My Rich Nerd,
We had one of the most interesting callers on our live show recently. At first, chat and I thought he was trolling. Then it became clear he was completely serious.
Let’s break it down.
The Stats 🔢
🤯🤯🤯
Meet David, a 41-year-old from Santa Monica. He owns between two and three million dollars worth of businesses and property that he’s “supposed to manage,” but as he put it, “I haven’t really worked most of my life.” Instead, he spends most of his time playing video games (currently ARC Raiders), playing poker, or just hanging around.
So how does he survive? Friends, family, and loved ones help support him financially. He currently lives with his girlfriend, and while she would like him to contribute financially, she told him he could start paying rent “when you’re ready.”
The Problem 🚨
Most of our calls revolve around three things:
Too much cash
Too much debt
Not enough income
David is dealing with something increasingly common: directionlessness. This is one of many factors behind the decline in labor force participation among men. David explained that he wakes up most days with a long list of things he feels like he should be doing. But instead of motivating him, that list overwhelms him. That feeling creates a loop. Wake up → feel overwhelmed → play video games → feel guilty → try to work → feel overwhelmed → feel guilty → repeat. In his words: “It feels like I have a twenty-year backlog of things I should be doing.” Sound familiar? I used to do this CONSTANTLY. Every Monday, I would say, “This week is different, I’m going to get so much done!” Then Friday would come, and I’d say, “Damn, I got nothing done.”
The Patch ✅
I gave David two blunt pieces of advice:
Go to therapy. We go to the gym to build muscle and lose fat. We eat healthy to prevent disease. Yet, we don’t teach people how to take care of their minds. There may be a deeper issue that goes back to David’s childhood. Something that a 10-minute chat with me won’t fix. Mental health professionals can help him build systems to get him “unstuck.”
In the meantime, he needs to get a job ASAP. Anything that requires showing up consistently. Humans need purpose. It’s baked into our DNA. Our ancestors had clear daily objectives: don’t get eaten by a tiger, find food, and participate in the kinds of activities our middle school science teachers nervously explained with a diagram. David’s brain is wired for purpose just like theirs.
Watch the full video to learn which word you “should” delete from your vocabulary:
Talk soon,
– Your Money Senpai
