Financial Education and Live Events Drive Generational Wealth and Community Growth

Key Quotes

"I started my career in education; I was a teacher in the Bronx. I'll tell you, if you've ever been a teacher in an inner city, you learn a lot of things about yourself, but you learn a lot of things about the world too. One of those things I learned was what wasn't being taught to our youth, and at the top of that was financial education."

Troy Millings explains that his experience as a teacher in an inner city revealed a significant gap in the education system. Millings highlights that financial education was notably absent from the curriculum, prompting him to recognize a critical need for this knowledge among young people.

"We grew up thinking it's rude to talk about money, and the whole concept for me with Money Mondays, and I'm sure with your messaging and Market Mondays and the way you teach with kids, we know that it's important to talk about money in households and communities, etc. How can we change the narrative?"

Troy Millings addresses the societal norm of avoiding discussions about money, emphasizing its importance in households and communities. Millings questions how this narrative can be shifted to encourage open conversations about finances.

"Fear. Straight up fear. I've watched it cripple people in my family, I watch it cripple people in my community. But fear is only conquered by education. It always goes back to that. There's this idea of, 'What if it doesn't work?' But I always like to live fearlessly, right? Like, 'What if it does work?'"

Troy Millings identifies fear as a primary obstacle preventing people from advancing financially. Millings asserts that education is the key to overcoming this fear and encourages a perspective of considering potential positive outcomes rather than solely focusing on negative possibilities.

"Invest Fest isn't even about us. Obviously, when it was branded, it wasn't 'Hey, Earn Your Leisure Presents.' It was Invest Fest, and it was very intentional about that. And there are no faces to that logo because again, it's not us. It's about what we wanted to create for a community that didn't have this."

Troy Millings explains the intentional branding of Invest Fest as a community-focused event rather than a platform for the Earn Your Leisure brand itself. Millings emphasizes that the event's purpose is to serve a community that lacked such an offering.

"The automatic no, I think the first thing is when they tell me, 'I need to.' I feel like the 'I need to' idea is like one of those turn-offs. I think, you know, especially when we have relationships with other people and how we created our brand, it's always like, 'How can we help?' How can this idea help?"

Troy Millings outlines a key criterion for rejecting investment pitches, noting that a sense of obligation or need from the pitcher is a red flag. Millings prefers pitches that focus on how the idea can add value and contribute to existing ventures.

"I would say this is tough. 50/50 doesn't feel right to me, because there are certain things that they have to learn on the journey of trying to create for their own and build their own. Let's say 30% for each kid. We'll have charity in there as well, and I want their families to live on beyond them. So we'll create something in terms of an estate plan or a trust that will keep the money staying in the family for generations, because we, the cliché term is generational wealth, but I think it's sustainable wealth."

Troy Millings discusses his approach to estate planning, proposing a distribution of assets that balances providing for his children with the necessity for them to develop their own financial capabilities. Millings also includes provisions for charity and aims for sustainable wealth that endures across generations.