New book from NYT bestselling author Lewis Howes is now available!

New book from NYT bestselling author Lewis Howes is now available!

 

Chris Hogan

Become an Everyday Millionaire

THE AMERICAN DREAM IS NOT DEAD.

We are conditioned to spend money. We think, “I’ll just get a credit card. I’ll just get a loan. I’ll just pay for it later.” Advertisements tell us to spend, spend, spend. What if, instead, you became allergic to debt?

I’m lucky that my father taught me the importance of saving and investing. But I see so many of my friends spend all of their paychecks. So I’m excited to share with you today’s episode of The School of Greatness, where I talk about growing wealth with a personal finance expert: Chris Hogan.

Chris says that to grow money you need time and compound interest. He never buys anything that he can’t pay for in cash. And he believes that being crystal clear on what you’re trying to accomplish is crucial to your ability to persevere for your goals.

Get ready to learn how to build extraordinary wealth the slow and steady way — this episode is going to teach you how to become an everyday millionaire. Let’s get into it! 

Who Is Chris Hogan?

Chris Hogan is a best-selling author and America’s leading voice on retirement, investing, and building wealth. His goal is to help as many people as possible avoid financial traps and set their families up for the future. For more than a decade Chris has served at Ramsey Solutions and spreads a message of hope to audiences across the country. 

Along with being a Ramsey Personality, and speaking at events across the country, Chris works with business leaders, professional athletes, and entertainers as a financial coach helping them set goals and navigate their financial futures.

It’s Chris’ mission to educate, encourage, and empower as many people as I can in leadership and money. His newest book, Every Day Millionaires, is so powerful. Its content is based on the largest study of net-worth millionaires ever conducted. He took all the data collected from ten thousand individuals and deconstructed what they did to become millionaires. We’re not talking about ten thousand CEOs of fortune 500 companies or lawyers with six-figure salaries. These are normal people with normal 9 to 5 jobs who became millionaires. Their stories and the steps they took to become millionaires are all written in this book so that you can do the same.

In today’s discussion, we covered the difference between being rich and building wealth, two common myths about millionaires, as well as the truth about debt and five things you’ll want to start doing immediately if you want to become an everyday millionaire.  This episode is full of wisdom, and I’m so excited to share it with you. 

Two Myths About Everyday Millionaires

A lot of people making six figures have nothing in the bank because they spend it all and are constantly using credit. While, according to Chris’ research, some of the wealthiest people are some of the unlikeliest millionaires. 

MYTH ONE: “The truth is 79% of the millionaires that I talked to were first-generation wealth builders. They didn’t come from anything. These are people that focused and built money overtime.” – Chris Hogan

In other words, the millionaires Chris was talking to, were not “trust fund babies” no one handed them an easy life and comfy inheritance. They intentionally worked for their money and created wealth. The second myth Chris shared actually surprised me a little more:

MYTH TWO: “…a 3rd of the millionaires that we talked to never made six figures in a single working year. So let me tell you what the top 3 positions of the 10,000 millionaires were that we studied: 1) Engineers, not too surprising because they are good at planning. 2) Accountants, same thing, they’re good at accounting stuff. 3) Teachers… [typically considered] undervalued and underpaid. [Anyone else wondering] how teachers are doing this? Well, if you think about it, wealth building is a long term view not a quick hit. … These are people who built wealth over time, investing in their 401k. The goal of my book is to let others know that the American dream is not dead, it’s alive and it’s well, and it’s available to those who take action.” – Chris Hogan

Here’s the bottom line: You don’t have to have a high paying job in order to become a millionaire. But you do need to know how to take care of your money (ie, budgeting, paying off debt, saving, and investing) and take consistent action for the long term. 

“If you’ve ever walked through a mess, it qualifies you to be a messenger.” @ChrisHogan360  

Five Things Almost All ‘Everyday Millionaires’ Have in Common

ONE: They are Allergic to Debt

You can’t build wealth if you live on more than you make. That’s where a lot of six-figure earners get tripped up. They’re making what seems like a lot of money so they live extravagantly. Instead of having financial goals they tend to spend freely before long they’re racking up credit and building debt. 

 “…millionaires think differently. 94% of them live on what they make, that means if they are making a hundred thousand dollars, they’re living on seventy or eighty [thousand]. … 73% of these millionaires never carried a dime of credit card debt.” – Chris Hogan

Everyday millionaires don’t carry debt. Even though most of these individuals are teachers, accountants, and engineers, they have become what Chris calls, allergic to debt. If you feel like you’re miles deep in debt wondering how you’re ever gonna get debt-free, much less never be in debt again, Chris has a solution! There are two perspectives you can adopt to become allergic to debt:

#1: Debt is a penalty for using someone else’s money.

“The interest you pay is a penalty. If I use someone else’s money they charge me as a penalty. Interest earned on my investments is a reward. So why choose to penalize yourself? Don’t use debt to get yourself out of debt. Invest and grow your money to reward yourself.” – Chris Hogan

#2: Debt is a limitation.

“Debt keeps you hostage, it’s a thief, it takes from you now, but also prevents you from investing and growing it later. … I look at debt as limiting me from doing what I want to do.” – Chris Hogan

As long as you have debt, you’re tied to making payments on it. While taking on debt may feel like freedom in the moment because it allows you to have something now that you don’t have the money for in the moment, taking on debt makes you pay more and keeps you stuck long term. If you’re craving freedom right now, start saying “no” to debt and make a plan to pay off any debt you currently have.

TWO: They Know What They’re Trying to Accomplish

Hard things happen in life. We lose jobs. Loved ones get sick. Relationships end. In these moments, our goals are challenged, and we’ll need to make a decision. Will we let this hard thing be our permission slip to buy a fancy car that requires us to take on debt? Or are we going to hold on to the reason we started pursuing our goal and keep making slow steady progress? 

Chris shared on the podcast how one of the hardest times in his life was when his youngest son, age 2, was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease that could kill him, take away his speech, ability to walk, and ability to eat.

“…sitting in that doctor’s office holding my two year old boy and listening to that [was one of the scariest moments of my life]. … I think [in those moments] it’s really important to understand what I am trying to accomplish. Like I don’t want notoriety and I don’t want to be famous. I want to be known for helping people think better. So staying rooted in that it helps me to be very clear on what I’m doing.” – Chris Hogan

If you want to make it through hard times without giving up on your goals, you need to know what your ultimate goal is. An ultimate goal goes beyond a dollar sign or a specific date for retirement. An ultimate goal illuminates the core of who you are and expresses the legacy you want to live, and sometimes it takes suffering to bring that to light. 

Know what you’re trying to accomplish so that when the going gets tough you have a clear reason to not give up. 

THREE: They Have “These” Four People in Their Life

Entrepreneur and motivational speaker Jim Rohn said, “You are an average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

Whether you’re currently working through a hard time and you need someone to help you keep your head up, or you want to move toward your goals faster, the people you have in your life matter. Chris said we all need four people in our lives:

“You need a mentor. That’s somebody who happens to have some success and can guide you. You need a coach who will push you because they will get on you, they will drive you. The goal is to get better. But you need two more [people in your life]. You need a cheerleader. Somebody that believes in you, who’s not worried about what you achieve, but just believes in you. That [person is] important to have. And you need a friend. Somebody who you can be real with, who you can just say what’s on your mind and [be confident that they will] not hold it against you. If you can get a mentor, a coach, a cheerleader, and a friend on your side, that’s awesome! But I want to encourage you to not only find those four; you need to be one of those four for someone else.” – Chris Hogan

We all need a little encouragement sometimes. There are moments when we need someone to hold us accountable. Sometimes we need to ask someone for advice. And other times we just need to feel safe pouring our heart out. In those situations, it’s gonna be a lot easier to take care of ourselves if we’ve been intentional to connect with these four different people.

FOUR: They Choose to Have a Long Term View

When it comes to building wealth and creating a retirement for yourself, the saying, “You only live once,” is going to hurt you more than it will help. For example, lottery winners get lots of money quickly but frequently lose their money quickly. They haven’t learned the hard-won value of money to have fun in the moment, but also to provide for a fun life later. Because the everyday millionaires that Chris talked to understood that wealth building is a long term view they consistently set money aside to grow and be available to them at a later time. Here’s what Chris said the everyday millionaires did to build their wealth that you can start doing today:

“Talking to these millionaires the number one thing they said that caused them to build wealth was employment retirement plans. … To grow money means you need time and compounded interest. The fact that you’re putting money aside says that you’re mature enough to know what you want later. And I think that’s the difference between adults and children. Children want what they want now. Adults have to be smart enough to [think], ‘I’m gonna be doing stuff, I’m gonna enjoy some stuff. But I know down the road I’m gonna want to do some stuff too.’ So, I encourage people to set up automatic investing to your 401k, your 403B, or whatever it is. Make it happen automatically. Because, here’s the deal, your investments become your paychecks later. The reason you’re investing is to replace your paycheck so you can go do what you want to do [someday without having to work]…” – Chris Hogan

Whether you have a six-figure salary or are making ends meet as a teacher, cultivating a mindset that invests in the future is imperative if you want to become an everyday millionaire. 

FIVE: They Are Grateful

Adversity and hard work can change your perspective and motivate you in a way that being born with a silver spoon never could. According to Chris’ research, deep appreciation for what you’ve been able to achieve is often a strong motivator for successful people.

“These millionaires are also givers. 70% of them set aside money to give away. I think that’s an important thing for people to understand. I want people to build wealth to be able to give to causes that they believe in. … I’ve got this phrase that I tell people, “It’s hard to be hateful when you’re grateful.” That’s the spirit of gratitude and I think it’s what drives people to do more and want to impact other people’s lives.” – Chris Hogan

I couldn’t agree more. My hard-won success has inspired me to work even harder so that even more people can experience greatness in their lives. It’s not about me. It’s about how I can give back to the world. 

Why You Should Listen to the Chris Hogan Episode Right Now…

Dwayne Johnson said “Success isn’t always about greatness, it’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success and greatness will come.” This is true in your finances, your health, your relationships, and your life. 

Chris Hogan’s life is an example of what’s possible when you show up consistently and do the hard work. And today’s episode is loaded with practical wisdom that you can start applying today to become an everyday millionaire. 

His definition of greatness is consistent with the long term mindset he’s cultivated:

“Your legacy. It’s the impact you have on people. … [As an author, I hope] 100 years from now somebody pulls out my book and reads something that encourages them.” – Chris Hogan

Be consistent. 

Do the hard work. 

Choose the long term view. 

As always, thank you for joining me today. If you enjoyed this interview and you want to connect more with Chris, you can find him on Facebook, Instagram, and His website. Don’t forget to grab your own copy of his book, The Everyday Millionaire!

If you’re ready to become an everyday millionaire, then join me on Episode 751 with Chris Hogan!

 

To Greatness,

Lewis Howes - Signature

“It’s hard to be hateful when you’re grateful.” @ChrisHogan360  

Some Questions I Ask:

  • How do millionaires think differently than non-millionaires? (14:00)
  • How do you manage emotional challenges so they don’t affect your money? (16:00)
  • What’s the difference between getting rich and building wealth? (30:00)
  • How do we get people to be allergic to debt? (36:00)
  • What type of education should people be looking for right now? (40:00)
  • Do you recommend people get a side hustle? (54:00)
  • Should you do a prenup when you get married? (58:00)

In this episode, you will learn:

    • How Chris started working with Dave Ramsey (9:00)
    • Two myths about millionaires (12:00)
    • Top three positions of the millionaires Chris studied (13:00)
    • The four people everyone needs in their life (14:00)
    • Chris’ thoughts on cryptocurrencies (26:00)
    • Why automatic investing is the best method for saving (40:00)
    • The four D’s to partnerships (56:00)
    • Plus much more…

Transcript of this Episode

Lewis: This is episode 751 with Chris Hogan. Welcome to the school of greatness my name is Lewis Howes a former athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur and each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today, now let the class begin.
Dwayne Johnson said “Success isn’t always about greatness it’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success and greatness will come.”
Welcome to our episode today all about becoming an everyday millionaire with Chris Hogan who is a number 1 best-selling author, dynamic speaker and financial expert. And for more than a decade Chris served at Ramses solutions spreading the message of hope to audiences across the country as a financial coach and Ramsay personality. Chris challenges and equips people to take control your money and reach financial goals using the Chris Hogan’s show, his national TV appearances and live events across the nation. His newest book is called ‘Every day Millionaires’ and it’s really powerful. It’s based on the largest study of net worth millionaires ever conducted, I think they have 10 thousand millionaire conducted and deconstructed the things that they did to become every day millionaires. These are people with regular 9 to 5 jobs who became millionaires and they brace down how you can do it as well.
We talked about the 3 e’s educate, encourage and empower people financially. We talked about the difference being rich and building wealth and why you need to know about both of them. Also the power of business to make an impact and not chase money and how to plan for financial obstacle throughout your business and life. I really enjoyed this conversation Chris and I have a lot in common than I realized. We got this football background experience and some other childhood challenge that we both faced and there’s no wonder why he is so successful today and I really just love his heart, his soul. So, make sure to share this with your friends’ lewishowes.com/751. If you’re listening just take the link and share this with one friend and can text a friend and have them listen to this. It’s all about becoming an everyday millionaire and we know that most people want to earn more money.
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Big thank you again to our sponsors and I am so excited about this episode without further ado let me dive into this one with the one and the only Chris Hogan.
Welcome to the school of greatness we’ve got Chris Hogan in the house.
Hogan: Good to see you brother.
Lewis: I’m excited to learn more about your story, former football player just like me and then you went to coach for a while, I did a little stand for like a sports camp and then I realized after 2 weeks I was like “This is fun there’s no money in this.” They would offer me like 3 grand.
Hogan: Serious work too.
Lewis: Working all day, all night and I was like “How am I gonna make money?” You know I played professional football for a season in the arena league, got injured and then I was making 250 a week there. I was like “How am I gonna build wealth?” Because I had no college degree yet because I left early to go play professional. This was in 2008 during the height of like.
Hogan: Oh yes.
Lewis: So, I didn’t have a degree I was sleeping in my sister’s couch and made no money. I remember after about a year of sleeping in my sister’s couch my sister goes “I think it’s time for you to pay rent.” So she gave me the push to like do something and I remember looking on the craigslist for jobs a sports marketing job in Columbus, Ohio. And I applied for this job and they gave me an interview and I’m thinking like this is a pretty cool job that I think I would do well in. I remember I had 1 sport jacket from my college I get dressed and I open the door to leave and I remember I couldn’t step out the door because in my crazy confident mind I was like “I’m gonna book this job.” So, I didn’t end up going to the interview and I said now I need to figure out how to build wealth and you have just written a book called ‘Every day Millionaire.’ That teaches how ordinary people build extraordinary wealth and how you can do it as well. So, I’m curious I’ll come back to my story later but I’m curious to hear about your story and how you’ve studied 10,000 millionaires on how they’ve built wealth and probably I’m assuming there’s a lot of commonalities.
Hogan: Oh yes.
Lewis: They’ve probably lost a lot of their money at one point and had to rebuild and the lessons. So you’ve been in the financial world for 20+ years?
Hogan: That’s right.
Lewis: After coaching you realized you weren’t gonna make money and went to work at a bank.
Hogan: That’s exactly right. So, I started working the banking path, now I had wanted to go to the FBI. So, I get up I’m meeting with an agent, I got a mentor walking and hanging out. He started telling me more and more about the reality of the Bureau and it’s kind of like this dream I had is starting to shift on me a little bit. And I went into the banking industry because what I wanted to do was if I could create the sports mentality and that team work attitude and business community that I knew we could do something special. So, it started down that path went down to banking and you know got to the point where I was pushing products and setup helping people.
Lewis: You’re selling services right?
Hogan: Yes. So I realized I wanted to help people not necessarily promote and there’s nothing wrong with business, but I realize the push was more on the results instead of the people.
Lewis: Exactly, my dad was in life insurance for 30 years.
Hogan: And so I had a chance to cross path with Dave Ramsay at a charity event.
Lewis: When was this?
Hogan: This was back in 2005. So cross paths we struck up a friendship and started talking a little bit after 3 or 4 meetings he was like “Why don’t you come help me do this?” And I’m like “Dave you don’t need any help, you’re winning.” So, I got a chance to see his heart and understood what he was trying to do. Join the team there and started, I was working with pro-athletes entertainers and musicians. I was trying to help them understand how to control their money, so many of them as you well know depends on their agents or their business manager and a lot of them gets taken advantage of. So, obviously I wanted to empower people to know what steps to take.
Lewis: Like most of the athletes statistics are 80% bankrupt 2 years after they retire.
Hogan: 2 years after retirement think about that for a minute.
Lewis: Yeah, these guys make 50 to hundred million dollars.
Hogan: And how do you go broke right? That’s what baffles people and I go “Hold on for a regular people how do we spend 5 or 10 grand on a credit card? You do it one swipe at a time.” So these guys are doing it on another level. So of course I made agents nervous because they didn’t want me making their clients smarter and then the business managers in the music world. So anyway all that I started speaking and teaching and what I wanted to do was to empower people. So, my mission statement is to educate, encourage and empower as many people as I can, whether it’s on leadership or money.
Lewis: So how long did this take?
Hogan: This thing was a 2 year project and anytime you talk to 10,000 people it’s like cats. But I wanted to talk to people all across the country because I didn’t want people saying “Well you were just talking to people that know you and Dave.” I wanted to get people that never heard of us so we ended up using a research firm to dig into it and we found them, we talked with them and the reality is people think millionaires are trust fund babies, that they inherited everything or the got lucky or hit the lottery. None of those are true. This are regular man and woman that have worked hard overtime and they’ve been invested 25-28 years and the way the book is structured we got the information from the study, and we got the information I want people to know but the stories in this book of people that were homeless and turned it around, people that have million dollars in debt and turned it around. So, Lewis it really goes back to a lot of the stuff you talked about it’s the mindset. And when you get the right people with the right information results can happen.
Lewis: I want to talk about this myth that millionaires. What are the myth that surround the millionaires?
Hogan: Well I talked about 6 in the books but I’ll tell you 2. Most people believe they inherited it all like you see somebody with money and you say “Oh mom or dad handed it to him.” The truth is 79% of the millionaires that I talked to first generation wealth builders. They didn’t come from anything this are people that focus and built money overtime. Next myth well if you’re a millionaire you get high paying job, right you get big income. Nope, a 3rd of the millionaires that we talked to never made 6 figures in a single working year.
Lewis: Really?
Hogan: Think about that for a second dual income never made 6 figures. So that blows that myth out. Now you think about 6 figures nowadays it’s prevalent that it’s ever been.
Lewis: A lot of people with 6 figures salaries have nothing in the bank.
Hogan: Thank you.
Lewis: Because they spend it all and they are using credit constantly.
Hogan: You’re absolutely right. So, what happens is that people tend to think that income is so important, and I tell you no it’s not because I remember I was one of those people. I remember I was making 30 grand and I thought when I get serious 1 year out of grad school 30 to 40 grand. So let me tell you this top 3 positions of the 10,000 millionaires we studied.
Number 1 engineers which didn’t surprised you because they are good at planning. Accountants same thing they were number 2 accounting stuff. Number 3 was teachers.
Lewis: Wow they are not making that much.
Hogan: Exactly and they are the undervalued, underpaid. How are teachers doing this? Well, if you think about what it is, wealth building is a long term view not a quick hit. So this get rich quick scheme that we see on TV late night they get me riled up because they are preying on people. But these people who are people who built wealth overtime, investing in their 401k. So, anyways the goal of this book is to let them know that the American dream is not dead, it’s alive and it’s well and it’s not available.
Lewis: What are some of the things that they do on a daily basis? These millionaires what are some of the steps to take and how do they think than non-millionaires?
Hogan: 90% of the millionaires that we studied feel like they control their own destiny. Now think about it for a minute we have a victim mentality issue in America today.
Lewis: Yes.
Hogan: Where we want to blame somebody for us not achieving something or getting in our way. So these millionaires think differently. 90% of them live on what they make so that means if they are making a hundred thousand they’re living on 70 or 80.
Lewis: Can’t live on wealth if you live on more than you make.
Hogan: And that’s where the credit cards people starts extending themselves and using credit card, but 73% of these millionaires never carried a dime on credit card debt.
Lewis: They never carried debt? My using card paid off every month.
Hogan: So the mindset and I love to give people on economics and a pitch on economics. Interest that you pay is a penalty, if I used someone else’s money they charge me as a penalty. Interest earned on my investments is a reward. So why choose to penalize yourself? Don’t use debt get yourself out of debt and invest and grow your money to reward yourself.
Lewis: Now how have you manage through all these stuff you’ve gone through, I’m assuming the last 15-20 years you’ve gone through some challenges. You told me before camera that you have a child who has special needs and was told that they weren’t live past a certain age, I’m assuming you’ve had challenges in relationships with business partnerships, intimate relationships, family, the more wealth that I’ve accumulated and the attention that I’ve gained. How have you personally manage the emotional challenges that have come your way by not letting it affect your mind around money so that you don’t do emotional things with your money?
Hogan: Well, I mean I’ve been there and you know mistake that you make 1 or 2 times you can call it a mistake but when you do it over and over it’s not a mistake anymore, that’s called a choice. So for me I’m a man of faith so obviously I am rooted there, but I got good people around me, I got good friends people that have known me since my childhood, people that know me for who I am. So I’m not an author or speaker with these people I’m just Chris and those people get me rooted. So, I think it’s really important to understand what I am trying to accomplish like I don’t want notoriety and I don’t want to be famous, I want to be known that I helped people think better. So staying rooted in that it helps me to be very clear of what I’m doing. So, I think it’s really important as we help people that we stay aware of whose doing what and our role.
Lewis: I think there’s a story about Marcus Aurelius’ go around the town and he had someone just walked with him beside him and saying “You’re just a man.”
Hogan: Can you imagine that? I mean how rooted does that keep you? John Wooden got a quote and he says “Be careful of fame because fame is man-made and if man give it then man can take it away.” And so being aware of that I think is really important. So you know if I travel and I go speak to 10,000 people if I get 1 person to get his eyes light up and start thinking differently, then I’ve done my mission.
Lewis: What’s the biggest challenged you’ve gone through in the last 15 years? Personally, emotionally, financially?
Hogan: Biggest challenge was definitely the diagnosis of my youngest son at age 2 they diagnosed him with this rare genetic disorder that could kill him, take away his speech, take away his ability to walk, ability to eat and eventually end up on a feeding tube was the scariest moment of my life sitting in that doctor’s office holding that 2 year old boy listening to that. And went to some dark places over a few years.
Lewis: Really?
Hogan: Well, you know what us men do when we have challenges we’re not as smart as woman. Woman go share and men don’t share, we isolate and then we internalize and then we stuffed. So, you can imagine working through something like that. That was the biggest challenged I’ve walked through in the last 15 years.
Lewis: How did you get through that initial few years of stuffing or pain?
Hogan: I just stuffed, I didn’t do what I should’ve done, I wished I would’ve sought those close friends and they would check on me. So that was a learning lesson for me that isolating is dangerous, it’s good to reach out and get help, it’s good to get people you can be real with and I came to this realization we need 4 people in our lives. You need a mentor that’s somebody who happens to have some success and can guide, you need a coach who will push you because they will get on you they will drive you because the goal is to get better, but you need 2 more. You need a cheerleader you need somebody that believes in you, they’re not worried about what you achieved they believe in you and that’s important to have. And you need a friend you need somebody you can be real with that you can just say what’s on your head and not holding it against you and be honest. So if you can get a mentor, a coach, a cheerleader and a friend in your side that’s awesome. But I want to encourage people to do this not only find those 4, you need to be one of those 4 for someone else.
Lewis: You need to be 4 of those things is that what you’re saying?
Hogan: That’s right.
Lewis: You need to be a mentor, a coach, a friend and a cheerleader?
Hogan: Absolutely. And when you do that now what it does is it takes the focus off of you. One of the things you and I have in common is that I firmly believe that if you ever walk through a mess in your life then it qualifies you to be a messenger.
Lewis: It does. When you’ve gone through some stuff you learn.
Hogan: That’s right and if you’re willing enough to be transparent to share and you’re not worried about other people’s opinions, the impact you can have on someone else for them to try then the courage to talk that’s a big deal.
Lewis: Who is your mentor, coach, cheerleader and friend?
Hogan: Mentor is obviously Dave Ramsay, this man has been an incredible mentor for me just guiding me over the 13 years I’ve been with him. My coach is I got a lot, I got people walking with me spiritually, I’ve got people walking with me from a business perspective I’m constantly reaching out to learn I am like a sponge all the time. Cheerleader mama Hogan, I mean that’s my number 1 fan right there, I’ve got all kinds of family everybody there for me. Friends I got amazing friends, childhood friends, people at the office, people that care about me as an individual and not just what I do.
Lewis: Not the book and this and that?
Hogan: They’ll call me out. I got a call from a buddy the other day he goes “Dude, how’s the road?” And so what he’s telling me is ‘hey keep helping people, keep your heart in the right place.’ And so it’s good to have those accountability people to check in with you and just keeps your heart in the right place.
Lewis: What would say is your biggest insecurity, fear or challenge right now? You’ve been through different phases of your life and as you grow and expand I’m assuming there’s new challenges that you overcome and stuff that maybe you haven’t overcome yet.
Hogan: I think my biggest fear is am I doing everything that I could be doing? I’ve got 3 boys they’re hilarious 14, 13 and 11. These boys are my weakest link, I grew up with a single mom so my dad wasn’t around, he came out during the birthdays, holidays but he wasn’t there. So, when I had started getting ready to have kids my goal was to try to be the dad that I didn’t have and so that puts some weight on you. But I was hanging out with my boys somewhere and I saw a post of a little boy in a bus stop with a duffle bag and he was just sitting at a bus stop and I can’t even remember what was under it, but I saw that little boy and I thought of me like waiting. And then I realized in my own life somebody is waiting for me to become my own destiny and so if they’re waiting on me become who I was supposed to be to impact their lives, how long am I going to make them wait? So what that means is that I need to everything I am capable of doing and things some people say I can’t do just to be able to help that person somewhere that’s waiting to hear an encouraging word or something to impact their lives. So that’s something that drives me every day.
Lewis: What is it that people say you can’t do?
Hogan: I’ve had people tell me that I couldn’t write a book, a good buddy of mine I told him I was working a book and he goes “You can’t write a book.” But later on when I finish the book and at the book signing in town he was one of the people there and I realized something, what he initially said was that I can’t write a book what he was saying was it’s not something that he’s ever thought about doing and it’s not something that he can’t do that was him. So, for me that was a grow up moment, he wasn’t putting the limitation on me he was speaking his own limitation. So, I remember that and that’s when I said I’ll accept compliments from anyone but I aint setting limitation for nobody and that’s anywhere in my life, you don’t get to put any limit on me. Stop thinking about what people say you can’t do, I mean opinions are like yesterday everybody’s got them, what are you deciding in your heart to go do? Now start to go do that.
Lewis: So what do you do now in terms of your own wealth? How are you, you probably learned a lot from your years in the banking world? So what’s the place you are right now and what’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in the last couple of years?
Hogan: Okay the phase I am right now is obviously continued growth. Because with inflation [?] are gonna go up, so you can’t hide money in a cookie jar and just put it in the ground it’s got to grow. So with me I’m always looking but I’m understanding risk more. Now, there’s this thing out there that’s been given a value by somebody that’s not regulated. And so if you look at this you would laugh at that but we got people seriously pursue that. So for me what I’m doing is I’m trying to be smart with what I do but I need to be crystal clear on what not to do, I don’t want to take unnecessary risk.
Lewis: What are the things that are non-negotiable that you won’t do?
Hogan: I’m not doing that, I am not doing that.
Lewis: So what does that mean?
Hogan: That means I don’t borrow money, I’m not looking to borrow money to leverage from my home to put invest, I don’t borrow at all and I’m crystal clear on what it is that I’m doing meaning the longer range view. Lewis what I started doing years ago was I started making 2 year decisions, I want to make a decision today that I look back on in 2 years that I’m glad that I made it.
Lewis: What are some of those decisions?
Hogan: Staying allergic to debt. Now, I have people come to me all the time with business opportunities, they’re like “Hogan listen if you put this amount we’re going to boom.” You know and then looking at that I have to be smart enough to say no, that if it looks too good to be true we know it is. But I think about, I think I made more money by not doing things that I would have by going down the path.
Lewis: And did you invest in certain things early on and you’re like that’s fun seems like interesting.
Hogan: Oh yeah I’ve learned my lesson.
Lewis: 8 startups over the last 8 years guess how many money I made?
Hogan: How much?
Lewis: 0
Hogan: How much did you invest?
Lewis: Probably around 250 and 300 grand.
Hogan: That’s now as bad.
Lewis: Play with it, it’s okay if I lose it.
Hogan: And you know what you pay the dollar amount but you learn some stuff. See tome that’s valuable because obviously as things grow and profile grows the risk grow. So I just want people to take the, that’s why my website is chrishogan360.com I want people to take a 360 look at a lot of the things that they are doing.
Lewis: So you don’t borrow debt so what’s that mean?
Hogan: Pay cash. So that means for real estate right there’s a property that I want to buy, I don’t go to a bank.
Lewis: You don’t get a loan out?
Hogan: I save up and pay. Now what does that make me? Makes me patience and, you got kids yet?
Lewis: No kids.
Hogan: Oh you got freedom and money. But kids want what they want and they want it now and so if as adults we do that it’s dangerous. That’s why average credit card debt right now is 15 grand, people have 45,000 in student loans, car payments of 600 dollars a month. So for me I look at debt as limits me from doing what I want to do. Now, I’m old school, I did my stupid I did single stocks and I lost a lot of money but looking at it what I was trying to do was to get rich instead of building wealth and there’s a difference.
Lewis: What’s the difference between getting rich and getting wealth?
Hogan: Rich is where you want to quickly get money and this are the lottery winners that I’ve talked to, they got money really quick but they also lost it really quick. So building wealth is a long term view meaning you can have some fun and enjoy some stuff but don’t get so focus in enjoying that you forget to plan for the future. If you have that mentality and you live for a long time you’re broke because you’re doing everything for today. So, anyway I want people to have just awareness like you can have some fun today but let’s make sure you are using the 401k, put some money aside so we can start to grow for you.
Talking to these millionaires the number 1 thing they said that cause them to build wealth was employment retirement plans. So out there that are self-employed you’ve got ways to be able to invest and that’s what I want people to do. So, wealth building is a long term view, getting rich is a quick hit and I don’t want a quick hit.
Lewis: What else can you do to invest your money besides, what else do you personally do or advice people do to invest?
Hogan: Well you can, also people typically think I can only invest in my 401k right? No you can invest outside of retirement plans for the future. For example I talked about in my book I talked about I want to retire by age of 54, and so in looking at that what does that mean? Because a lot of people are thinking that retirement is an age, like an age 65 I can retire. Well the government is not gonna take care of you the average social security payout is around 13,000 can you really live a dream on 1,300 a month? But people are thinking the government is just gonna take care of them and you and I know better. So I wanted people to wake up and look at that, so the mindset around investing is to grow your money time and compound interest help you grow money.
Lewis: What else are you investing in personally?
Hogan: Right now for me I do growth stock mutual funds which essentially what that is, instead of going in single stock which is going all in and one thing, growth stock mutual funds allow me to invest in multiple different things so I’m diversified. And all diversification is spread out in stuff I won’t put all my eggs in one basket. So growth stock mutual fund are big deal to me, real estate with cash is a big deal for me.
Lewis: So you got a way to? 100% invest?
Hogan: Hundred percent if I’m looking to invest so you’re right it is slower but guess what there’s no risk. For example you pay cash forward and you have it economy in 2008 goes down and goes up. What I don’t want is people that are in control of me, I don’t have to work to go chase money, I want to work to impact people and if I’m working to impact people and I don’t have debt in my life then what I have to make is really small. So I mean imagine the world we have if people are out of debt and they were able to do the things they believed in.
Lewis: Incredible.
Hogan: I mean there’s not a charity out there that would be underfunded. So I want America to wake up and look at it, learn how to count. They taught me in kindergarten 1+1=2 right? When you get older and you start to factor in debt they try to tell you 1+1=3 right? And so what we have to do is go back to basics, remember how to count and stay true to yourself.
Lewis: What do you think is gonna be the biggest challenge for people right now in our time in getting out debt? Because we are in the gratification now, I want everything I see everyone else in social media posting all the cool stuff they they’re doing. How hard is it gonna be for people to change their mindset to say I have to slow down?
Hogan: It’s gonna be a big undertaking because we’re the most marketed 2 country on the planet. We have constant and we have this appetite for debt, we got 1.5 trillion dollars in student loan debts, 1 trillion dollars in credit card debt, 500 billion dollars in car loan debts like think about this.
Lewis: 500 billion?
Hogan: 500 billion. This past holiday season people spent 859 billion dollars in debt for the holiday season. So now this time of the year is where people are opening up and they’re starting to see it. So I think people need to understand that debt keeps you hostage, it’s a thief it steals from you, it takes from you now but also prevent you from investing and growing it later.
Lewis: If you got a student loan debt let’s say a 100 grand of student loan debt and you pay it over 20 or 30 years, you’re paying 200 grand back right?
Hogan: Because we talked about it interest that you pay is a penalty. So I want people to wake up and look at it and you know I’m telling you people are doing it. I had a couple in a book signing when I was in L.A and they told me they paid off 200,000 dollars in student loan debt over 6 years and I said “What did you do?” And they were like “We cut back lifestyle.” They go out to eat once a week they got serious, they stayed in an apartment instead of going out and buying a home and they said that our goal was to get that out of our lives and I said “You know what you did? When you got out of debt you gave yourself a raise.” Because now that money doesn’t have to leave you every month it can stay with you. So, I think people are waking up with what they are seeing and I’m just out spreading the message.
Lewis: How do we make people become allergic to debt? Because that’s what you do. So how do you get people to think that way when they’re so condition their whole life?
Hogan: I think it boils down to knowledge telling people. People have to get to their point that they wake up. Now this is typically what happens I’m getting younger people to wake up to it as they start to get engage or get ready to get married, but the next opening eye opening event is when they have kids. When you start to have kids and you got this little person that’s dependent upon you now you start to reassess things. And so I want to people to know that you got to look at it and got to make a decision for yourself, do you want to keep making the credit card company wealthy or do you want to build wealth for you and your family?
Lewis: Do you think people when they have their first kid they become more financially aware or they start going into more debt?
Hogan: I think there’s a way now let me help you out. When you first have them you’re gonna get so serious and focus but then what will happen is instead of spending them on you the tendency now is to spend on the child. Like I’m amazed I was in a shoe store out in New York and they had this little fancy kid’s designer shoe $110.
Lewis: For baby shoes that go out in 3 months.
Hogan: They don’t walk this is to hold a child wearing this fancy shoe. And I thought that’s a cultural thing because you want your baby to look good, no your baby needs to be loved. So, I want parents to prepare for themselves, my greatest fear is that if I don’t take care of myself financially I end up becoming a burden to my children later in life because they’re gonna have to take care of me.
Lewis: You know I feel very grateful for my father because he would always teach saving and investing and things like that, he was a life insurance for a long time. I have multiple life insurance policy for myself because of that, I am not in a relationship right now just got out of one but I was always preparing, even the last 10 years just like preparing for my future. I want to have enough money that when I have a family when I have kids like I’m not stressing about it. Not everyone has that luxury but I am making a choice I’m not gonna have a family until I feel like ‘Man whatever comes or whenever it’s ready I’ll be prepared.’ So I don’t need to make bad decisions based on debt, I want to have so much in abundance and take my lifestyle back in my 20’s and 30’s and that way I am saving so much and investing so much. And I feel in my life insurance mentor was like everyone comes to me at 40 and wish they had invested. And that’s why I am constantly taking payments every single month and luckily I can afford that because I am single, but even my friends who are making as much as me aren’t doing that and it scares me.
Hogan: Oh, sure because here’s the deal to grow money it means you need time and compounded interest and so the fact that you’re putting that aside and saying you’re mature enough to know what you want later right? And I think that’s the difference between adults and children. Children want what they want now, adults have to be smart enough to go ‘I’m gonna be doing stuff, I’m gonna enjoy some stuff.’ But I know down the road I’m gonna want to do some stuff too. So, I encourage people set up automatic investing coming out of your 401k your 403B or whatever it is, make it happen automatically that way, because here’s the deal your investments become your paychecks later. Think about that like if we’re working right now you get a job and get paid, the reason you’re investing is to replace your paycheck so you can go do what you want to do and you can travel and whatever and you got this money that you can draw from to take care of your family. So, I want young people to get started early, I want people that are in the middle of life with kids to stay consistent and control lifestyle. And even if you’re older and you feel like it is too late it aint never too late. If you got breathe in your lungs you got the opportunity to make some changes today, let’s not waste another minute let’s get intentional reach out to somebody that has knowledge you don’t have and get guidance.
Lewis: Talking about knowledge what type of education you think people should be looking for right now? Should they be going to college or who should or shouldn’t be going to college? Are there alternative ways that you think instead of going to college and taking on 300 grand debt? Should you save up your whole life and then spend it up front quarter by quarter? Should you spend 50 hours a week?
Hogan: That’s a lot man. I think first and foremost college I believe in higher education, I got multiple degrees myself but I don’t like student loan debt and so I would rather someone go to community college, live at home knock out the prerequisites for $200 a class then transfer to a 4 year institution then graduate in 2 years. You can work and go to school at night, you can work and go to school at day whatever it is you got an opportunity.
Lewis: You still get the degree from the credible college which is kind of irrelevant now it seems like where you went to school, maybe if you want a specific job but if you spent 2 years somewhere else and you still graduate you still get the degree.
Hogan: Now, here’s the thing I’m not saying that college is for everybody there are trade schools out there, I mean one of my mentors is a plumber a 30 year old plumber out of Kentucky, he taught me a lot. You know I’m not saying that everyone needs to go to school but I would rather people go into them and with their eyes wide open. Speaking of the fancy schools back to study 62% of the millionaire that I study went to public state universities, 8% went to community college 9% didn’t go to college at all. So education is not a factor for you to be able to build wealth you have an opportunity. So, I want people you know to know.
Lewis: The choices you make every single day with your money.
Hogan: Choices we make every single day around anything that’s what leads us down that path. But I think we get trip up when obstacles pop up. Like I had an opportunity to do a speaking gig a Special Forces group, but they were talking to me about how they have to pack their own parachutes but they said something to me I had lunch with them they said “They plan for obstacles throughout their mission.” So that means when something pops up that was out of the norm they’ve already talked about it and walk through it. And I love that mentality I love that mentality that in life we’re all gonna have some obstacles, you had some stuffs that you didn’t plan but how do we handle it? That’s our foundation that allows us and I’ve got a phrase “I’m gonna go under it, over it or through it.” The obstacle didn’t get me to stop but I think the obstacle is there for a reason because for the people that aren’t serious obstacles make you stop. For the people that are focus, obstacles get you fired up, so which one are you? And that’s what we get to decide about their lives.
Lewis: So if there’s an obstacle in your life how do you approach it?
Hogan: First thing I’ve learned to do is gear down because I’m a type A personality, my first instinct is to run toward it, no I want to be smart now so I gear down and pull back and I look and I identify my options. How could I handle this?
Lewis: You don’t react really quickly?
Hogan: You can’t I don’t. So I think when you slow down you pull back and it gives you a chance to look at it and remember what I said I want to make 2 year decisions, I want to decide something today that when I look back in 2 years I’m glad at how I handle it. So it allows me to kind of reassess 360 degrees, I determine my options and then I go “What’s the path I’m gonna take?” So the obstacle doesn’t get to dictate how I respond, I have to stay in control of me at all times, no matter what everybody else is doing no matter how they’re responding and I think that’s a critical thing for us to remember as humans. We are in control of 3 things our attitude, our outlook, and our responses if we stay in control of those we stay in control of our life.
Lewis: Is there anything that has happened recently in the last few years where there’s been an attack on you or so much as try to take you down or you just want to take the football mentality?
Hogan: Yes, I mean obviously in social media, I mean you got critics out there and so whether it’s book reviews or something ‘Hogan is a 1 percenter or all of these.’ I know in my heart I’m trying to help people. So what I’ve learned to do is this critics is an important thing, what I mean by that is you don’t look at reviews because you can read 200 great reviews and read 1 negative and which one do we walk away with? The negative why is that? And it’s the mindset around it. I think when what you’re doing matters and you care about people anybody saying something counter to what’s real that’s the reality. Now, I know online people all kinds of electronic muscles meaning they feel tough, they’ll say things online they would never say face to face but the reality is that I can’t be worried about that meaning I’m so busy doing what I’m supposed to be doing that I can’t worry about that. So, when you put something in your rearview mirror you can glance at it but I’m gonna focus forward, like the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror.
Lewis: Have you learned that lesson from Dave? Because I’m sure millions of people love him and I’m probably sure that people are attacking Dave.
Hogan: As a mentor he walk me through that you know and he was like “You got to be focus, you got to know.” And he’ll actually read hate mail in our staff meeting.
Lewis: Really?
Hogan: In front of everybody and I love that he does that because it means that he’s clear enough on what he’s trying to accomplish but this doesn’t faze him. How can 1 or 2 or 5 negative voices outweigh hundreds of thousand positive? So we just have to be grown up enough to not be worried about that. And here’s my other opinion if you’re doing something 100 percent you’re gonna offend some people, you’re gonna upset some people. So, if you’re not are you going a hundred percent? Like if you don’t have some people hating, you know there’s a drink out there called for haters the hatorade. If you’re not doing some things and frustrating some people then you may not be doing it hard enough, I mean it’s okay so expect it, expect criticism but out of criticism you’re gonna get reaffirm and recommit to what you’re seriously about doing and it also helps you to grow up.
Lewis: What are some other things that these millionaires and these are the millionaires that are like making 1.5 million net worth, we’re not talking about hundreds of millions we’re talking about the everyday individuals in America who got a million, 2-3 million bucks. So this isn’t like the richest of the rich.
Hogan: No.
Lewis: But it’s showing you like you can get to that level if you make the right choices, right decisions consistently overtime.
Hogan: That’s right.
Lewis: You don’t really need to make a million dollars a year to get there?
Hogan: No, I’m glad you said that because people when they hear millionaire they think that somebody is making a million a year; No, not at all these are regular everyday people. So what they did was they invested consistently overtime and I’ve got a free tool on my website the net worth calculator to help people understand where you are right now. So, net worth equals take what you own minus what you owe. So what you own your house if it’s paid off for the equity, your cars, bank account add that up and subtract anything that you have on. And so if that number is a million dollars or more then you’re an everyday millionaire. So, I want people to know it’s possible 89% of these millionaires have a net worth of 1 and 5 million dollars, but they’re working regular jobs. So I want people to think this is not something possible for them, I met Condoleezza Rice last May at a leadership event that we’re all doing. One of the smartest people in the world she speaks 3 languages, but she said something growing up in Alabama in the 50’s, she said that she was reminded of a few things by her parents because you can imagine her growing up in Alabama she was called everything but her name.
Lewis: Of course.
Hogan: Right but she said her parents reminded her constantly that it’s not a matter of where you come from what matters is where you’re going. So for people that are out there who grew up in the wrong side of the tracks or born into a family that had silver spoon doesn’t mean that you’re done, that’s your start point you got an opportunity to write your legacy and write your story. So, I want people to chase that American dream because it’s available.
Lewis: I also think that sometimes growing up through adversity is an advantage for you because it makes you say “I don’t want this life anymore what do I need to do to get out of here? What’s the changes I need to make?” Or as when you grow up in a perfect situation where money is given to you, you never think that way.
Hogan: So you didn’t have a silver spoon?
Lewis: No.
Hogan: Me neither and I think that’s one of those things that drives certain people like you don’t take things for granted. When you’ve worked hard for it you see it differently and you appreciate it. I tell people this “These millionaires are also givers 70% of them set aside money to gift.” And I think that’s an important thing for people to understand. I want people to build wealth to be able to give things that they believe in causes.
Lewis: How much again?
Hogan: Well 70% of them are gifts so they’re given 15% more, but I’ve got this phrase that I tell people that when you’re grateful for things, when you understand that the youth had opportunities or overcome some stuff I tell them it’s hard to be hateful when you’re grateful. And that spirit of gratitude I think is what drives people that are driven just want to do more, want to impact other people’s lives. You know I was an owner of Zig Ziglar growing up and listening to him and his positive message. So, we have to be careful to what we tell ourselves, I know internally I told myself some mean stuff and nobody else knows it and I think that inner voice if it’s not telling you some positive stuff we need to mute that voice and place something different. You need to tell you that you can do it and if we allow that voice to play too long in our heads we can get defeated before we ever get to the start line. And I don’t want to do that the world’s gonna try and tell you what you can do, please don’t you be telling what you can’t do.
Lewis: You got to be all 4 of those things.
Hogan: For yourself.
Lewis: You got to be a coach, mentor, cheerleader and a friend. If you’re your worst enemy internally there’s no way you can succeed if you’re constantly negative towards yourself.
Hogan: Well the dangerous thing is that people don’t know that you’re telling yourself that, like nobody can help you unless you have the courage to reach out. And so I just want people listen if you need in an area go talk to somebody, please don’t think you know America we’ve got this tough movies out there where you are just supposed to grin and bear through. My oldest son he was riding a skateboard and fell off and skin his knee and he was like 9 at the time and I said “Why are you making that face?” He said “I’m trying not to cry.” And I go like why? He says “tough guys don’t cry” and I said “That’s a lie if it hurts just cry.” You see I think we have too many emotionally repressed people that we think it’s not cool to cry, if you hurt cry like let that out but also let people around you to believe in you, challenges are coming it will knock you down it’s a matter of who you have with you and who’s gonna lift you up.
Lewis: Do you recommend to people that are working 9 to 5 job or just a normal job to get a side hustle? That they pick up some extra work somewhere so they can save more or invest more, do you think people should be thinking that way?
Hogan: Well I’m never allergic to work like you can ask anybody on my team. Number 1 I believe in what I’m doing and I want to help people but if you’re somebody and you’ve got debt and you’re like “I’m tired of this debt” I go “Okay, take on the next job and direct every dime of that money toward the debt.” So, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with sacrifice, see I think that’s one of the things that’s wrong in our world today we’re good at dreaming.
Lewis: Working hard.
Hogan: And the sacrifice. See nobody tells you that with the goal setting. You know I’ve been eating healthier I’m down probably 40 pounds right now and been eating a lot of salad. Salad is not food salad is supposed to come with the food, but in doing that you got to give up some things to get some better things. So, I don’t have a problem with anybody that wants to do a side hustle to make extra money, just be intentional with it and be careful not to allow that season to become your life. Meaning there’s a lot of people out there that are working jobs they don’t love and they have this idea of starting a business or starting something. Start small let your part time job be that I’m gonna grow this business, you don’t need to rent 10,000 square feet and get a big sign and hire 42 people. Slow down and be aware but just it’s okay to go slow, I believe in crockpots not microwaves. Microwaves zap things and get it done and it doesn’t taste really good, crockpots all do there’s flavors. And I think that’s an approach to life.
Lewis: What is your thoughts on starting a business and taking investor money?
Hogan: I don’t like it and the reason why is that it’s debt. Because if I take on someone else’s money I got to make a payment at some point, whether it’s an angel investor 3, 5 or 10 years out there’s that obligation in the back of your mind and I know a lot of people do it, it’s not just the way I prefer. I’d rather start small and then grow it myself and be able to make decisions. I don’t want other people making decisions for me and so that’s something I caution on. I talked about this in the book there are 4 D’s to partnership that you have to be aware of and these 4 D’s are dangerous to partnerships: Divorce, debt, drugs and death. So, if you started the company and we’re like we’ve got this vision and you know I’m a business [?] over here and you got one over there, why don’t you start the business and I’ll work with you in the business so you’re the owner but we’ll share the profits. So, now what we’ve done is we’ve protected the business from those 4 D’s and we’re both sharing in profits. Now, this requires maturity, humility and awareness. If we’re not worried about who’s getting the credit or who’s the president or CEO and we’re worried about this thing and impacting people, this model will make sense. If we’re not mature or worried about who’s getting the credit then you and I are gonna be badly over who’s the front man or who’s all these. So, anyway with partnerships that’s some of my cautionary tales for people.
Lewis: What about someone who save and invested a lot of their money what are your thoughts on when they get married? Should they get a prenuptial agreement protect their entire life of work or just blind face?
Hogan: Now, I’ve had to go down this path with some business people, athletes, entertainers here’s my thought if the wealth was built prior to this relationship then a prenup can make sense. But if you got married and you built it then now it’s something that really will not make sense. So it really goes back to be very aware of who you’re with in relationships and being crystal clear, but that mindset of because you want a teammate. Tag teams they were legit because when got tired or got in trouble he had somebody to tag. So I think in relationships you want that you want to find somebody that has your back, somebody that’s for you and you’re for them and you’re working together.
Lewis: Have you ever had a scary time in your relationship?
Hogan: I mean life happens I mean the situation with my youngest son popping up right. I don’t think we naturally grow together I think we naturally grow apart. I was working with a couple and they’ve been married for 30 years raised 3 kids and had a net worth of 3.5 million dollars. But she said something to me several years and it kind of send a chill out my spine, she goes “Chris we’ve been successful in business together and we’ve raised 3 kids and got money but I woke up one day and realized I was married to a stranger.” So that meant that they were so focus on achieving that they hadn’t really committed to staying connected. And so they were talking about how day and nights and they wanted to make sure they want to get back to and that reminds me that we don’t naturally grow together, we naturally grow apart we have to intentionally stay connected. So, I want people to be courageous in life and that’s dealing great things as well as in tough things.
Lewis: Do you think everyone can be an everyday millionaire?
Hogan: I know they can.
Lewis: Even if they have hundreds of thousands in debts?
Lewis: Yes, it’s possible I talked to 10,000 of them the stories that these people overcame it motivated me even more and I’m already a motivated person. But people that were told that they couldn’t or shouldn’t, that it was impossible for them these people all stay focus and I’m talking every color, every socioeconomic status these are people that believed. And so that’s what this book is about being intentional, being consistent and most importantly do these 3 things: Believe that you can, you have to gain knowledge on how what are things I need to do and then our personal everyday habits you got to learn those. These are all things that set the course for anybody to become an everyday millionare.
Lewis: I love it make sure you guys get the book every day millionaires. Final couple of questions for you this one is called the 3 truths. So imagine it is your last day on earth many years from now, you get to pick the day you’ve lived the life you want, you’ve achieved everything that you want but at some point you got to go. You’ve written every book you want to write you set it all but for whatever reason you got to take your message with you, you got to take your work with you but you get to leave 3 truths behind. So if you had 3 truths to leave behind what would that be?
Hogan: Believe in yourself, control the controllable and number 3 go all out. I think those 3 things are things that can help anybody at anything and I would tell people believe in yourself, control the controllable which means things I can’t control so I can’t worry about it and then go all out, just go 100% and just go out there and go for it. And I think my goal would be for someone to bump into one of my boys 15 years from now after I’m gone and they say “Hey, I met you dad once I heard that man talked and he got me to believe at myself.”
Lewis: I want to acknowledge you Chris for your consistent dedication in serving people, I think when we find people that their mission is service that’s the highest level of living we can do. That’s something I try to do with my life is just be on service to humanity at the best way that I can, I’m never perfect but I continue to try to be on service so I acknowledge you for that. People do something which is one of the hardest things to do to understand money, managing it, it makes us lose confidence in ourselves, in hurts relationships when we don’t have it figured out so you’re in the right place I appreciate you.
Final question is what’s your definition of greatness?
Hogan: I think definition of greatness is your legacy. I think it’s the people that you’ve impacted the people that are around you, I think it’s definitely the impact you have on people the legacy, that’s what I’m gonna leave behind. You and I are both authors the books that we write will outlive us, there are going to be in the shelves. And so 100 years from now somebody pulls out that book one of yours and one of mine, I want them to read something that encourages them.
Lewis: Chris thanks man.
There you have it my friends, I just love when we have inspiring people who give all and give practical wisdom on how we can improve our lives in different ways. This one is all about becoming an everyday millionaire. @lewishowes @ChrisHogan360 let us know what you enjoyed the most and we want to hear from you and we’re trying to spread this message far and wide to help as many people as possible.
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Dwayne Johnson said “Success isn’t always about greatness it’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success and greatness will come.” This is true in your finances, your health, your relationships and your life. I love you all so very much and you know what time it is, it’s time to go out there and do something great.

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