The Secrets to The Wealthy

**Ash Exantis** (0:00)
So I started my career straight out of high school. So I was 19 years old when I started working at the bank. Did everything, teller, personal banker, private banker, branch manager, was the CEO of a credit union.
And for me, I mean, I've always sort of like been a hustler. Like I always knew that I didn't want people to tell me what to do and things of that nature. Like I wanted to be an entrepreneur, but like you said, that security is what kept me in the game as long as I was in the game. But for me, that transition, it is difficult though, right? It is that up and down because I know, I remember, I retired from banking when I was 30 years old.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:38)
Keyword, retired.

**Ash Exantis** (0:39)
Retired, right? I even threw myself a party, a retirement party at 40 Club, right? I was just about to turn 30
And I was making money, right? I was making six figures at the bank, wound up quitting, becoming an entrepreneur.
I almost fell on my face though, right? To be honest, right? I almost got to a space where I wasn't making as much money because I was used to that lifestyle. And so I had to go back into the working world, figure some things out. And then now I was like, all right, now I'm going to jump back in there. And so partly what worked for me was being able to create that multiple streams of income. And that's why I tell people that whatever you do, make sure that you're not only relying on one source of income because having multiple streams of income was what allowed me to say, okay, you know what, now I can jump out and be comfortable. But being on the institutional side, it was tough because as being a licensed financial advisor, there's certain things that you're highly regulated. And so even when I wrote my first book, My Right Money Right, so my real name is Ash Exantis. And the reason why I write under Ash Cash was because back in 2009, when I wanted to write my first book, My Right Money Right, 10 Loads of Financial Freedom, I needed to ask permission from the institution to see whether I could write the book. Because I was a licensed rep with them, it was a conflict of interest, and they wouldn't let me write the book, right? And so asking forgiveness, not for permission. So I decided, I'm like, you know what? I'm gonna write this book under Ash Cash. If they find out, they find out. But I'll be Ash Exantis from nine to five, and I'll be Ash Cash every other time. And that worked for me because I was building both simultaneously to the point where Ash Cash got hot enough where I was able to leave my nine to five and create some income by doing that.

**SPEAKER_3** (2:35)
And that's something that I always encourage people to do as well. But you don't have to do it all at the same time, right? Everything at the same time. So you can still work a regular job while building up your entrepreneurial business. And then when that gets to a point where it can support you, then you take the lead.

**Ash Exantis** (2:53)
People, I don't know where this anti 9 to 5 thing come from. Like stop watching social media. They lying.
Yo, you know how many people who's out here acting like they're independent, and then you bump into them at they 9 to 5 and they... You know what I'm trying to say? What's up, bro? Right. Stop listening to them. It's a lie. Your job is your investor. It is your first investor. You quit your job.
So, the reason why... I have a company called Mind, Right, Money Management. The reason why it's Mind, Right, Money Management, because it's a mindset first. Money is mindset. If you don't have the proper mindset, I don't care if you make $100,000, $1 million, $10 million. If you don't have the proper mindset, you're still going to be broke, right? And what people don't realize is that if you have to struggle the brain space that it takes for you to be creative, you're not going to be as creative. Your entrepreneurship venture is not going to be as successful as it could be had you had the proper brain space to not have to focus on the basics. So I tell people, listen, keep your nine to five.
It is your first investor. It is investing in your business. It removes you having to think about the basics, where I'm going to live, how I'm going to eat. And then the rest is how you invest your time, period.