The Mindset of Wealth With Brian Fouts

Intro (00:09):
Welcome to Innovations and Breakthroughs with your host Rich Goldstein, talking about the evolutionary, the revolutionary, the inspiration and the perspiration, and those aha moments that change everything. And now here’s your host, Rich Goldstein.

Rich (00:34):
Rich Goldstein here, host of the Innovations and Breakthroughs podcast, where I featured top leaders in the path they took to create change. Past guests include Joe Polish, Ryan Deice, and Rick Azari. This episode is brought to you by my company, Goldstein Patent Law, where we help you to protect your ideas and products. We’ve advised and obtained patents for thousands of companies over the past 29 years. So if you’re a company that has software, a product, or a design you want protected, go to goldstein patent law.com where there are amazing free resources for learning about the patent process. And you could email my team welcome@goldsteinpc.com to explore if it’s a match to work together. You could also check out the book I wrote for the American Bar Association that explains in plain English how patents work. It’s called the ABA Consumer Guide to Obtaining a Patent I have with me here today. My friend Brian Fouts is a co-owner and CEO of the Elevation Group, and also CEO of the Living Legacy Association. Brian’s passionate about empowering people to educate themselves about how money, wealth, and real investing actually works. Uh, as sat, the Elevation Group provides financial education courses with more than 50,000 worldwide students. And so I’m happy to welcome here my friend Brian Fouts to the podcast. Welcome, Brian.

Brian (01:50):
Thanks, Rich. Glad to be here.

Rich (01:52):
So cool. Let’s just talk a little bit about your, your journey as an entrepreneur. I understand you started out in construction management. Um, so yeah, tell us about how that, how that led toward you doing what you do now.

Brian (02:06):
Yeah, Rich. So it was interesting. So I, I got my start, uh, in life, like most people, uh, lower income, middle class, and, uh, was told when I was young to follow that traditional path in life, go to school, you know, try to get good grades, <laugh>, you know, and get a job saving your 401k and eventually retire. And then there you go. And, uh, when I was on that path, I, I did that. I, I went to construction and about 10 years into that career, something just wasn’t sitting well with me. And I’d done everything I was told to do. I had the cars, with the car loans. I had student loan debt. I had the house with a sizeable mortgage. I had a, I had, I got married, I had, you know, some, a couple of kids at that point in time, but I was not feeling very fulfilled in my life.

Brian (02:51):
And ultimately, I realized I actually had a negative net worth after working 10 years in a career, doing what I was told to do, saving money to a 401k and watching it get crushed during the last, you know, market crash. I realized this is broken, this is a broken path, and I gotta do something different because I’m getting the same results as everybody else around me, but I want something different in life. And I didn’t have anybody to turn to. I didn’t have mentors or, you know, successful entrepreneurial, uh, family members to go talk to. So I set all set out on my own journey to really understand how to build wealth, how to become a business owner, whatever that meant. And that led me to real estate, and that’s how I got my start in as an entrepreneur. I was in real estate and owner financing that and had success in that.

Brian (03:31):
And eventually that led me to quitting my job and started to do that full time. And at that point in time, I, um, I did find a, a person that was a traditional financial planner and got in, in involved with them and some other things, and ended up, um, losing everything I had. I lost, uh, all my income, a bunch of investments that went that, that they took over. Uh, they actually did some nefarious things, and let’s just say that, uh, it was a very unfortunate experience, and I realized that I, I wasn’t accessing the right knowledge, the right individuals. And so that set me on my real journey, my real path, which was to really surround myself with people that, that I can learn from, that I can, uh, level up with that can help me, uh, grow and really grow my knowledge. And that’s really what led me to the Elevation Group, uh, the business that I now own and also live in Legacy, which is another business that is, was an offshoot of that one.

Brian (04:23):
And so when I first came into the, the Elevation Group, it was like a treasure trove of knowledge being taught by expert advisors of the wealthy. And I was like, this is the thing that I’m missing. And I realized 90% of the population is also missing that same thing, that knowledge there. And that was really what, uh, where I found my true purpose and I ended up acquiring the Elevation Group, that business and starting up some other businesses on the side. But I learned how to raise capital raised, uh, multiple seven figures, um, to acquire other businesses. And that’s really where I got my start and what led me to, uh, where I’m at today.

Rich (04:57):
Got it. Love it. And, you know, raise an interesting question for me because I know a lot of the things that, that we often do is partially about knowledge, right? And partially about mindset. And so like you, you mentioned that like the, those courses like really provide all of the, the knowledge that someone might need to know about how to do the right things with regard to their finances. But a lot of times people come from a mindset that doesn’t really allow them to, to apply those. So, so like what do we do about mindset? Like how do we tackle that aspect to get people to do the things that really will help them financially?

Brian (05:35):
Yeah, great question because that’s actually a true passion of mine as, as around the, the mindset, especially when it comes to money, but also legacy and, and what I also call living a wealthy life because, and this is what I experienced and most people do from a young age. When we’re born, we don’t have any preconceived notions around money, wealth investing. Uh, you know, right or wrong, good or bad, we don’t have that. We’re programmed. We are essentially a blank slate that is programmed by those around us and our experiences when we’re young. And I was programmed to go to school, get a job, and that was okay. But, uh, that’s, that’s, that’s what I was taught. And so the mindset that we have oftentimes is passed on to us. It might, it’s, it’s really, it might not be even our true belief because we learned them from other people.

Brian (06:22):
And so when I was going through this journey, when I was around successful people, entrepreneurs, investors, uh, I realized they have a different way of thinking, a different way of viewing everything and a different mindset. And that really intrigued me. And I said, oh my gosh, this, this is the ticket. This is really what’s missing for a lot of people. And I, and I’ve heard this stat I’m not sure how true it is, but it’s like the 90% of of building wealth is mindset, then five or 10% is what you actually do. And what I realized is there’s a big gap right there. A big gap, because you can tell somebody, real estate is one of the best ways to, to build wealth or build cashflow. Here’s a book, here’s the courses, go read ’em. They read through all that stuff, but they don’t go do it.

Brian (07:08):
Only a small percentage of people will act on the knowledge. And that’s what Bob Proctor talks about this, it’s called the knowing-doing gap, knowing how to do something doesn’t mean you’re going to do that. And that was one of the biggest shifts for me, was understanding that, man, there’s so much knowledge out there, but I need to apply it. And it had to do with what I focused on. And so when I went through my journey, I realized I had all these challenges and I had these setbacks. And when I went back and looked at ’em, I realized, my gosh, it’s my programming. I’m learning something I’m taking action on. But then my subconscious programming, whatever my beliefs were that I learned as a young age were then pulling me backwards. And so that, one of my biggest passions is really helping people understand that and how to apply knowledge and build true wealth.

Brian (07:53):
And so in like one of our courses, uh, we teach people the five levels of how to build a wealthy life. And the first one starts with the, your knowledge and really what that is that, that, that belief you have around money and legacy and switching that or flipping that switch, so to speak, on really what you are trying to accomplish. And so that was the big mindset change for me, and I’ve seen that in time and time again with people, is that if you, if you have a foundation of beliefs, you’ve gotta address that. You’ve gotta focus on that first so that you can get that goal or accomplish that goal that you want. Um, and then the, another big thing for me that I realized was, is purpose. And, uh, a lot of people have a lot of knowledge, but how many times, I mean, Rich, have, have you ever met somebody who has a, a lot of knowledge or is very smart, but isn’t really successful in life?

Rich (08:46):
Oh, yeah. All, all, all the time. It’s, it’s like, because knowing now knowing how isn’t necessarily going to get you there. Right, exactly. Like you were saying before. Yeah.

Brian (08:56):
And so I saw this time and time again, and I started seeing it. And so, uh, one of the biggest things for me was understanding how do I get over that hurdle? Okay, I’ve got this knowledge. I’ve, I’ve got this access, I’ve got this network. Uh, how do I get to that, that outcome that I want? Well, one, one, it was realizing, well, what’s the purpose of, of you doing this? What’s the purpose of you living here on planet Earth? What, why are you even born? And I didn’t have a purpose because I was just, I was found that traditional path. Well, there was no purpose with that for me. And so when I found that purpose, all of a sudden taking action became easy. And that was a huge thing for me. I was like, wow, all of a sudden, now that I know why I’m doing what I’m doing, taking action is simple just because it’s, I know it’s gonna accomplish this.

Brian (09:40):
And so I spend a lot of my time focusing on like a, a big goal, a big goal that is just out there, that is powerful, that is exciting. That’s what I focus on when I’m thinking about why am I doing this kind of stuff. And so that’s what pulls me forward. And so for a lot of people, when they have this knowledge, they don’t take action on it because they don’t know, they don’t have a purpose, they don’t have a reason to take action. Yes, they want to have more money, but what’s that mean? Having more money doesn’t really mean anything unless you do something with the money, right? <laugh>, because it doesn’t, it just sits there. It’s what you do with it. Is it, you know, building a legacy? Is it, you know, charity? Is it making a, an impact in the world? That kind of stuff. And so I’ve realized that a lot of the successful people that I’m around, they have, that they have this purpose of this or this reason why they wanna take action on the knowledge that they have. Well, that was a big one for me.

Rich (10:27):
Yeah, no, uh, absolutely. And, and so purpose, it plays a big role in, in kind of the thing that pulls you forward. I mean, often it’s the, the gap, right? It’s like what, you know, like what, um, where do you want to get? And, uh, where are you now? And like, what’s the gap between? And that can often be the driving for force, but as you’re saying it, it’s purpose too. Like knowing that you’re doing something, um, that it’s kind of directed toward your purpose or that, um, you know, it’s, it’s going to bring you closer to where you’re, you’re headed. That’s part of what could fuel your journey, I suppose.

Brian (11:04):
Yeah, yeah. When you think of guys like, uh, think of Elon Musk as an example. Well, there’s a guy that says, we’re gonna, I’m gonna colonize Mars. That’s a pretty big goal. Does he know how he’s gonna do it? No. Does he care? No, he doesn’t. Because he has belief, he has purpose. That overrides the how, because the how will come. But when that purpose is that big, you’ll figure it out. And so that’s one of the coolest things. So like, when I remember back when I had a, a job and a career, I had these, these goals, okay, I want to, uh, pay off my debt, not have any more debt. That is not a very fun goal. In fact, that’s a pretty goal, to be honest. Pardon of my language. It’s, it’s just, it’s not a fun goal. And here’s the thing.

Brian (11:50):
I know how to accomplish that. I know how to do that. And so there’s no motivation behind it. But I remember back, and this was actually, I, I, I got to experience a little taste of this when I was younger, and I remember, uh, I saw this Shelby Cobra in San Francisco driving down the street, and I was like, man, I wanna build one of those cars a replica. And so I remember I told my mom, I was in my twenties at this point in time, Hey, I’m gonna have that car in five years. She’s like, how are you gonna do that? It’s like a $50,000 car to go do. I’m like, I don’t know. I had that car in four years because I had passion about that. I had passion. And so I kind of tasted that back then. And so today, when I’m looking at say, living legacy, like my passion and purpose with that business is to make a massive impact in how people build their legacy and how they make a, a lasting impact in the world around them and the lives of those around them. That is my passion and purpose. How am I gonna do that? Sometimes I don’t know, but I don’t care because I am, I’m committed to doing that and the how will come. And so, you know, we’re, we’re launching courses, building things, clients are coming on board, we’re helping them accomplish things now. And I didn’t know how I was gonna do that when it first happened, but now that it’s happening, it’s just like, it’s easy because I know why I’m doing it.

Rich (12:59):
Yeah. Um, totally get it. And, um, and like in terms of the how currently, right? So the, you’ve got the why, which is going to help you figure out the how, but what is the, how that you’ve been, um, been working on as of late? Like what is the Yeah, like the way in which you are following this purpose, and like, like what type of things are you doing currently?

Brian (13:22):
Yeah, so for me, I, I have businesses and stuff, and I help other people, but what I’m really taking is what I’ve learned in helping other people accomplish the same things. And so one of the ways we do that, one is that when people are working and having success, they, they oftentimes get stuck. They get stuck in the routine, they get stuck in that path they’re on, and yet they don’t know what to do, how to get out of that, how to get unstuck. And so what we help people do essentially is get around the right people, get around the right advisors and the right strategies and opportunities so that they can get their money working for them so they can stop working so hard for their money. Because there’s this, we’re, we’re taught at a young age to work hard for money, go trade your time for money, get a job, trade time for money, all that kind of stuff.

Brian (14:02):
And by the way, I still do that, but nobody’s talking about how do you build wealth out of that? How do you go from working so hard to get your money working for you? And that’s really what we help people do is, is make that switch from working so hard, putting that time in day after day into your job or your business, and get that money working for you so you can actually get your time back. Because what we all want is freedom, or to be free, free to do what we want, when we want, with who we want, wherever we want. And so we help people get on that path and accomplish that. And you know, when you have the right access and you see these opportunities that are out there that the average person doesn’t have access to, it becomes simple, it becomes easier.

Brian (14:43):
And most people think that, I’m just gonna work harder. Oh, I’m gonna take my money and put it in the crypto, or I’m gonna take my money and put it into this next new shiny object. And then, you know, a couple months later, a year later, whatever it is, they’re wondering why they lost their money. Well, it’s called that knowing doing gap. Okay. They, they know they should put their money to work in good things, but they don’t know what those are, so they take the wrong action. So that’s what we help do, is help people understand how to get in front of the right strategies, advisors, experts to put their money to work for them.

Rich (15:12):
Yeah, absolutely. And, um, speaking kind of about the right advisors and experts, so you are launching a podcast? Yep. Um, it’s the, you’re launching the Living Legacy podcast, and you are working with, um, with, um, my friend Jeremy Weiss. Yes. It’s funny though, I’m gonna mentioning them here. I mention his company Rise 25, which I love. I love those guys. They’re great because usually what they do is if something, if someone gets mentioned in a podcast, they’ll put the links to it blow. So I’m just wondering if they’re gonna put links to themselves down there. I hope they do, you know? Yeah. But, uh, but tell me, um, uh, you know, tell me about the podcast and what you’re, what you’re gonna do on that.

Brian (15:52):
So we’re kinda doing something where we’re gonna, being entrepreneurs on and share once, once again, their journey. But one of the things that I’m diving into is legacy, because I really believe that if, if, if you’re, if you’re don’t have a purpose here, why are we living? Right? And so it’s really identifying expert entrepreneurs or advisors, business owners, and knowing what their purpose is, why are they doing what they’re doing? And, you know, and because I believe that truly is the driver of their success. And so we’re, we’re looking at saying, okay, like I had Andy Tanner on, um, here this week. Andy Tanner is a Rich Dad, poor dad advisor to Robert Kiosaki. Um, he’s been one of his speakers. He’s no longer a current speaker, but he’s been one of his speakers for years. And his biggest passion in life is, is building a legacy that, you know, that he can, um, leave behind, but also one that he can live today. That’s why we’re called Living Legacy, because it’s not about after you die, it’s about what impact you can see today that you can make today. And so we’re diving in with, uh, uh, business owners, entrepreneurs around on their legacy. What does that mean to them? How are they building it? How are they making an impact? And it’s, it’s, it’s amazing the things that we’re hearing, the stories that we’re hearing, because that is, you’ll find out that is the one of the drivers of their success. So that’s what that podcast is gonna be focusing on.

Rich (17:04):
Oh, I love it. That’s great. I love the concept of living legacy, of kind of creating now how you want to be remembered or like, like just really living now, like what you want your legacy to be, right? Yeah,

Brian (17:17):
Absolutely. And unfortunately, I, I think a lot of people have a lot of value and knowledge in their head and in their heart that they don’t get to manifest into the real world. And that to me is very unfortunate. A lot of us are, are walking around with all this stuff, this, this impact that we could manifest into the real world, but we, we don’t take action on it because we don’t really have that purpose, or we don’t know what that is. And so that’s also a big part of, of why we have the podcast and why we’re called Living Legacy. It’s so that you can actually take this, this impact that you have inside of you and put it to work in the real world to see it. And obviously, yes, a big part of that is investing and is money, but money is just a tool.

Brian (17:55):
And what we’ve seen it time and time again with our clients is that it allows them to live the life that they dreamed of, but also make that impact, make that legacy, uh, in the real world. And so that’s a big, uh, uh, driving force for me, is just seeing some of our clients just get so excited about it. Like, holy cow, Brian, uh, one of our members recently, he was sharing this with me. Uh, he had this business and he was in this business, and he was stuck in it making good money, uh, didn’t like his job though. And he, I say job, even though he owned the business, it was his job, 60 hours a week grinding away every day. And he realized, he goes, if I stop doing this, everything around me will fall apart. Uh, he didn’t have, he didn’t have other streams of income, he didn’t have assets that would pay him no matter what was going on. He had to keep working in this business. And it was just, it was just kill him. And a few months later, holy cow, he, he’s actually buying some more businesses because now he’s a business owner, he’s working half the hours, making more money. He’s got multiple streams of income now. And his, he’s like so excited about what he’s doing and why he’s doing it, though. The why is what he found out first, and now that he has that, he’s just taking massive action and loving every day of it.

Rich (19:04):
Yeah, that’s awesome. And I could totally relate to the, well, let’s put it this way. I mean, um, we get hundreds of in inquiries per month from people who have an idea there’s something that they wanna do. And then, you know, we, um, we talk with them about what the path would be towards getting it protected, towards getting a patent, um, or, or whatever. But it, it’s, it’s maybe about 10% of the people that contact us that, that probably ever do anything with it. And then if you, if you work backwards from that and you say, well, how many people have ideas and they don’t even take the step to, to reach out to someone like me, or like my firm. So like, it’s gotta be 95% of people with ideas never do anything with them. Like maybe more agree. Yeah,

Brian (19:53):
I’d agree. And that’s what we help people do is, is, is like you help ’em with the patent side of it. We help ’em with sort of the, the, the money and investing side of it. But that’s the, that’s, that’s what we help people get is across that gap. Um, and depending on where they’re at, you know, we have different programs that we do with people, but that’s a big thing that when you have that idea, like, how do you implement it? Or, uh, let’s say you, you have a, a good job and you have, you know, some capital you saved up and you’re like, well, man, what do I do? How do I put that to work for me? It’s like helping them bridge that gap, because as you said, you know, knowledge is a resource, money is a resource, all these resources, but if you don’t know how to deploy them correctly, sometimes people don’t take any action. And that’s, you know, to me is, is very unfortunate.

Rich (20:34):
So Yeah, absolutely. And I think that’s, it’s a great passion to have to help people, um, through that, to help people pass that and help them to kind of, um, get to a place where they’re unstuck. So I,

Brian (20:46):
Yeah. And it’s, and unfortunately a lot of people think that money’s gonna solve that. Well, it’s a tool. Once again, it’s just that tool. And so that’s why what you said, that why that purpose, um, is huge. It’s huge. And so, uh, you know, in another one of our members that did this, they went through this process with us, they deployed their capital, and now they’re going to do something completely different than what their career was because they realized, wow, I don’t have to keep doing this anymore because now that I’ve, I’ve had success with it is working for me, I can go do this over here. And man, it is so cool to see that. And, um, actually one of our, um, one of our mutual friends at, uh, at, in the NBA Advocates of Love, same example right there. He had success in his business, sold it, and now does Charity as his true passion. Yeah. And I love those kinds of stories.

Rich (21:37):
Yeah, it’s great when people find their true passion and they find a, a path to actually live it though. Yeah. Um, and that’s the Living Legacy. Um,

Brian (21:46):
Exactly. Yep.

Rich (21:48):
So if people want to learn more about you or get in touch with you, Brian, how do they go about doing? So,

Brian (21:53):
Uh, they can go to livinglegacyassociation.com, or they can actually just email me at brian@livinglegacyassociation.com.

Rich (22:00):
Awesome. Well, Brian, I really appreciate this. I appreciate, um, your passion and the way that you’re living it. And, um, I most of all, I appreciate you taking the time to, to do this podcast. Thank you so much.

Brian (22:11):
Thank you. And I, I’m glad to be here and have participated. It’s awesome.

Outro (22:20):
Thanks for listening to Innovations and Breakthroughs with your host Rich Goldstein. Be sure to click subscribe, check us out on the web at innovationsandbreakthroughs.com and we’ll see you next time.