About Whitney,

When I threw my graduation cap into the air, I dutifully stepped onto the well-worn path society and my parents had paved for me: I landed a job.

Not exactly earth-shattering, right?

I swiftly ascended the ladder of success, eventually landing my dream job as an epidemiologist within a national government agency. – a role that pretty much made me a geek for statistics and disease research.

To be perfectly clear, my salary wasn’t making me a millionaire; in fact, it hovered around a modest $45,000. But I cherished every moment of my work, and life felt pretty darn awesome.

But, there was this one massive hiccup: freedom was nowhere to be found.

My life adhered to a strict schedule, from 8am to 5pm, with three weeks of travel each month. And just for that extra zest, infectious diseases didn’t pay heed to office hours. Nights and weekends often belonged to the job.

And even if I had logged 80+ hours the week before and yearned for some time off, I had to file a formal request.

That, to put it mildly, got under my skin.

You see, during this period, I watched my father grapple with a debilitating disease beyond his control. It became glaringly obvious to me that time was an exhaustible and precious resource, a non-renewable treasure. In my supposed “dream job,” I had to beg for time away from work – time for rest, relaxation, play, and to be with family.

Ridiculous, right?

Sure, I had some money, but my time was held hostage.

Craving a path to liberation, I sought refuge in the library and stumbled upon the wisdom of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and “The Automatic Millionaire.”

Both gurus sang the same tune: real estate was the key to turning everyday people into millionaires and freeing them from the “daily”  grind.

So, I started squirreling away money – a modest $7,000 to be exact – and invested it in a house. Not just any house, though. It was a fixer-upper, and I was the one who’d roll up her sleeves to bring it back to life.

Being young and unattached, I crammed that house full of roommates who were game to live amid the construction. They paid rent, I paid the mortgage – and I was left with a sweet $300 extra each month. It felt like a dream come true!

Fast forward 11 months, I switched jobs to one that allowed me more family and fun time, fixed up the house, and sold it for a whopping $52,000 profit. With my newfound financial cushion, I set my sights on the nearest mountain town.

Feeling pretty invincible, I snapped up a mountain home, albeit with a less-than-stellar adjustable ARM loan and a glaring disregard for real estate’s golden rule: location, location, location.

Oops!

Adding salt to the wound, my spontaneous move to the mountain doubled my expenses, leaving me with precious little to save.

And that’s when I hit rock bottom.

(Spoiler alert: I may have skimmed over a few critical wealth principles in those books!)

Then, the universe dealt me a curveball: I was laid off. Two months later, my father passed away, and I found myself back home, tending to my mother’s needs.

I was left with zilch in the bank, no job prospects (not even the chance to get a job), an overpriced house I couldn’t unload, and a credit card steadily racking up debt from my expenses.

I had hit a new low.

But, amid my financial mishaps, I had unearthed two invaluable truths:

• Taking control of my money – understanding how to create, protect, and grow it – was the path to wealth.
• Success leaves clues – I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel; I just needed to follow the proven plan others had walked before me.

You see, the root problem lies in the misconception that a higher income or the next big deal will magically solve all our financial woes. But even when that raise arrives or the deal lands, that feeling of being “financially behind” still lingers.

You’re not alone in this — maybe you feel that…

• You can’t break free from your paycheck.
• You make money but still feel financially strained.
• You obsess over your finances.
• You avoid looking at your financial situation.
• You lack clarity, leading to insecurity.
• Money becomes a point of contention in your relationships.
• Talking about finances feels like a chore, and you just want to dive into deals.

In order to win any game you play, you have to master 3 things: the objective, the rules, and how to play successfully. 

• To reach a state where your passive income seamlessly covers all your desired living expenses so you have the freedom to do what you want, when you want, without financial constraints. 
• Understand the four key principles (ie. game levels): creating wealth, keeping wealth, growing wealth, and ensuring the seamless passage of wealth to the next generation. 
• Master your tactical moves on the game board — your financial decisions, investments, and wealth management techniques — that will help you navigate the journey from financial stability to multigenerational prosperity.

But up until now, you have only been conditioned to be an investor – be it in the stock market, real estate, or business – in the hope of one day buying back your time so you can live the life you want. But investing is only one very small part of winning the wealth game. 

It goes without saying — most people will fail to win the wealth game because they don’t understand the objective, choose to not learn the rules, endlessly wait for a “magical” shortcut to materialize, or, win for themselves and lose it all at the “finish line” by not having a sure-fire way to pass their wealth on. 

Despite all the reasons to not learn how to play the wealth game — the irony is, when you master the wealth game, you become unstoppable – not just as an investor but as an entrepreneur, business partner, life partner, or parent.

Fast forward to today — I’ve mastered the wealth game — money flows in while I sleep, travel, or run errands – enough to support my family for the rest of our lives. (Even my husband has stopped thinking I’m crazy.)

That, my friend, is the essence of financial independence.

I get to choose my work having broken free from the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle.

Because, when it all boils down, what we truly desire is control over our choices – how we utilize our money, our time, and our energy. We aspire to create a lasting impact on this world.

Let’s forge a similar path for you, starting right now!