On this episode of The investing for Freedom Podcast, Mike is joined by Aaron Velky. Mike and Aaron discuss a broad range of topics such as drive and ambition, credit scores, changing the future by beginning with kids, learning to hear other people’s opinions without them affecting you and the three key things to being successful when investing. Aaron shares some information regarding his Real Estate Accelerator and his online community Men with Purpose.
HIGHLIGHTS:
0:00 – Intro
0:35 – Mike mentions how Aaron is just one of those people he’s super drawn to due to his energy
1:53 – Mike talks about how if you want to level up your average you have to become a different version of yourself and Aaron is a great example of that
4:53 – Aaron speaks about how a speaker he met in Florida when he was 24, John Jenson, has had the greatest impact on his life
7:41 – Mike shares a scripture from the old testament
9:59 – Aaron states that he’s ok with not knowing but he’s not ok with not trying
10:08 – Mike asks Aaron about what has had the biggest impact on his success
12:20 – Aaron talks about his biggest setback in life and what he learned from the experience
14:42 – Aaron shares that the piece of advice he finds himself giving the most is that you are enough and clarity is power
17:08 – Mike and Aaron discuss how we worry so much about what other people think when in reality most people aren’t even paying attention
21:30 – Aaron speaks about credit card points and how he got into it
25:12 – Aaron explains how credit works and how it’s projected to us
30:03 – Mike asks Aaron to explain what Money Club is and how it works
33:54 – Mike speaks about how investing for freedom means so many different things for so many different people
34:30 – Aaron mentions how the business started with kids and how he believes that if you want to change the future you start with kids
38:38 – Aaron informs us about his online community ‘Men with Purpose’ and who it’s for and what it does
40:52 – Mike asks Aaron where his drive and ambition has come from
44:36 – Aaron talks about how movement or being creative keeps him centered in his daily life
45:48 – Aaron shares some information about his upcoming program ‘The Real Estate Accelerator’
46:17 – Aaron states that wealth without intention is wasted growth
47:06 – Aaron shares the three things that make people successful with investing
51:30 – You can find the real estate accelerator program though the website https://www.wearemoneyclub.com and you can contact Aaron though all social medias @AaronVelky
TRANSCRIPTION:
Are you looking for freedom, freedom from the daily grind and hustle, or just finding a way to live the life you always wanted. Then join us on the investing for freedom podcast. Our host Mike Ayala will help you discover new ways to find freedom. With tips, insights, and interviews you’ll learn the exact systems he’s used to travel the world and live his best life. True success and happiness are all about freedom. And here’s your roadmap on how to find freedom on your own terms. Welcome to the investing for freedom podcast. Here’s your host, Mike Ayala.
Mike Ayala: Thank you for joining me on the investing for freedom podcast. Today I’ve got a special guest on the show, Aaron Velky and you know, I connected with Aaron. It’s been a few months ago and I told him that I’ve secretly been stalking him for a while. You know, long before he probably even knew who I was, I was affiliated with a group called M one and I just watched him for, from a distance because every time he showed up, every time he put up an Instagram post, every time, you know, he was speaking or even if we’d be on a M one call or whatever, there’s just there, I don’t know, there’s just an energy around this guy. And he’s just one of those, and this might sound weird, but he’s one of those people that I I’m just really attracted to because he brings so much life and energy to everything that he does. And so I think we’re in for a treat today, not even sure what we’re really going to talk about, but I know we’re going to enjoy it. So Aaron, thank you for carving out time and bringing value to our audience.
Aaron Velky: Man, I’m grateful to be here and could not be more humbled by that intro, that was such a cool thing to share when we chatted a couple of months ago and I’m just sometimes floored by the world around me and what has come from a really intentional purpose of making people better. Some magical people have come into my life because of that.
Mike Ayala: That’s awesome. That’s super exciting. And you know, I usually don’t, usually we get into the four questions, but you know, we talked about just flowing and one thing that I’m, the thing that really attracted me to you is just the way you show up with energy. And I think there’s a lesson for everybody. And I don’t mean energy, just like, you know, you’re not always like loud and boisterous type energy, but you just always, I feel like you always show up with intention and I think there’s a lesson there for everyone because you know, we talk a lot about you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with and that kind of conversation. And one thing that Kara and I are always talking about, like is if you want to level up your average, like you’ve got to become a different version of yourself. And that’s one thing that I’ve just really seen with you. I mean, you’re very intentional. And even if you’re not saying anything when we got on the call today, I’m like, dude, you’re like a ninja. I just feel it from you. And you’re so centered. And I just think there’s a lot that people can take away from that because you don’t always have to be over the top or working in or whatever, but just, you know, I feel like you’re always just there to show them value, to show value and show up.
Aaron Velky: It definitely is an intention to always add and always contribute and always give, there’s a real unique reminder that I had, I had a friend that was going through a lot of hardship and his story said to me, that context is really about the distance between you and the end. I like that context for me in his world was much slimmer than it is in mine, I was just like, I’m going to live forever. And as he was going through a lot of physical ailments and cancer, like his context was shrinking, it put this really awesome reminder. I say, awesome. Because it really like, literally hit me with this all-star struck kind of pause that brought the context of mortality directly onto my plate. And with that as an anchor and like sort of the hammer, the Thor’s hammer that I’d tried to wield, it actually really empowered. Like why are you here? What are you doing? What is it that this meeting can bring in? And how can this one moment change someone across the table? And I’ve been a recipient of one person at the right moment saying the right thing that said, keep going or don’t quit or believe in yourself. And I’ll never forget those moments and to be able to potentially bring that kind of thing to someone else is a big responsibility, but it’s also a tremendous privilege. And that to me is what intention is about.
Mike Ayala: I love it man. I’m really excited to get into, You know, I’m not really sure where we’re going to go, but having watched you from afar you’ve done a lot of different things and I’ve seen, you know, some of the different programs that you teach even the, you know, the point system and all that kind of stuff and everything. I feel like our messages are so aligned in the sense that, you know, freedom is my main core value. It’s not that I don’t want to work hard. It’s not that I don’t, you know, I want to be on a beach all the time. I just, I just don’t want to be told what to do. And in part of that’s probably my rebel nature, but also like, I feel like Kara and I, everything we’ve ever done is with intention. And I love that you just teach so many different things around that. So I’m excited to get into it. But let’s jump into the questions real quick. So who’s had the greatest impact on your life?
Aaron Velky: In a really small but massive way. I met a speaker, man, this is a tough question, but I met a speaker in Florida when I was maybe 24 and he was on stage with a lot of people. I marched up to him afterwards and was like, you made a difference in my world. I’m the one guy that you reached. And he gave me a book and that book was the war of art. And at the time I didn’t know who I was or what I was capable of. I just felt in resistance. And that was the first time that anyone had ever pushed me to lean in on me and what I was capable of. And from that I read that book on the plane ride home. And within six months I had written a movie. I had begun coaching soccer, which was a big part of my career as an entrepreneur. I had committed to like new fitness goals. I’ve always been an athlete, but I committed to a little bit differently to it. And I had at that point begun personal development. And so, you know, his name was John Jensen. And like, he wasn’t a mentor, but it was just a catalyst that really, really shifted the future of me.
Mike Ayala: You know, it’s interesting, you’re talking about that catalyst too. And I found myself having this conversation a lot. I think people don’t, I don’t think people reflect on these types of questions in their own life enough because you know, so many times amazing things like you just talked about that catalyst happen. But I think if we don’t spend the time doing you know, a debrief and looking backwards and really acknowledging it, it’s really hard to get that next one in our life. You know what I mean?
Aaron Velky: Yeah dude. Yeah. And it’s easy, I think it’s easy to conflate like biggest impact for longest tenure where you’re just like, this person has stuck with me for a long time, rather than what was that one ripple that one rain drop it just, boom, and shattered the entire rest of the still ocean. And take it without thinking very much about it to think back to that particular moment with him, that changed a lot, that like was the beginning. And then the next, the real beginning of my personal development where we connected with M one. So without that person, without that book, without that nudge the entire rest of the dominoes that I’m currently falling through, don’t fall.
Mike Ayala: You know, there’s a scripture in the old Testament, in the Bible that talks about when king David, when he was younger he met Jonathan and it said, the Bible says that their souls were knit together. And I’ve thought about this for so many years. And when you’re talking about, you know, just those little catalysts and those little zones, and it’s like you said, it’s not necessarily longevity. I’ve met people, I’ve actually been in rooms that I didn’t even actually meet the person, but I was like, like I was part of a conversation. And I knew I was like in this, you call it a catalyst. But I knew I was like in this weird zone state, I can’t explain it. But I knew that in fact, we were on a call with David Osborne and the gobundance guys. And we were Joe Lonsdale, Who’s a successful billionaire was speaking. I don’t know if you were on that call, but that was a catalyst for me. And you know, like you said, that guy’s not a mentor to me. He was just in, we were on a zoom call. So it wasn’t even like I was physically in his presence, but I knew that I was like in this place, you know, that was a catalyst, I could feel it. I could feel that I was in the zone and I didn’t, it wasn’t even what he said. It was just, I was being leveled up and I knew that I was in a place. And so when I think of that scripture where I’ve thought about this for years, like, what does that mean their souls were knit together, but it just like clicked for me. Cause I’ve literally thought about that for so many years. And I’ve met people that I knew I was connected with, but when their souls were knit together, like it’s just an interesting conversation, because our futures and everything ahead of us, like you were just talking about, you know, had that not happened, you in M one and then we wouldn’t have met. And I just think there’s those periods, I think we just need to be cognizant of those periods of time and just lean into it. Cause it’s interesting.
Aaron Velky: What a world it would be if we paid attention to that, as opposed to the status and opulence that we all sort of visibly seek and like, and, and to be intentional about like, this might be a moment where I’m helping someone by being that catalyst, that’s always a goal. And the irony is I can never measure that. I may never even know that. And having worked with young individuals through soccer, through education, through financial education, and then with adults, you genuinely never know. And I’m okay with not knowing I’m not okay with not trying.
Mike Ayala: That’s good. I’m okay with not knowing I’m not okay with not tray. That’s great. If you could narrow down a one thing that has had the greatest impact on your successful, what would that be?
Aaron Velky: Soccer. I learned a lot from that game, man. That game is a big part of why I am the way I am. That game taught me hard work, perseverance, failure, loss, injury, setback. It taught me to connect with people. I was reading about strong link sports and weak link sports. And like football is a strong link sport. You have a tightened on the field of Tom Brady. You’re going to do pretty well. Soccer on the other hand is a weak link sport. You have a weak link, the entire rest of it collapses. So you’ve got to have this entire unit that’s very, very strong. And that means that you’ve got to connect. You got to understand, and you’re kind of reading. It’s so fluid. It’s a very beautiful game, but it also, I would go to like Costa Rica and go to Brazil and I couldn’t speak the language, but I could speak that. And that language is all across the globe. So I could go to any country, put them all at my feet. I’m no longer American. I’m just a football, and it consistently helped me evolve through it. My efforts into coaching change like, that was the beginning of me being a CEO. That was the beginning of me, understanding mindset of changing character and principle and value for young adults, which now leads to coaching adults and men. It just, it consistently challenged me, nurtured me. And it has been a love, hate relationship in a lot of ways. But that game really taught me what I’m good at, what I’m not good at and where I fit in. And I’m learning as I evolve to make it a metaphor, what position I play. And as I get more clear on what position I play in the world at large and for people I can play that position much more effectively.
Mike Ayala: That’s cool. That’s awesome. What was your greatest setback and what did you learn from it?
Aaron Velky: I’ll keep the soccer analogy going. When I was, I guess my junior year of high school, I was really intentional about playing in college. Whole dream, man, That was like the magnitude of my dream was to play ball. And I was training with a group of Latinos in one of the areas near me. They were like so good. It was like, no squad. And here I am showing up. I don’t speak Spanish. I don’t know enough. I’m not very talented. I’m just the outlier, skinny lanky getting crushed. And I ended up tearing my quad while training with them. And I go to a couple of doctors, a couple of different people, and they’re like, you’re never going to play again, man, hang up the boots, it is over. And dude I cried for weeks in my room, just really broken. I remember taking my like duffel bag with my uniform to my high school coach and say, I’m out. And he’s like, you’re captain you can’t be out. [13:54 inaudible] and walk away from it. And it took about nine months, but I started to retrain, starting to get healed. And I ended up walking on to a division one college program in Baltimore at UNBC. And just in that series of months, something really clicked. One, The opinions of others really, really zoomed out for me to where I can disconnect from it. It just, it was now so far away. Like your opinion, your belief no longer determines my future. The other thing it taught me was that, if I work hard enough, I can make something happen, even if there’s no possible way. And I would say that my life has a strong defiance of what’s possible in a lot of ways. And that really was the first time that I had ever encountered that because we’re taught, we’re conditioned in a lot of ways through education, like follow the path, do what you’re told and believe what others believe. And I had to believe something really different. And I learned thankfully early that I can do what people may not believe as possible.
Mike Ayala: Super cool, man. What is the single piece of advice you find yourself sharing the most?
Aaron Velky: It is either you are enough or it is clarity is power. The worthiness piece you are enough is often for individuals that want to grow, but can’t seem to find their footing and are stuck between like in limbo between, I know I want more and I know I’m ready for more, but I just can’t seem to evolve out of this. And often it’s enoughness, it’s worthiness that I work with them through. And whether that’s, I want more income, I want a better career. I want to build a business. If there’s a worthiness issue, you can’t really progress in any of those spaces. You’ll always self-sabotage or find a wall. The clarity is power really comes down to purpose. And you know, we talked about intention, but in many ways, intention goes so far to give us like an extra win, but not just a second win, like a third and fourth win. And I work with a lot of men and women on finding purpose and giving them vision and clarity. We’ve got a great community, called men on purpose that helps men develop this. And when you get there as if there’s a there, but when you arrive with a little bit of clarity, you have a sense of self that is indomitable. Like you can’t be swayed nearly as easily, no matter how hard the wind is blowing and how hard the seas may rage, you can certainly, stand your ground and what a world we live in, where the way that we make a difference is by standing not by moving, right? Like, can we just stand still and stand for something and with that kind of clarity, man, you are strong, it is very, very cool to see.
Mike Ayala: That’s so awesome. You know, as you were saying all that, like I just felt like I walked up in Ascension like a mountain with you. You were talking in the last question about you know, other people’s opinions, like what people thought didn’t matter. And then as you were just talking about the next thing you are enough, I just had this thought, like, just listening. I mean, the lesson that you learned was like, what other people’s opinions, You know, it didn’t matter. But then that whole anchoring of you are enough is so powerful because I was just thinking about, you know, other people’s opinions, we worry so much about what people think. Like, what are people going to say? What are people going to think? And blah, blah, blah. And most people are not even paying attention to us. But then when you said that, like you are enough, I literally felt like I was just, again, going through an Ascension with you because when you go to that next step around clarity, as you were saying, and I don’t know, maybe you’d teach this. Maybe you intentionally took me through that. But once we get clarity, it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks. And it’s really, it only matters what we think. And we’re usually the one, when you anchor that you are enough and by the way, this is a daily battle. I don’t know if you deal with it, but half the time, whenever I hear record, or I’m getting ready to post something, it’s these limiting beliefs, right. And that whole Ascension that you just worked through from, you know, I don’t care what anybody else thinks too. I am enough is really what pushes me closer to that clarity. I’ve thought about this for years. I don’t know how old you are, but I used to have a truck that didn’t have power steering and I’ve thought about this so often, like it’s really hard to steer that truck if you’re not moving. And that whole process that you just, you know, kind of talk through in the way that I saw it. Yeah, It doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks. But the reality is like me understanding that I’m enough is the only thing that’s going to get me through to clarity, because I’m my biggest critic, man, and everything that like, we’ve been kind of talking through like your gift to the world and, you know, just, I guess, achieving what it is that you’re here to do and getting that clarity and everything else, it’s me, man. It isn’t what anybody else thinks. It’s the crazy guy in my head every day. You know what I mean?
Aaron Velky: Yeah. There’s so many different ways to think about it. There’s a really good comic book. I can’t remember who wrote it. It’s a Batman comic and it was a real unique take on that. The writer basically talks about, It starts with somebody going for a walk. They get injured with muggers or something, and they’re concussed. And the dream they’re having is Batman and Batman and the joker and all the different characters are elements of his psyche, the hero, the villain, the bystander, all of these people. And I very much visualize that, that same thing as me, right? I am equally the hero of my story. And often the critic and the villain that prevents the hero from doing the work and being who he could be. And a lot of that healing has, it’s taken a lot of time. And as we grow, if we’re not willing to say, Hey, I’m enough for this opportunity or, Hey, I’m enough to just be here. And that’s good. I’m enough to be in the room. I’m enough to be on the stage. If we’re not able to say that and share that the joker wins. And there’s sort of this commitment to hearing that voice and allowing that voice to have its place and naming it is also a very helpful tactic. Like I’ve got name for it and I hear it and I’m like, dude, shut up, shut up, man. But the growth in that area for a lot of individuals that I’ve worked with and for myself is the single most is like the linchpin to change and evolution. It is very hard to get around, but it’s a big one. It’s like this huge barrier that once we’re over it, we can look at everything a little bit different. Like what if you were enough for the success you’ve always dreamed of? What if you were enough for that career that you’re afraid to apply for? What if you’re enough to be a parent that you’re, you know, you’re afraid to become like your parents, but you’re enough to be a good parent. Your whole world can change. And that’s the intention of that work is to help people see that.
Mike Ayala: Wow, That is super cool. You had mentioned men on purpose and I want to bounce around a little bit and just talk about, cause you’re working on a lot of different things and I know some of them and I probably don’t know a lot of them. So I want to come back to men on purpose, but I want to talk real quick about the one that, you know, even long before I had met you, I want to talk about like the credit card points and all that kind of stuff, because this is what people get excited about right now. What is this? And how’d you get into this?
Aaron Velky: Dude, I got into this because I was broke. Like I quit my job and this was 2015. So I quit [22:10 inaudible] 2015, my brother had started in it. We both kind of got into it together and we just were learning through like Reddit posts and all this that you could travel for free and now having quit my job, I’m like, I can go anywhere except anywhere that costs money. So it just kind of evolved from, okay, let me see how far I can take this. And like any of those rabbit hole journeys, I just kept pushing the boundaries and pushing the boundaries. And it has evolved into not only me coaching and teaching a lot of individuals about this, but seeing how it changed my world, a lot of people are like free travel sounds great. And I talk about how free travel is great free travel is just like financial freedom. If you don’t have a purpose, it’s wasteful it’s directionless. So what it really opened up was, you know, money club was changing at the time. It was called Ortus academy. That business was growing. It was financial education. And I like needed to meet with people, with investors, with leaders, with mentors. And the only way to do that was to be overwhelmingly brave. So I would say something to the effect of I will fly to you for lunch, right? And they think I’m some baller. That’s just like, dude, I got it. I didn’t have it. But I had to take the risk and say, Hey, you know, I’ll fly to you for lunch and I’d get there. And they’d say, dude, like lunch, man, you just flew all the way from Baltimore. Like, don’t stay for like, come on, let’s go. Let’s go hang out for the rest of the day. It just created a lot of opportunities and windows. I got to say yes to weddings that I normally would say no to. I got to be present for her family events or friend events that I normally would not see. I got to travel foreign countries and it just opened up me and you can learn a lot by traveling. You can learn a lot, especially if you’re going and just wandering and seeing what evolves and it opens up creativity. But now I get to teach people how to do that. And credit is a system that is unfortunately very rigged in this country. It is a tremendous tool, but it is also ankle guard and brace and like ball and chain if you don’t know what you’re doing, and most people don’t know what they’re doing because of the way that we teach it is not the way it works. So breaking some of those myths and providing people with a sexy north star to work towards has been a really great way to get education out. And it’s just a phenomenal way to travel and live man. Like I typically don’t have to pay for flights or hotels.
Mike Ayala: It’s so crazy, when I first I guess from a distance heard you teaching this or something, I was like, I don’t have time for that. Or, you know, all the things that pop in your brain, but then as I started paying attention, there’s like some really successful like guys in gobundance that don’t need free. You know, these are like those mind shattering conversations where monkey brains like, oh, you know, I’m okay to pay for my flights. Well, why should I? And what I love is that you’ve turned it into also like as you said this already, but you’re teaching financial principles around it too. And there’s a lot of very successful people that are, I saw somebody who just, I don’t know, maybe a couple months ago talking about how they spend, I don’t even remember how much time, but it was a very minimal amount of time to get X amount of, Can you just elaborate a little bit? Like what does this really look like?
Aaron Velky: So most of the ways that credit works when it’s projected to us is like more credits bad, you know, avoid, avoid, avoid. So our relationship with credit is often very negative. When we reframe that and look at how credit scores are made and all that more credit is the best thing you can possibly do. So, you know, I don’t ever advise that people go down the route that I have. But I’ve got like 70 some credit cards. And like, I got like this Ziploc bag that looks like I’m not like stacking up credit cards too, as if they’re cash worthy.
Mike Ayala: Thank God for apple wallet, right?
Aaron Velky: PayPal and things like, let me store that information. My goodness. But that access and the way the scores work by having more cards my scores have gone up and it started with, let’s get you free travel. And then I started to notice if open a new card and allocate your expenses really well and get the bonus. And now you can travel for free as one way to travel hack. You can start to see your credit score go up. So I started to see guys that I was working with. They were like, dude, I don’t know that I can qualify for a card. And their score would go up like 80 points in like 30 days, 60 days, I’m like, dang, should I be running a credit repair business? But as it started happening more and more, the level of credit education across the wealth spectrum is very minimal. People use it, they know it, but they don’t understand it always. And I see it applied in groups that are wealthy, that are like inner city that are, you know, urban communities, suburban private school, public school, charter school. Like it didn’t seem to matter. It stuck in all those areas and credit for a lot of people is the first way they get introduced to capital and leverage and they slam into the floor and just drill so far deep because no one’s ever taught them how to use it. So it’s not only have this great educational benefit, but showing people how their business and how their personal spending can be leveraged, generate $500 a month or $500 every quarter. You know, my director of education goes to Argentina to visit his family. It is free. I’m like, that’s power over possibility. And credit’s just a great tool to do that. It’s a part of our financial education ecosystem at money club. And it’s one of the four components of wealth that we talk about in our framework. And it’s an easy way to get educated about leverage and understand it from a deeper level, with a hell of a kicker on the backside.
Mike Ayala: You know, it’s so I was literally this morning, just my business partner and I, we got up to 35 mobile home park communities. We’ve been selling a bunch of them off. My listeners probably know this, but we’re consolidating everything into a single portfolio right now. So I was literally on the call this morning, just kind of we’re finalizing the consolidated portfolio. And it’s funny to me, we kind of analyzed it from the standpoint of coming in all equity. And you know, you look at the returns and then every time we stack in leverage, like those returns just go through the roof. And I was thinking about it this morning. It’s funny that we’re having this conversation because somebody too on Instagram today sent me a reel of somebody in a bathtub holding a Dave Ramsey book. And he was crying cause he’s been saving for like 60 years for a down payment or something on a house. I don’t even remember what the thing was, but as we’re talking through this, what you’re doing at money club is beautiful in the sense that this isn’t what’s taught, like people are scared of debt. And so the reason why I was bringing up the portfolio conversation is because the more debt like literally we get to the point where, you know, probably put $25 million of debt on this portfolio and the returns go from, you know, all equity, meaning we’re going to pay all cash. You know, maybe the returns are 7% to maybe 8% on a good day. And then we put $25 million of debt on it. And the returns go to like 22%. And people just don’t think about that. And as you’re talking about this at money club, and it has a hell of a kicker on the backside, that’s why people get excited about it initially. You know, everybody’s like, oh man, free travel and all this stuff. But as I’m hearing, and I have a couple of specific questions, but as I’m hearing this, what you’re doing is so powerful in the sense that you’re tactically teaching people how to utilize credit and debt and reprogram that. And so many people are scared of it. I’ve said this for so long. You know, I don’t know anybody that got super wealthy paying all cash. Like I really don’t. So, but it’s kind of a shocker to the system, you know, when you tell somebody, Hey, if you put $25 million of debt on something, your returns are going to 3X, like we just don’t get it. So my initial question is, well, is money club like, Is it like an online course or is it something that you guys counsel us through? Or what does that look like?
Aaron Velky: Money club is designed to be a community really where both the pillars, the conversations, the education around money is actually safe. Well, one of the biggest elements of money and growth is that it’s very taboo. And while we understand that it can change a person, a family, and a business we’re reticent to be like, Hey, I don’t have it figured out yet. And so the idea of like calling it a club is, Hey, walk in the room, have a seat, take a chair, let’s have this conversation. And there’s no judgment for where you are. We are all here to learn about building wealth, building whole life wealth that stems way beyond the flashy cars, the cool gear that’s really intentional to help you build more time with your family, to be able to pass something down to your kids and break a generational cycle, like all the big things that would really change a family or community, those kinds of pillars. That’s what we want to do. And the way that we do that is we have, you know, a sequential step ladder that somebody can go through courses and content and all kinds of activities and tools and engagements to help them break that barrier and get through to their pathway. So it’s a long play. We’re not a get rich quick. We’re like get rich very, very, very slow. But by creating a framework of four things, investible income, asset accumulation, leverage, and time, those four things are kind of the wrench that we use to make any kind of motion happen. We can really break down someone’s capacity to do this. And I find that most organizations, this is true in men of purpose and in money club, most organizations don’t tell you the how, they just tell you the why in a lot of different repackaging. And we’re really intentional about using money club as a vehicle for change and a vehicle for impacts. We’ve got youth programs, we’ve got employee wellness programs and we’ve got adult education that’s sequential, because we know that while we may not put money at the highest regard, that’s not what makes me happy. It is a facilitator to all the other things they do. And if you give people tools and help them and change communities and neighborhoods and families and histories is something I’m really excited about. It’s just warming up, man. Like it’s going to be something that I think takes a lot of people to where they want to go. And there’s a lot of value in it and we’re still kind of growing and changing and shaping.
Mike Ayala: I love how you said you know, focusing on the how, because you know, I’ve thought about this so many times. Okay, I’m like putting myself in the listener’s shoes or whatever and okay, That’s great Mike, but how? Like, cause we’re, you know, we’re always talking about a life of freedom and a lot of times people can’t relate to, you know, like, I mean a mutual mentor of ours is David Osborne. And he was episode one of the show. I love the guy, everything he’s built and every time I get with him, like, I feel like I get a little bit closer to being able to see, okay, here’s how right. But when you first get around a guy like that, I’m like, okay, well there’s this huge gap between me and you. And I love that you bring it back to a how, because you know, a lot of times, we’re on the investing for freedom podcast. Like I really, my whole goal with all of this was to just inspire, you know, mindset growth and change. And I love, I think this is why I’m so inspired by you because I love just you even coming back to the how, I think sometimes, you know, investing for freedom means so many different things to so many people, freedom means so many different things to so many people, but you know, some people just want to be able to afford a trip to Disneyland. Like that would be their version. You know, maybe it’s a single mom or even it doesn’t even have to be a single mom. It’s a, you know, a family and they just, they’re working two jobs and freedom to them would be just being able to take their kids to Disneyland. And I love, you know, I wasn’t going to take a big focus on money club, but I think it’s so, what you’re doing there is so cool because anybody can start moving toward this, right?
Aaron Velky: Yep. Yeah, man. You know, the business started working with kids and I still think that if you want to change the future, you start with the kids. However, we also noticed there’s huge, I mean, financial education is a huge gap, but it’s not in school, not in college, not in work where you get it? If it doesn’t come from families, where do you get it? And the potential that it has to change is really high. And yet it takes someone some kind of spark, some kind of catalyst, some kind of drop in that still ocean to shatter the stillness to say, okay, I want more, show me how. Like, let me trust you. Let me find some mentors, find some guides that can take you there. Financial education is not all about money either. That’s sort of the irony is like, we have to talk about other things. Like, what do you want? Maybe that’s Disney world. Maybe that’s, I just don’t want to work two jobs. I only want to work one job, or I want to work somewhere where I’m valued and earn the same amount of money and not feel like I’m miserable. And there’s a lot of ways to quantify and qualify what people want from their financial relationship. But there has to be a smooth onboarding and the money club, like people want to go to Facebook and just find the community and money club community totally free. [36:24 inaudible] call every week. We talk about things. We share a lot of education. We share a lot of our tools. And one of the challenges that I remember experiencing, I have a degree in financial economics, I didn’t learn anything about personal finance, nothing. So the barrier is often like, it seems like it’s so far from where we are. There’s not often where do I start? And we really want to be a place where again, like we imagine it’s an online community, it’s a club, but in my head, It’s a physical space. You come in, there’s a big auditorium. This is where people are just talking. They’re listening, they’re raising their hand. They’re saying, Hey, I don’t understand. And then if you need to learn about investible income, if you need to generate more per year, go to this room. If you need to learn about asset acquisition, we’ve got a great real estate accelerator that they will get you into asset accumulation through real estate, go into this room and you can enter these rooms and sit down and learn from somebody that has experience. I don’t need to know everything, I don’t want. We just find the people that can curate the information that understand it to an expertise that many don’t, that can help us build pathways and sequences and working with kids, back to the origin of kids, when you work with kids, two things are really important. One, you have to take something very complex and break it down to something very simple. And you have to understand it really well how to do that. So it’s really key that we have that. The other thing is like if you’ve ever been in a lecture hall where the professor does not care about their subject, it’s not interesting. So you have to have somebody engaging on the other side and it’s like, dude, I want to show you how this action here right now in 2021 is going to play out in 10 years to make you so different. You got to commit to that long-term journey, but look at how it does that, isn’t that fascinating? And if you bring that energy, just like you do with kids, people are like, wow, I want to learn. And when you bring the same thing and do the same exact sequence with adults, it changes everything. You can really get an adult to say, you know what? I think I’m ready. And then we may need to work on the worthiness, right? Am I worthy of it? But that’s a part of money club as well is not just the mechanical, but the emotional, the social pressure, the identity that we wear by the opulence. Like we are not focused on opulence, but focus on opportunity. And those are very different things that I’m really proud of us for focusing on.
Mike Ayala: That is very cool. Tell me a little bit about men on purpose. You brought it up a few times. I’m pretty excited to see how this kind of evolved. What is this?
Aaron Velky: So this started, men on purpose is another online community and really just an effort to give men clarity and intention, you know, in living very regret free lives. The partner and I really like, we kind of merged paths a couple of different ways, and I have an, an events and retreats company that we merged into men on purpose. So it’s kind of all streamlined into men on purpose and front runner. And the idea there is that first you get on purpose and then you become the leader that shows others how to get on purpose. So men on purpose and front runner. We got events and retreats and curriculum and masterminds and all this, but the framework is, you know, can you dial in a mission? Can you dial in something bigger than yourself that you care for? And you may have to dig really deep to figure out what that is. But a lot of us live our lives and we’re like, my purpose is the kids. And my purpose is my job. And my purpose is money. And we just help men uncover take off all their armor and uncover what they really care about deeply so that they can go in the world and not only share that mission, but they can lead others in a way that’s meaningful. And what’s fascinating, It’s taken a little while to have this conversion, but now the way that my life is when someone says, Hey, man, like I’m raising my hand. I’m stuck. Can you help me? I can say with absolute clarity and posterity, are you lacking clarity and intention, come to men on purpose. And there’s a lot of women that we have in that community as well. But that edge for clarity and intention is really awesome. Are you struggling with your finances? Come to money club? And those two things are almost all of it, right? Do I have direction or do I have my financials in order? I do some one-on-one coaching in between, but like that triangle, that like arrow for me, that’s my purpose. And to see that thing starting to fly and really allow people to fall in the wavelength behind it is really special, man. I’m really excited for where they’re both going to go.
Mike Ayala: I have a question for you. You know, Both talk to people all day, every day that are out, you know, building products, courses, companies, but do you, you’re really passionate about, There’s more like, you keep saying too, like there’s an evolution, like whether it’s money club or men on purpose, like I can tell there’s like a deep rooted mission behind it. So what created this drive in you? Like where did this come from?
Aaron Velky: I was having dinner with a mentor last night and he was asking the same thing. He’s like, dude, I’m so excited to just follow along in your journey, man. I don’t know. I’ve had a couple of near death experiences. So that context of mortality is certainly high and mighty on like, I may run out of time. And so I might as well give everything I got, I also have like a weird-ism of like, I don’t know how to walk. Like I’m either off or I am sprinting, I don’t know, jog. I don’t know that. And some of that’s good. Some of that certainly has a cost, but I think a lot of the drive comes from, you know, seeing many, many, many people struggle, being very empathetic to the human condition. A lot of reading, a lot of experiences in areas that have very little and remembering feeling like there was no way out, like I’ve had that experience. I had a, even a working relationship where I felt desperately trapped, like desperately trapped in, I couldn’t grow, I couldn’t escape. There was no way out. But like, I remember having a couple of drinks when I am [43:07 inaudible] being like, this is the only way out is down. And like that kind of moment really puts into perspective what are you here for? And are you here for something? And when I first started coaching and had like, this is actually meaningful, then it was like, oh dude, I’m pouring gasoline all over this fire. And as I do more work where it changes more people, there are certainly more magnitudes of people now that are like, dude, you’re selling snake oil. Or like, I don’t believe what you’re doing. Why would anybody pay for this? But as I see it change more people, I’m like, dude, I need more so I can do more. And you know, with us raising capital at money club and like bringing on people and watching business expand and grow and change and more people be involved, people investing. Like I know now that the equation that I’m solving for is with this in my hand, let me go do my work, let me go impact people. And I’m learning how to responsibly wield influence and do good work in the world. And that’s a big responsibility, but that drive comes from like, look what I’ve been able to do for other people in this. And I’m just really, I’m really hooked on changing people’s lives, knowing that at any point, I could walk outside and get hit by a bus. It could all go away. And if that is the legacy that I’m leaving behind, I’m going to be really intentional about that.
Mike Ayala: That is so great. Another quick question, you have a lot going on your, I mean you have a lot on your plate and like you said, there’s no middle ground for you. It is either walk or sprint. So what’s the one thing that has to happen for you every day to keep yourself centered?
Aaron Velky: Usually movement. Because I’m now thinking it on calls and zoom and all that all day, like I have to move, I have to run, I have to let it out in some way. I’m learning to paint more, to do more art, more drawing. So it’s either moving like physically or it’s being creative. I’ve always been an artist and a comic book nerd. So I just draw in some capacity. If I don’t do that, then it just, it feels very bottlenecked and I get, I get stuck in, well, this is what I need to do. No, this is what I need to create. And both of those things tend to like break the monotony a little bit.
Mike Ayala: That’s cool. Yeah, I appreciate it. Well you got a program coming up that I think, you know, people in my audience are going to be interested in. Cause again, you know a lot of times people are talking about the what or whatever, but not getting into the how. So let’s just touch on the real estate accelerator. And then anything else you want to touch on? I want to be cognizant of your time, but let’s talk about the real estate accelerator.
Aaron Velky: Yeah. Real estate accelerator is for somebody that’s like, okay, I don’t understand how to build well, and I want to, and I know that real estate is one of those things that gets talked about. I’ve seen it. I don’t trust it, or I do trust it, but I don’t understand the how. So this is a six month program where every week you’ll get something via email that’s educational, helps you isolate your vision. Helps you get really clear on why this matters and what wealth is for you. I personally believe that wealth without intention is wasted growth. So really important that we start with the vision and then guide you through understanding things like the financing and you know, all the isms that come with real estate investment. The other, So that’s like half of it, right, the education that comes other week. The other half is a premiere community that is, it’s that room in money club where every week we have a call, we have an expert and experts to come in and share, they answer question. They assess deals. Like they really help you handhold through that sort of live coaching. And we’ve run this a couple of times, a couple of cohorts, it’s now an accelerator with a different format, but we started beta testing with cohorts. And what we noticed is that there are three things to make people successful. If you want to invest and you want to grow wealth. One, you need education. This is the nuts and bolts in how this works, the mechanics, vision, all that. You need some kind of coaching and you need some kind of accountability and we’ve built something that is very special and very intentional. I’m giving people that are clear. Like I need an asset solution. My income is okay, but like, I’m just, I’m spinning right now. Here’s how you can build assets. And the accelerator we’re going to launch in early 2022. So it’ll be good timing for people that want to kick off the year, really strong and uplifts their 2022. But it is you know, a well-worth investment. It’s already gotten a lot of really good feedback. We’ve had students that have gone from zero to a property within a couple months and done it with confidence, right? There’s still like, Hey, I had this question, but that’s what the calls are for the coaching school. And there’s nothing more profound back to my point about like, why, like there’s nothing more profound than watching somebody go from, like, I can’t do this, it’s done. Now, we are going to do it again. Now, you know the way. And you build that confidence over time. And the couple of stories that we’ve had where people have gone from one to two properties or none to one, like it’s not about the investment. They’re like, dude, I don’t have to work this weekend. I don’t need to do that second job right now. And that’s the kind of change, the freedom that allows them to be with their family or spend time with their significant other or go see their parents. And the accelerator is a great asset for people that are ready, but are just like I don’t know who to trust, I don’t know where to go. I don’t even know where to begin. Where can I start? And we’ve got a really good framework for, we are going to start with vision, we are going to teach you the mechanics and the operators that are necessary to do this. And then we’re going to hold your hand all the way through it. And it’s very exciting.
Mike Ayala: Man I’m excited about that because like you said, just, I like the hold your hand part because so many, so many people right now, I remember somebody, I don’t remember who said it, but somebody said, you know, I made millions investing in real estate and I made hundreds of millions teaching real estate. But a lot of times when people don’t want to hold people’s hands getting started, right. There’s so many people that are like, oh, you want to buy a multifamily, I’ll teach multifamily and all this stuff, but I love the progression that you’re working people through, like, you know, get the financial education and the mindset, and then we’ll teach you how to do it, but we’ll also hold your hand when you get stuck. And so I love it. And just want to, again, you know, mirror back to you, how amazing it is that, just the energy you bring to the world and the way that you’re out there changing it. And you can tell that you really care about actually making, not just teaching people how to do it, but making an impact in the world and their world. So I honor you for that. Anything else you want to touch on while we’re here wrapping up?
Aaron Velky: Well, I’ll share this just cause I’m kind of excited about it. Probably the worst time in history, I published a book called let her play. So I took my 10 years of coaching girls soccer and put it in a book. And so it’s a guide for parents that have female athletes. So I published it on weekday 2020, literally two weeks later, March 15th, 2020, all of youth sports stopped. But that has been a really well-received guide for parents that want to create some meaningful relationships with their kids, going through a sporting experience. Doesn’t matter the sport, it is very cool, but I just started working on a let him play edition and just finished a translation into Portuguese. I’ve been down in Brazil and speak a little bit of Portuguese and I’m really excited. So that book will be out as well. So like taking that to another level, it’s just, you know, how can I make people better? If it’s in my soul, it’s got to come out.
Mike Ayala: So good, man. I love it. The real estate accelerator, where can people find that?
Aaron Velky: We are in the middle of a massive rebrand. So the best place to go, just to make it simple, it’ll sound strange. This is our old website, but it’s www.Fortisacademy.com. We’ll do all the redirects, the website will eventually be, www.wearemoneyclub.com. So that’s probably the place to go. By the time this launches, www.wearemoneyclub.com will be there. And on that website, we will have direct links to it. If people want to get early access to it we’re doing some pre enrollments now. They can just message me. I guess the best way to do that. Like find me on social media, Instagram, Aaron Velky. It’s Facebook, Aaron Velky, just send me a message and say, Hey, you know, I’m interested in the real estate accelerator and I’ll send you a direct link to the pre enrollment if it’s before January. But www.wearemoneyclub.com is where that will be.
Mike Ayala: I love it. Well, I really appreciate the time that you spent here and love just being in the room with you man, it brings me to another level.
Aaron Velky: Thank you so much for really thoughtful questions and for the space to share what’s on my heart, man. It means a lot to me you’ve been a watcher of my journey and a supporter and a big part of the vertebrae that has made this whole thing possible.
Mike Ayala: Honored to do it, man.
Aaron Velky: Appreciate you, Mike.
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