Jesus Was Born Rich – How Abundance Starts Faith Movements
On Solving America’s Problems, Jerremy Alexander Newsom and Dave Conley talk with Cruz Gamboa about shifting from scarcity to abundance mindsets in faith and business. Jerremy uses Jonah as metaphor for how suffering yields growth signals. His upcoming book “Be Rich Like Jesus” highlights initial wealth for Jesus, parallels with other figures. Riches come in varied forms. Gratitude and inner work are key to stepping into faith and entrepreneurship. Timestamps:
- (00:00) When the Whale Spits You Out – the moment everything changes
- (00:12) Jonah as metaphor – suffering produces the signal and growth you need
- (11:05) Jesus born with gold, frankincense and myrrh – major spiritual leaders often started with abundance
- (15:19) Lightning Round – AI benefits the self-employed and cash flow stays under-tracked
- (19:00) Takeaways & Closing – key lessons on faith abundance and entrepreneurship
Connect:
Transcript
Jesus was a trust fund baby.
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:Buddha too.
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:Cruz and Jerremy are about to REWIRE
what every scarcity religion taught you
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:about faith, money, and who ACTUALLY
gets the resources to change the world.
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:Cruz Gamboa: Can I share a little story?
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:Jerremy: Come on,
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:Cruz Gamboa: We're probably getting
to the end of the show, but I, I just,
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:Jerremy: we're good.
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:Cruz Gamboa: it's, like, there's like
so many nuggets of wisdom on this.
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:So I was, I have afr I guess a friend,
and he's, he's a pastor and he invited
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:me to read, scriptures with him.
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:And, I'm not, I'm not a
person to do that, by the way.
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:Not because I have anything against it.
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:It's just like I, I,
I've done it in the past.
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:I, I'm at a place right now where
I'm at peace with my wisdom.
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:Okay?
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:Jerremy: Yep.
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:Cruz Gamboa: And I'm just trying
to hold on to less, not more.
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:Jerremy: Yep.
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:Cruz Gamboa: Okay.
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:so then we got, we, one of like,
sort of like the first part of the
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:conversation, he was asking me if I
believed everything that the Bible said.
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:Okay.
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:And I said, I mean, I think the Bible is
a book that is full with so much wisdom.
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:There's just so much wisdom.
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:And he said, but, but do you
believe everything it says?
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:And I was like, well, I don't know.
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:Because I mean, it's, it's a book
that has, that was written, a
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:long time ago, like for example.
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:And I asked him, do you believe that this,
do you, do you remember a story of Jonah?
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:Right?
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:So Jonah.
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:by a whale spit out three days later.
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:Do you believe that somebody was
actually eaten by a whale and
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:spit it out like three days later?
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:I was like, probably.
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:I don't, But what I do believe is
that maybe sometimes there are ordeals
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:in our lives, and maybe Jonah just
went through a really, really hard
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:Jerremy: Right.
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:Cruz Gamboa: thing.
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:And for three days, maybe it
was days, maybe it was three
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:years, who knows, right?
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:He was in a really dark place.
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:But then eventually he emerged.
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:He, the very thing that ate
him alive, it spitted him out.
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:And when he came out of that whale, a
different man with a lot more wisdom.
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:Now he learned what it, what it was
not, not doing, he was supposed to do,
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:because that's the whole reason why
he went to, into the world to begin
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:with, for those who know the story.
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:So point is that sometimes the pain
that you're in right now, the thing
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:that is actually making you suffer right
now, 'cause a lot of us, at any given
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:time, we are experiencing suffering.
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:Jerremy: Yep.
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:Cruz Gamboa: That is your biggest gift.
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:That is your calling to go
back and ask the questions and
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:get really real with yourself.
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:That is, that's basically to
me, that is your, your signal.
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:Jerremy: Yeah.
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:Cruz Gamboa: your signal that there is
something that needs to be addressed.
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:There's a lesson that needs to be learned
and there's growth that needs to happen.
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:So if that's what, if that's what
you are experiencing right now.
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:So instead of like being feeling
miserable about it, just grateful
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:for it and just go really deep, do
the work and become, just get, get
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:spit out by the, by the whale, right?
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:Become the better man
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:Jerremy: Yeah.
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:Cruz Gamboa: or woman.
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:Jerremy: Yeah, dude.
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:Come on bro.
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:You're so cool.
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:It's a story, right?
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:I mean, it's, it's a story of our lives.
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:It's a story of what's available.
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:It's a story of what's possible.
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:love how you shared not only
insights, but really insights, right?
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:Like that, like you're seeing
someone's soul and you're telling
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:them, Hey, it's gonna be all right.
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:if you're going through a lot of pain,
a lot of ish, a lot of frustration,
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:you're scared, you're worried.
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:have trepidation in you and around you.
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:It's gonna be all right.
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:Keep going.
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:You're in a dark place.
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:Figure it out.
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:You're smart enough, you're talented
enough, you're skilled enough.
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:Gotta do the work.
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:Spend some time on the work.
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:Spend some time getting after it,
understanding it, leaning into
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:faith, asking for more, being
ready to receive more and move.
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:Cruz Gamboa: Yeah.
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:Jerremy: Don't
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:Cruz Gamboa: Yeah.
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:Jerremy: belly of the whale
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:Cruz Gamboa: Don't tell
exactly and, and ask.
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:And ask for help.
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:Jerremy: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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:Cruz Gamboa: asking you
shall receive, right?
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:Ask for help.
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:Jerremy: Come on, bro.
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:Yes, yes, yes.
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:I gotta have a conversation
with you later.
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:I mean, I'll, I'll share it with
you now 'cause I think it'd be
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:just, it'd just be fun to get your,
just your general feedback on this.
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:Because you mentioned it earlier and
it, I, I wanted to pause and figure
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:out when I'm gonna bring it up.
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:I guess I'm gonna bring it up now because
there can be, in my opinion, it, it's,
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:it's a very, very unique way of, of
approaching abundance versus scarcity in
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:regards to all that we do have and all
that we work created for and around us.
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:and that is my next book.
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:the next book, the title of it, working
title right now is Be Rich Like Jesus.
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:And it was actually the, it's
actually my scriptural take.
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:Yeah.
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:Cruz.
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:Yeah, it's my scriptural take my personal
opinion, obviously on how I read the Bible
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:now I grew up in a very scarcity religion.
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:So I grew up with Jehova's witness,
as you might know and might remember,
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:and, And that particular religion, it's
a very, very scarcity mindset, right?
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:Like, the world's gonna end tomorrow.
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:There's no reason to have a job
because armageddons happening tomorrow.
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:Like, don't go to college.
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:Why would you have a savings account?
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:Right?
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:So it's a very poor religion generally
and of of most, unified organized
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:religions in the United States.
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:It's the poorest, according
to a couple of statistics.
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:So saying all that to say example
one is there's a scripture that talks
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:about Jesus having no home, right?
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:It says that, birds have a nest,
and foxes have dens, but the son of
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:man has no place to lay his head.
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:And so we are, we are taught this
like, listen dude, Jesus is poor.
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:He has no house, He's going from
place to place he ain't got anything,
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:that that's available to him.
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:'cause he doesn't want.
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:Can't have home ownership.
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:they're pitching this, right?
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:Like, why, why would you have houses?
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:Right?
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:Why would you, why would
you buy real estate?
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:So I'm gonna walk you through like a
couple of paragraphs of chapter one.
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:'cause it's just an interesting
paradigm shift for me.
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:again, since, since it
is Good Friday and right.
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:Easter is here.
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:And, I, I think it's just a really
cool frame for me because Jesus
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:was born Cruz, he was given gifts.
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:Do you remember what
those three gifts were?
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:Cruz Gamboa: Instance, was it gold?
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:I don't remember
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:Jerremy: Yeah.
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:Cruz Gamboa: in me mare.
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:Like, what was it?
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:Jerremy: yep.
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:Exactly.
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:Cruz Gamboa: Yeah.
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:All right.
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:Jerremy: Yep.
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:Frankincense, myrrh, and gold.
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:Cruz Gamboa: Mirroring gold.
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:Yes.
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:Yes.
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:Jerremy: I had one
question in chapter one.
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:The chapter one is just one question
long, and I then just play around with the
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:different ideas and different concepts.
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:But I wanna ask you a question that
I've never, I never was asked before.
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:'cause it's just a fun question.
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:You're already smiling.
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:I think you know what's coming.
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:How much gold was he given?
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:Cruz Gamboa: You killed me without one.
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:I don't, I really don't know.
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:Jerremy: me neither, right?
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:No one does.
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:But
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:Cruz Gamboa: Yeah.
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:Jerremy: but our minds for some
reason, bro, our minds, we're
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:picturing a small little sack, right?
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:We, we picture a pouch of gold and then I
go ask Christians or, or whoever, right?
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:If you believe in Jesus, and it's not,
it's all good, but it's like, why, why do
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:we envision a small little pouch, right?
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:Like I, when I go ask a real believer, I'm
like, how much money would you give Jesus?
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:If Jesus was in front of you
right now and ask for money,
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:how much would you give him?
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:You gonna give him $25?
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:And they're always like, no,
I'm giving him everything.
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:Giving 'em all of it.
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:I'm like, okay, cool.
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:Fascinating.
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:So these wise men, they see
the star in the sky, right?
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:So they know the person they're
gonna go visit is being born
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:onto the king of the Jews.
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:They are aware of this
person's title and privilege.
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:They know who they're gonna go visit.
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:So now you gotta ask the question,
much money are wise men going
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:to go bring a baby newborn king?
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:Cruz Gamboa: A house full man.
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:Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
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:No less.
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:Jerremy: what's really fascinating,
what's really fascinating is what it
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:starts to do is, number one, it gives me
goosebumps every time I think about it.
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:But number two, it starts to shift
our paradigm and our belief system
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:around specifically Jesus, because
there's, there's so much here, right?
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:Like number one, frankincense and meh,
years ago, or more viable than gold.
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:Gold was like, Hey man, it's everywhere.
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:I was like, here you go.
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:Here's a bunch of gold.
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:Most kings for their birthday are
given 50 pounds of gold, and these
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:wise men, when they're visiting
Bethlehem, they left, Jerusalem to
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:get to Bethlehem, and our brains are
like, oh, that's a thousand miles.
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:No, it's six, six kilometers, right?
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:It's not that far.
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:So it's actually close enough for,
I have a whole bunch of camels
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:and walk these camels loaded
with hundreds of pounds of gold.
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:So then you start seeing Jesus from the
eyes of Jesus was a trust fund baby.
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:He was.
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:Cruz Gamboa: But, but
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:Jerremy: He
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:Cruz Gamboa: it, but it kind of makes
sense in a way because like, remember,
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:like, like for a while, like we, we
don't know what happened until he
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:was pretty much, he was 33, right?
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:Like, he was le like he had enough wealth.
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:To do the thing that he needed to do
to get the training from the best.
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:And oh, by the way, to this because this
is very, I just like you illuminated.
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:Another idea is that when you think about
Buddha, Buddha was a, fund baby too.
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:Dave: got another one.
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:So, Muhammad was, was pretty poor.
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:like he was, he was, and he,
he ended up marrying his boss
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:who was an incredibly rich
and powerful woman, Fatima.
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:and, that started the movement.
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:So like, I feel like we have a
running theme in, in religions where
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:start the movement with abundance.
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:Cruz Gamboa: I love that.
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:Yes.
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:Jerremy: Yeah.
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:so cool,
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:Cruz Gamboa: Yeah,
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:Jerremy: That's great.
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:Cruz Gamboa: Yeah.
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:Because I'm, I mean, I think I just
like, I want, I just wanna feel it a
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:little bit, but What is the idea of
thinking that being a spiritual and
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:not be in abundance had no correlation?
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:I think it's the opposite.
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:Jerremy: oh.
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:Cruz Gamboa: And you actually, like, you
look at like every person who has done
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:big things, had an abundant mindset.
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:Whether we know the story or not,
because we may not know it, but like, you
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:look at, for example, even people like
Rockefeller, they had just very intricate
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:relationships with our divine powers.
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:and we don't know all the details, but
we know that there's something there.
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:Yeah.
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:Jerremy: Well, so what you're, what
you're doing and, and the reason
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:I'm bringing this up for all of our
listeners really, team, is because
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:the fear happens where we go.
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:If I'm gonna pursue my deepest dreams,
my biggest desires, my ultimate goal
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:in life, I'm not gonna have any money.
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:I'm gonna be poor, and I'm gonna
struggle because I'm stepping into faith.
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:And what we're saying right now,
and what I truly believe is there
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:might be a time where that is true.
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:However, when you start really
stepping into faith, when you really,
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:really, you said it earlier, ask.
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:You get really clear.
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:You said that too.
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:You ask strong, powerful questions to
get precise, and you start asking for
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:those things and you start stepping
into your abundance and you start
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:really, really walking that path.
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:The riches will show up, and
the riches doesn't necessarily
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:have to be money, and it doesn't
have to be money for you, right?
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:Let's take Mother Theresa.
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:has no worldly possessions given to
her, but her fund was doing pretty well.
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:Right.
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:She flew in private jets sometimes because
it was faster for her to get from PO
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:point A to point B, but those private
jets were donated to her by someone else
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:because she was walking in her faith.
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:She was walking in her mission.
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:So, so bright and so brilliantly,
for every one of us, right, that's
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:really our goal and objective is to
say, Hey, this is what we want to do.
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:So if that is working in a career
and being an incredible executive and
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:making six high six figures, and again,
creating something remarkable, brilliant,
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:but just make sure that you're happy.
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:Because for me, I think everyone
out there is like, happiness is an
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:extremely, extremely important aspect,
and I think that there's gonna be so
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:many cool shifts that AI and robots
and whatever allow us to be happier
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:and to give a lot of us our time back.
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:so those, those shifts are gonna
be unique and fun and exciting.
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:And if you see the world as big,
bright, bold, beautiful, brilliant,
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:and very, very quickly changing, you'll
approach it from a mindset of abundance,
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:just like you said earlier, Cruz.
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:But if you approach it
from like a scarcity.
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:Fear-based, You're gonna feel
anxious, you're gonna feel worried.
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:You're gonna feel pathetic, you're
not gonna feel good enough, and you're
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:gonna be worried a bunch, and the the
future won't be as bright for you.
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:Cruz Gamboa: I, I love everything you
said, Jerremy, and I, it just, it just
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:make me, just make me think about how
much I, I, I admire the stuff that you do
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:and, and I, I, well, obviously I love you
and Solana a lot, so I, I, I care for you
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:guys, but I, it also, it also me hope that
what's happening right now is that a lot
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:of us are starting to, tune in to this at
scale because, I mean, it's not just us.
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:There's just a lot of people that are, I.
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:They have the level of awareness
that is required in order
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:to live a life of abundance.
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:And we, we are surrounded by
a lot of those people, by the
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:way, in our circles, right?
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:So, I, if you ask any of those people
who are living with a level of abundance,
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:And, you ask them like, what, what's
the, so what's the, the secret?
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:I think it's gratitude.
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:Because you can't be, can't
be grateful and be sad.
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:You can't, you just can't.
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:You just, I mean, if
you're grateful, are happy.
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:If you're truly grateful, if you're
grateful, then, then you're good,
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:then you're light, then you're calm,
then you are creative, then you
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:attract good things in your life.
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:So if you, if, if there's anything
that you are going to take away from
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:this conversation today, like for those
who are listening, just be grateful.
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:Be grateful for.
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:The good, the bad, the ugly.
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:of it is working for your,
for your own goodness.
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:If that's what you decide,
that it, that's what it means.
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:Jerremy: dog.
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:It's one of my favorite things to
say is like, if you're grateful,
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:you're full of greatness.
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:like you don't have anything else
to be full of, you have so much,
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:so, so much of that emotion is going
to dispel all the other emotions.
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:crew's got a lightning round for
you, man, so just hit me with
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:whatever answer comes to your mind.
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:It can be long, it can be short.
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:We have plenty of time.
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:Cruz Gamboa: Okay.
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:Jerremy: true or false AI is the
best thing that ever happened
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:to a self-employed person.
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:Cruz Gamboa: True.
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:Jerremy: Finish this sentence.
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:The biggest myth about
the future of work is.
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:Cruz Gamboa: That the biggest myth about.
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:That it has to be boring.
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:Jerremy: That's right, dude.
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:That's right.
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:Man.
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:It doesn't, it does not have to be boring.
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:All right.
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:You're gonna like this one.
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:Revenue is vanity, profit is sanity.
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:How much did you have to lose
before you actually believed that?
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:Cruz Gamboa: $300,000?
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:Jerremy: Yeah, that's right.
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:That's right.
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:I love that story too, that you said,
all right, one piece of inner work that
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:cost you the most, but you have to do it.
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:Cruz Gamboa: well for me it's, it's,
it's, kind of a synthetic thing
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:because it's, it's several, right?
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:I mean, I've, I've, worked with
several coaches in the past.
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:They're not cheap, they're expensive.
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:But what I, I've come to realize the
more you spend on a coach, the bigger
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:your breakthroughs are going to be.
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:And it does.
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:And it is not necessarily
related to the coach.
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:It's you.
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:How much are you willing
to give to receive
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:Jerremy: That's so good.
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:That's so good.
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:I love it.
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:All right.
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:Best financial metric that a
founder almost never tracks.
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:I.
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:Cruz Gamboa: cash flow?
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:Jerremy: Free cash flow.
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:All right, great answer.
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:in one sentence, what is a new social
contract that America actually needs?
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:Cruz Gamboa: Okay.
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:That's, that's, that's a tricky
one, but, I, I'm gonna say.
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:that America already embraced.
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:We already have the answer here, which
is that the economy, the American
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:economy is moved by entrepreneurship.
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:How did we forget that?
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:not about corporations,
it's about entrepreneurship.
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:Each one of us being entrepreneurs,
this is what moves America.
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:This is what people
wanted to live here, okay?
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:This is what made us free.
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:is what the founding fathers, they
were all entrepreneurs, right?
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:This is country of entrepreneurs.
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:The government doesn't owe us anything.
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:We are the government.
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:I.
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:Jerremy: That's good.
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:I like that, man.
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:I have never actually thought
about the founding fathers
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:being an entrepreneur, bro.
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:That's so heavy me.
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:And the best way.
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:I love that.
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:That's great.
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:All right, sick.
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:if you could force every CEO
and every new college grad to
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:read one thing, what is it?
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:Cruz Gamboa: Think can grow Rich.
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:Jerremy: on, bro.
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:I knew you were gonna say that, dude.
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:Yeah, that it's it for that for me.
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:It's either that or Outwitting the devil.
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:It's one of those
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:Cruz Gamboa: Oh, within the devil.
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:Oh my God, I love that book.
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:Yes.
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:Yeah, yeah.
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:Yes.
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:Jerremy: I actually, true story.
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:I've never read it.
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:I've only listened to it.
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:Cruz Gamboa: Yeah.
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:Jerremy: it's
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:Cruz Gamboa: It doesn't matter.
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:Jerremy: yeah, yeah, yeah.
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:It's just an audible, but like,
bro, it's so flipping good.
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:It's amazing.
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:Cruz, this has been an honor, man.
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:I knew I was gonna have fun with you.
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:I always like being with you and being
around you, and this is just, this is a
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:reminder that you and I are gonna do big
things together, number one and number
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:two, we just gotta hang out mortgage.
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:Your freaking cool man.
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:So
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:Cruz Gamboa: Yeah.
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:I, I feel the same Jerremy.
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:I, I feel honored to,
to be here, to know you.
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:To, and also meet Dave now.
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:Got a new friend.
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:So, and I look forward to
doing more stuff with you guys.
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:Dave: What did you learn?
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:Jerremy: I love learning stuff, dude, bro.
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:I mean, I gotta sit on this for a week.
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:our, our founding fathers
were entrepreneurs, bro,
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:Bo bomb drop of the nation.
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:For me, like that's just, that
was, it's just a cool reframe.
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:It's like, of course they were, of course
they were like small business in the us
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:Like I, I really do feel like corporations
get all the love, there's very little.
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:Sexiness and gratitude and, and awareness
and kindness towards all these, the mom
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:and pop stores and the small businesses
that run this entire country that
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:like prop it up, that keep it open.
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:I mean, I went to a small restaurant
last night called the Spaghetti Western,
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:here in Las Vegas, shout outs to them.
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:And again, man, it's just a local,
like the guy lived here his whole life.
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:He runs it, he owns it.
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:He was bartending.
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:it's just cool to see.
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:So.
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:The entrepreneurial
spirit is very much alive.
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:It is very powerful.
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:It needs to be encouraged, and it needs
to be embraced, and I think that that
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:is and has always been a, a huge portion
of what will and needs to be covered.
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:In depth in school and from a frame of
someone like Cruz who has experienced
447
:both sides and can really give individuals
the clarity and the awareness of
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:well, of both sides of that contract.
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:Dave: I'm with you on that.
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:Tremendously valuable to have
Cruz and his mindset on things.
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:And like the literal mindset of, of
the inner work and also the practical
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:mindset of, hey, these are the things
that your business as a business
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:person you're not paying attention to.
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:And like when I was in big business,
like we had product people that were
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:running the show and we made bank.
456
:And it was incredible.
457
:And I knew we were in trouble when we,
the CEO turned out to, they put A-A-C-F-O
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:guy in, in as CEO because was about money.
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:and it wasn't the making of the
products that made the money.
460
:It was, bottom line stuff.
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:And I think the reminder I got from
that in talking to Cruz was, it's,
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:it's a yes and like it's a full person.
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:You're a full human being
and it's your inner life
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:Jerremy: I am human.
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:Dave: And same with your business.
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:If you, if your business is
failing, if look in the mirror.
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:Jerremy: Yeah.
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:Dave: that's, that's what I learned.
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:Jerremy: I will take it.
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:Listeners, we really hope that
episode was viable and I know it was.
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:Please share it.
472
:Send it to someone in your network.
473
:Friend, family member, colleague,
boss, future boss, ex-boss.
474
:Share it out there because we are working
intrepidly on solving America's problems.
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:Five stars.
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:Hit it on your phone with your thumb
left or right, one I'll take either.
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:Appreciate you being here.
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:Thanks for being a listener.
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:You rock.
