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Who Stole Her Purse? · The Financial Feminism Podcast

0:00
Financial feminism.
0:02
Ownership.
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Income.
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Freedom
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True feminism, more options,
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more ownership, more freedom
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Welcome to the Financial Feminism
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Podcast, where we're changing the
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conversation about money, ownership,
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and what it means for women to build
0:27
lasting wealth I'm Dr. Taneka Bruce,
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and I'm so glad that you're here.
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Before we begin, I want
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you to know something.
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This podcast isn't about telling
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you to skip your morning coffee.
0:40
It's not about making you feel guilty
0:42
because you bought something nice
0:44
for yourself, and it's definitely
0:46
not about pretending that if you just
0:49
worked a little harder, everything
0:51
would magically fall into place.
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This is about something much deeper.
0:56
This is about understanding why
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so many intelligent, capable,
1:01
hardworking women still feel like
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there's always something else.
1:06
They're always trying
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to catch up financially.
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If you've ever looked at your bank account
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and wondered, "Where did it all go?"
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If you've ever thought, "I make good
1:16
money, so why does financial freedom
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still feel so far away?" Or maybe you've
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asked yourself, "Why does it seem like
1:24
everyone else figured this out except me?"
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Then I want you to hear me clearly.
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You are not alone, and more
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importantly, you're not the problem.
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Today, we're starting a conversation
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that I wish someone had started
1:40
with us years ago because I don't
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believe women have a money problem.
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I believe we've inherited a
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system that taught us how to earn
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money, but not how to own it.
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Those are two very different things.
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And when I was growing up, I heard a
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lot of advice: study hard, get good
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grades, find a stable career, work
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hard, save your money, be responsible.
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You know, none of that advice
2:07
was wrong, but looking back, I
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realize something was missing.
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No one taught me how
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wealth is actually created.
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No one explained the difference between
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having a paycheck and owning an asset.
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No one told me that working
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harder eventually reaches a
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limit, and no one explained that
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ownership changes everything.
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And for years, I believed that
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if I simply kept doing more, I'd
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eventually feel financially secure.
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So I earned more degrees, worked
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more shifts, accepted more
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responsibility, started more
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projects, and built more businesses.
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Yet something just kept bothering me.
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And I met women who earned less than
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I did, but had more financial freedom.
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And I met women who worked fewer
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hours, but seemed less stressed.
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I met women who had built businesses
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that continued making money while they
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slept, and that's when I realized income
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and wealth are not the same thing.
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Being busy isn't the same as being free.
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And working hard isn't the
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same as building ownership.
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That realization changed
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everything for me.
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Now, here's the question I
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want you to think about today.
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What if the reason money has
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always felt difficult isn't
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because you're bad with money?
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What if no one taught you
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the rules of the game?
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Imagine trying to play a sport
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that you've never seen before.
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You know, everyone else around seems
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to know where to stand, where to go.
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They know the rules, they
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know the strategy, and you're
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just trying to keep up.
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That's how many women feel about money.
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Not because we're incapable, but because
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we were never handed the playbook,
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and that's what this podcast is about.
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Not shame, not guilt, not judgment
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Education, ownership, freedom,
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and building something that lasts.
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Have you ever noticed how differently we
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teach women and men to think about money?
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From the time we're little girls,
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many of us hear things like, "Be
4:39
careful," "Don't ask for too much,"
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"Be grateful with what you have," and,
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"Don't make people feel uncomfortable,"
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and, "Don't talk about money."
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Right?
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And somewhere along the way, we
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learned that being responsible
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meant being quiet, being generous,
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putting everyone else first, working
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hard and hoping someone noticed.
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Now, let me be clear.
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There's absolutely nothing wrong
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with generosity, and there's
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nothing wrong with serving others.
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There's nothing wrong with humility.
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But generosity without ownership
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eventually becomes exhaustion.
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Service without sustainability
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eventually becomes sacrifice.
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And somewhere along the
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way, too many women confused
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financial struggle with virtue.
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And I know women who would never
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hesitate to help a friend, women who
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will buy school supplies for a child
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that isn't even theirs, women who
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quietly pay someone else's electric
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bill, women who give until there's
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almost nothing left for themselves.
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These women have beautiful hearts.
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But here's the question.
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Who taught those same women
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that it's okay to build wealth?
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Who taught them it was okay to own
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businesses, to invest, to negotiate,
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to charge what they're worth, to
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build something that could bless
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their families for generations?
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For many women, no one, and that's
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exactly why financial feminism exists.
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Not because women don't work hard.
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We already do.
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Not because women aren't intelligent.
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We are.
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Not because women lack ambition.
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Look around.
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Women are leading hospitals,
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organizations, building companies,
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running profits, raising families,
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earning degrees, starting businesses,
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serving their communities.
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The issue is not effort.
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The issue is ownership, and because
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ownership changes everything
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Let's think about it another way.
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Imagine two women.
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The first woman earns a wonderful salary.
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She works long hours.
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She's respected.
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She's dependable.
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She receives a paycheck
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every two weeks, right?
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And the second woman, she also works hard,
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but over time she begins building assets.
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She owns a business.
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She writes a book.
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She creates digital products.
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She invests consistently.
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She builds systems that continue
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producing income long after today's
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work is finished Both women work
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hard, but only one is gradually
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separating her income from her time.
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That's one of the biggest
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mindset shifts we'll make
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together throughout this podcast.
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Our goal isn't simply to
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earn more, it's to own more.
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Because every asset you own
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creates another opportunity,
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another choice, another option,
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and options create freedom.
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And as a nurse, I've spent years
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around extraordinary women, women
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who lead departments, women who make
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life and death decisions, women who
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solve problems every single day.
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Yet I've also watched many of
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those same women hesitate when it
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comes to investing in themselves.
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And I've heard things like, "I'll wait
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till the kids get older," or, "I'll
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start my business after retirement,"
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or, "I'll write my book one day.
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I just don't have the time." And maybe
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you've said some of those things too.
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I know I have.
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But here's what I've learned.
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There will always be
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another reason to wait.
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Another responsibility, definitely
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another bill, another emergency.
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If we're always waiting for
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the perfect moment, ownership
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stays on tomorrow's calendar.
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And tomorrow has a way of becoming years.
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Financial feminism isn't asking
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you to become something different.
9:31
It's asking you to stop postponing the
9:33
woman you're already capable of becoming.
9:37
This episode is sponsored by Lead Nicely.
9:40
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strategy, creativity, and impact.
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Let's continue.
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One of the greatest myths we've accepted
10:16
is this: if I make more money, all
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my financial problems will disappear.
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Sometimes they do, often they
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don't, because income magnifies
10:27
habits, it doesn't replace them.
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And that's why you'll meet people who earn
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high six figures and still feel trapped.
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You'll also meet people earning
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far less that are steadily building
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wealth because every financial
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decision moves them towards ownership.
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Financial feminism isn't about
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chasing bigger paychecks.
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It's about making sure every dollar has a
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purpose, every opportunity has intention,
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every decision moves you closer to freedom
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instead of further away, and that's
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exactly where we're headed together.
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Now, I wanna challenge a belief today,
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not because I wanna make anyone feel
11:10
uncomfortable, but because I believe
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uncomfortable conversations often
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lead to the greatest breakthroughs.
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Now, here's the belief, okay?
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If I work hard enough, everything
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will eventually work itself out.
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Now, that sounds responsible.
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I mean, it even sounds admirable.
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But it's also incomplete.
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Working hard is important.
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Working with purpose is even better.
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But working hard without building
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ownership, it's kinda like, I
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use this analogy, it's kinda
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like running on a treadmill.
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You get stronger, you become faster,
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but you're still in the same place.
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You haven't gone anywhere.
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Have you ever looked back on the last
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five or 10 years and thought, "Man, I've
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worked harder than I've ever imagined I
12:03
could But why doesn't life feel easier?
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Now, that's not laziness talking,
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that's exhaustion, and many women are
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carrying it, not because they failed,
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because no one challenged the question.
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For years, we were told, "Work
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hard, be loyal, save what you
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can, retire someday." But today's
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world doesn't reward effort alone.
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It rewards ownership.
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The woman who owns the business,
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the woman who owns the intellectual
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property, the woman who owns the system,
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the woman who owns the investments,
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the woman who owns the assets.
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Ownership allows your work to continue
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long after you've stopped working,
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and that's why financial feminism
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isn't simply about making more money.
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It's about changing what
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your money is building.
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When I wrote the book She Who
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Owns the Purse, I wasn't writing
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another personal finance book.
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There are already thousands of those
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Okay?
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I wanted to start a different
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conversation, one about ownership,
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because ownership changes the way
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you make decisions It changes the
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opportunities available to your children.
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It changes how you negotiate, and it
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changes how you see yourself, ladies.
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Ownership creates confidence
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that a paycheck alone never can.
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Think about that for a moment.
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Have you ever noticed how differently
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you feel when you own something?
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Not borrow it, not rent it, but own it.
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You care for it differently.
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You protect it differently.
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You even invest in it differently.
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And the same is true
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with your financial life.
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When you begin seeing yourself as
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someone building assets instead of
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simply paying bills, everything changes.
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Let's talk about something that doesn't
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get discussed often enough, okay?
14:21
Women are incredibly successful,
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many of them, and they still
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quietly become anxious.
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Why?
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Not because they're incapable, but
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because they've become financially
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dependent on one source of income, one
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employer, one position, one paycheck,
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and that can feel frightening.
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Not because the job isn't good,
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but because we've placed all of
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our financial security in something
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we don't completely control.
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One restructuring, one illness, one
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organizational change, or one unexpected
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event, everything shifts, right?
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And that's why I believe
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every woman deserves options.
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Not because everyone should quit
15:19
their job or everyone should
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become an entrepreneur tomorrow.
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No.
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But because everyone deserves choices.
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Maybe your business starts with something
15:30
you work on on just Saturday mornings.
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Maybe it's a book.
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Maybe it's consulting.
15:39
Maybe it's making digital
15:41
products, or maybe it's coaching,
15:43
or it's maybe even investing.
15:46
Whatever it is, maybe it's something
15:48
you've been thinking about for
15:50
years, but you haven't given
15:52
yourself permission to pursue.
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The point isn't what it is.
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The point is that you're
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building something you own Now,
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I often hear women say this.
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They say, "I don't know enough."
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Or they say, "I'm not an expert.
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Someone's already doing that."
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Okay, can I lovingly challenge that?
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You don't need to know everything.
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You only need to know more
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than the person you're helping.
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Every expert started as a beginner.
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Every expert started
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just with minimal tools.
16:35
Every business started with one
16:37
customer, and every author started
16:40
with one blank page, one sentence.
16:45
Every movement started with one
16:47
conversation, and financial feminism
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started with one question: What if women
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were taught ownership before consumption?
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What if we taught girls how businesses
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work before they enter the workforce?
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What if financial confidence became
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part of everyday conversation instead
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of something we whispered about
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after everyone else had gone home?
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Now, that's the conversation
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we're starting, and I hope
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you'll help me continue it.
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Before we move into today's action step,
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I wanna leave you with one thought.
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No one stole your potential.
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No one stole your intelligence.
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No one stole your ability to
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build something meaningful.
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But many women were never
17:39
handed the financial playbook.
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That isn't your fault,
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it's your opportunity.
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Because once you understand the rules,
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you can begin writing a different
17:50
story, one where ownership replaces
17:54
fear, one where purpose creates profit,
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one where your work builds freedom
18:01
and not just another paycheck, and
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that's exactly where we're headed next.
18:07
Before we end today's conversation, I
18:09
don't want this to become another podcast
18:12
that you enjoyed but you never applied.
18:15
Financial feminism is a movement.
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Movements don't grow
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because people listen.
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They grow because people act.
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So today, I'm asking you
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to do one simple thing.
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I want you to answer one question.
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Who is currently controlling
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your financial future?
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Now, really think about it.
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Is it your employer?
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Is it one paycheck?
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Is it debt?
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Is it fear?
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Is it the belief that you'll
18:52
figure it out someday?
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Or are you intentionally
18:57
building ownership?
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Because every financial decision
19:02
is taking you somewhere.
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The question is whether you're
19:06
choosing the destination.
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Now, I don't expect your entire
19:11
life to change this week.
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I don't expect you to launch a
19:14
business tomorrow or write a book
19:16
tomorrow or expect you to invest
19:19
thousands of dollars overnight.
19:21
But I do expect you to
19:23
begin thinking differently.
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Today is about awareness because awareness
19:30
always comes before transformation.
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Now, I want you to take
19:35
out your phone, okay?
19:37
Not tomorrow, not after dinner,
19:39
right now if you can, and
19:42
answer these three questions.
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Number one, if my paycheck
19:46
stopped tomorrow, what would
19:48
continue producing income?
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Maybe the answer is nothing.
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That's okay.
19:55
This is not about shame.
19:56
This is about clarity.
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Number two, what knowledge or
20:03
experience do I already have
20:06
that could become an asset?
20:09
Can you teach?
20:11
Could you consult, write,
20:15
create, coach, build, lead?
20:22
See, many women are sitting on
20:24
years of experience but have never
20:27
considered theirselves valuable.
20:30
You don't need another degree.
20:33
You don't need another perspective.
20:35
And then finally, that third question
20:37
is, what is one small step that I
20:40
can take this week towards ownership?
20:43
Maybe it's buying a simple domain name.
20:47
Maybe it's writing the first page of your
20:50
book, maybe even your first paragraph.
20:53
Maybe it's opening a separate savings
20:55
account for your future business.
20:58
Maybe it's finally scheduling that
21:01
meeting you've been putting off.
21:03
Or maybe it's simply
21:05
saying, "I think I'm ready."
21:09
Because small steps become habits, and
21:12
habits become momentum, and momentum
21:15
changes lives Every episode of Financial
21:20
Feminism comes with something practical.
21:23
Today's free download is the Financial
21:26
Freedom screensaver pack, one for
21:28
your phone, one for your computer.
21:31
Why?
21:32
Because the average person checks their
21:34
phone dozens of times every single day.
21:37
Imagine if every single time you
21:39
picked it up, instead of seeing
21:41
another notification, you saw
21:43
this: "I am not bad with money.
21:46
I am building power." Or on your
21:49
desktop, "She who owns the purse
21:51
owns the power." Words matter.
21:55
The conversations we have
21:57
with ourselves matter.
21:59
What we repeatedly see becomes
22:01
what we repeatedly believe.
22:03
So download today's free resource,
22:06
use it, look at it every day, because
22:08
this isn't just wallpaper, it's a
22:10
reminder of the woman you're becoming.
22:14
Before next week's episode, I want
22:16
you to complete today's download.
22:19
Set your new screensaver, and then I
22:21
want you to take a screenshot, share
22:24
it on social media, or post it inside
22:27
our Financial Feminism community.
22:30
Tell us one thing you realized
22:31
while listening today.
22:33
Maybe it was, "I've been working for
22:35
income instead of ownership." Maybe it
22:38
was, "I've waited too long," or maybe
22:40
it was, "I'm finally ready." Then I
22:44
want you to tag three women, not because
22:46
we're trying to go viral, but because
22:48
conversations change lives, and you
22:51
never know who needs permission to
22:53
start thinking differently about money.
22:56
Maybe it's your sister.
22:57
Maybe it's your daughter.
22:59
It could be your coworker
23:01
or your best friend.
23:03
Financial freedom spreads
23:04
one conversation at a time.
23:06
Let's start a whole lot more of them.
23:10
Now, before we go, I want
23:11
you to remember something.
23:14
You are not behind.
23:16
You are not too late.
23:19
You are not bad with money.
23:21
You simply cannot build a future using
23:24
the rules that no one ever taught you.
23:27
But now, you know different, and
23:30
when we know different, we have
23:32
the opportunity to do different.
23:35
This isn't about becoming someone else.
23:38
It's about becoming the
23:39
owner of your future.
23:42
One decision, one conversation, one
23:46
investment, one act of courage at a time.
23:50
Thank you for spending
23:51
part of your day with me.
23:53
I'm Dr. Taneka Bruce, and this has
23:55
been the Financial Feminism Podcast.
23:59
Until next time, keep building, keep
24:02
learning, keep choosing ownership, because
24:05
she who owns the purse owns the power.
24:10
Before next week, do one thing.
24:12
Download today's Financial
24:14
Freedom screensaver pack.
24:15
Set it as your phone
24:17
or desktop background.
24:19
Share one insight from today's episode.
24:22
Invite three women to listen
24:24
because financial freedom
24:26
spreads through conversations
24:28
women are fully willing to have.
24:30
And together, we're building
24:32
more than just better finances,
24:35
we're building a movement
24:39
Financial feminism.
24:41
Ownership.
24:42
Income.
24:43
Freedom
24:47
Do feminism.
24:48
More options, more ownership, more freedom