Narrator: What if the biggest obstacle between you and a life of wealth isn't your job, your debt, or the economy, but a seven-year-old version of yourself secretly running the show? Imagine being in your forties, a talented freelance writer living in a converted garage, so broke that you're on a first-name basis with the debt collector. This was the reality for Jen Sincero, who spent decades patching things together with duct tape and rationalizing her financial mediocrity. She believed that wanting money was greedy and that her reality was fixed. Yet, within a few years, she transformed that reality, going from the garage to a seven-figure income as a success coach and author.

Her journey reveals a startling truth explored in her book, You Are a Badass at Making Money. Sincero argues that our financial destiny is not written in spreadsheets or market trends, but in the deeply ingrained, often invisible, stories we tell ourselves. Getting rich isn't about working harder; it's about mastering the mindset of wealth and rewriting the script that has kept you stuck.

Narrator: Our experience of the world is not objective; it’s a make-believe reality shaped by our beliefs. Sincero illustrates this with a childhood story. On a family trip to Italy, her father teased her by refusing to identify the fried, circular food on her plate. Her seven-year-old mind, convinced it was a plate of worms, caused her to gag and wince as she forced one down. The moment her father revealed it was just fried squid, the physical revulsion vanished, replaced by humiliation. The squid hadn't changed, but her belief about it had, and that belief created her physical reality.

Sincero argues that our financial lives operate on the same principle. Our subconscious mind—which she calls the "Little Prince"—is running on programming installed in childhood, before we had analytical skills. It absorbed beliefs about money from our parents, our culture, and our early experiences. If we grew up hearing that "money is the root of all evil" or that "rich people are greedy," our subconscious works tirelessly to protect us from becoming what we were taught to fear, sabotaging our efforts to earn more. To change our financial reality, we must first become aware of these invisible, make-believe stories and understand that our external world is merely a mirror of our internal one.

Narrator: Sincero demystifies money by defining it as a simple medium of exchange. It is not inherently good or bad; it is a tool. The moral charge we assign to it—greed, corruption, selfishness—is a projection of our own beliefs. The key, she explains, is to see money as currency, and currency as energy. Everything in the universe, including our thoughts, is energy. Therefore, to attract the energy of money, we must align our own frequency with it.

This means shifting from a frequency of lack, desperation, and fear to one of abundance, gratitude, and excitement. Money, Sincero posits, comes from a force she calls Universal Intelligence, but it flows through other people. Fixating on how a specific person or job will provide for you is limiting. Instead, the focus should be on raising your own energetic frequency by appreciating the value you offer. Sincero learned this the hard way when she offered discounted coaching to friends. Feeling "weird and shamey" about charging them, she lowered her energetic value. In turn, her friends didn't fully invest in the process, and the sessions were ineffective. By devaluing her work, she created a weak energetic exchange. To become a magnet for money, you must value what you give and remain open to receiving from the limitless source of the Universe, not just the channels you expect.

Narrator: Many people are held back by a deep-seated, often unconscious, guilt about wanting to be wealthy. Sincero tells the story of her friend who, after buying one wooden owl carving, was inundated with owl-themed gifts for years. Though she hated them, she felt obligated to display them, allowing others' perceptions to dictate her reality. Similarly, we often allow societal expectations and negative programming to dictate our financial desires, believing that wanting wealth is selfish.

Sincero challenges this directly, referencing her initial revulsion to Wallace Wattles’s book The Science of Getting Rich, which states, "it is not possible to live a really complete or successful life unless one is rich." She now argues that a healthy desire for wealth is not greed, but a "desire for life." Money provides the resources to flourish, share your unique gifts, and contribute to the world on a grander scale. She reframes the pursuit of wealth as a duty. If you are here to become the grandest, most generous version of yourself, and doing so requires resources, then it is your responsibility to get rich. Greed, she argues, comes from the same lack mindset as poverty—a fear that there isn't enough. True abundance is about creating a life so full that you can give freely.

Narrator: Investigating your limiting beliefs is crucial, but insight without action is useless. Sincero advocates for taking "big, audacious action" that forces your subconscious fears out into the open. She recounts attending a seminar where the coach offered an $85,000 one-on-one program. The thought of spending that much money, which she didn't have, was terrifying. But in contemplating that audacious leap, she unearthed a shocking subconscious belief: that her financial success would hurt her father, who showed his love by giving her money. The fear was that if she no longer needed him financially, she would lose his love. By "bum-rushing" her fear, she exposed the root of her self-sabotage.

This kind of action must be paired with a non-negotiable decision. Drawing on the story of a climber in Touching the Void who survived a horrific ordeal by making small, non-negotiable decisions to keep moving, Sincero stresses that true commitment means cutting off all other possibilities. A backup plan is a sign that you haven't truly decided. When you make an unwavering decision to get rich, you become obsessed with the goal, and Universal Intelligence begins to conspire in your favor.

Narrator: Our surroundings—from our homes to our friends—profoundly shape what we believe is possible. Sincero notes that your income is likely the average of your five closest friends. If your circle is constantly complaining about being broke, that reality will feel normal and inescapable. To change your financial life, you must change your environment.

Sincero shares her own story of living in an undesirable part of Los Angeles while dreaming of living in Venice Beach. Believing she couldn't afford it, she started immersing herself in the Venice environment anyway—working in its coffee shops and telling people she was looking for an apartment there. This act of "test-driving" her desired reality eventually led her to find a tiny, affordable garage apartment. Though a humble space, the shift in environment dramatically raised her energy and motivation, acting as a catalyst for her to earn more. Surrounding yourself with high-frequency people and places that reflect your goals makes the "impossible" start to feel normal and achievable.

Narrator: According to Sincero, the number one trait wealthy people attribute their success to is tenacity. It is the refusal to give up, no matter how difficult the journey becomes. She tells the story of a neighbor who started an investment management company in 2008, right as the market crashed. A woman in a male-dominated field, she invested her life savings, had a child in the hospital, and faced constant rejection. She was exhausted and on the verge of quitting, but her mentor gave her simple advice: "Never give up." She persevered, and her net worth eventually grew twenty-fold.

This tenacity must be fueled by faith—the belief in an unseen reality. Faith allows you to let go of needing to know how your goal will be achieved and to trust that the way will be shown. It’s about taking action before you have all the answers. Gratitude is the tool that strengthens this faith. By being grateful for what you have and for the wealth that is on its way, you align your energy with abundance instead of desperation. Desperation repels, but gratitude attracts.

Narrator: The single most important takeaway from You Are a Badass at Making Money is that your bank account is a lagging indicator of your mindset. Wealth is not something you chase; it is something you allow. The journey to financial freedom is an inside job, requiring you to dismantle the limiting beliefs, fears, and inherited stories that have defined your relationship with money.

The book’s most challenging idea is also its most empowering: you are the only thing standing in your way. It asks you to take radical responsibility for your financial reality and to make a non-negotiable decision to change it. So, what is the one fear-based story about money you are willing to let go of today to make room for the wealth you desire?