The Psychology Of Money | Tom Bilyeu

Tom Bilyeu (0:00)

When you interface with crypto, you end up with the question, what is money? Never did I expect that to change the course of my life. And it's maddening how few people actually understand it, which is exactly why people are manipulated by the system.

Michael Gervais (0:10)

Are you playing the game or being played by it?

Tom Bilyeu (0:13)

The system was designed so that only the people educated enough to buy assets would not only escape the negative effects of inflation, they would get rich off the back of it. There's a way better way to beat inflation than a house. It's very difficult to master, and it is.

Michael Gervais (0:30)

Welcome back or welcome to the Finding Mastery Podcast, where we dive into the minds of the world's greatest thinkers and doers. I'm your host, Dr. Michael Gervais. A high-performance psychologist named Michael Gervais. Who Pete Carroll brought in to work with the Seahawks. Famous for his work with Felix Baumgartner when he jumped out of space in the Stratos Project.

SPEAKER_3 (0:48)

Olympic athletes depend on something more than just training and talent.

Tom Bilyeu (0:51)

They have to stay mentally tough.

Michael Gervais (0:54)

Today's guest is Tom Bilyeu, entrepreneur, co-founder of Quest Nutrition, and founder of the YouTube channel Impact Theory. Who's built a massive following by challenging how we think about money, power and the systems shaping our lives.

Tom Bilyeu (1:08)

If you are wondering why we're living in a populist moment, it is 100%, not mostly, it is 100% tied to the fact that we have an economic system designed through malice to abuse us. Now we start getting into the dark territory. Up until now it's been sunshine and rainbows, Mike.

Michael Gervais (1:25)

Let's explore why and how people feel financially stuck. How the wealthy think about using money and how embracing technologies like AI is essential for us to get ahead.

Tom Bilyeu (1:35)

This is where people go wrong. If you're using AI to just tell me what to do and you let it turn you into a pair of hands, you don't get anywhere. If, on the other hand, you use it as the world's greatest study partner to actually learn how something works, I am scandalized at how much faster I'm able to move in every aspect of my life because of AI.

Michael Gervais (1:54)

With that, let's jump into this week's conversation with Tom Bilyeu. Tom, it's been a while.

Tom Bilyeu (2:04)

It's been a minute.

Michael Gervais (2:05)

It's been, congratulations on what you've been building and what you've done and your deep understanding of new tech, of the economic situation that, you know, we're in right now and using it from a, or speaking from a political standpoint as well, like.

Tom Bilyeu (2:23)

It's been a wild ride.

Michael Gervais (2:24)

I'll say that. But you're way out in front.

Tom Bilyeu (2:27)

I'm way out on a limb, yeah.

Michael Gervais (2:28)

Is that what it feels like to you?

Tom Bilyeu (2:30)

In a fun way, yeah, it does. It's high consequence. People really care, really care. Meaning, if you say something they don't like, there are going to be consequences, whether that is as simple as an unsubscribe or a negative comment, or it's people like really having beef.

My political commentary will spill over into my wife's subscriptions, where they will leave because of something I said. It's wild. So it's one where I think about that a lot as a video game developer, which is like my primary identity, which is very surprising, I think, to most people. I think about that. Like, do in a modern context, do people want to hear Walt Disney talk about politics? And I think the answer is no. So it's fascinating that I just can't stay quiet. This moment feels too consequential.

Michael Gervais (3:22)

Is that why you are out on a limb to use your language about your point of view, about politics and economics and AI?

Tom Bilyeu (3:30)

I'll speed run how this happened, because I never thought that this would be what I would talk about. So you and I met, mindset was my primary thing for the first several years.

Michael Gervais (3:39)

On the heels of a successful exit and build an exit with Quest Nutrition.

Tom Bilyeu (3:44)

Yeah, so if people don't know that story, to speed run it really quickly, I go to film school, think I'm going to graduate, get the three picture deal. I do not. I have no idea how to break into the film industry. I'm looking around. This is the late nineties.

There's no YouTube. There's no cell phones with cameras. It just seemed impossible. I met these two successful entrepreneurs. I said, look, man, you're coming to the world with your hand out. If you want to control the art, you have to control the resources, so you should get into business and get rich.