I Didn’t Realize How Differently I Was Taught to Think About Money
Good or bad…I was raised differently.
Not better.
Not worse.
Just… different.
My dad followed what people now call the Rich Dad Poor Dad playbook—before it was something people talked about online.
And I didn’t realize how unusual that was until much later.
Because to me, it was normal.
It was normal to hear conversations about deals at the dinner table.
Normal to hear about land contracts, trades, timing, negotiations.
Normal to watch someone move forward on something… without having all the money lined up first.
That part matters.
Because my dad didn’t do deals because he had the money.
He did them because he believed he didn’t need the money to start.
He believed the deal created the money.
And that belief changes how you see everything.
It changes how you approach risk.
How you think about opportunity.
How long you’re willing to stay in a conversation.
He had patience in ways I didn’t understand at the time.
He could sit in a deal longer than most people.
Not forcing it.
Not chasing it.
Letting it form.
And now, looking back…I realize he wasn’t just doing deals.
He was operating from a completely different framework.
And I carry that with me.
“I just don’t have the money.”
Which is why, today, when I sit across from entrepreneurs—especially women entrepreneurs—I notice something immediately.
I hear incredible ideas.
Thoughtful. Needed. Aligned.
And then almost always, right after: “I just don’t have the money.”
And I don’t judge that.
Because that’s what most people are taught.
But if I’m honest…it still catches me off guard.
Because from where I sit…that’s not where the conversation starts.
It’s like saying:
“I need to sell the hamburgers before I can build the restaurant.”
Instead of asking:
“What would it take to build the structure first?”
“Who else needs to be involved?”
“How do I think about this differently?”
We’re rarely just one.
This is where something clicked for me years ago when I read Cashflow Quadrant.
The idea that we’re taught there are different ways to operate:
• employee
• self-employed
• business owner
• investor
And that we can choose.
But what I’ve seen in real life—especially in family business and multi-entity environments—is this:
We’re rarely just one.
We’re a mix.
Operator in one place.
Investor in another.
Advisor somewhere else.
Owner across multiple things.
And when you add family into that…it gets layered quickly.
Because now you have people who are:
• owners but not operators
• involved but not aligned
• responsible but not clear
And no one really taught us how to navigate that.
So what happens?
Roles get blurred.
Avoided.
Assumed.
They’re in it because they were needed.
And this part took me a while to see.
Sometimes people aren’t in the wrong role because they chose it.
They’re in it because they were needed.
And once you’re needed…you say yes.
I see this even with my own kids.
Something as simple as: “Take out the garbage.”
And I don’t expect “no” to be a valid answer.
Now zoom that out.
Into a family business.
Where kids grow up helping.
Showing up.
Being part of it early.
And slowly, without realizing it…contribution becomes identity.
“I help here.”
“I do this.”
“This is my role.”
Except no one stopped to ask:
“Is it actually yours?”
And that’s where I think a lot of this starts to break.
Not dramatically.
Quietly.
People get really good at things…that aren’t actually aligned with who they are.
And they stay longer than they should.
Because leaving feels like:
• letting someone down
• losing identity
• walking away from something that matters
And this isn’t just about family dynamics.
It’s about how we think about money.
Opportunity.
Ownership.
Most of what we believe…we didn’t choose.
We inherited it.
And unless we slow down long enough to question it…we just keep operating inside it.
With love and belief,
Jaime
