1 00:00:00,215 --> 00:00:03,087 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: In this world and you have some value to add. But 2 00:00:03,111 --> 00:00:06,055 we understand that when life starts, uh, lifeing, 3 00:00:06,135 --> 00:00:09,031 it starts to chip away at your self worth. It 4 00:00:09,063 --> 00:00:11,831 starts to chip away and what you believe you can 5 00:00:11,903 --> 00:00:14,695 contribute in this world and that can 6 00:00:14,735 --> 00:00:17,727 affect how you earn money, how you save, how 7 00:00:17,751 --> 00:00:20,351 you invest. If you're swiping all these credit cards, 8 00:00:20,423 --> 00:00:23,407 creating debt for yourself like this has a 9 00:00:23,431 --> 00:00:26,375 lot to do. Our significance and how we navigate 10 00:00:26,415 --> 00:00:29,023 this world has a lot to do with how we build 11 00:00:29,079 --> 00:00:29,675 wealth. 12 00:00:33,125 --> 00:00:35,997 Anthony Weaver: Welcome back to another exciting episode of the about 13 00:00:36,021 --> 00:00:39,021 that Water podcast where we help the Sandwich 14 00:00:39,053 --> 00:00:41,829 generation build strong financial habits so that you can 15 00:00:41,877 --> 00:00:44,853 talk about money, spend money, and even 16 00:00:44,909 --> 00:00:47,653 enjoy your money with confidence. And today 17 00:00:47,789 --> 00:00:50,653 I have the awesome opportunity to bring on Dr. 18 00:00:50,749 --> 00:00:53,117 Constance Craig Mason, an award 19 00:00:53,181 --> 00:00:56,133 winning financial planner and a, uh, visionary 20 00:00:56,229 --> 00:00:58,907 behind the Money Talks movement with 21 00:00:59,021 --> 00:01:01,559 over 16 years of experiences 22 00:01:01,647 --> 00:01:04,615 transform lives by addressing financial trauma, fostering 23 00:01:04,655 --> 00:01:06,983 holistic wealth creation and empowering 24 00:01:07,079 --> 00:01:09,719 undeserved communities to reclaim 25 00:01:09,847 --> 00:01:12,423 their financial futures. So how are you doing 26 00:01:12,479 --> 00:01:13,075 today? 27 00:01:13,695 --> 00:01:15,955 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: I'm doing wellself, Anthony. 28 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:18,915 Anthony Weaver: Uh, today it's a, uh, new year. 29 00:01:19,415 --> 00:01:20,435 Same me. 30 00:01:23,895 --> 00:01:26,591 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: That sa me. Okay, that's 31 00:01:26,623 --> 00:01:27,271 new. 32 00:01:27,463 --> 00:01:30,439 Anthony Weaver: Yeah. Well, I'm trying to change things this year to 33 00:01:30,487 --> 00:01:33,373 kind of cut back on a lot of things. So that's what I'm trying to say. 34 00:01:33,389 --> 00:01:36,261 Like it's the same me, but I'm gonna uh, cut little things out 35 00:01:36,293 --> 00:01:36,985 the way. 36 00:01:37,405 --> 00:01:39,069 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: I love that perspective. 37 00:01:39,237 --> 00:01:41,265 Anthony Weaver: Yeah. How about you for this year? 38 00:01:41,885 --> 00:01:44,397 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: I think it's a little bit of new me. I 39 00:01:44,421 --> 00:01:47,405 think I am shifting some things 40 00:01:47,485 --> 00:01:50,445 around, uh, mostly within my own well 41 00:01:50,485 --> 00:01:53,429 being. And that's why I feel like I'm so passionate about 42 00:01:53,517 --> 00:01:56,205 other people's wellbe being. But, um, also 43 00:01:56,245 --> 00:01:59,029 scaling my business and building teams. So 44 00:01:59,117 --> 00:02:02,005 I feel like the inner me is shifting a little 45 00:02:02,045 --> 00:02:03,655 bit, but for the better. 46 00:02:04,235 --> 00:02:05,747 Anthony Weaver: Nice. Yeahuse. 47 00:02:05,771 --> 00:02:08,443 One of the things that you have as your mantra, which I really 48 00:02:08,499 --> 00:02:10,683 love, is called, uh, wealth 49 00:02:10,739 --> 00:02:13,243 isn't what you hold 50 00:02:13,379 --> 00:02:15,963 is what you heal. It's very 51 00:02:16,019 --> 00:02:18,963 powerful thing. So can you actually explain what 52 00:02:18,979 --> 00:02:19,895 does that mean? 53 00:02:21,075 --> 00:02:23,971 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: Absolutely. Wealth is not just 54 00:02:24,003 --> 00:02:26,611 what you hold, it's what you heal. Because 55 00:02:26,683 --> 00:02:29,579 oftentimes working in this space and you know this to be true, 56 00:02:29,707 --> 00:02:32,683 people are always excited about the numbers. You 57 00:02:32,699 --> 00:02:35,691 know, how much savings, how much are they investing? What's the 58 00:02:35,723 --> 00:02:38,547 new stock tip? Everything is about quantifying 59 00:02:38,651 --> 00:02:41,643 numbers. But I believe that there are some 60 00:02:41,739 --> 00:02:44,403 financial traumas that might be tied to 61 00:02:44,539 --> 00:02:47,227 how we arrive to those numbers. Right. What we 62 00:02:47,251 --> 00:02:50,139 have experienced in our lifetime, what we have watched our parents 63 00:02:50,187 --> 00:02:52,575 and grandparents and guardians 64 00:02:52,875 --> 00:02:55,603 experience about Money. And that kind of transcends 65 00:02:55,699 --> 00:02:58,675 over to us. And so I believe that, you know, 66 00:02:58,715 --> 00:03:01,387 once we begin to heal some of those spaces, 67 00:03:01,531 --> 00:03:04,157 our assets will continue to grow. 68 00:03:04,331 --> 00:03:06,913 Actually, they might even accelerate. Right. Because we're not 69 00:03:06,969 --> 00:03:09,489 triggered emotionally, eating, emotionally, 70 00:03:09,577 --> 00:03:12,521 spending, or overextending ourselves. So it 71 00:03:12,553 --> 00:03:15,497 just goes so far beyond the numbers that I 72 00:03:15,521 --> 00:03:18,417 just believe once we get to the inner selves, we'll 73 00:03:18,441 --> 00:03:21,417 be able to magnify not just for ourselves, but for 74 00:03:21,441 --> 00:03:23,005 our generations to come. 75 00:03:23,665 --> 00:03:25,921 Anthony Weaver: And speaking of generations, because you have 76 00:03:26,073 --> 00:03:28,769 children that you'also taken care of 77 00:03:28,857 --> 00:03:31,177 and obviously a loving husband. 78 00:03:31,281 --> 00:03:34,273 And, um, so what does it mean to have 79 00:03:34,329 --> 00:03:37,089 options with your family? Because 80 00:03:37,137 --> 00:03:40,137 options is one of the things that came up a lot, uh, in 81 00:03:40,161 --> 00:03:43,153 your lifesty. So can you say a little bit about 82 00:03:43,169 --> 00:03:43,725 that? 83 00:03:44,265 --> 00:03:46,845 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: I'm so glad you touched on that word. 84 00:03:47,010 --> 00:03:49,337 Uh, I believe that wealth is also 85 00:03:49,481 --> 00:03:52,377 options. Because even when I grew up in the inner 86 00:03:52,401 --> 00:03:55,385 city of Baltimore and poverty, we didn't have any 87 00:03:55,425 --> 00:03:58,401 options. Every basic thing that we would get to 88 00:03:58,433 --> 00:04:01,297 do, from going to school to, um, going to 89 00:04:01,321 --> 00:04:04,051 high school to getting our first cars, 90 00:04:04,193 --> 00:04:07,143 things like that, it wasn't modeled before us. And so it 91 00:04:07,159 --> 00:04:10,119 was either this or this. This is it. 92 00:04:10,287 --> 00:04:13,231 And, um, when I started learning more about money in my 93 00:04:13,263 --> 00:04:16,263 young adult life, it really transcended itself 94 00:04:16,319 --> 00:04:19,031 to be like, hey, if you learn more about money, you could 95 00:04:19,103 --> 00:04:21,927 create options. So you could have a 96 00:04:21,951 --> 00:04:24,575 myriad of choices of cars or 97 00:04:24,655 --> 00:04:27,311 homes or schools that you send your kids 98 00:04:27,383 --> 00:04:30,111 to. So it's not just about the tangible things. 99 00:04:30,223 --> 00:04:32,919 It's also about what you choose to spend your time 100 00:04:32,967 --> 00:04:35,559 on, who you choose to spend your time with. 101 00:04:35,647 --> 00:04:38,509 And oftentimes people say, right, 102 00:04:38,557 --> 00:04:41,317 like, even if you have a, uh, hectic work schedule 103 00:04:41,421 --> 00:04:44,405 and or home life, by the time you get home, 104 00:04:44,525 --> 00:04:47,141 you're kind of tired, right? You don't want to go 105 00:04:47,173 --> 00:04:49,941 out and go do some leisurely things which 106 00:04:49,973 --> 00:04:52,861 could actually bring you joy towards your well being, 107 00:04:52,973 --> 00:04:55,589 but you don't feel like it. And so I believe that 108 00:04:55,637 --> 00:04:58,541 options are, uh, the thing we should be 109 00:04:58,573 --> 00:05:01,549 chasing. Not money, but we should be chasing options, 110 00:05:01,637 --> 00:05:03,785 because that's where the peiece comes from. 111 00:05:04,745 --> 00:05:07,457 Anthony Weaver: Man, I'm so glad you brought that up because I also grew up in 112 00:05:07,481 --> 00:05:10,177 Baltimore, you know, inoverished neighborhood. So 113 00:05:10,201 --> 00:05:12,745 your story is definitely a reflection 114 00:05:12,785 --> 00:05:15,321 of, uh, what it's like 115 00:05:15,513 --> 00:05:18,417 in the poverty, because obviously not everybody in Baltimore grew up that 116 00:05:18,441 --> 00:05:21,369 way. But it's just for a lot of us who have 117 00:05:21,457 --> 00:05:24,393 experienced that, U m, you know, we live up in 118 00:05:24,409 --> 00:05:27,353 that scarcity mindset because that's all we knew. You know, 119 00:05:27,369 --> 00:05:30,145 we Watch our parents struggle, you know, 120 00:05:30,805 --> 00:05:31,285 so. 121 00:05:31,365 --> 00:05:34,221 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: And it was, it was normal and it 122 00:05:34,253 --> 00:05:36,765 shouldn't necessarily be normal. Right, right. 123 00:05:36,925 --> 00:05:39,877 Anthony Weaver: So, you know, because you grew up in that. I know. You 124 00:05:39,901 --> 00:05:42,885 know, some. It's almost feel like, uh, we both 125 00:05:42,925 --> 00:05:45,269 can resonate on that term. We know how to stretch a 126 00:05:45,277 --> 00:05:45,985 penny. 127 00:05:46,285 --> 00:05:48,865 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: Yes, yes. 128 00:05:49,485 --> 00:05:51,985 Anthony Weaver: Yeah. So how did. Go ahead. 129 00:05:52,885 --> 00:05:55,465 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: I was saying stretch it. Stretch the pennies. 130 00:05:56,285 --> 00:05:57,065 Anthony Weaver: Yeah. 131 00:05:57,280 --> 00:06:00,029 Um, because one of the things that we try to do, obviously in 132 00:06:00,037 --> 00:06:03,013 the financial realm and one of the things that you're currently doing, which is 133 00:06:03,069 --> 00:06:05,917 breaking those cycles of financial trauma, um, it 134 00:06:05,941 --> 00:06:08,645 seems to be such a bold goal that you have going 135 00:06:08,685 --> 00:06:11,605 on. Can you talk about how did you change 136 00:06:11,765 --> 00:06:14,745 or broke through some of those traumas? 137 00:06:16,085 --> 00:06:18,957 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: You know, it's funny and it's one of the smaller things that 138 00:06:18,981 --> 00:06:21,973 most people don't even pay attention to. But when I, 139 00:06:22,029 --> 00:06:24,940 I got married a young age. Right. I married, 140 00:06:24,940 --> 00:06:27,753 um, well, seven years after. So I got 141 00:06:27,769 --> 00:06:30,745 married around 27 years old. Uh, and my husband's older 142 00:06:30,785 --> 00:06:33,729 than I am and so I grew up in poverty. He did it, he grew up 143 00:06:33,737 --> 00:06:36,521 in the middle income family and he used 144 00:06:36,553 --> 00:06:39,489 to try to go window shopping with me. And 145 00:06:39,537 --> 00:06:41,445 I would be so frustrated. 146 00:06:42,305 --> 00:06:45,185 I would be so frustrated, like, why are we going 147 00:06:45,225 --> 00:06:48,217 and looking at things that I can't afford to buy? And it was 148 00:06:48,241 --> 00:06:51,179 like torture to me. But that just gave me a glimpse 149 00:06:51,297 --> 00:06:54,103 later on, looking back at those experiences. He was trying 150 00:06:54,119 --> 00:06:57,095 to, you know, have some quality time, trying to dream 151 00:06:57,175 --> 00:06:59,951 and envision ourselves in a different place. And I'm just 152 00:06:59,983 --> 00:07:02,695 like, I don't have money for this type of car or 153 00:07:02,735 --> 00:07:05,479 home or, you know, neighborhood and all this kind of 154 00:07:05,487 --> 00:07:08,375 stuff. And it let me know that I had a poverty 155 00:07:08,415 --> 00:07:11,343 mentality. And a lot of that was rooted in childhood 156 00:07:11,399 --> 00:07:14,175 trauma. Right. Financial traumas. But 157 00:07:14,255 --> 00:07:17,167 I didn't know that that was a thing. I just thought that this is a 158 00:07:17,191 --> 00:07:19,943 waste of time. You know, I didn't see myself 159 00:07:19,999 --> 00:07:22,711 as worthy of these experiences. And 160 00:07:22,743 --> 00:07:25,381 now since I'm healing those things, I'm able to 161 00:07:25,453 --> 00:07:28,421 easily identify when it's just something that I'm 162 00:07:28,453 --> 00:07:31,389 triggered by and I can push past it, or 163 00:07:31,397 --> 00:07:34,317 if it's something that I'm still hung up on, you know, and I 164 00:07:34,341 --> 00:07:37,309 need to work through it. So it often 165 00:07:37,357 --> 00:07:40,261 comes up when I'm talking with clients because of course they 166 00:07:40,293 --> 00:07:43,245 think I'm just going to jump right into the numbers and the 167 00:07:43,325 --> 00:07:46,309 financial statements and I'm asking them about their life, 168 00:07:46,357 --> 00:07:49,237 I'm asking them about what they want to do versus what 169 00:07:49,261 --> 00:07:52,093 they have to do. And that's A difference, uh, of 170 00:07:52,189 --> 00:07:55,111 mindset. It's a, it's a different way to care 171 00:07:55,253 --> 00:07:58,067 about your clients. And I find that I attract 172 00:07:58,131 --> 00:08:00,971 people who not necessarily are traumatized, 173 00:08:01,043 --> 00:08:04,043 but I do attract people who want more and just don't know 174 00:08:04,059 --> 00:08:05,015 how to get it. 175 00:08:05,755 --> 00:08:08,363 Anthony Weaver: Yeah. So how does that work with 176 00:08:08,419 --> 00:08:11,403 your children now? Because though he did that with you. Do 177 00:08:11,419 --> 00:08:13,095 you do that now with your children? 178 00:08:13,835 --> 00:08:16,803 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: I do. And I have one daughter. She's kind of like 179 00:08:16,819 --> 00:08:19,571 the middle child. Um, and she has really 180 00:08:19,643 --> 00:08:22,627 pressessed on to the whole I got to get a handle on my 181 00:08:22,691 --> 00:08:25,555 finances earlier rather than later. She's watched 182 00:08:25,595 --> 00:08:28,473 me grow my business in terms of being a black woman 183 00:08:28,489 --> 00:08:31,473 in business at a young age, and she kind of went along in 184 00:08:31,489 --> 00:08:34,489 that journey with me. So she's been able to see the dry moments 185 00:08:34,577 --> 00:08:37,305 in business and she's been see me have 186 00:08:37,345 --> 00:08:40,150 some really successful months. Um, 187 00:08:40,150 --> 00:08:43,065 and it has added to who she believes she can 188 00:08:43,105 --> 00:08:45,801 be and what she believes she can do with her money. 189 00:08:45,913 --> 00:08:48,833 Now, my boy is the youngest one. He's really starting to get 190 00:08:48,889 --> 00:08:51,729 into it now. He's about 24 and he's very 191 00:08:51,777 --> 00:08:54,305 regimented like his dad. So any type of 192 00:08:54,385 --> 00:08:57,319 systems, processes and things he can put his hands 193 00:08:57,367 --> 00:09:00,271 on, tangibly he's with it. And then we have 194 00:09:00,303 --> 00:09:03,183 some older boys who, you know, they're still trying to figure it 195 00:09:03,199 --> 00:09:06,127 out. I don't think they necessarily believe the things that we've been 196 00:09:06,151 --> 00:09:08,911 telling them. They're like, I'm going to find out for 197 00:09:08,943 --> 00:09:11,807 myself. And I'm like, okay. But 198 00:09:11,831 --> 00:09:14,615 that's just the point. Like, it's almost like your own 199 00:09:14,655 --> 00:09:17,351 village doesn't always necessarily believe the 200 00:09:17,383 --> 00:09:20,231 things that you're trying to say. But strangers 201 00:09:20,263 --> 00:09:23,183 are like, hey, give me the information and I'm ready for 202 00:09:23,199 --> 00:09:26,135 it. So it's just interesting how, you know, your kids and 203 00:09:26,175 --> 00:09:28,821 even family and friends, you know, not 204 00:09:28,853 --> 00:09:31,317 chomping at the bit to really take your advice per 205 00:09:31,341 --> 00:09:31,905 se. 206 00:09:32,325 --> 00:09:35,325 Anthony Weaver: Yeah. Because one of the things that I, uh, notic in your 207 00:09:35,365 --> 00:09:38,293 story, you are not giving up on the 208 00:09:38,309 --> 00:09:41,069 people that are around you. You seem like to always 209 00:09:41,117 --> 00:09:44,021 reach back. Um, and what is 210 00:09:44,053 --> 00:09:46,893 the significance of January 1st 211 00:09:47,069 --> 00:09:49,425 of 2009 to you? 212 00:09:51,245 --> 00:09:54,069 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: Well, actually, it was around that time 213 00:09:54,117 --> 00:09:56,761 in a few months past that I had some 214 00:09:56,913 --> 00:09:59,801 significant medical issues that had come out m of nowhere. 215 00:09:59,873 --> 00:10:02,769 It seemed to come around the time that I turned 40, 216 00:10:02,937 --> 00:10:05,793 and I was super excited about turning 40 because a lot of 217 00:10:05,809 --> 00:10:08,737 people had said, oh, your life's go going to change. You 218 00:10:08,761 --> 00:10:11,593 not playing these games anymore. Like, you're going to 219 00:10:11,609 --> 00:10:14,193 be grown up. And I Was like, I'm here for 220 00:10:14,209 --> 00:10:17,105 it. And so I had a young, uh, grandson 221 00:10:17,145 --> 00:10:20,129 on the way, my business was fine. And all of a 222 00:10:20,137 --> 00:10:22,999 sudden I started having chest pains out of nowhere. 223 00:10:23,127 --> 00:10:25,735 And I was just like, okay, this could be 224 00:10:25,775 --> 00:10:28,671 anxiety. You know, it could be gerd, as 225 00:10:28,703 --> 00:10:31,367 they say. It could be anything. And so it kept happening for 226 00:10:31,391 --> 00:10:34,207 me. At the same token, I started 227 00:10:34,231 --> 00:10:37,231 having some depression to come down, and I was like, 228 00:10:37,263 --> 00:10:39,839 well, where is this coming from? Because again, like I said, 229 00:10:39,887 --> 00:10:42,815 everything seemed to be okay. But I feel like 230 00:10:42,855 --> 00:10:45,559 once I started trying to attack the mental health 231 00:10:45,607 --> 00:10:48,431 component and say, let me dig deeper to see what this is. 232 00:10:48,583 --> 00:10:51,575 It literally feels like a cycle of, uh, mental 233 00:10:51,615 --> 00:10:54,557 health affecting your physical health, aff your mental 234 00:10:54,581 --> 00:10:57,533 healthecting your physical health. And that's what was happening. I 235 00:10:57,549 --> 00:11:00,413 was cycling in these spaces, and I was being 236 00:11:00,469 --> 00:11:03,357 vocal about it. I was sharing like, hey, you know, I'm doing well 237 00:11:03,381 --> 00:11:06,293 in business. I don't know where this came from. Um, but it was one of 238 00:11:06,309 --> 00:11:09,157 those times where you have to really sit back and assess. 239 00:11:09,261 --> 00:11:12,077 Like, are you overextending yourself? Are 240 00:11:12,101 --> 00:11:14,885 you, uh, a people pleaser? A lot of these things 241 00:11:14,965 --> 00:11:17,901 come from childhood trauma. So you're living your 242 00:11:17,933 --> 00:11:20,857 life in a way that you feel like, okay, this is just how I am. 243 00:11:20,981 --> 00:11:23,889 But in actuality, you're just acting out 244 00:11:24,017 --> 00:11:26,953 your own ways of coping with things. And those things 245 00:11:27,009 --> 00:11:29,793 might not be a good way to cope, you know, but 246 00:11:29,809 --> 00:11:32,529 it's all, you know. And so at that point, I had 247 00:11:32,617 --> 00:11:35,217 several hundred thousands of dollars of racked up of 248 00:11:35,281 --> 00:11:37,817 medical tests and appointments and 249 00:11:37,921 --> 00:11:40,857 specialists, and they were running me through all these things to try and figure out 250 00:11:40,881 --> 00:11:43,865 what was going on. And they figured out some of it. But 251 00:11:43,905 --> 00:11:46,809 I believe the root of it was me trying to get to 252 00:11:46,937 --> 00:11:49,357 my most positive mental health 253 00:11:49,481 --> 00:11:52,373 state. Because a lot of things had to be burned off. 254 00:11:52,509 --> 00:11:55,277 A lot of systems and processes had to be implemented in 255 00:11:55,301 --> 00:11:58,045 my business. I had to allow my kids 256 00:11:58,125 --> 00:12:00,517 to start taking on some more independence for 257 00:12:00,541 --> 00:12:03,469 themselves. Like, there was a lot of things that I had to do for 258 00:12:03,517 --> 00:12:06,437 me that was in actuality affecting 259 00:12:06,461 --> 00:12:09,277 my pocketbook. Because when you sit down and you're 260 00:12:09,301 --> 00:12:12,061 depressed or you're not fully functioning at your 261 00:12:12,093 --> 00:12:14,877 best, how can you go and get that next client? How can 262 00:12:14,901 --> 00:12:17,707 you save and invest and pay down debts and all the 263 00:12:17,731 --> 00:12:20,691 things that you talked about doing, it's like you, you 264 00:12:20,723 --> 00:12:23,611 have to deal with self first in order to move forward. So 265 00:12:23,643 --> 00:12:26,547 that was like, really the start of when I started looking 266 00:12:26,571 --> 00:12:28,615 at the cycles that I was going through. 267 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:31,915 Anthony Weaver: Um, okay, that is really 268 00:12:31,955 --> 00:12:34,419 good because Some of the people who are actually thinking about getting 269 00:12:34,507 --> 00:12:37,320 into this business of, uh, 270 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:40,123 well, say if they even have a business of their own and they doing 271 00:12:40,179 --> 00:12:42,825 more of a customer service aspect and you 272 00:12:42,865 --> 00:12:45,665 talk beyond the dollars, uh, more 273 00:12:45,705 --> 00:12:48,217 so your self worth and self 274 00:12:48,361 --> 00:12:51,201 care, um, what are 275 00:12:51,273 --> 00:12:54,241 the strategies that you will give somebody who is starting out 276 00:12:54,313 --> 00:12:56,945 to kind of keep their emotions in 277 00:12:56,985 --> 00:12:59,537 check by separating themselves from 278 00:12:59,721 --> 00:13:00,845 their business? 279 00:13:02,305 --> 00:13:05,169 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: It's kind of hard to separate yourself from your business 280 00:13:05,217 --> 00:13:07,930 in the beginning, right? Because usually when you are, uh, 281 00:13:08,049 --> 00:13:11,041 launching a business, whether it's service based or product based, 282 00:13:11,153 --> 00:13:14,059 it's usually based on something you really care about. 283 00:13:14,217 --> 00:13:17,111 And oftentimes it's tied to some type of hardship 284 00:13:17,143 --> 00:13:19,711 or some type of experience we've had in life. We don't want 285 00:13:19,783 --> 00:13:22,767 anyone else to go through that particular thing. And 286 00:13:22,791 --> 00:13:25,647 so you develop this service of this product to solve 287 00:13:25,711 --> 00:13:28,087 that particular problem because you know 288 00:13:28,151 --> 00:13:31,007 firsthand how this thing plays out if you 289 00:13:31,031 --> 00:13:34,007 don't get those resources or that help. And so it's kind 290 00:13:34,031 --> 00:13:37,007 of hard to differentiate the two in the beginning. But 291 00:13:37,031 --> 00:13:39,839 I would say self awareness is one of the main 292 00:13:39,887 --> 00:13:42,295 things that have helped me on my journey to 293 00:13:42,335 --> 00:13:45,223 healing. And it is really, and I hate to say it 294 00:13:45,239 --> 00:13:48,229 this way, looking in the mirror, right? Not just looking at the outward 295 00:13:48,277 --> 00:13:50,741 aesthetics of what's going on, but like really 296 00:13:50,813 --> 00:13:53,637 knowing if there are cycles such as you'll be 297 00:13:53,661 --> 00:13:56,581 doing fine and then all of a sudden you're not and 298 00:13:56,613 --> 00:13:59,445 you can't really pick what is 299 00:13:59,485 --> 00:14:02,381 really happening. And so I tell people, I said, sometimes you might 300 00:14:02,413 --> 00:14:05,125 have to, you know, listen to friends and family around 301 00:14:05,165 --> 00:14:07,949 you. You know, sometimes they will be telling you, hey, you're a 302 00:14:07,957 --> 00:14:10,893 little snippy. You know, I noticed that you seem a 303 00:14:10,909 --> 00:14:13,805 little frustrated. You know, is it me? And 304 00:14:13,885 --> 00:14:16,615 we don't want to look at this as someone judging us 305 00:14:16,765 --> 00:14:19,675 because oftentimes there's some truth in what these people are 306 00:14:19,715 --> 00:14:22,651 saying. And if they really care about you, they're trying to get you 307 00:14:22,683 --> 00:14:25,355 to a place where you can deal with that thing and move 308 00:14:25,395 --> 00:14:27,699 on, right? And so that helps with your 309 00:14:27,787 --> 00:14:30,723 relationships with the people you care about. You're probably 310 00:14:30,779 --> 00:14:33,603 even able to serve better. Since you want to start this 311 00:14:33,659 --> 00:14:36,523 great business, you're probably even able to serve better. If 312 00:14:36,539 --> 00:14:39,315 you're able to take a look at yourself and say, okay, maybe I 313 00:14:39,355 --> 00:14:41,771 procrastinate, but there's a reason why you're 314 00:14:41,803 --> 00:14:44,651 procrastinating. Is there some fear tied to it? Is 315 00:14:44,683 --> 00:14:47,371 there some imposter syndrome tied to it? Are you 316 00:14:47,403 --> 00:14:50,313 afraid of failing? Are you afraid of success because 317 00:14:50,329 --> 00:14:53,321 you don't have a team to sustain that. Right. So 318 00:14:53,353 --> 00:14:56,281 the procrastination that you might be experiencing is not 319 00:14:56,313 --> 00:14:59,065 necessarily related to laziness. It's usually related 320 00:14:59,105 --> 00:15:02,033 to something else in you. So these are the things that I 321 00:15:02,049 --> 00:15:04,889 would say if you're starting a business to really start digging 322 00:15:04,937 --> 00:15:07,897 into who you are. Because uh, even if you get people 323 00:15:07,961 --> 00:15:10,937 who really want your product or service, you don't want to let 324 00:15:10,961 --> 00:15:13,801 those people down by being all over the place and not being 325 00:15:13,833 --> 00:15:16,681 able to keep up with the customer service level that you 326 00:15:16,713 --> 00:15:19,473 had envisioned for your business. So being able to really 327 00:15:19,529 --> 00:15:22,391 be honest with yourself about where am I really in my 328 00:15:22,423 --> 00:15:25,199 life? And if I can make tweaks, if I can 329 00:15:25,287 --> 00:15:28,215 get the uh, support from the people around me, like, 330 00:15:28,255 --> 00:15:31,199 are there mentors that I look up to that have been there, 331 00:15:31,247 --> 00:15:33,943 done that, got the T shirt and they can kind of pour into 332 00:15:33,959 --> 00:15:36,951 me and give me those what to dos and what 333 00:15:36,983 --> 00:15:39,911 not to do'and that could kind of save you some heartache and 334 00:15:39,943 --> 00:15:41,595 some money and time. 335 00:15:42,735 --> 00:15:45,463 Anthony Weaver: O, um, man, um, I'm glad you brought up 336 00:15:45,479 --> 00:15:48,007 mentorship is because one of the things 337 00:15:48,071 --> 00:15:50,723 that I love about your story is that you had a 338 00:15:50,739 --> 00:15:53,415 mentor starting out with your business. 339 00:15:53,580 --> 00:15:56,435 Um, you're just super excited, bright 340 00:15:56,475 --> 00:15:59,375 eyed, bushy tail, like, yes, I gotta make this work. 341 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:02,339 Uh, can you take us back to that moment when you 342 00:16:02,467 --> 00:16:05,211 decided to take that deep, that leap 343 00:16:05,323 --> 00:16:08,055 into starting this whole journey? 344 00:16:09,075 --> 00:16:11,659 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: It's true. I was actually just about to turn 345 00:16:11,747 --> 00:16:14,571 30 at the time. And this was a young lady 346 00:16:14,603 --> 00:16:17,363 who was my kids godmother. She's still in financial 347 00:16:17,419 --> 00:16:20,341 services to this day. And we were actually living together because, 348 00:16:20,403 --> 00:16:23,297 you know, sometimes you got to pull it together and help each other 349 00:16:23,321 --> 00:16:25,913 out. And um, she had found this financial 350 00:16:25,969 --> 00:16:28,937 services company and she'd been watching me, you know, Google stuff 351 00:16:28,961 --> 00:16:31,961 and improve my own life. And she's like, you love this stuff, you know this 352 00:16:31,993 --> 00:16:34,849 stuff like the back of your hand. She was like, you know, you could make 353 00:16:34,897 --> 00:16:37,833 money from helping people with their finances. And I 354 00:16:37,849 --> 00:16:40,841 was like, I never thought about that, right? 355 00:16:40,953 --> 00:16:43,449 And at the time I had a lot going 356 00:16:43,497 --> 00:16:46,481 on. But I was married when she finally 357 00:16:46,553 --> 00:16:49,505 approached me nearly seven years later because she stayed on me about 358 00:16:49,545 --> 00:16:52,097 doing this business and it just wasn't the right 359 00:16:52,121 --> 00:16:55,095 time, you know. And once I got married, she came right 360 00:16:55,135 --> 00:16:56,955 on back and she was like, listen, 361 00:16:57,895 --> 00:17:00,847 now you married, now you got support at the house. 362 00:17:00,911 --> 00:17:03,887 You can't keep telling me you can't come and check this out. And 363 00:17:03,911 --> 00:17:06,783 so sure enough, I go and check it out and at this point I'M like, I have 364 00:17:06,799 --> 00:17:09,495 a full time job. I was working in healthcare at the time. 365 00:17:09,655 --> 00:17:11,895 And I said, if I'm going to be away 366 00:17:12,015 --> 00:17:14,735 evenings, weekends, things like 367 00:17:14,775 --> 00:17:17,575 that, I need to know exactly what I'm doing. 368 00:17:17,735 --> 00:17:20,479 You know, how quickly can I earn income? Like, 369 00:17:20,567 --> 00:17:23,559 what am I going to be doing with these people? And sure enough, like, 370 00:17:23,607 --> 00:17:26,191 she was a very aggressive and 371 00:17:26,303 --> 00:17:29,239 poignant, um, I don't want to say salesperson, but 372 00:17:29,327 --> 00:17:32,215 she was really good at being able to get people to see the big 373 00:17:32,255 --> 00:17:35,223 picture and make changes. And so we would go 374 00:17:35,239 --> 00:17:38,223 out, you know, every evening, dog on there and on the 375 00:17:38,239 --> 00:17:41,199 weekends and we would sit across the table from families, people 376 00:17:41,247 --> 00:17:44,071 just like ourselves, and we would teach them about how 377 00:17:44,103 --> 00:17:47,079 money was working. And a lot of times, unfortunately, these people 378 00:17:47,127 --> 00:17:50,039 didn't have life insurance, which is one of the basic financial 379 00:17:50,087 --> 00:17:53,021 fundamentals that you could put in place. And so 380 00:17:53,093 --> 00:17:55,957 as I was learning, I was also able to 381 00:17:55,981 --> 00:17:58,813 help these people. So it was like I was a newbie, but I 382 00:17:58,829 --> 00:18:01,621 was making good money and I was feeling passionate and 383 00:18:01,653 --> 00:18:04,461 empowered by doing that at the same time because these people look 384 00:18:04,493 --> 00:18:07,333 just like me. A lot of them were in my age group and I 385 00:18:07,349 --> 00:18:10,085 felt like we could learn and grow together. But she was 386 00:18:10,125 --> 00:18:12,821 somebody who I never saw myself as a business 387 00:18:12,853 --> 00:18:15,597 owner. She implemented, hey, this is not just 388 00:18:15,661 --> 00:18:18,501 something that you're doing. Like you actually have a 389 00:18:18,573 --> 00:18:21,565 business here, so you want to treat it like a business. You want to 390 00:18:21,645 --> 00:18:24,295 have your write offs, you want to be able to, you 391 00:18:24,365 --> 00:18:27,203 know, help people and grow a team so that you don't 392 00:18:27,259 --> 00:18:30,091 burn out. And these are the things that she taught me early 393 00:18:30,123 --> 00:18:33,059 on. And I was just so super grateful. So I'll always 394 00:18:33,107 --> 00:18:36,059 credit her for being kind of like one of my first mentors 395 00:18:36,107 --> 00:18:38,971 in the financial services space. And then I try to be 396 00:18:39,003 --> 00:18:41,819 that for the young ladies that are coming up behind me 397 00:18:41,907 --> 00:18:44,811 in the financial space. You know, there's things that, you know, we 398 00:18:44,843 --> 00:18:47,835 should be doing things that we should not go down that 399 00:18:47,875 --> 00:18:50,557 route. And um, I find that. And 400 00:18:50,661 --> 00:18:53,477 people are looking for that mentorship, even if that's not what 401 00:18:53,501 --> 00:18:56,421 they're calling it. They're really just looking for someone to see 402 00:18:56,453 --> 00:18:59,245 them in the stage that they're in and help them get to the next 403 00:18:59,285 --> 00:18:59,865 level. 404 00:19:00,645 --> 00:19:03,645 Anthony Weaver: Yeah. And how would somebody saying that, hey, 405 00:19:03,725 --> 00:19:06,253 they see what you're doing, you're doing all these amazing 406 00:19:06,309 --> 00:19:08,745 things. What would be 407 00:19:09,045 --> 00:19:12,037 the proper way to approach you, to ask you 408 00:19:12,101 --> 00:19:13,625 to be a mentor for them? 409 00:19:14,645 --> 00:19:17,357 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: O. Uh, let's say I'm 410 00:19:17,421 --> 00:19:17,933 asking for a. 411 00:19:17,949 --> 00:19:18,865 Anthony Weaver: Friend just. 412 00:19:20,775 --> 00:19:23,515 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: All over social media. So a quick dm. 413 00:19:23,750 --> 00:19:26,690 Um, I will hop on a one one call. Um, 414 00:19:26,690 --> 00:19:29,415 I love collaborating with my peers 415 00:19:29,455 --> 00:19:32,455 in finance. Um, we've done quite a few events 416 00:19:32,535 --> 00:19:35,115 together, book projects, you name it. 417 00:19:35,270 --> 00:19:38,247 Um, so just send me a quick DM or email me and 418 00:19:38,271 --> 00:19:40,911 just let me know where you're at and what you're interested in 419 00:19:40,943 --> 00:19:43,855 doing. And if I have the time to definitely pour in, 420 00:19:43,975 --> 00:19:45,195 I certainly will. 421 00:19:45,855 --> 00:19:48,199 Anthony Weaver: Yeah. And when you're talking about those 422 00:19:48,247 --> 00:19:50,080 collaboration spaces, um, 423 00:19:50,935 --> 00:19:53,711 I know that you used to do the in person 424 00:19:53,783 --> 00:19:56,635 events at the library and I was like, 425 00:19:57,255 --> 00:19:59,895 why don't most people use the library anymore? Like 426 00:19:59,935 --> 00:20:02,607 they so convenient. It's so 427 00:20:02,631 --> 00:20:02,975 convenient. 428 00:20:03,015 --> 00:20:05,935 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: Very convenient, very affordable. Right? And you 429 00:20:05,975 --> 00:20:08,175 have everything right there, AV 430 00:20:08,255 --> 00:20:11,071 equipment, plenty of tables and chairs. 431 00:20:11,223 --> 00:20:14,039 Like a lot of the commercial spaces that we go to, the host 432 00:20:14,087 --> 00:20:16,641 star events, conferences or what have you. 433 00:20:16,783 --> 00:20:19,501 It'like you have to pay a lot of money just to 434 00:20:19,533 --> 00:20:22,517 be in the space and then you have to pay 435 00:20:22,581 --> 00:20:25,357 to have the chairs and tables and 436 00:20:25,501 --> 00:20:28,445 bring the screens in. And uh, it's just like by the time 437 00:20:28,485 --> 00:20:31,437 they I la carte you, you could have had it done and over with at 438 00:20:31,461 --> 00:20:34,237 the public library. And uh, again when you're starting 439 00:20:34,261 --> 00:20:37,149 out, you don't have a lot of money to pour into your 440 00:20:37,237 --> 00:20:40,045 business or to pour into an event like this, but you do 441 00:20:40,085 --> 00:20:42,605 need leads to be able to offer your 442 00:20:42,685 --> 00:20:45,653 services. And so if you're able to host it in a 443 00:20:45,709 --> 00:20:48,277 professional space during business hours 444 00:20:48,461 --> 00:20:51,181 where people know these places, most people know 445 00:20:51,213 --> 00:20:54,117 where their library is. You know, you can go in 446 00:20:54,141 --> 00:20:57,101 there, show your expertise, show that 447 00:20:57,133 --> 00:20:59,813 you care and find a way to get those 448 00:20:59,869 --> 00:21:02,621 leads back to you. Whether it's a registration list 449 00:21:02,693 --> 00:21:05,557 and evaluation form, however, you need to 450 00:21:05,581 --> 00:21:08,277 get those leads so you can continue to build a 451 00:21:08,341 --> 00:21:11,311 relationship with these people that took the time to 452 00:21:11,343 --> 00:21:13,850 show up. Because that's part of the problem. I feel like uh, 453 00:21:14,103 --> 00:21:16,911 we all want to do the best for our potential clients, 454 00:21:17,023 --> 00:21:19,999 but people have to be able to show up one not just for us. Uh, they 455 00:21:20,007 --> 00:21:22,447 ain't showing up for me like they're showing up for 456 00:21:22,471 --> 00:21:25,391 themselves. Whether it's a free ticket or 457 00:21:25,503 --> 00:21:28,415 a ticket that they have paid money for. That's part 458 00:21:28,455 --> 00:21:31,359 of the action steps, ah, is 459 00:21:31,447 --> 00:21:34,423 showing up, uh, and then once you show up, uh, you know, what are 460 00:21:34,439 --> 00:21:37,311 you learning? What can you take away from that experience? 461 00:21:37,463 --> 00:21:40,079 Sometimes you have to pay money for the next level, 462 00:21:40,207 --> 00:21:43,031 but sometimes you don't and you just start having these 463 00:21:43,103 --> 00:21:46,047 conversations that are going to impact your life down the 464 00:21:46,071 --> 00:21:46,635 line. 465 00:21:47,295 --> 00:21:50,111 Anthony Weaver: Yeah. And because I was sex actually thinking about doing an in person 466 00:21:50,183 --> 00:21:53,175 Event. And I was debating on, should I go to 467 00:21:53,255 --> 00:21:56,087 a restaurant, Just say, like, hey, everybody, just show up here. 468 00:21:56,231 --> 00:21:58,951 I'll work hand in hand with the restaurant owner or something like 469 00:21:58,983 --> 00:22:01,959 that. Or like, and obviously, 470 00:22:02,007 --> 00:22:04,815 like, charge people like $30 or something like that just to kind of COVID 471 00:22:04,855 --> 00:22:07,745 the plates and so forth and the vini 472 00:22:07,935 --> 00:22:10,765 or do you do at the library? Don't 473 00:22:10,805 --> 00:22:13,677 charge everybody, Just kind of. The whole thing about 474 00:22:13,701 --> 00:22:16,573 it is because at the end of the day, we do need to put food on 475 00:22:16,589 --> 00:22:19,589 our tables too, as business owners. So do 476 00:22:19,597 --> 00:22:22,381 you look at it just like, hey, you do the library for the free 477 00:22:22,453 --> 00:22:25,317 one quarterly. Just to kind of say, like, hey, 478 00:22:25,461 --> 00:22:28,117 I'm, um, here, I'm available. This is only a 479 00:22:28,141 --> 00:22:29,185 quarterly thing. 480 00:22:29,485 --> 00:22:32,269 I'm thinking about different business strategies to kind of help 481 00:22:32,317 --> 00:22:34,923 promote your business, uh, in real life 482 00:22:34,979 --> 00:22:37,380 versus doing like a podcast tourorro, uh, 483 00:22:37,675 --> 00:22:40,291 like you and I are doing now. So what was your thoughts 484 00:22:40,323 --> 00:22:42,763 on trying to get started? If somebody's looking to get 485 00:22:42,819 --> 00:22:44,563 started, I. 486 00:22:44,579 --> 00:22:47,219 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: Think quarterly is a good way to go because, again, 487 00:22:47,387 --> 00:22:50,299 if marketed appropriately, right? We were doing a 488 00:22:50,307 --> 00:22:53,227 lot of word of mouth and like Facebook at the time. This was 489 00:22:53,251 --> 00:22:55,855 like early 2018, 2019. 490 00:22:56,195 --> 00:22:59,043 And, um, you know, we didn't want to pay a lot of money 491 00:22:59,099 --> 00:23:01,915 to host the event. And I brought a lot of my financial 492 00:23:01,955 --> 00:23:04,933 peers to speak on panels with me during 493 00:23:04,949 --> 00:23:07,741 those events. And so I wanted them to have an 494 00:23:07,813 --> 00:23:10,613 opportunity to get in front of the room so that they could share their 495 00:23:10,669 --> 00:23:13,429 expertise. But then I also wanted the attendees 496 00:23:13,517 --> 00:23:16,461 to be in a safe space where they could have these 497 00:23:16,493 --> 00:23:19,085 uncomfortable conversations. They didn't even have to identify 498 00:23:19,125 --> 00:23:22,005 themselves as to what was their burning question. 499 00:23:22,085 --> 00:23:25,069 Like, you know, raise your hand and say, oh, this is what I want 500 00:23:25,077 --> 00:23:27,837 to know. Like, they would fill out index cards upon 501 00:23:27,901 --> 00:23:30,179 arrival and they would write down their 502 00:23:30,227 --> 00:23:33,107 anonymous question. And so the cards would be 503 00:23:33,131 --> 00:23:35,939 color coordinated based on topic. And so 504 00:23:35,987 --> 00:23:38,915 now my panelists know exactly what their color 505 00:23:38,955 --> 00:23:41,947 code is. So when they see that card, they know it's a question for them. 506 00:23:42,051 --> 00:23:45,027 And then the attendees get to learn exactly what 507 00:23:45,051 --> 00:23:48,051 they came there for. Right. They don't have to identify themselves and say, 508 00:23:48,083 --> 00:23:50,890 hey, I'm filing bankruptcy. And I have this question. Like, 509 00:23:50,890 --> 00:23:53,851 uh, that question that they had a few other people probably had 510 00:23:53,883 --> 00:23:56,819 in that space. It was ashamed or, you know, a bit fearful 511 00:23:56,867 --> 00:23:59,795 to ask it. And so when I say safe space, I'm saying, 512 00:23:59,915 --> 00:24:02,785 come, learn and grow. Don't just get 513 00:24:02,825 --> 00:24:05,793 some brochures or take a couple of notes that you 514 00:24:05,809 --> 00:24:07,409 don't know who said what. Right? 515 00:24:07,457 --> 00:24:10,393 You'have a Face with a name 516 00:24:10,449 --> 00:24:13,337 so that when this is over, you can go to that person that was 517 00:24:13,361 --> 00:24:16,217 on the panel because you, you vetted them, you got a vibe from 518 00:24:16,241 --> 00:24:19,153 them, they answered your specific question, and now you 519 00:24:19,169 --> 00:24:21,969 can follow up. So I believe quarterly gives you enough 520 00:24:22,017 --> 00:24:24,585 leads to where you can work it and not overwhelm 521 00:24:24,625 --> 00:24:27,537 yourself. But then it also allows you 522 00:24:27,561 --> 00:24:30,553 to say, I'm not, you know, every weekend I'm tied 523 00:24:30,609 --> 00:24:33,495 up doing something for business and not doing anything 524 00:24:33,535 --> 00:24:35,035 for self or family. 525 00:24:38,695 --> 00:24:41,567 Anthony Weaver: Man. Okay, so you get me 526 00:24:41,591 --> 00:24:44,431 excited about to do an in person event caus I was like, oh man, that sounds 527 00:24:44,463 --> 00:24:47,343 pretty cool. I don't know where to start. Um, um, but we 528 00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:50,303 obviously can talk offline. U uh, because I don't 529 00:24:50,319 --> 00:24:52,655 want to run the whole show about me asking my 530 00:24:52,695 --> 00:24:53,395 questions. 531 00:24:54,615 --> 00:24:57,035 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: By all means on that. 532 00:24:57,335 --> 00:24:57,991 Anthony Weaver: Thank you. 533 00:24:58,030 --> 00:25:00,320 Um, um, now one of the things that, 534 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:02,891 uh, has been coming up, at least 535 00:25:03,043 --> 00:25:05,835 with my clients that I'm working with, is dealing 536 00:25:05,875 --> 00:25:08,259 with having the parents as they're getting 537 00:25:08,307 --> 00:25:11,211 older. And you mentioned earlier about life 538 00:25:11,243 --> 00:25:13,295 insurance, how everybody should have it. 539 00:25:13,780 --> 00:25:16,763 Um, when is it a good time to actually have that 540 00:25:16,819 --> 00:25:19,483 conversation with your parents 541 00:25:19,579 --> 00:25:20,975 about life insurance? 542 00:25:22,315 --> 00:25:25,195 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: About our parents getting it or if they have it? 543 00:25:25,355 --> 00:25:28,331 Anthony Weaver: If they have it or getting it. Because a lot of people don't like to talk 544 00:25:28,363 --> 00:25:30,935 about death. We all know it's going to happen. 545 00:25:31,095 --> 00:25:33,815 It's just a matter of when. But what do we do as the 546 00:25:33,855 --> 00:25:36,703 people that outlive them, what do we do 547 00:25:36,839 --> 00:25:39,487 and how do we actually start having that conversation with 548 00:25:39,511 --> 00:25:40,075 them? 549 00:25:40,495 --> 00:25:43,463 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: Yeah, I want to make it not taboo 550 00:25:43,599 --> 00:25:46,439 anymore to talk about money. Right? That's why we have the money 551 00:25:46,487 --> 00:25:49,143 talks. It's like uncomfortable conversations, 552 00:25:49,279 --> 00:25:51,999 but they're transformational in the aspect 553 00:25:52,047 --> 00:25:55,023 that we all know, our parents and our grandparents or 554 00:25:55,039 --> 00:25:57,807 our guardians, right. We know if they are 555 00:25:57,871 --> 00:26:00,825 comfortable talking with us about money. Some of them are, 556 00:26:00,935 --> 00:26:03,829 right. They can't wait to tell us, oh, I've done this, 557 00:26:03,877 --> 00:26:06,389 I've done that. Or you get the house and you get the kitchen 558 00:26:06,437 --> 00:26:09,245 table and you get this and you get that. So it's like, 559 00:26:09,365 --> 00:26:12,261 if it's easy to talk to them, by all means, just 560 00:26:12,293 --> 00:26:14,893 go ahead and say, hey, you know, I was wondering, as I'm getting 561 00:26:14,949 --> 00:26:17,893 older, you know, I need to set up things for myself. What 562 00:26:17,909 --> 00:26:20,701 do you have in place? And it will allow them 563 00:26:20,733 --> 00:26:23,645 to say what they already have. And they may even say, 564 00:26:23,725 --> 00:26:26,333 you're the beneficiary on that, or you and your brother are, 565 00:26:26,389 --> 00:26:29,141 or however it works. So now that gives you the 566 00:26:29,173 --> 00:26:32,021 idea that you don't have to worry about taking on somebody 567 00:26:32,053 --> 00:26:34,997 else's burden if God forbid, they would pass 568 00:26:35,061 --> 00:26:37,853 away because oftentimes you're grieving, right, 569 00:26:37,909 --> 00:26:40,821 and that you don't know how that's going to go or how long you're 570 00:26:40,853 --> 00:26:43,661 going to be in that space. But then to have 571 00:26:43,693 --> 00:26:46,541 to abruptly stop what you're doing and 572 00:26:46,573 --> 00:26:49,021 take your savings to pay for parent, 573 00:26:49,093 --> 00:26:52,053 grandparents, something like that, and of course heartstrings, 574 00:26:52,109 --> 00:26:54,973 you're going to do it, you're going to take that money 575 00:26:55,069 --> 00:26:57,917 and you're going to take care of it. And then when the smoke clears, you're going to 576 00:26:57,941 --> 00:27:00,933 look back at your finances and say, now I got 577 00:27:00,949 --> 00:27:03,461 to start this all over again or now I got to start 578 00:27:03,533 --> 00:27:06,455 accelerating my 401, you know what I'm saying? 579 00:27:06,495 --> 00:27:09,151 And so if we're able to find out what they 580 00:27:09,223 --> 00:27:12,143 already have, and again if they have it, they're going to 581 00:27:12,159 --> 00:27:15,039 tell you they have it. If they don't have it, they may say, 582 00:27:15,127 --> 00:27:17,887 well maybe you need to help me get some um. Now we do 583 00:27:17,911 --> 00:27:20,847 have some carriers out there who are really 584 00:27:20,911 --> 00:27:23,879 strict on pre existing conditions, but there are 585 00:27:23,927 --> 00:27:26,831 some nowadays that there's very minimal 586 00:27:26,903 --> 00:27:29,423 underwriting where you could get guaranteed issue 587 00:27:29,519 --> 00:27:32,511 coverage, you know, depending on your age and things like 588 00:27:32,543 --> 00:27:34,791 that. But, but it's really no excuse 589 00:27:34,903 --> 00:27:37,367 nowadays because even people who have like 590 00:27:37,431 --> 00:27:39,719 hiv, aids, cancer, heart 591 00:27:39,767 --> 00:27:42,511 conditions, mental health, even people who smoke 592 00:27:42,543 --> 00:27:44,635 marijuana can get 593 00:27:45,055 --> 00:27:47,879 medical and health coverage and life 594 00:27:47,927 --> 00:27:50,927 insurance and it's usually at a reasonable rate, depending 595 00:27:50,951 --> 00:27:53,951 on how much coverage you need. So I just feel like, you know, 596 00:27:53,983 --> 00:27:56,727 we shouldn't be afraid to ask people who it's going to 597 00:27:56,791 --> 00:27:59,535 impact about those things. That's what they call 598 00:27:59,575 --> 00:28:02,527 insurable. So if you have insurable interest in 599 00:28:02,551 --> 00:28:05,351 a person, it's usually somebody where if they would pass 600 00:28:05,423 --> 00:28:07,995 away there would be a financial burden to you. 601 00:28:08,655 --> 00:28:10,795 So in the aspect of spouses, 602 00:28:11,255 --> 00:28:14,127 children, young children, adult children, right. If 603 00:28:14,151 --> 00:28:16,575 you're, let's say your elderly parent 604 00:28:16,735 --> 00:28:19,687 doesn't earn a lot in retirement. So maybe 605 00:28:19,791 --> 00:28:22,527 if they don't have a policy that is kept pace with 606 00:28:22,591 --> 00:28:25,567 inflation, they got that thing 30 years ago and 607 00:28:25,591 --> 00:28:28,441 it's like 8,000 do, what is that going to 608 00:28:28,473 --> 00:28:31,433 do for the cost of final expense today? So somebody 609 00:28:31,489 --> 00:28:34,297 stilln to have to come out of a pocket to support the 610 00:28:34,321 --> 00:28:37,177 coverage that they did keep in place. And if you don't 611 00:28:37,201 --> 00:28:40,057 have that kind of money laying around, well, maybe you can get a 612 00:28:40,081 --> 00:28:43,081 small final expense just to support what they already have 613 00:28:43,153 --> 00:28:46,145 in place. Right. So you're not caught trying to do this 614 00:28:46,185 --> 00:28:48,937 in the midst of everything else. You're doing. You talk a lot about the 615 00:28:48,961 --> 00:28:51,433 sandwich generation. I'm definitely in that 616 00:28:51,569 --> 00:28:54,569 sandwich generation where I have kids and grandkids, but I also have 617 00:28:54,617 --> 00:28:57,519 my mom, who's in her six. And so it's like, you want 618 00:28:57,527 --> 00:29:00,343 to do what's best for you. You want to be a model for your 619 00:29:00,399 --> 00:29:02,855 children and grandchildren, and you also want to be that 620 00:29:02,935 --> 00:29:05,927 support to those who were, uh, of support to you when 621 00:29:05,951 --> 00:29:08,815 you were coming up. But it doesn't have to be burdensome. 622 00:29:08,935 --> 00:29:11,887 So the conversations definitely need to be had, even 623 00:29:11,911 --> 00:29:14,719 if they're uncomfortable, because it's really all about care. 624 00:29:14,807 --> 00:29:17,751 Right. I care enough to inquire about 625 00:29:17,783 --> 00:29:20,751 what you have going on so that if it doesn't affect me, 626 00:29:20,863 --> 00:29:23,431 great. I'm happy to hear that it won't affect me 627 00:29:23,463 --> 00:29:26,245 negatively. And sometimes there's legacy 628 00:29:26,415 --> 00:29:29,305 that's coming your way, there's assets that are coming your 629 00:29:29,345 --> 00:29:32,217 way, and you might need to know how that works, because maybe 630 00:29:32,241 --> 00:29:35,049 there's a tax consequence attached to that 631 00:29:35,097 --> 00:29:38,057 asset, or maybe there's money'coming that 632 00:29:38,081 --> 00:29:41,073 is not taxable coming your way. So you would want to 633 00:29:41,089 --> 00:29:42,640 know that sooner than later. 634 00:29:42,640 --> 00:29:45,537 Anthony Weaver: Um, so one of the things that stuck out to 635 00:29:45,561 --> 00:29:48,321 me is when it comes to say you 636 00:29:48,353 --> 00:29:50,633 do have that $8,000 637 00:29:50,729 --> 00:29:53,607 policy, but all of a sudden you want 638 00:29:53,631 --> 00:29:56,279 to adjust it to today's inflation 639 00:29:56,327 --> 00:29:56,943 rate. 640 00:29:57,119 --> 00:29:59,823 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: It depends. It really depends on how the carrier 641 00:29:59,879 --> 00:30:02,839 has those plans set ah up. Oftentimes they will 642 00:30:02,887 --> 00:30:05,327 allow you to do, like, what they call a policy 643 00:30:05,391 --> 00:30:08,303 change. So a policy change form that you 644 00:30:08,319 --> 00:30:11,295 would complete is where you're taking it from X amount of coverage 645 00:30:11,375 --> 00:30:14,143 up, usually increasing that to a higher 646 00:30:14,199 --> 00:30:17,167 amount. And then, of course, now, yes, the premium that you're 647 00:30:17,191 --> 00:30:20,055 quoted is based on your current age and not the age you were 648 00:30:20,095 --> 00:30:23,055 when you got that $8,000 policy many years 649 00:30:23,095 --> 00:30:25,949 ago. So now you have the premium price 650 00:30:26,037 --> 00:30:28,997 equivalent to your current age. But sometimes 651 00:30:29,141 --> 00:30:31,997 they might not take you through all the underwriting because 652 00:30:32,021 --> 00:30:34,925 you had that existing policy, but sometimes they 653 00:30:34,965 --> 00:30:37,789 will consider any new, uh, medical 654 00:30:37,877 --> 00:30:40,525 concerns that have come up. So you really got it. I would 655 00:30:40,565 --> 00:30:43,541 recommend that you have an agent so that that agent can 656 00:30:43,573 --> 00:30:46,493 let you know. Okay. Because sometimes you have a policy, you don't 657 00:30:46,509 --> 00:30:49,245 know how to read all the jargon that's inside of it. So the 658 00:30:49,285 --> 00:30:51,997 agent can look at the jargon and say, oh, yes, they do 659 00:30:52,061 --> 00:30:55,059 allow you to make changes to this. If not, 660 00:30:55,107 --> 00:30:58,011 it's just like getting a new policy where you're going to have to 661 00:30:58,043 --> 00:31:00,995 be reassessed and see what you can 662 00:31:01,035 --> 00:31:02,059 qualify for. 663 00:31:02,187 --> 00:31:05,163 Anthony Weaver: That is great info. Because I'm thinking about how 664 00:31:05,259 --> 00:31:07,851 can one person another 665 00:31:07,923 --> 00:31:09,415 utilize it today. 666 00:31:09,420 --> 00:31:12,395 Um, so say if they do come through financial 667 00:31:12,435 --> 00:31:15,275 times or financial hardship, is there 668 00:31:15,355 --> 00:31:17,971 ever a life insurance policy that you can actually withdraw 669 00:31:18,003 --> 00:31:20,847 from, um, to kind of live off of why you 670 00:31:20,871 --> 00:31:21,715 still living? 671 00:31:22,455 --> 00:31:25,127 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: There are, and I'm so glad you brought that 672 00:31:25,151 --> 00:31:27,935 up. So there are the permanent types 673 00:31:27,975 --> 00:31:30,831 of policies which are universal life or 674 00:31:30,863 --> 00:31:33,663 whole life. Most people have heard of those types. 675 00:31:33,759 --> 00:31:36,591 And then you got index universal, you got variable 676 00:31:36,743 --> 00:31:39,615 universal. But the gist of it is universal or whole 677 00:31:39,655 --> 00:31:42,495 life. Those are the cash value building 678 00:31:42,535 --> 00:31:45,527 types of policies. And with that meaning as 679 00:31:45,551 --> 00:31:48,263 you're making your monthly premium payment, the entire 680 00:31:48,359 --> 00:31:51,277 payment is not going towards the case value. There's 681 00:31:51,381 --> 00:31:54,205 cost to insure us. So they take that off the top 682 00:31:54,325 --> 00:31:57,245 and then what's remaining goes inside that 683 00:31:57,285 --> 00:32:00,213 cash value. It's kind of like a savings inside the 684 00:32:00,269 --> 00:32:03,005 policy. And then either annually or 685 00:32:03,045 --> 00:32:06,005 monthly, they credit interest to that particular cash 686 00:32:06,045 --> 00:32:09,013 value account. So every year you're earning on 687 00:32:09,069 --> 00:32:11,877 the cash value. Now, depending on whether it's a 688 00:32:11,901 --> 00:32:14,901 whole life or universal and how they are set up, you could 689 00:32:14,933 --> 00:32:17,829 choose to borrow from that cash value 690 00:32:17,957 --> 00:32:20,845 and then if you pay it back, great. If you don't, they subtract 691 00:32:20,885 --> 00:32:23,723 it off the end when you pass away minus the 692 00:32:23,779 --> 00:32:26,771 interest. The other thing is you could choose to 693 00:32:26,803 --> 00:32:29,547 withdraw from it. Usually universal, 694 00:32:29,651 --> 00:32:32,099 you can withdraw from it, which is different than 695 00:32:32,147 --> 00:32:35,107 borrowing. So with withdrawals you don't have to 696 00:32:35,131 --> 00:32:37,923 pay it back. With borrowing you 697 00:32:37,979 --> 00:32:40,683 can pay it back. So there's the major difference. 698 00:32:40,819 --> 00:32:43,483 So a lot of times people are saying, hey, well if I'm 699 00:32:43,579 --> 00:32:46,395 doing what I'm supposed to do and I'm being responsible and I'm 700 00:32:46,435 --> 00:32:49,323 covering myself and or my family in the event that 701 00:32:49,339 --> 00:32:52,035 we pass away or in the event that we have some 702 00:32:52,075 --> 00:32:55,025 extended medical event and I have these hybrid 703 00:32:55,145 --> 00:32:57,585 living benefit attached to my policy. Okay, 704 00:32:57,625 --> 00:33:00,393 great. But what if I want to buy my first 705 00:33:00,449 --> 00:33:02,889 home and I need money for the down payment? 706 00:33:03,017 --> 00:33:05,961 Or what if my kid is going off to college 707 00:33:05,993 --> 00:33:08,945 and I want to help them get their first car? Or what 708 00:33:08,985 --> 00:33:11,921 if I'm going to head and retire a little bit 709 00:33:11,993 --> 00:33:14,833 earlier than Social Security would like me to 710 00:33:14,969 --> 00:33:17,865 and I need a couple of years of income to supplement 711 00:33:17,945 --> 00:33:20,641 my lifestyle until I go ahead and claim 712 00:33:20,753 --> 00:33:23,561 that Social Security benef ###it so these things can 713 00:33:23,593 --> 00:33:26,289 build up over time. But again, consistency is 714 00:33:26,337 --> 00:33:29,081 key. You know, if you get covered and then you let it 715 00:33:29,113 --> 00:33:31,897 lapse, well, there goes that. So then now you've got to 716 00:33:31,921 --> 00:33:34,833 go and start all over with your cash value building 717 00:33:34,889 --> 00:33:37,753 so most things as it relates to money, 718 00:33:37,849 --> 00:33:40,765 consistency is key to that. 719 00:33:41,265 --> 00:33:41,689 Anthony Weaver: Yeah. 720 00:33:41,737 --> 00:33:44,329 And before we get to the third 721 00:33:44,377 --> 00:33:47,297 segment, I have one question, um, which 722 00:33:47,321 --> 00:33:50,313 is like, what are some common misconceptions 723 00:33:50,409 --> 00:33:53,295 of building that generational wealth? Uh, could 724 00:33:53,335 --> 00:33:56,327 people help redefine what it means 725 00:33:56,471 --> 00:33:57,635 for their families? 726 00:33:59,055 --> 00:34:01,935 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: Yeah. So one of the main misconceptions that I come 727 00:34:01,975 --> 00:34:04,855 across is that people feel like they have to have a lot of money at 728 00:34:04,895 --> 00:34:07,155 any given point to build the wealth. 729 00:34:07,695 --> 00:34:10,495 So there's a basic formula called the wealth formula, 730 00:34:10,535 --> 00:34:12,959 right? It's very basic, but it gives you the 731 00:34:13,007 --> 00:34:15,583 components of what's required to build wealth. 732 00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:18,711 So for the wealth formula, you need money, any kind of 733 00:34:18,743 --> 00:34:21,535 money. $1000 doesn't matter, 734 00:34:21,565 --> 00:34:24,555 matter. Some kind of money. Then you 735 00:34:24,595 --> 00:34:27,275 need time. You need time 736 00:34:27,395 --> 00:34:30,307 for this money to accumulate. Then you 737 00:34:30,331 --> 00:34:33,155 got a plus or minus whatever rate of return 738 00:34:33,195 --> 00:34:35,907 you're getting. So if you're putting your money someplace where you're 739 00:34:35,931 --> 00:34:38,867 getting interest, plus or minus, you put 740 00:34:38,891 --> 00:34:41,643 your money in the market, plus or minus, whatever the 741 00:34:41,699 --> 00:34:44,339 performance is. And then you got to offset 742 00:34:44,467 --> 00:34:47,035 inflation, which is eating away at our 743 00:34:47,075 --> 00:34:49,975 purchasing power, and of course, tax. 744 00:34:50,305 --> 00:34:53,201 So if I'm thinking about this as a formula, how many 745 00:34:53,233 --> 00:34:56,041 of these components do I have, right? Do I 746 00:34:56,073 --> 00:34:59,025 have an extra $25 per 747 00:34:59,065 --> 00:35:01,905 pay? Maybe you do. Okay, great. So you've got 748 00:35:01,945 --> 00:35:04,913 that I'm alive and hopefully well, 749 00:35:05,009 --> 00:35:07,841 so I have some time. Now 750 00:35:07,913 --> 00:35:10,465 where am I going to put this money that will 751 00:35:10,505 --> 00:35:13,473 accumulate over time? That's going to give me 752 00:35:13,529 --> 00:35:16,417 a great rate of return. When I say rate of return, 753 00:35:16,481 --> 00:35:19,405 that's great. I mean outpacing inflation, 754 00:35:19,705 --> 00:35:22,551 at least giving you more than 3%. So 755 00:35:22,583 --> 00:35:25,351 that could be high yield savings accounts if you're not ready 756 00:35:25,383 --> 00:35:28,375 to invest right now. But just something where you're 757 00:35:28,415 --> 00:35:31,343 earning a rate of return. Now when you gain this 758 00:35:31,399 --> 00:35:34,191 money, you're going to have some taxes at some 759 00:35:34,223 --> 00:35:37,151 point, right? Whether it's, um, income taxes, 760 00:35:37,223 --> 00:35:40,167 you might have capital gains taxes, depending on where you 761 00:35:40,191 --> 00:35:42,975 put it, you might have, um, uh, a 762 00:35:43,015 --> 00:35:45,839 state inheritance taxes, depending on if you leave it to 763 00:35:45,887 --> 00:35:48,583 someone else. So the point is, you've got to be 764 00:35:48,639 --> 00:35:51,631 consistently over time, putting some amount of 765 00:35:51,663 --> 00:35:54,477 money somewhere where. Or you're earning at 766 00:35:54,501 --> 00:35:57,125 least 3 or more percent to 767 00:35:57,205 --> 00:36:00,101 outpaced inflation. And then eventually you're going to have 768 00:36:00,133 --> 00:36:02,981 some taxes to pay on that. But I tell people I'd rather 769 00:36:03,013 --> 00:36:05,825 pay taxes on money that I have grown 770 00:36:06,165 --> 00:36:09,053 than to pay taxes, money that I have just earned and 771 00:36:09,069 --> 00:36:11,525 didn't really see the benefit of. Does that make sense? 772 00:36:11,645 --> 00:36:13,293 Anthony Weaver: It makes total sense to me. 773 00:36:13,469 --> 00:36:16,421 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: Paycheck. The paycheck is not where it's at anymore. Like you 774 00:36:16,453 --> 00:36:19,365 got to take something from that payg and 775 00:36:19,405 --> 00:36:22,335 start stocking it away. Now we know the 776 00:36:22,375 --> 00:36:25,303 younger we are and the more consistent we are, 777 00:36:25,439 --> 00:36:28,367 then we'll have something called the rule of 72 that's helping 778 00:36:28,391 --> 00:36:31,367 us along. Right? So the rule of 72 means that 779 00:36:31,391 --> 00:36:33,871 whatever your rate of return, you just divide that 780 00:36:33,983 --> 00:36:36,983 number by 72. So for example, 781 00:36:37,039 --> 00:36:39,408 over the last hundred years, The S&P 782 00:36:39,525 --> 00:36:42,311 500 has earned about 10% on your 783 00:36:42,343 --> 00:36:45,127 money. So if you take 10, divide that by 784 00:36:45,191 --> 00:36:47,567 72, that lets you know it would take 785 00:36:47,631 --> 00:36:50,397 7.2 years for your money to double. So 786 00:36:50,421 --> 00:36:53,277 in 7.2 years, and I'm 45 787 00:36:53,341 --> 00:36:56,221 now, how many doubling periods have I 788 00:36:56,253 --> 00:36:58,877 had in my own working life where 789 00:36:58,941 --> 00:37:01,693 every seven years the money that I put 790 00:37:01,749 --> 00:37:04,717 somewhere could have doubled at least three or four times 791 00:37:04,781 --> 00:37:07,677 by now? But that's what I mean. I don't have to 792 00:37:07,701 --> 00:37:10,549 have $50,000 to invest at one time, but I 793 00:37:10,597 --> 00:37:13,301 could have done dollar every week. 794 00:37:13,493 --> 00:37:15,883 I could have done $50 twice a 795 00:37:15,949 --> 00:37:18,903 month. Because the rule of 72 means you're going 796 00:37:18,919 --> 00:37:21,271 to have that compounding of principle and 797 00:37:21,343 --> 00:37:24,295 interest and knowing that I also need 798 00:37:24,335 --> 00:37:27,303 to have time on my side. So the 799 00:37:27,319 --> 00:37:30,087 people who say I can't save or I just, I don't 800 00:37:30,151 --> 00:37:33,071 understand this investing stuff. Time is wasting 801 00:37:33,143 --> 00:37:35,647 away. And that is one of the biggest 802 00:37:35,711 --> 00:37:37,675 components of how you build wealth. 803 00:37:38,975 --> 00:37:41,919 Anthony Weaver: I love that. I love that. O man. 804 00:37:41,967 --> 00:37:44,571 So, so going into the third segment, which is the 805 00:37:44,603 --> 00:37:47,523 features, um, and this just kind of 806 00:37:47,539 --> 00:37:49,763 focusing on other, like 807 00:37:49,899 --> 00:37:52,830 yourself, your career and even with 808 00:37:52,830 --> 00:37:55,735 uh, dealing with family. So 809 00:37:56,075 --> 00:37:58,851 what areas, um, are you focusing 810 00:37:58,883 --> 00:38:01,619 on improving your own life or your 811 00:38:01,667 --> 00:38:02,335 career? 812 00:38:03,875 --> 00:38:06,195 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: So right now I am focusing on 813 00:38:06,275 --> 00:38:09,243 delegation, I am focusing on systems 814 00:38:09,299 --> 00:38:12,133 and processes and my well being. 815 00:38:12,269 --> 00:38:14,981 Those are like the main things because again, if 816 00:38:15,013 --> 00:38:17,981 I'm able to have my systems and processes in 817 00:38:18,013 --> 00:38:20,605 place, then I can duplicate myself in another 818 00:38:20,645 --> 00:38:23,373 advisor or I can duplicate myself in 819 00:38:23,429 --> 00:38:26,045 an executive assistant or a director or 820 00:38:26,085 --> 00:38:29,069 somebody like that and then delegate to them the things 821 00:38:29,117 --> 00:38:32,037 that I know that they can do so that I can focus on the 822 00:38:32,061 --> 00:38:34,957 things that I do. Right? So I do the numbers for the people, 823 00:38:35,021 --> 00:38:37,901 but you can create the experience for the people, right? You can 824 00:38:37,933 --> 00:38:40,837 help me with the email automation, you could help me 825 00:38:40,861 --> 00:38:43,779 with all the other things behind the scenes that 826 00:38:43,827 --> 00:38:46,595 allows me and them to maintain our well 827 00:38:46,635 --> 00:38:49,251 being where nobody is maxing out every 828 00:38:49,283 --> 00:38:52,155 day on these things that help us and help our 829 00:38:52,195 --> 00:38:55,067 clients to grow. And so I started that 830 00:38:55,171 --> 00:38:58,067 process last year and so I'M getting better and 831 00:38:58,091 --> 00:39:00,827 better, closer and closer, um, to my optimal 832 00:39:00,891 --> 00:39:03,667 schedule and you know, being able to maximize my 833 00:39:03,691 --> 00:39:04,411 revenue. 834 00:39:04,563 --> 00:39:07,291 Anthony Weaver: So when you did the book Money Talks, you actually 835 00:39:07,403 --> 00:39:09,447 were curated, um, or 836 00:39:09,471 --> 00:39:12,319 eliciting information from other 837 00:39:12,487 --> 00:39:15,087 financial uh, people and also a lot of 838 00:39:15,111 --> 00:39:18,090 couples doing that timeframe. And I had to first off, uh, 839 00:39:18,743 --> 00:39:21,607 say thank you for actually doing such a 840 00:39:21,631 --> 00:39:24,503 book like that because I've seen it but 841 00:39:24,519 --> 00:39:27,447 I've never seen it done like from 842 00:39:27,471 --> 00:39:30,447 the ground roots, if that makes sense. And you were 843 00:39:30,471 --> 00:39:33,343 the first person was like hey, everybody doing the 844 00:39:33,359 --> 00:39:34,947 book or what you got? 845 00:39:35,131 --> 00:39:36,935 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: Like, exactly. 846 00:39:37,970 --> 00:39:40,899 Anthony Weaver: Um, and you continue to still do that, um, in 847 00:39:40,947 --> 00:39:43,883 everything that you do and I really wish the 848 00:39:43,899 --> 00:39:46,419 best for you and nothing but the best. Um, and 849 00:39:46,467 --> 00:39:48,939 so as a best selling author and 850 00:39:48,987 --> 00:39:51,895 speaker, like, what are your top insights 851 00:39:52,275 --> 00:39:54,963 that you hope to take away from 852 00:39:55,099 --> 00:39:57,947 like that you hope that the audience really take away from all of the 853 00:39:57,971 --> 00:39:59,535 work that you'put in so far? 854 00:40:01,415 --> 00:40:03,690 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: Wow, that's an awesome question, Anthony. 855 00:40:03,690 --> 00:40:06,623 Um, what I want people to take away from, like 856 00:40:06,639 --> 00:40:09,455 you said, the trilogy, all three of those Money Talks 857 00:40:09,495 --> 00:40:11,775 books is that they are 858 00:40:11,895 --> 00:40:14,791 significant in this world, right? Whether you're 859 00:40:14,823 --> 00:40:17,759 married, not married, whether you're a financial expert or 860 00:40:17,767 --> 00:40:20,655 you're just somebody in college trying to wing it and figure it out, 861 00:40:20,775 --> 00:40:23,687 you are significant in this world and 862 00:40:23,711 --> 00:40:26,691 you have some value to add. But we understand, understand 863 00:40:26,763 --> 00:40:29,595 that when life starts lifeing, it starts to chip 864 00:40:29,675 --> 00:40:32,211 away at your self worth. It starts to chip 865 00:40:32,283 --> 00:40:35,187 away and what you believe you can contribute in 866 00:40:35,211 --> 00:40:38,091 this world and that can affect how 867 00:40:38,123 --> 00:40:40,875 you earn money, how you save, how you invest. 868 00:40:40,955 --> 00:40:43,787 If you're swiping all these credit cards, creating debt for 869 00:40:43,811 --> 00:40:46,475 yourself, like this has a lot to do. 870 00:40:46,515 --> 00:40:49,307 Our significance and how we navigate this world 871 00:40:49,371 --> 00:40:52,347 has a lot to do with how we build wealth. And 872 00:40:52,371 --> 00:40:55,075 so whether you're on this side of it or you're a financial 873 00:40:55,155 --> 00:40:57,891 expert going through things as well. Because these 874 00:40:57,963 --> 00:41:00,537 financial coaches, advisors, insurance 875 00:41:00,601 --> 00:41:03,521 agents, they are all human and they go 876 00:41:03,553 --> 00:41:06,441 through things as well. Even though they have the knowledge, even though they 877 00:41:06,473 --> 00:41:09,273 have the experience, they still go through bankruptcies, 878 00:41:09,329 --> 00:41:11,929 they still go through divorces, they still have 879 00:41:11,977 --> 00:41:14,809 traumas that come up in their life that does not take 880 00:41:14,857 --> 00:41:17,809 away from their passion for what they do, but it is 881 00:41:17,897 --> 00:41:20,505 something that chips away at their self 882 00:41:20,545 --> 00:41:23,345 worth. And so when you're thinking about platforms 883 00:41:23,425 --> 00:41:25,969 that we've been able to create for other experts 884 00:41:26,057 --> 00:41:28,841 to share their stories authentically 885 00:41:28,953 --> 00:41:31,817 in a saf safe space, you know, that's what I feel 886 00:41:31,841 --> 00:41:34,457 like I contribute to this world. I feel like I'm going to 887 00:41:34,481 --> 00:41:37,385 Forever create safe spaces for people 888 00:41:37,425 --> 00:41:40,041 to share their stories, whether in my office 889 00:41:40,113 --> 00:41:42,809 or in a book project or at some 890 00:41:42,857 --> 00:41:45,665 event space where you can feel like, hey, this 891 00:41:45,705 --> 00:41:48,393 person hears me, this person sees me. 892 00:41:48,489 --> 00:41:51,185 And if I'm not happy with where I am in my 893 00:41:51,225 --> 00:41:54,057 life, there's somebody who could help me, take my 894 00:41:54,121 --> 00:41:56,969 hand and help me along on this journey 895 00:41:57,017 --> 00:41:59,897 and I don't have to be ashamed of it. So I feel like that's what I 896 00:41:59,921 --> 00:42:02,777 want people to take away from any of the projects that they may see 897 00:42:02,801 --> 00:42:05,705 me doing in person. Virtual, um, in 898 00:42:05,745 --> 00:42:08,649 any spaces that I see you, I hear you. And if you 899 00:42:08,697 --> 00:42:11,313 want to make changes, somebody's going to come up 900 00:42:11,409 --> 00:42:13,925 alongside you and help you do that. 901 00:42:15,585 --> 00:42:18,393 Anthony Weaver: Man, I thank you for being in this world and 902 00:42:18,409 --> 00:42:21,313 I'm glad to be alive while you're alive because you're 903 00:42:21,329 --> 00:42:24,217 doing so many great things and it's an honor to be 904 00:42:24,241 --> 00:42:25,205 in your space. 905 00:42:25,975 --> 00:42:28,111 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: I appreciate that. Any likewise. 906 00:42:28,263 --> 00:42:29,263 Anthony Weaver: O thanks. 907 00:42:29,399 --> 00:42:32,367 Is there anything that you want to leave the audience before we 908 00:42:32,391 --> 00:42:34,195 dive into the final four questions? 909 00:42:36,415 --> 00:42:38,991 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: The one thing, if I could just state 910 00:42:39,063 --> 00:42:41,807 one thing, it would be to 911 00:42:41,871 --> 00:42:44,751 assess. Now I know that people are 912 00:42:44,783 --> 00:42:47,567 in their feelings sometimes as it relates to money. 913 00:42:47,671 --> 00:42:50,663 We're in a new year now and this is the best time 914 00:42:50,719 --> 00:42:53,551 to ass what was going on in 915 00:42:53,583 --> 00:42:56,455 your finances last year where you 916 00:42:56,495 --> 00:42:59,431 felt like it wasn't, um, showing you the 917 00:42:59,463 --> 00:43:01,595 best possible way to not just 918 00:43:01,935 --> 00:43:04,783 survive, but to thrive. And so when 919 00:43:04,799 --> 00:43:07,639 you're able to look back over what your income looked 920 00:43:07,687 --> 00:43:10,647 like, when you're able to look back over what your 921 00:43:10,711 --> 00:43:13,599 expenses were for last year, are those 922 00:43:13,647 --> 00:43:16,383 things the same for this year or are you 923 00:43:16,439 --> 00:43:19,259 able to do anything to shift that? 924 00:43:19,347 --> 00:43:22,331 Meaning if you have a heavy debt load, what 925 00:43:22,363 --> 00:43:25,243 can you do to get that debt load down? If 926 00:43:25,259 --> 00:43:28,107 you find that you can't really get the debt load down with 927 00:43:28,131 --> 00:43:31,099 the income that you have coming in, are there ways 928 00:43:31,147 --> 00:43:33,715 for you to get extra income? Um, whether 929 00:43:33,755 --> 00:43:36,715 that's part time online remote work, 930 00:43:36,835 --> 00:43:39,747 you launch something, you sell something that you 931 00:43:39,771 --> 00:43:42,611 have at the house that you really don't need and you're just holding 932 00:43:42,643 --> 00:43:45,483 on to it like someone will buy it, right? And there you 933 00:43:45,499 --> 00:43:48,401 could knock that credit card balance down. So the point I'm making 934 00:43:48,433 --> 00:43:51,281 with the assessment is really take a look at it 935 00:43:51,353 --> 00:43:54,281 and see where you were and see what it is that you 936 00:43:54,313 --> 00:43:57,297 would be able and willing to do for this 937 00:43:57,361 --> 00:44:00,057 year that will position you for joy, 938 00:44:00,201 --> 00:44:03,113 that will position you for gratitude, that will 939 00:44:03,169 --> 00:44:05,985 position you to be that go to person come 940 00:44:06,025 --> 00:44:09,017 the following year when they're saying, how did you do that. 941 00:44:09,121 --> 00:44:12,057 Like, how did you legit get out of this debt? How 942 00:44:12,081 --> 00:44:15,043 did you save that first thousand dollars when you 943 00:44:15,059 --> 00:44:17,699 were saying, hey, I just, I just can't save. 944 00:44:17,867 --> 00:44:20,707 So I want assess to be the word 945 00:44:20,811 --> 00:44:23,215 that they take away from this conversation. 946 00:44:25,035 --> 00:44:27,995 Anthony Weaver: So, man. All right. You like a wealth of 947 00:44:28,035 --> 00:44:29,195 information? I love it. 948 00:44:29,355 --> 00:44:31,915 U uh, so you ready for the final four 949 00:44:31,955 --> 00:44:32,667 questions? 950 00:44:32,851 --> 00:44:33,735 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: I am. 951 00:44:41,285 --> 00:44:44,077 Anthony Weaver: Alghty. Number one, what does 952 00:44:44,141 --> 00:44:45,905 wealth mean to you? 953 00:44:47,045 --> 00:44:49,861 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: O this is an easy one. We 954 00:44:49,893 --> 00:44:52,461 touched on it. I believe wealth is 955 00:44:52,533 --> 00:44:55,517 creating options. However that looks 956 00:44:55,581 --> 00:44:58,365 for you. You know, if you want to make sure that 957 00:44:58,485 --> 00:45:01,477 your kids have a better way than you did 958 00:45:01,581 --> 00:45:04,341 when you grew up, then what do you have to implement 959 00:45:04,413 --> 00:45:07,221 so that they do? Right. If you want to make 960 00:45:07,253 --> 00:45:09,977 sure that, um, there's a name for 961 00:45:10,001 --> 00:45:12,945 the family that you have helped to create. Right. 962 00:45:13,065 --> 00:45:15,777 What types of impact are you going out here 963 00:45:15,841 --> 00:45:18,785 and doing so that that name can mean 964 00:45:18,865 --> 00:45:21,289 something in the community? So I feel like creating 965 00:45:21,337 --> 00:45:24,273 options is very individualized, and that's what I 966 00:45:24,289 --> 00:45:26,953 love about it, because what I would create for me is very 967 00:45:27,009 --> 00:45:29,673 different than what you would create for you, but it's so 968 00:45:29,769 --> 00:45:32,497 significant to you, and that's what I love about 969 00:45:32,521 --> 00:45:33,065 it. 970 00:45:33,225 --> 00:45:36,165 Anthony Weaver: Thanice, number two, what 971 00:45:36,205 --> 00:45:38,305 was your worst money mistake? 972 00:45:39,845 --> 00:45:42,669 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: That's another good one. Uh, not 973 00:45:42,717 --> 00:45:45,589 getting started on my savings early 974 00:45:45,637 --> 00:45:48,557 enough, I feel like, because now we know 975 00:45:48,621 --> 00:45:51,277 time is a big component of how we build wealth. 976 00:45:51,421 --> 00:45:54,261 It's like if you keep living in this paycheck to 977 00:45:54,293 --> 00:45:56,949 paycheck cycle or there's always something traumatic 978 00:45:56,997 --> 00:45:59,901 happening in your life year over year, you're not 979 00:45:59,933 --> 00:46:02,589 able to start putting that money away. Or if you 980 00:46:02,637 --> 00:46:05,301 do, then you end up having to go back and grab 981 00:46:05,333 --> 00:46:08,147 it for that emergency or that unforeseen 982 00:46:08,211 --> 00:46:11,115 thing, and then that makes you feel like you're incapable 983 00:46:11,235 --> 00:46:14,027 of getting it done. And so I feel like in 984 00:46:14,051 --> 00:46:16,931 my 40s, I'm just really getting to the idea of 985 00:46:16,963 --> 00:46:19,795 like, yes, I can do this and yes, I can be 986 00:46:19,835 --> 00:46:22,680 consistent and see results. Um, 987 00:46:22,715 --> 00:46:25,483 because I feel like the impact that I'm trying to make is way bigger than 988 00:46:25,499 --> 00:46:28,475 me. And so it takes way more money than just enough to 989 00:46:28,515 --> 00:46:31,371 sustain me. So I wish that I was 990 00:46:31,403 --> 00:46:34,385 able, able to, you know, save a little something, even if it 991 00:46:34,385 --> 00:46:37,329 was five, ten dollars a lot sooner than I had 992 00:46:37,417 --> 00:46:38,045 started. 993 00:46:39,305 --> 00:46:41,513 Anthony Weaver: Number three, what is your 994 00:46:41,569 --> 00:46:44,281 favorite financial or non financial 995 00:46:44,313 --> 00:46:44,885 book? 996 00:46:47,545 --> 00:46:50,001 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: My favorite non financial book is the 997 00:46:50,033 --> 00:46:53,009 Bible. I really feel like it changed 998 00:46:53,097 --> 00:46:55,809 my life. I got saved at 19 years 999 00:46:55,857 --> 00:46:58,849 old, and I really feel like me reading 1000 00:46:58,897 --> 00:47:01,381 that book and learning more about the higher 1001 00:47:01,453 --> 00:47:04,093 power and learning what he said 1002 00:47:04,149 --> 00:47:07,149 about me was a game changer 1003 00:47:07,277 --> 00:47:10,165 because no dis to any family or friends coming up. 1004 00:47:10,205 --> 00:47:13,205 But it was like, sometimes they didn't have the words to 1005 00:47:13,245 --> 00:47:16,117 pour into you. Right? They didn't have the words. 1006 00:47:16,261 --> 00:47:18,837 And so it's like, if no one's really pouring into you 1007 00:47:18,861 --> 00:47:21,645 emotionally, spiritually, from that perspective, 1008 00:47:21,765 --> 00:47:24,677 where do you get it from? Sometimes you get it from the wrong 1009 00:47:24,741 --> 00:47:27,061 places, and you end up being in some poor 1010 00:47:27,133 --> 00:47:30,010 relationships. And so I found m 1011 00:47:30,010 --> 00:47:32,971 that once I starteding that particular book, and it was 1012 00:47:33,003 --> 00:47:35,731 sharing with me how valuable I was to the 1013 00:47:35,763 --> 00:47:38,747 higher power. The higher power how valuable I 1014 00:47:38,771 --> 00:47:41,691 was to him. And then I started reframing 1015 00:47:41,763 --> 00:47:44,451 how I would speak about myself and how I would think about 1016 00:47:44,483 --> 00:47:47,219 myself. And then I would say, well, if he could do these 1017 00:47:47,267 --> 00:47:49,931 things, and he says that I could do these things, then why 1018 00:47:49,963 --> 00:47:52,779 not do these things, whatever these 1019 00:47:52,827 --> 00:47:54,975 things are, Right? And so 1020 00:47:55,515 --> 00:47:58,131 that's my favorite non financial book. I mean, 1021 00:47:58,163 --> 00:48:00,507 ironically has a lot about money in it, to be 1022 00:48:00,531 --> 00:48:03,525 honest. Um, and then I'll just plug 1023 00:48:03,565 --> 00:48:05,105 my own book as the 1024 00:48:06,525 --> 00:48:08,745 why not, why not 1025 00:48:09,045 --> 00:48:11,965 trilogy. You know, um, the volume three 1026 00:48:12,005 --> 00:48:14,677 really has a special place in my heart because it's my peers, 1027 00:48:14,781 --> 00:48:17,781 right. It's my other financial expert peers that came together, 1028 00:48:17,853 --> 00:48:20,677 and they did such a phenomenal job of sharing their 1029 00:48:20,741 --> 00:48:23,333 stories, but also relevant 1030 00:48:23,429 --> 00:48:25,145 strategy that people could use. 1031 00:48:25,605 --> 00:48:28,253 Anthony Weaver: Yes, yes. That book was amazing, by the 1032 00:48:28,269 --> 00:48:28,660 way. 1033 00:48:28,660 --> 00:48:31,375 Um, I had the digital copy, 1034 00:48:34,020 --> 00:48:36,215 uh, number four, 1035 00:48:37,075 --> 00:48:39,811 which is what is your favorite dish to 1036 00:48:39,843 --> 00:48:40,415 make? 1037 00:48:41,115 --> 00:48:43,379 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: Oh, my goodness, it sounds so 1038 00:48:43,427 --> 00:48:45,547 simple. But it is. 1039 00:48:45,651 --> 00:48:48,027 Salmon and fresh 1040 00:48:48,131 --> 00:48:50,827 greens. I love to make some fresh 1041 00:48:50,891 --> 00:48:53,830 greens. First of all, it's healthy for me. Um, 1042 00:48:53,830 --> 00:48:56,779 but it's something about where you can make it and it's not in the can. 1043 00:48:56,907 --> 00:48:59,703 It's something about, you know, I 1044 00:48:59,719 --> 00:49:02,335 had can good back in my day, 1045 00:49:02,495 --> 00:49:05,471 but to be able to put your own seasonings and 1046 00:49:05,503 --> 00:49:08,223 let it marinade and do all the little healthy 1047 00:49:08,279 --> 00:49:10,951 meat options you could choose. Yeah, I love 1048 00:49:10,983 --> 00:49:11,555 that. 1049 00:49:11,855 --> 00:49:14,635 Anthony Weaver: So how do you season your salmon? I to ask that. 1050 00:49:15,615 --> 00:49:18,423 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: It depends on really what I'm going for. Sometimes we'll do a 1051 00:49:18,439 --> 00:49:21,407 lemon pepper, sometimes we'll do a Cajun. It's 1052 00:49:21,431 --> 00:49:24,407 a myriad of different ways, and that's the good part, because you could never 1053 00:49:24,431 --> 00:49:27,389 get bored because change up the seasoning and it changes the 1054 00:49:27,397 --> 00:49:28,185 whole dish. 1055 00:49:28,885 --> 00:49:31,741 Anthony Weaver: That is so true. You know, for the people who don't 1056 00:49:31,893 --> 00:49:34,573 like to branch out the different seasonings besides salt and 1057 00:49:34,589 --> 00:49:37,565 pepper, I mean, try something different. Some 1058 00:49:37,605 --> 00:49:38,789 dill, maybe. 1059 00:49:38,917 --> 00:49:41,869 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: You'd be surprised. You'll be feeling like, ooh, 1060 00:49:41,997 --> 00:49:44,357 I didn't even know that I could do this 1061 00:49:44,541 --> 00:49:46,861 right. Yeah. 1062 00:49:46,933 --> 00:49:49,901 Anthony Weaver: So, Constance, this is the very last question of the 1063 00:49:49,933 --> 00:49:52,469 show, which is where could people find out 1064 00:49:52,517 --> 00:49:54,005 more about you. 1065 00:49:55,825 --> 00:49:58,505 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: Online? I would say, um, m on all your favorite 1066 00:49:58,585 --> 00:50:01,545 social media platforms as my name at C 1067 00:50:01,585 --> 00:50:04,165 Craig Mason. C. Craig Mason. 1068 00:50:04,825 --> 00:50:07,697 Anthony Weaver: All right. Love it, love it, love it. So 1069 00:50:07,801 --> 00:50:10,241 thank you so much, Constance, 1070 00:50:10,393 --> 00:50:12,641 for taking your time and also your 1071 00:50:12,673 --> 00:50:15,345 insights. Um, I have to say, enough 1072 00:50:15,385 --> 00:50:17,925 people that you all have done 1073 00:50:18,265 --> 00:50:21,173 amazing using work from the prior 1074 00:50:21,229 --> 00:50:23,917 years to make it to this year. And even if you feel like you're 1075 00:50:23,941 --> 00:50:26,757 failing, it's okay. You can always reset 1076 00:50:26,941 --> 00:50:29,669 assess from last year and 1077 00:50:29,717 --> 00:50:32,517 actually continue on pushing forward. You have what it 1078 00:50:32,541 --> 00:50:33,037 takes. 1079 00:50:33,181 --> 00:50:33,230 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: Dr. 1080 00:50:33,230 --> 00:50:36,157 Anthony Weaver: Uh, Constance told you where she came from. 1081 00:50:36,341 --> 00:50:39,229 From the bottom to the top. Now she here. You know, 1082 00:50:39,237 --> 00:50:42,185 I'SAYING wenna take it to the next level. Let's go. Right? 1083 00:50:42,525 --> 00:50:43,585 Dr. Constance Craig Mason: Let's go. 1084 00:50:44,925 --> 00:50:47,787 Anthony Weaver: So, uh, I wish you all the the best, everybody. Y'all be 1085 00:50:47,811 --> 00:50:49,555 safe way out. Peace.