A spoken monologue by Jacqueline Elliott about the personal sacrifices required to build lasting success with a spouse. Elliott describes becoming "marriage millionaires" by aligning goals with her partner (Andy), making concrete but private plans (selling possessions, sleeping on mattresses), and intentionally being present for family time. She emphasizes keeping promises to one’s immediate partner, avoiding empty future promises, and the need for both partners to grow together rather than drifting apart.
Chapters
Andy and I had a conversation, and we said, this is what our life is going to look like. We're going to have to make some plans together. We're not going to tell anybody about what our plans are going to look like. And we're going to go because I know if I would have told my parents that I'm going to sell my house and I'm going to go sleep on mattresses, they would have been like, what the hell are you doing? And would have talked me out of that. Whatever your dream is, you need to go for it. You need to run. But before we built our team, we had to. Andy and I had to first become marriage millionaires. We had to really decide to do this together because we both made money and we lost it. We started one thing, and then we lost it. And sometimes we go on and we're chasing money and we're chasing success so much that we start over and we lose it because we're not on the same page. Or you have one person we growing and the other one is not. I had a hard conversation with Andy at one point, and I told him one time, you're one dimensional dude. Like, you are, you're here, but you're not really here. You're at work and you're thinking about how you need to come home and spend time with us, but then you get home and then you're thinking about work and the deals that you're missing and all these different things, and you're not really where your feet are. You need to be where your feet are. A lot of people ask me, hey, Jacqueline, how do you do it? How do you take care of business? And how do you not feel guilty for working? Because I'm where my feet are. Because if I give my kids 20 minutes, I'm there for 20 minutes and I'm really there. I put my phone down. I'm not scrolling on social media while my kids are playing. I'm intentional with my time. But the world is telling you out there that you have to be good at one thing and and not the other. You have to keep your family away. You have to go and kick ass at work, and your family needs to be okay. I did not want to be the queen at home and get whatever I wanted when Andy was working. I wanted to be the battlemate. I wanted to grow with him. I wanted to feel the grind. I wanted to support him. I wanted to hold him accountable. I wanted all of that. So who sold you on that lie? It's about to change. If you really want to make success happen for you, and you really want it to last. You're gonna have to change that. But your family, you tell them what you want to do. And I'm not talking about your mom and dad and aunts and uncles. I'm talking about your battle mate, the person that's next to you. I'm talking about the immediate people. When we made all the sacrifices, when we went and slept on mattresses and we sold everything to start our business, we had a conversation. Andy and I had a conversation, and we said, hey, this is what our life is going to look like. We're going to have to make some plans together. We're not going to tell anybody about what our plans are going to look like. And we're going to go. Because I know if I would have told my parents that I'm going to sell my house and I'm going to go sleep on mattresses, they would have been like, what the hell are you doing? And would have talked me out of that. But what about the promises that you made to your spouse? Sometimes a lot of people say, hey, why doesn't my wife believe me? Why doesn't she support me? Have you made some promises to yourself and. And to your wife? Have you said you're going to do something and you don't do it? How many times have you said, I'm going to go to the gym on Monday and don't do it? How many times do you say that I'm going to go home and I'm going to study to get better. And then you go and you start watching TV again and complaining about your bosses. You're also handcuffed to your past. Anything, some. Anytime something gets difficult, you go back to being who you are and breaking your own promises. What have you told your wife? Hey, babe, this is what I'm gonna do for the rest of my life? I need you to trust me. I need you to support me. Give me three years, and I'm gonna buy you the house. I'm gonna buy you the car. I'm gonna buy you everything you want, baby. Three years, Johnny, he's only three years old. By the time he's six, he won't even remember. And you're gonna have everything you want. Just trust me, blindly, trust me, support me. And then what happens? Johnny's now six. Your bank account hasn't grown. You've lost three years. You broke your promises again. And it happens over and over and over. And it's because that blind trust, because you didn't include her in that. But why should she trust you again? If you're failing yourself, why quit making false promises? Hold through with your commitments.
