Daniel: Most people think getting rich is about working harder or being smarter with spreadsheets. What if the single biggest factor is how you feel about a plate of fried squid you ate when you were seven? Sophia: Fried squid? Okay, you have my attention. What on earth are we talking about today? That sounds less like personal finance and more like a weird food documentary. Daniel: It’s a little of both, actually. We're diving into You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero. And that squid story is the key to her entire philosophy. Sophia: Ah, Jen Sincero. And what's so compelling is that she isn't some finance bro who was born on third base. She was a freelance writer in her forties, living in a converted garage, before she figured this stuff out and became a seven-figure success story. Her own journey is the proof in the pudding. Daniel: Exactly. And that transformation starts with a wild idea, which is our first core topic: that your financial reality is basically make-believe. Sophia: Make-believe? My student loan statements feel pretty real, Daniel. You’re going to have to sell me on this one.

Daniel: I will, and it all comes back to that squid. When Sincero was seven, her family was on a trip in Naples. Her dad, being a bit of a prankster, puts a plate of fried rings in front of her and refuses to say what they are. Her young mind immediately jumps to the most horrifying conclusion: they’re worms. Sophia: Oh no. I can see where this is going. Daniel: She takes a bite, and even though it’s just calamari, her belief that she’s eating a worm is so powerful that she physically gags. She has a full-body, visceral reaction to something that isn't true. Her belief created her physical reality. Sophia: Wow, so her body literally reacted to a story, not the food itself. That's a powerful metaphor. So how does this connect to money? Are we all gagging on our bank statements because of some childhood story we’ve forgotten? Daniel: That’s precisely Sincero’s point. She says our subconscious mind, which she calls our "Little Prince," is basically a seven-year-old running the show. It formed all its core beliefs about the world—and money—before we had any analytical skills. So if we grew up hearing things like "money is the root of all evil," or "rich people are greedy," or we saw our parents constantly fighting about a lack of money, our Little Prince created a story: money is dangerous, scarce, and a source of pain. Sophia: And just like with the squid, we react to that story as if it's reality. We subconsciously push money away, or sabotage opportunities, or feel immense guilt when we do get some, because our inner seven-year-old is screaming "Worms! Danger!" Daniel: You've got it. We think we're making rational financial decisions as adults, but we're often just acting out these ancient, invisible scripts. We stay in low-paying jobs or avoid asking for a raise because our subconscious believes it's safer to be broke. It’s trying to protect us from the "danger" of wealth. Sophia: But our financial problems feel so real—the bills, the debt, the rising cost of everything. It's hard to accept it's just a 'story.' Where's the line between mindset and, you know, actual economic reality? Daniel: That's the perfect question, because Sincero's answer isn't just about psychology. It's where she takes a leap into what many critics call the 'woo-woo' zone. She argues that to change the story, you have to change your energy, and that means tapping into a force she calls Universal Intelligence.

Sophia: Okay, here we go. 'Universal Intelligence.' That sounds a lot like 'The Secret' or the law of attraction. Is this just magical thinking, or is there something more practical going on here? Daniel: It's a fair question, and it's where the book becomes polarizing for many readers. Sincero, who was heavily influenced by early 20th-century writers like Wallace Wattles, argues that everything is energy, including our thoughts and money itself. Universal Intelligence is her term for the organizing force of the universe, and she says it responds to the frequency of our thoughts. Sophia: So, if I think broke thoughts, I get a broke reality. If I think rich thoughts, I get a rich reality. Daniel: In a nutshell, yes. But she frames it less as magic and more as a collaboration. To illustrate this, she uses the now-famous story of Jim Carrey. In the early 90s, when he was a struggling actor, he wrote himself a check for ten million dollars for "acting services rendered," post-dated it for three years later, and kept it in his wallet. Sophia: I've heard this! It's an incredible story. Daniel: It is. He looked at it every day. It wasn't just a wish; it was a declaration. And just before the date on that check, he landed his role in Dumb and Dumber and was paid… ten million dollars. Sophia: That gives me chills every time. But let me play devil's advocate. That's a classic survivor bias example, isn't it? What about all the other actors who wrote themselves checks and are still waiting tables? Is Sincero really saying we can just 'think' ourselves rich? Daniel: She argues it's not just passive thinking. The 'faith' Carrey had wasn't just blind hope; she sees it as a powerful tool for unwavering focus. It drove his actions, his auditions, his resilience when he was booed off stage. It's about aligning your energy and your actions. The check was a constant reminder of his 'Why,' which kept him going through the 'How.' Sophia: That reframing is helpful. The faith isn't the magic wand; it's the fuel for the engine of tenacity. It keeps you from giving up when things get tough. Daniel: Exactly. And she pairs faith with gratitude. She says desperation repels, while gratitude attracts. Being grateful for the money you do have, and even for the money that's on its way, shifts your energetic frequency from one of lack to one of abundance. It opens you up to seeing opportunities you would have missed if you were only focused on what's wrong. Sophia: I can see how that works psychologically. If you're constantly scanning for things to be grateful for, you're training your brain to spot positives and opportunities. It’s a cognitive-behavioral trick dressed in spiritual language. Daniel: That's a great way to put it. Whether you call it Universal Intelligence or cognitive reframing, the mechanism is about shifting your internal state to drive different external actions. Sophia: Okay, I can see how 'faith' can be a powerful psychological tool for focus. But focus doesn't pay the rent. How do you turn that inner belief into actual cash? This is where most people get stuck.

Daniel: And this is the final, and most terrifying, piece of the puzzle: The Decisive Leap. Sincero is adamant that mindset work is useless without audacious action. And she uses her own story as the ultimate case study. Sophia: The one from her broke-in-a-garage days? Daniel: The very same. After she started her coaching business, she knew she needed to level up. She found a seminar and a coach she felt could change her life, but the one-on-one coaching package cost eighty-five thousand dollars. Sophia: Eighty-five thousand dollars? That's not a leap; that's jumping off a cliff without a parachute! It sounds incredibly irresponsible for someone who was just getting by. Daniel: It sounds insane. And she didn't have it. But she made a non-negotiable decision: "I am doing this." She says a true decision means cutting off all other possibilities—no plan B. So she had to find the money. She identified a frugal friend, bought a plane ticket she couldn't really afford, flew to her friend's house, and, shaking with fear, asked for an $85,000 loan. Sophia: My stomach just dropped hearing that. The vulnerability, the risk of rejection, the sheer audacity of it. I can't imagine. Daniel: But here’s the core insight. Sincero says that taking that huge, scary action—what she calls "bum-rushing your fears"—is the ultimate diagnostic tool. It's so terrifying that it forces your deepest, ugliest subconscious blocks to come screaming to the surface. For her, the thought of asking for that much money unearthed a hidden belief she never knew she had: a fear that if she became wildly successful, it would somehow hurt her relationship with her father, who had always shown love by helping her out financially. Sophia: Whoa. So the action wasn't just about getting the money. It was about revealing the final boss of her own limiting beliefs. Daniel: Precisely. She had to confront that fear head-on to move forward. And she argues we all have a version of that. We have to take an action so bold it forces our "Little Prince" out of hiding. This is also tied to her idea of upgrading your environment. Start hanging out in the neighborhoods you want to live in, test-drive the car you want to buy. Make the "unrealistic" feel normal to your brain. Sophia: So you act as if. You put yourself in the fire, and in doing so, you either get burned or you forge yourself into someone new. Someone who can handle the heat. Daniel: And who deserves the rewards. She got the loan, did the coaching, and says she paid it back in less than a year as her income skyrocketed. The leap paid off.

Sophia: So it really is a three-step dance. First, you have to accept the radical idea that your money reality is a story you're telling yourself, probably one you wrote in childhood. Daniel: Right. You have to see the make-believe to start believing in something new. Sophia: Second, you use the 'woo-woo' toolkit—faith and gratitude—as the psychological fuel to change your internal frequency and maintain focus, even if you're skeptical of the spiritual layer. Daniel: It’s about generating the emotional energy for the journey. Sophia: And third, you take a terrifying, decisive action. You make a leap so big it forces your new story to become real, because retreating is no longer an option. Daniel: Exactly. And the book's ultimate argument, and I think its most profound insight, is that getting rich isn't really about the money. It's about the person you have to become to get there. You have to shed the old identity, the old fears, the old stories. The money is just the tangible proof that you've evolved. Sophia: That's a much more compelling goal than just having a bigger number in your bank account. It's about personal transformation. For anyone listening who feels intrigued but also overwhelmed, what's one small, concrete step they could take today? Daniel: Sincero suggests a simple but powerful exercise: write a letter to Money as if it were a person. Dear Money… and just see what comes out. What would you say? Are you angry at it? Scared of it? Do you resent it for leaving you? That conversation alone might reveal the whole story you've been telling yourself. Sophia: A powerful place to start. It’s like therapy, but with your wallet. Daniel: This is Aibrary, signing off.