootstrap it. Cause obviously before then it's not like I came from loads of money and had family invest in it like it was. This is fully how I created this business from the ground up without having any money really at the beginning. So like I mentioned when I first had the idea to start sharing activations, I Had like a website, it's called you Screen. It's a really good like starter subscription website where I basically just paid a couple hundred dollars a month and had a subscription platform that people like the whole tech was behind this like third party, like a ustreen. And so I, I released all the activations on there just to get that product market fit. And it really was a low cost and I was creating all the activations myself. I would like pick the music myself, being GarageBand myself like editing it together. It was so budget. And then people started really, you know, catching on and within I think the first four months I had reached I think like a 30k MRR monthly recurring revenue. And that was genuinely from just word of mouth. Like I don't have you know, millions of followers. I have you know like under 200k. Like it's not like it's like it's, it's not like it's this crazy big audience that was going to make me a millionaire immediately. But people started listening and they started telling their friends about it and just this like social proof was a really big part of our business growth. And a lot of businesses that you see that are even pre revenue that are just looking to raise money through VC is like they don't even. The biggest thing that they're looking for is product market fit. They have the concept but they don't even know if they have product market fit. And me in my entrepreneurial, you know, experience has always thought more logically like that's like the most important thing. I would never invest in a company that doesn't have product market fit. It's like the number one thing. You could theorize all you want but the biggest, most important thing in any business is to test it. And we do so much user testing in my business. So I were very obsessed with just getting that data. So I decided once we hit 30k mrr that now it was time to invest in an actual app that we could really, you know, personalize more and it looks more like an audio app. And then when I did that I still didn't have like a quarter of a million dollars that it would cost to create an app from scratch. So what I did is I just spent so many hours googling top app development agencies and I found one that had claimed to have worked with Headspace when they first started out. And I met with the founder and I basically pitched him for him to create a whole wing in his company that licenses apps. So he had like a pre built model that would that would have been a good plug and play for an audio app. And I essentially just like, I convinced him to license the app to us for like 10k a month instead of me paying 2, 3, 400k for a fresh app. So really just like thinking outside the box here because I really wanted a customer custom app that was better than what I had previously. But I also didn't have enough to make a fully custom app and to obviously hire full in house team of engineers. That's like a completely, it's like 100k a month investment minimum. So. And we still don't even have that. So we outsource to a lot of agencies and contractors. We do things quite differently because I live in the Bahamas, the company is based here. Like we legally don't pay tax and we've had to think about things really differently because it's not like we write things off. You know, if I lived in LA or New York, I'd have this big fancy office that I just write off. I don't have that because everything we send here just comes out of profit. So we think about things.
- [37:06]
Jason Tardick
So there's no. And this is totally detour. I'm just curious. There's no tax in the Bahamas?
- [37:10]
Mimi Bouchard
No. I'm a Canadian, so I don't pay federal tax. So I literally don't pay tax.
- [37:14]
Jason Tardick
We've heard some crazy trading secrets today. That might be the wildest one. So because you're Canadian, you live in the Bahamas, you have no tax?
- [37:20]
Mimi Bouchard
No. Well, I pay like VAT and like groceries here are expensive but like I don't pay any income tax. No. And the craziest thing, Jason, so remember when I told you that I just launched like the version one of the app with like the US screen, like third party platform. I had done that literally right when I moved to Bahamas because I had such a feeling I knew this was going to kick off. Like I didn't even, I started the business here basically so I didn't even need to like I've never made real money in a living in a tax jurisdiction. I've only, I moved to the Bahamas, I was like, now I'm going to start making real money. And then it just happened.
- [37:54]
Jason Tardick
Let's be honest, the speed at which things are moving right now, it's just, it's too fast. It's hard to keep up with everything, especially working out. So here's a solution I have for you. I have tried literally every single at home workout gadget out there, everything. The best one I've ever come and buy the best workout equipment is Tonal. Tonal is the world's smartest workout that effortlessly fits into the busiest lifestyle. And with the latest iteration, Tonal 2, you can ensure your workout is more tailored and effective than ever. Tonal adjusts in 1 pound increments with adaptive weight that now goes up to 250 pounds, challenging even the most advanced users to push their limits. You can also experience a full body burn with a new aero hiit workout. The perfect blend of heart pumping cardio and strength. Right now, Tonal is offering our listeners 200 off your Tonal purchase with promo code Trading Secrets. That's Tonal.com and use promo code Trading Secrets for $200 off your purchase. That is Tonal.com promo code Trading Secrets for $200 Off. Unbelievable. Is this part of your visualization? You're like, I'm just gonna make millions and then I have to pay tax. I'm like, and now visualization, I would never think of living the Bahamas and you tell me there's no state inc. Income tax, no federal tax. Now I'm like, I live in the Bahamas and that's how things happen in life.
- [39:16]
Mimi Bouchard
But you, you live, you, you have a US passport, don't you?
- [39:19]
Jason Tardick
Yeah. So I'd have to pay federal.
- [39:20]
Mimi Bouchard
Yeah, but yeah, you know, and maybe someone listening will benefit them. It's annoying. Yeah, the US federal tax thing. But you know, there are pros and cons at the end of the day, like my whole team's remote. Like I would have loved to have an office, an in house team and you know, everyone in person. But we don't have that. We do things very differently is essentially, you know, the gist of it. But yeah, so I started licensing the app and found a way to negotiate. Like I've always been very good at negotiating and thinking outside the box and I think that's been one of my strong suits as an entrepreneur. So yeah, I've created, I incentivize this company to create like a whole licensing wing in their agency and, and license it from them and. Oh my gosh. And then a few years ago when we started making good money and we were able to like, you know, invest in creating an app from scratch. We started working with this team based in LA with all these, you know, California based developers. We thought they were the best of the best. They're top rated on all the, you know, app development agency, you know, rating websites and they, they, we basically worked with them for a year and a half building a new app and we Spent an incredible amount of money with them, and then they delivered us a faulty product. I think this is in the middle of COVID and my theory, we're now in a lawsuit with them, but my theory is that they just like, were understaffed and just stopped putting enough money towards our project. And maybe, you know, they just thought that we would be okay with it because we're a small company and that, you know, la de da, we'd just like migrate tens of thousands of users to this new app and deal with it. But unfortunately they didn't realize, I guess, that, you know, we're a serious company and this. We weren't able to migrate tens of thousands of people to this new app that they had delivered us that had so much technical debt that we were advised from so many different people, like, don't even make the move. So we are still dealing with that. That was one of the biggest hits that, you know, at the end of the day, it's fine. And like, I've. I've learned a lot of lessons from it and we are going to try to get all of our money back and all of our damages back because of the amount of, you know, like, they put us through. But, God, that was one of my biggest learning moments as an entrepreneur. There's nothing more that we could have done. But I've wasted so much money, an entire year and a half of mine and my entire team's time in such an early stage in the business that that was another big business lesson I learned. It's like, don't fix something that isn't broken. The licensed app, like, wasn't broken. And everyone loves the app. We never got any feedback. They wanted a new fancy app and I just. Because we were making all this money, I was like, okay, product, product, product. I've always been so product obsessed. And I was like, let's just invest, you know, so much money into a new app. And then we. It just didn't work with this company and they scammed us.
- [42:07]
Jason Tardick
And how much money did they scam you for?
- [42:09]
Mimi Bouchard
Well, the app was like 200,000,000 K. And then not even including that, their team stopped like, project managing it. So it was basically me and my head of growth, like talking to their, you know, developer, like directly and, you know, project managing the whole thing, qa, entire thing. It was like all of it was so much. It wasn't just the money I paid them. It was the amount of time myself and my whole team spent for a year and a half doing the work they should have been doing. It was just crazy.
- [42:38]
Jason Tardick
But I'm just curious, though, like, in those situations, like, when you. So you said you're gonna go to court, like, what is usually the outcome? Is it like a settlement or they claim bankruptcy or they pay? Like, what's the typical.
- [42:49]
Mimi Bouchard
I don't even. I know how much I'm supposed to be saying. Actually, I feel like I'm like, we haven't even gone to court yet. I don't know how much I should be sharing, but we have a very good case. Like, it's all in our favor. We've tried to mediate, and then they, like, don't, you know, answer, and they're just very sketchy people. So, you know, we're trying our best to do this in the most appropriate way because it's also a huge strain on the business legal costs. But you also need to protect, you know, what you've been, what you've built. And, yeah, I think, you know, Jason, it's funny being, like, a young woman, I've never thought, like, honestly, I've never subscribed to, like, me being a woman affecting me in a negative way in business. Like, I just. It's not my self image. I don't subscribe to it. But I will say there are certain things that I'm like, these people just, like, you know, some people really think that, you know, they. They just. They think this is, like, a little cute business, and they don't realize that, like, we're gonna come after them. Like, I think a lot of people just, you know, they underestimate me. And, yeah, I have to be in my masculine energy with stuff like this, which I hate.
- [43:52]
Jason Tardick
But the power of Mimi Bouchard, it goes deep. It goes deep. Maybe. I got a question about this. We've talked business, we've talked numbers, we've talked visualization, and we've talked the app. One thing we haven't talked much about, but I mentioned in your intro, was how you went from, you know, being lonely by yourself to finding the dream partner. And a lot of what you talk about in activations, too, is the visualization of your inner circle, whether it's intimate inner circle or friendships or network. So talk to me just a little bit about what advice you have for us on the personal side. If it is that we're looking to find our dream partner, we are looking to find a better network, or we're trying to sharpen our inner circle to make sure we're being the best version of ourselves.
- [44:32]
Mimi Bouchard
Yeah. So something that I've learned is just from personal experience, honestly, is that, you know, you have to really be able to love yourself before being able to love someone else as fully as you can. And I know that sounds like a motivational quote or something, but it's honestly true. Like, I have been with my fiance Ben now for seven and a half years. Like he was literally, he's my first boyfriend. Wow. I actually recorded an activation like, like on October 12, 2017, describing him and I met him on October 13, 2017. So the day before, which I'm telling you, like, weird timing things happened to me. But anyway, I, and, but when I first met him, I wasn't my, my best self. So I don't want to lie and tell the audience, oh yeah, you have to be your best self and then you'll find him. It's like I met my person when I was like, at my worst, honestly. And we've really had to grow together and, and both of us individually, like, we've grown in the same direction, which is why we're still here today and we're getting married this summer. And what I'll say though is that over that seven and a half year relationship, like I've, what I've learned about love is that the more that I can love myself and really just appreciate, you know, being alive in life, the more you appreciate and love the people around you. So it really starts with you. You're not capable, I don't believe, of loving someone else fully until you love yourself fully. So when it comes to creating, you know, beautiful relationship, I would say that you just, you, you need to put yourself out there. Like, so many of my friends are single and in their early 30s or you know, late 20s and they want to find their person, but they're not doing anything. They're sitting at home and they're not like going out and meeting people. So that's like the biggest thing I would say is just go out, meet people and just, just, you know, put yourself out there. My, my strategy with business is also, it was with relationships. It's just like try everything, throw spaghetti at the wall, see what sticks.
- [46:30]
Jason Tardick
I love it. I'm a busy guy and let me tell you, I have tried every single at home workout piece of equipment out there. Every single one, the best by a mile. And I'm not even going off the ad script that I'm giving by a mile. This is me just talking is tonal. Tonal is the world smartest workout that effortlessly fits into the busiest lifestyles. Whether you're a mother, father, parent, working full speed, you'll always be able to get your workout in. And with Tonal 2, you'll actually be able to adjust different things here so they have one pound increments with adaptive weight that now goes up to 250 pounds challenging even the most advanced users. You can also use the full body burn with new aero hiit workouts, the perfect blend of heart pumping, cardio and strength. Plus the new built in Smart View leverages a high resolution camera so you can see yourself during your workout, analyze your movements and provides real time coaching. I'm telling you, it is the best workout equipment at home I've ever used. Right now, Tonal is offering my listeners 200 bucks off your Tonal purchase with code Trading Secrets. That's Tonal.com use promo code Trading Secrets for 200 off your purchase. That's Tonal.com promo code Trading Secrets for 200 off. I love it. Well, let's wrap with this. I love the title of your new book. My grandfather would always do the family toast which was with health, wealth, happiness and all the time in the world to enjoy it. Your book activate your future self. The secret to effortlessly becoming the happiest, healthiest and wealthiest you. We have a lot of authors come on the show, some that are pitching their book and I always give them the platform of like, there's a lot of books out there. It's the toughest business out there. Talk to me. Someone's listening right now. Why should they pre order it? What is special about your book?
- [48:14]
Mimi Bouchard
Yeah, well, I've read a lot of personal development books. I've read hundreds in my life and they always feel very complicated. So when I wrote this book, I wanted to make it very, very simple and clear and I didn't want people to finish reading the book and feel confused. Still, I wanted to give very tangible, actionable things that they could start doing immediately. So this book book is truly my life's work and it makes transformation effortless, which I know sounds crazy, but it's true. Once you achieve the self image of your future self, transformation does become effortless because you're already that person. You're already doing those things. So the, the challenge is becoming that new self. It's creating and defining and embodying that new self image. And that's what the book helps you do. Because I want it to be effortless for people and from personal experience. I've been through a whole, you know, insane journey of personal development and I know what works and doesn't Work because from the first three to four years of my journey, like it was very, very slow growth. And then when I started applying these rules and principles and practices into my life, the second half of this decade long journey, it was like this insane trajectory. It was like, you know, a bell curve on a graph. Like the amount of growth I experienced in such a short amount of time was, was pretty spectacular. So now I'm trying to, you know, help the world and share those exact things I did to just grow really fast. And, and I'm very, I'm an impatient person. So I like quick change. I like very, very tangible, measurable results in a short amount of time. And if you're looking to transform any area of your life, activate your future self is definitely how to get there. It also teaches you how to create your own activations. It also tells you more about the science behind why this works and also goes into more of the, you know, more woo woo side of things. It's really rooted in the middle. A lot of authors are either very woo woo or like very pragmatic and scientific. I feel like I just believe in a little bit of both, basically. So I kind of stand in the middle and I give proof essentially with every single belief system as to why this works. And you know, I like to say an atheist will call it the placebo effect. A spiritualist will call it the law of attraction. Scientists will call it quantum physics. Someone religious might call it God or prayer. It kind of is all the same thing in different languages. So at the end of the day, whatever you believe, and even if you're very open to what you believe in this book really does kind of apply to you because it just shows that this is the truth, no matter what you call it.
- [50:50]
Jason Tardick
Yeah, it's like the common denominator of all those things. The, the one common denominator is just believing. Right. Like whatever, if placebo to God. Right. It's. It's just the idea of believing in something more that to that. So that is beautiful. Well, Mimi, it has been such a pleasure having you on. We have to wrap with your trading secret. So what is one trading secret you could leave us with?
- [51:11]
Mimi Bouchard
Simplifying transformation. There's two steps to transformation. The first step is clarity. You must get crystal clear on your future self. You must get so clear on how it feels to be your future self. Step two is becoming you must be that version of you in everyday moments. That is it. If you want to transform any area of your life, if you want to make more money, you Know, find the person of your dreams, change your body, your, your health, whatever it is. Just change your life in general. If you follow those two steps, you will get there. Clarity and becoming.
- [51:43]
Jason Tardick
Clarity and becoming. I will pay attention. I'm going to start implementing this stuff. I already started my activations on the app today. Mimi, where can everyone find everything you have going on the app? The book, all things you amazing.
- [51:54]
Mimi Bouchard
Thank you, Jason. Well, you guys can pre order my book. By the time this episode is out, it's probably already released. It's on Amazon or any other big book retailer that you can find. Just search activate your future self by me, Mimi Bouchard, and you'll find it there. And you can also find me on Instagram at Mimi Bouchard. I don't post that often. I'm like half the time off Instagram, but when I post, I post. And I actually have a podcast called Activate as well. So the activate podcast, activate your future self book. And then. Oh yeah, if you want to try activations for two weeks completely free, we're actually, we did a big discount for your listeners, Jason, so they can just go to activations.com secrets and you can take advantage of a two week free trial and like a massive discount on the yearly subscriptions as a thank you.
- [52:40]
Jason Tardick
I love it. Well, thank you so much for giving our listeners that opportunity again, guys. I'll tell you, I did it today. It feels good. I like it. I'm going to keep doing it. I'm going to subscribe to the visualization and maybe, Mimi, we're going to check back in a year to see what's going on with my life. There's certain areas of life, things are thriving. There's certain areas we need improvement. So we'll see. I'm on board with that. And Mimi Bouchard, all the way from the Bahamas, thank you so much for being on this episode of Trade Secrets.
- [53:06]
Mimi Bouchard
Thanks, Jason.
- [53:08]
Jason Tardick
Ding, ding, ding. We are closing in the bell to the Mimi Bouchard episode sponsored by Geico. I got the one, the only David Ardoin with me here to break down what he thought. David, I've actually, since the day that I did this interview, I was like, I can't wait to see what David thinks because I can't tell if you're gonna, like, hate it or you're gonna love it. I just don't know. Out.
- [53:30]
David Ardoin
All right, so you want the reveal. You, you told me that too. And so typically I was going to go into it with an attitude and not like it and I did. I went into it where I'm like, all right, I'm just going to get through this. I'm going to make my notes and do the recap and get out of here. I mean, to say I was hooked. She shook, she hooked me early. And you hooked me early, too, with your intro. But I was hooked. I really was. I was, I was really fascinated. I knew nothing about her, which is, I think, the best part. I do have some business questions to get to, but overall, like, I was hooked. I think, you know, I think we'll talk about a little bit about this in the recap, but a little bit of where I am at in my life. This episode meant more than it did three months ago, six months ago to me. So I was definitely hooked into that, and I hope our listeners were too. I really did. So now, before we get into the weeds a bit here, I'm going to start where you started in the recap where you said her, her net worth was $8, and then she became a decimillionaire. And you said, david, if you're listening to this, I know you're gonna ask this in the recap. And here we are asking in the recap. So I'm gonna start where you started in the intro. And the intro of the recap. What the hell? I've never even heard that term in my life.
- [54:38]
Jason Tardick
Yeah, well, desa or D, E, C, A, that is from the Greek terminology which means 10. So a decimillionaire is someone who is worth more than $10 million. Now, the, the only thing I'll say is, like, I'll be honest with you. You know me. My biggest issue is pronunciation. I don't know if it's deca or desa, but I thought it was desa.
- [55:04]
David Ardoin
I spelled it D E, C, I in my notes, and I'm thinking decimals. And I'm like, is she not a millionaire then? Is she decimal millionaire? Is that like a 0.8 millionaire? So DECA would make more sense. Decade deca. Why are we just calling deca? Is that there's a fir. I'm 38 years old. First time I've ever heard deca millionaire. Is that a new thing? Are we bringing that back? Is that like a tick tock thing? Or is that just, is that always been a thing?
- [55:28]
Jason Tardick
I'll be honest with you. I, I, I don't hear it often. I've seen, like, YouTube videos where it's like, you know, over the last few years, I think you've seen, like, via Decimillionaire, I think it might be deca.
- [55:42]
David Ardoin
Actually has to be DECA decade.
- [55:46]
Jason Tardick
Yeah. Did I pronounce it wrong? The entire episode? Episode, probably.
- [55:51]
David Ardoin
And then she's staring out there. I, I, I also have on my notes when she started, at the very start of the, when you asked her a question, she started about how the activations activate as RAs, and then she went on a massive tangent. And let me tell you, this girl can talk. She knows what she's talking about. But she started talking about RAs. And I kind of checked out for a little bit, and then I checked in and she was still talking about it, and the conversation was so far over my head. And all I have in my thing is this girl's smart as fuck. So kind of like she, she was captivating in that sense. And yeah, if she is smart talking about RAS and being a DECA millionaire and you start the podcast talking about decimillionaire, she's probably like, this guy, this.
- [56:33]
Jason Tardick
Guy doesn't seem to even know how to pronounce it. I don't even know how to pronounce it. You know what? Let's look this up once and for all. Let's look it up. All right, David, we got the answer. I knew the definition, didn't know how to pronounce it. Standard Jason Tardick. It's DECA millionaire. So it is not decimal. It's decimillionaire. But it is the value net worth of over 10 million bucks. So there's your answer for me and for you.
- [56:57]
David Ardoin
How does it feel to be in. Now you know how I feel.
- [57:00]
Jason Tardick
I know, I know it feels. I'm enlightened. I learned something. I also feel a little stupid that the whole episode I'm like, desa billionaire. Let's ask David. For everyone that doesn't know, I think you guys do know by now. I'm terrible with names. It's one of my biggest flaws. And pronunciation of names like, I, it's, it's bad. It's something I'm really, really trying to work on. So Got this one right.
- [57:21]
David Ardoin
Well, I'm going to take a little word play there that you said enlightened a little bit. And I was pretty enlightened by Mimi's answered in the GEICO Rapid Fire segment. All right. She basically said three statements that stuck out. I'm going to take one statement from each question. You're going to tell me what hit you the hardest one. You talked about people's goals and helping motivation. She says you can't rely on Motivation. And I thought that was kind of powerful, not being able to rely on motivation. Two, she. You asked several bold life pivots. How do you approach major life decisions with confidence? She said, connect with your morality, which I thought was really, really interesting. And then three, obviously investing in your future. She thought that investing mentally investing in her mentality, in health and relationships and personal deferent reaps the benefits of compound effect. Just like you wouldn't finance which of the three of those hits you the hardest. Artist.
- [58:09]
Jason Tardick
I think the idea of being like, just being the ideal version of yourself, right? And understanding yourself and like, what. You know, all of us have behaviors every day, right? Like. Like, for example, you. You're on this journey of like, you're losing weight, you're giving up drinking, you're on this reboot journey. We're all in these different journeys. And there's reasons that we're doing what we're doing today and how we're doing it. And like dissecting that to connect with ourselves and our morality and our character and all of that, that is like the epitome of what's necessary to survive in happiness today. In a place where I think it's so easy to disconnect with morality because the speed at which things operate.
- [58:47]
David Ardoin
The speed at which things operate. And I loved what she said, will I regret this at the end of my life? And sometimes we think decisions are so big in the moment, how can I do this? When you look at the morale connecting with the morality and looking at the span of the end of your life, is giving up drinking for me gonna change? Am I. Am I gonna regret that at the end of my life? Am I gonna regret prioritizing myself? And then she talked about habit stacking, something that I'm doing right now and you've probably done in your life. Just some. Just some powerful takeaways there. And her story overall, pretty powerful. I loved how raw and vulnerable she was about where she was at in her life in 2017. I mean, her story is incredible. The fact that she was saying she was really low in her self esteem, she was partying, she was doing drugs, she was feeling awful all the time. She had $8 in her bank account. What does she do? She gets her voice note out on her phone and says a message and she goes, you know what? I'm just going to play this and play this and play this. And obviously it blows up. As big as it is today to be a deca millionaire, what part of her. You work with entrepreneurs all the Time. You are an entrepreneur yourself. What part of her journey from $8 to now do you think stood out the most? Like, that was really impressive. That was really rare. That was really lucky. Kind of in a journey to success or. That was the smartest thing that I've ever heard anyone do.
- [60:02]
Jason Tardick
I was. I mean, I was blown away at the way the app came to fruition. And I think just the idea, you know, she talked about, like, her tenacity, like, you're not gonna. You're not gonna mess with her. She doesn't care. Like, there's just no backing down. I thought her strategy with the app and, like, leasing it to make sure that she could get the app out the way she wanted in the best form. That was smart. And I like the idea of, like, the things that you're doing and relying on to be the best version of yourself could be the very thing that makes you a Deca millionaire. Right. Like, it's. That, to me, was really interesting. I was also a little fascinated on the personal side. I expected. You know, I talked in my last recap a little bit about loneliness, right. And I've been, like, studying a little bit more of loneliness in the last, like, week. And there's a lot out there, a lot of, like, psychologists that talk about how, like, loneliness is the price. There's a quote out there. The loneliness is the price you pay when you want to start to, like, really deeply improve yourself. And actually, loneliness is part of the journey of improving yourself to get back to exactly where you want to be. And so I was interested that she met her life partner when she was at her worst place in life. To me, I didn't expect that from her story, so that one kind of threw me. But just the whole thing, I mean, it's. It's really interesting how this is. I'm. You heard me, David. I'm analytical. I'm logic. But it's that very analytical, logical mindset that will put you in the position of believing that the things can happen because the likelihood of those things happening aren't. Aren't in your favor. And the worst thing you could do is actually use that approach like it's ass backwards. What I was doing.
- [61:36]
David Ardoin
It is. And like you said, the fact that she recorded on October 12 what she wanted and asking for a future husband, met him on the 13th, met him when she wasn't in a great place, but obviously is where she is now. I loved what you talking about. About. About, you know, not being able to, you know, being lonely. And that's like the, the bottom of the arc before you really start, you know, finding who you want to be with and not just who you want to be with, but who you want to be when you're with that person. She always said, can't love someone until you love yourself fully. Want to find. She has all her friends that are single, in their 30s. Want to find someone, but you're sitting at the couch, at home, on the couch, doing nothing. Like, really powerful. Like, I really, like, when you're sitting there, you're like, me, me. Like, oh, God.
- [62:15]
Jason Tardick
The whole time. The whole time.
- [62:17]
David Ardoin
Like, I've had these internal conversations with myself for three months. And like, she's saying it to me like, God damn, it's a sign.
- [62:23]
Jason Tardick
Yeah.
- [62:23]
David Ardoin
You get any of those?
- [62:24]
Jason Tardick
Oh, I got a ton of those. I got an absolute ton of those. You know, it's interesting, this whole, the whole like, dating thing, like, hearing her perspective of it. Even like the couch comment. It's. It is work, dude. The date, like the actual dating game is like a, it feels like a full time job. You know what I mean? So you really, it's very easy to just be like, okay, I'm not gonna. You know who? I don't know. Do I want to go on a date on a Wednesday night? No, I sure don't. But do I want to?
- [62:51]
David Ardoin
But you want. Maybe, Maybe what you want to do is just get off your couch more and meet people naturally. I don't know if that's a lost art these days. I'm out of the game.
- [63:00]
Jason Tardick
But the traditional side, maybe. I mean, I, I don't ever sit on my couch. You know what I mean? So that's not my issue. My issue is I gotta start putting time into the things that, like, are for me and not for other things like work and things like that.
- [63:13]
David Ardoin
Yeah, I gotta put a PSA out there for myself too. We. There's an episode way back when I talked about how I don't like reading books because I don't like someone telling me how I should think or what I should do. I would rather experience things on my own and learn my own lessons because that's what's applicable to me. I actually got a lot of hate in the reviews on that was kind of shocking. But I mean, I, I.
- [63:38]
Jason Tardick
Wait a second. I agree, I agree with the hate. You deserve that hate. These are books.
- [63:44]
David Ardoin
Why?
- [63:45]
Jason Tardick
Because, dude, this is like the, the evolution of life. Like the reason that we live longer. The reason that we're here today. The reason, like, everything is because We've learned from what's happened, from the best, smartest people in the world. Like, there are things you do.
- [63:56]
David Ardoin
Is it fair? Is it. Is it. Is it fair to say. It's not that I don't agree with the books. Is it fair to say that. That all the things the books are telling me I want to realize on my own. Is it fair to just have a different way of approaching it?
- [64:08]
Jason Tardick
It's just, I think that's like, asinine. Okay. It's like, okay, I want to learn it on my own. Or I could have a doctor come in who studies this for 20 years, tell me maybe what's best. Or I don't want to become a dentist. I'm going to have the dentist figure out my, like, my specific.
- [64:27]
David Ardoin
I think. But I think a fear of mine in that is reading something that I've never thought about and then it being told to me. And now I'm thinking about something that really. It doesn't. It's not relative to me. It's not relevant in my life. It's something. Now I'm off my track, thinking about something, trying to change something, doing something that's good.
- [64:46]
Jason Tardick
Isn't that, though? Like, isn't it good to be.
- [64:49]
David Ardoin
Depends. Maybe I'm just more like organic in, like, how I want to be responsible for my life. Life.
- [64:57]
Jason Tardick
Yeah, but don't. Isn't part of being responsible for your life, like, learning and gaining knowledge from, like, greater humanity?
- [65:06]
David Ardoin
Do you think it's. That's a good point. Is off of humanity. But I think I'm learning and gaining knowledge because I'm being present and reflective on my own experience and the experience of others around me. You know, me. I'm always asking questions. I'm always looking for perspective. I'm always, always trying to, you know, give advice and gain advice. I'm always trying to apply. I'm always, you know, and then when I get in low places, I like to, To. To look myself in the mirror, as we've talked about on here, a little bit more too, but. Yeah, interesting.
- [65:34]
Jason Tardick
I think it's a synergy of everything, though. I think it's like, okay, for example, like with. With. With Carter. Right. Like, you might go read books from some of the best parent guidelines in America. You might go read books from some of the parent guidelines in France. Right. That's a whole style of parenting. And then you get to see what all these, like, experts who have taken their entire lives were work to pursue this tell you. And then based on your experience, make it your own. Do what's happening.
- [65:58]
David Ardoin
It's fair. That's a good point.
- [66:00]
Jason Tardick
Of all things, how did we get off on this tangent again?
- [66:03]
David Ardoin
Well, I was gonna say, because I have in my notes, that she got out of her eight broke, $8 parting lot, felt like was doing drugs, numbing stage because she said I was. I got into professional and self development, quote unquote, before it was cool. And she did it by reading books. And so I said my theory for her, she has proven me wrong and look at where it's got her. A Deca millionaire. So, but those. But the conversation we just had, that's what I hope our listeners are able to take away from this episode and take with their best friend and take with their spouse and take with their co worker and take elements of this and be like, have you ever thought about this?
- [66:45]
Jason Tardick
Yeah, I love that, that.
- [66:47]
David Ardoin
I love that there's so many of them.
- [66:49]
Jason Tardick
Because, well, if you think about it, you decided to come on this podcast and express a certain way that you felt about something and you obviously felt somewhat vulnerable about when you even said it originally. And then your vulnerability gets demolished by people in the comments. And now you're like, well, I don't want to have open conversations in which I'm willing to learn from others because I'm afraid of getting demolished by people based on vocalizing my vulnerability and exactly what you're saying. Like, I think that's part of this episode that we just listened to. That's part of life, that's part of everything. And the biggest worry in this world, the biggest harm, is to not have those conversations is to bury those thoughts. Right? And not to be in a place where you. Someone could hear you. Because if they can't hear you, then how can you be able to vocalize your feelings to, to. To try and grow and learn. Right.
- [67:43]
David Ardoin
I would love to start a podcast with you that we do. And it releases at like 9pm okay. Every night.
- [67:50]
Jason Tardick
Okay.
- [67:52]
David Ardoin
And it's called Safe Space.
- [67:54]
Jason Tardick
Safe Space. Okay.
- [67:55]
David Ardoin
And people just. And people just give us a topic and they're like, just give us your thoughts. This is a safe space.
- [68:01]
Jason Tardick
Safe space.
- [68:02]
David Ardoin
Let me talk about how, how I have a pro. How, how my experience. And let me talk about your experience. Just let me, let me. Let's bring someone on. Let's hear why someone send a topic and why don't you send us why that's your topic. Let's discuss our points of view on it. And let's just have a safe space and let's all grow and be better and talk, and that would be awesome. In the weeds. Safe space.
- [68:24]
Jason Tardick
Well, David, you know, we do come up with concepts on this recap, and we're not the best at following up with no. And I really like safe space, and I want to give everybody just a little. Little touch, a taste at home.
- [68:37]
David Ardoin
Okay.
- [68:37]
Jason Tardick
We talked about the RV life, right?
- [68:39]
David Ardoin
Yes.
- [68:39]
Jason Tardick
Got a lot of DMS about it. We're following up. I'm supposed to go to New York on next week. I'm speaking at Tick Tock with a couple companies, and instead of driving. I'm sorry, instead of flying, I'm gonna rent an rv. John and I trial run, so Trial run, run.
- [69:01]
David Ardoin
Okay.
- [69:02]
Jason Tardick
So stay tuned. On my Instagram. Wow, check it out. That's a trial run. And you know what? Safe space. Maybe we do one week. Just try it. You know, another thing I talked about my. With my followers is people want a lot. Know a lot more about side hustles. So I had all these people right in their side hustles, and I think that's. We're going to try and do that, too. Changing it up a little bit. Obviously, we have pop culture meets money here, but I think especially with the points guy episode, in this episode, I'm feeling better about this show.
- [69:29]
David Ardoin
Yes.
- [69:29]
Jason Tardick
When we're having people on in which we have, like, deeper conversations than. How much did you get paid on this episode?
- [69:37]
David Ardoin
Yeah, it's the. And it's okay to admit that and talk about that. And we're what, four years in almost five. Four years into the pod and we're still thinking about that. That's healthy of us.
- [69:48]
Jason Tardick
Yeah. Because you could have these deep conversations and still touch all this money stuff. Like, we heard about how much it costs or what it's worth. We now know what a deck of Deca millionaires and how to pronounce it.
- [69:57]
David Ardoin
What if. Yeah, we rebranded the recap and called it Safe Space with David Ardin and Jason Tardick. And now the recap is morph into just saying regurgitating numbers from the. It's like we. We take a element that we want to talk about from the guest or from our lives, and we talk about in a safe space.
- [70:19]
Jason Tardick
Guys, give us five stars of the recap. Let us know if you like safe space in the me. In the meantime, I'm going to go get an RV and drive up to New York York City for five days.
- [70:32]
David Ardoin
And I'm gonna go make a ground chicken pizza.
- [70:36]
Jason Tardick
2025 is gonna be a twister year. And I think so far we are right. Change is good. Change is different. We are living in change and Mimi Bouchard is teaching us how to bring change and do our lives. I thought it was a cool episode. Try out your activations today. We'll we'll get a We'll give it a go. David and yeah, anything before we wrap.
- [70:54]
David Ardoin
Have a conversation with a friend, a family member. Do something different. Expand the mind, let's go.
- [70:58]
Jason Tardick
Expand the mind, let's go. Find your safe space. Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Trading Secrets, one you couldn't afford to miss.
- [71:25]
David Ardoin
And now a next level moment from AT&T business. Say you've sent out a gigantic shipment of pillows and they need to be there in time for International Sleep Day. You've got at and T5G so you're fully confident, but the vendor isn't responding. And International Sleep Day is tomorrow. Luckily, AT&T5G lets you deal with any issues with ease so the pillows will get delivered and everyone can sleep soundly. Especially you. ATT 5G requires a compatible plan and device. Coverage not available everywhere. Learn more@att.com 5G Network.
- [71:55]
Mimi Bouchard
Take an AmEx card with you on your morning coffee run and earn cash back on a weekend trip. Earn miles. See if you pre qualify for an American Express card with no impact on your credit score. Learn more@americanexpress.com check 4 offers. Your credit score may be impacted if.
- [72:09]
David Ardoin
You accept a card.
- [72:10]
Mimi Bouchard
Terms apply.
- [72:11]
Jason Tardick
Hello, it is Ryan and I was on a flight the other day playing one of my favorite social spin slot games on jumbaccasino.com I looked over the person sitting next to me and you know what they were doing? They were also playing Chumba Casino.
- [72:22]
David Ardoin
Coincidence?
- [72:22]
Jason Tardick
I think not everybody's loving having fun with it. Chumba Casino is home to hundreds of casino style games that you can play for free anytime, anywhere, even at 30, 000ft. So sign up now@chumbacasino.com to claim your free welcome bonus. That's chumbacasino.com and live the Chumba life.
- [72:38]
David Ardoin
No purchase necessary. BGW terms and conditions 18 plus.