I made $3.3 million in five minutes during my first IPO. Six months later, I was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, completely overwhelmed. I had always believed that seeing seven figures in my bank account would bring freedom—but instead, I had more anxiety than ever.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: making money and managing money are completely different skills.

This video is a deep dive into the six most common—and most dangerous—mistakes I see first-time millionaires make. I’ve lived through all of them. I’ll also walk you through the practical, systematic framework that helped me turn chaotic wealth into a calm, income-generating portfolio.

This video is the one I wish existed when I hit seven figures and had no idea what to do next. If you want to avoid years of trial and error, start by building your foundation—your Legacy Statement and Investment Thesis—and make every financial decision from there.

If you’re ready to start managing your wealth like a real business instead of a high-stakes hobby, I’m hosting a free live workshop in a few days where I’ll walk through this framework in depth. You can apply at wealthops.io/go.

If you think hitting $1 million means you’re financially free, think again. That might’ve been true in 1980, but today? That barely puts you in the top 10% of net worth in America—and it’s not enough to stop working.

In todays episode, I break down the exact net worth thresholds for the top 10%, 5%, and 1% in the U.S.—both total net worth and investable net worth. I’ll also share where I personally stand, how wealth strategies evolve at each level, and what it really takes to break into the top 1%.

Using fresh data from the Federal Reserve’s 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, we’ll walk through how wealth changes—not just in amount, but in structure.

You’ll see why the climb from median net worth to the top 10% is steep, but getting from 10% to 1% is an exponential leap.

And here’s the big insight: the difference between owning assets and owning capital.

Most people in the top 10% are “house-rich,” but not capital-rich. Nearly 60% of their wealth is tied up in a primary residence that doesn’t generate income. Meanwhile, in the top 1%, nearly half of net worth comes from private business equity—not real estate or stocks.

We’ll also unpack what I call The Great Decoupling—the moment the truly wealthy shift their wealth strategy entirely. It’s not about more assets—it’s about different kinds of assets, systems, and mindset.

If you’re a high earner or successful professional feeling stuck—even with a $2M+ portfolio—this is your wake-up call. You may already be in the top 10%, or even top 5%, but if you’re still using the wrong wealth management playbook, you’ll never break into the top 1%.

Whether you’re just starting to think about investable net worth, or already building legacy-level wealth, this video is your roadmap for moving from income dependence to true financial independence—and eventually, to becoming the CEO of your wealth.

A few years ago, I stood at a crossroads with my portfolio.

Option one: do what most people do—dump it all into index funds and ETFs, hope the market performs, and wait 30 years.

Option two: deploy capital like the wealthy do—across multiple asset classes, focused on income, with strategic allocations that actually pay you now.

I chose option two.

While still working in tech, I built an income-focused portfolio with $530,000 across 9 investments, and it generated $57,000 in annual income. That portfolio became the foundation for what now brings in over $200,000/year in passive income.

But here’s the real value of this video—I’m not just showing you what I did. I’m breaking down what I’d do differently today if I were starting over with the same $500K.

This isn’t theory. These are hard-earned lessons from millions deployed, simplified into a refined framework that anyone can follow—without needing to be a real estate expert, financial advisor, or full-time investor.

In this video, I walk through:

• What I originally invested in (with numbers)
• What worked, what didn’t, and why
• The 5-part framework I’d follow today to generate more income with less stress
• How I went from complexity to a scalable, boring machine that prints income

If you’re sitting on $500,000 or more and want to build a portfolio that pays you to live—not 30 years from now, but today—this video will walk you through the exact strategy I’d use.