157. ​​Wealth Without Bay Street 3 Years of Podcasting with Richard & Jayson

People were reaching out to us from America and saying, hey, we recognize that this is a Canadian based podcast platform. We really enjoy the content. We've been consuming it and could you point us in the right direction for somebody who might be able to help us implement this process in our lives? And so we heard that enough to the degree where we said, we've got to do this. We have to be thinking about this in terms of North America. And because a process doesn't recognize a border.

We are. What's interesting. Third anniversary. We are the longest running podcast in Canada that specializes in conversation that's informative and accurate and insightful on the infinite banking concept, the process of becoming your own banker. And we would rank probably third longest running in North America behind Wealth without Wall street and Banking with Life. So Russ, Joey, James, Ryan, we've known them all for years. So we're all in the same circle. And it'd be really, really cool if the six of us got together and did a show and just talked about the journey. But also to share our latest and best insights on infinite banking.

Even just to do our best impressions of Nelson would be good. Yeah, we could do, yeah, we could.

Do like on, on the.

Golly, the late night show when, you.

Know the, When Jimmy does the. He hits the button and then it spins and then it gives you the topic. So it could say, you know, impersonate Nelson in this situation. So he goes, okay, I got it. You know, we could have a whole entertaining thing on that and.

But y' all got a weed eater. Oh, that's good.

That's so good.

Three years. Yeah, so Three years.

Three years, man.

It's been, it's been an interesting ride. Thanks for everyone listening who's participated and been. Been with us on the ride. Yeah.

Without you. Without you, we wouldn't have even passed the first five episodes.

Yeah, we didn't, we didn't even know you then. And now, now it's like we're old friends. But we had a, you know, I thought, I thought it was interesting just to look, look back. So I was in preparation of this, like, it kind of dawned on me a little bit late, I don't know, maybe two weeks ago that we were coming up on this kind of milestone.

Yeah.

I remember it because it's always a busy time frame because we originally started and we recorded our very first episode in the old Ascendant Office in September of 2019. Yeah, Jonathan was there with us. That's right, Amazon Jonathan. And so we didn't have our tech Set up. We didn't know what we were doing. One of. One of the microphones, you know, we had a third mic, and it was plugged into the. The. The Whatever. The Rodecaster wasn't really working very well.

Not at all.

Know how to line up the cameras. We were tripping over chords. It's all kinds of chaos. And then we. We. We recorded it, and then we recorded a couple other ones. You know, not long after that time frame, I think you had some travel lined up, but then actually trying to figure out how do we launch this thing and how do we get this edited and what do we. What do we do next and what's. What's the strategy? It was a. It was a. It was a lot of. A lot of crazy work and effort. So, you know, building up to that. It wasn't until February 4th of 2020, where we officially launched. And we launched with three episodes that went live at that time. Yeah. And then we started. I think we launched the next one the following week. And we first started doing this. We were doing it every two weeks, and I think we did that for the first maybe 10. 10 or 11 episodes.

Yeah, I think so. It was in that range.

And. And then we, you know, we made some changes in a pivot, and we realized that we needed to kick it up a notch. Of course, kicking it up a notch also means some capital investment because production costs aren't cheap. So. So, you know, so that. So that Jason and I aren't sitting in front of a screen trying to edit videos. Which you wouldn't. Nobody would watch them if we did that. They would be.

Oh, God, yeah.

No, be like, watching YouTube would shut us down.

He'd be like, your. Your editing capabilities are horrible.

It'd be like watching a preview of one of the new. The newest, like, VR games. And then Jason and I's videos would be like pong from, like, 1975.

Totally.

So thanks. So thankfully, we. We've got some great, Great. Who's helping us out that aspect of the world. So. Yeah. So February 4, 2020, was our official launch. And we planned like, oh, we need to get this out, because we have our think tank coming up and. Think tank. I think we. I think we launch usually Think tank. Our. Our annual conference was always the weekend following super bowl, and it still is.

It's just Super Bowl's been.

Super Bowl's moved. Yeah. So. Because. Because David Stearns doesn't want to compete with the Super Bowl. Of course. That's right. And so we. We. We ended up Launching right at that time so that we could have episodes available for people. When we went to the think tanks, we could say, hey, guess what? We got this brand new podcast. Hopefully you can download it essentially. And then, yeah, it was, it was really. It was really fun. Really interesting environment. Of course, Russ and Joey were involved in one of the first three episodes to say thank you for letting us, you know, ask them politely to kind of do a spin or a playoff of their name, Wealth Without Wall Street. And we also had David Stearns, of course, in that first group of episodes, which was really important. So it's been a wild and interesting ride. And I think it's cool for people to maybe hear and understand that you have something that's an idea and a concept, you know, you kind of want to do it, then you actually make the decision and the commitment to do it, and then you figure out how the heck is it actually going to get done? You know, originally I had started the idea of wanting to do this about a year prior. And then I think it was. I'm trying to remember, Jason was probably like in April of 2019 when we were talking about doing some fun stuff together. And then we really started the discussion about, well, maybe why don't we have a podcast and what would that look like? And so it was from that, from those initial discussions to about six months later having the first recording to another five months later before we actually launched the dang thing. So really, it's. It's the third anniversary, but it's actually closer to like the fourth anniversary of like, the idea and the decision that this is something we're going to do, actually happening. Totally.

Yeah, man. You think back to how far we've come with the show, the feedback from listeners, the feedback from people on the YouTube, the subscribers, all of the wonderful people that were privileged to serve and who have embraced the process. And it's. It's just been an amazing journey. And when you start to tally up, right, everything, I mean, 130,000 plus downloads, we're ranked in the top 2% globally for podcasts. That's no easy feat. That's the top 2%. I don't know how many millions of podcasts there are out there.

It's over three, three million podcasts. Why, why don't we show them some for the folks on YouTube watching? We can show you. I had a. We had our amazing guy Moses put together a cool infographic for us. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I remember this. She showed this the other day.

So, you know, again, February 4th was official launch. We've now we've launched our first two books. We have our third one that's in editing stage. Hopefully we can get that out by the end of the month.

Yep.

We have our Facebook community, which at the time that we got this data had 1819 members. We're at 152 episodes. We've now released 153. As of the time of this recording with Kathleen Adams, almost 133,000 audio downloads, 73% of those in Canada. So of course are good Canadian friends. But what's cool is that 23% of those are from our American friends and counterparts. And so we love that we have, I mean, we really, we have a North American podcast. It's as a Canadian podcast. But the reality is what we discuss, what we talk about, it doesn't really have a border. Jason, you're fond of saying, hey, we're just going to go get the biggest, biggest HP number two pencil that exists on planet Earth or get it made, and we're just going to go up and down the 49th parallel there and just going to erase that stupid border out of the way when it comes to podcast. So.

Well, and, and you know, we serve Americans now through the, the implementation of this process. And that just began January of 2023. And so again, people were reaching out to us from America and saying, hey, we recognize that this is a Canadian based podcast platform. We really enjoy the content, we've been consuming it. And could you point us in the right direction for somebody who might be able to help us implement this process in our lives? And so we heard that enough to the degree where we said we've got to do this, we have to be thinking about this in terms of North America. And because a process doesn't recognize a border, right. The infinite banking concept doesn't get flagged at the American US Border crossing. Wanting a passport, vaccination status, like all.

This other stuff, doesn't set off the alarms at the tsa?

No, not at all. So the process doesn't recognize any borders. And so we thought, hey, we can serve people in the United States as well and, and help families and businesses there. Which is what we've done. And over the course of these three years, like we always remember, we will never forget Nelson saying repeatedly, the more that you see infinite banking concepts, the more you'll see you didn't see. And we continue to learn every time. We are blessed to teach what he taught us because our thinking grows, our thinking expands, and we're continually interpreting and developing a deeper understanding of what, what he was trying to get across to us fundamentally that the process is not a plan, it's a lifestyle. It's a way of moving money through your life. It's a way of creating a peaceful, stress free way of life financially. It's not a financial plan, it's not a product. You know, it's just a process in your life. And how far we've come in in three years alongside our listeners and subscribers.

Yeah, we're, we're growing every day.

I mean, has been amazing.

I didn't know a damn thing about podcasting before we got started. And I don't know, I don't know if I do now, but I certainly would say that my, my knowledge base is a lot higher than it was. A couple other things I thought was interesting in our, in our little statistical data here is that our number one listening location is actually the province of Ontario. Very interesting percentage, followed of course by Alberta, which although I no longer call home, will always be home to me. Yeah. And then BC in third place and then Quebec and then Saskatchewan. So that's pretty cool. Big time on the Apple. So our listeners are very Apple based. That's they have 46 of all of our stuff coming through Apple podcasts and then 12% with Spotify. So, you know, again, very interesting there. And just looking at the YouTubes is kind of cool because I mean that's really where a lot of our focus is now as we move forward. It wasn't when we began, but it's really transition that way. Certainly in the last, you know, last year, in the last six months, even over 18,000 content hours consumed. So that's pretty cool to see. Got 163 videos on the channel that's now gone up as of, you know, the last couple of days, 42 lives. We're going to be doing more of those this year and we're now starting the YouTube shorts a little bit so we understand them a little bit more. We've got some coaching on that. Again, coaching is always important. So getting the YouTube shorts going, getting some clips out of the episode, some of those golden nuggets, we did some the other day with Mark Benson that were just phenomenal.

I mean, oh my God.

Enjoy those. Such a good conversation.

Great conversation.

Yeah, totally. We had 1816 subscribers. That's obviously gone up as well at the time of this recording. This is what Jason was referring to. So there's a website called Listen Notes you can go to and you can check out. It's Kind of a global ranking system for podcasts. I'm not sure where they get all their data from, but they, they assess over 3,000,000, 3,029,000 podcasts globally, and they, they provide a listen score and then a global rank. So we're in the top two and a half percent of global podcasts, which is pretty phenomenal. It's a nice little tip in the hat, I guess.

That's a great, great place to be. It'll be, It'll be awesome. Three years to now to celebrate being in the top 1%.

Agreed, agreed. And what's cool, too, is looking at the interviews. We've had 114 guests on the show, and some of those are where we've had two guests at one time. 24 client interviews we've done. Again, there's actually a couple more there because we've interviewed a few clients more than once, 27 of our colleagues as infinite banking practitioners. Some of those were members of our team, some of our external colleagues, especially down in the United States, over 20 featuring authors, most of them bestselling authors. And we've had about nine repeat guests. So all in all, it's been a really, really amazing journey. And what we're finding is that as the content comes out, as we hear the feedback from people both through email, through comments on, you know, social media and, you know, some private messaging and stuff. And then of course, it comes up in our, in our regular conversations as we're meeting with clients, and what we hear from our team members as they meet with clients is how the podcast is really helping them. I guess, you know, what comes up for me is sticking between the ditches, keeping it between the ditches. You know, I'm pretty sure everyone listening to the podcast has probably gone in the ditch at least once in their life, most likely in the wintertime. Yeah. And, you know, then you're trying to flag down traffic or you're trying to figure out how to get sand, salt, traction, tow truck, whatever to get you out of the ditch. You keep a shovel in the back of your car or your vehicle. And I mean, I know I've done that a ton, especially in my youth growing up in a, in small, in a small town in Alberta. But we all have periods of time where we start to, we feel the pull when you're at the edge of the road and it starts to suck you in to that ditch and that snowbank. It's important that you can figure out how to get a little bit of control and recognize when you're Getting too close to pull yourself back on side. And I think that the podcast and what we've heard from a lot of people is that because of its regularity and its consistency and the types of conversations that we have, it's really helping them stay mindful and stay focused on their path that they've chosen about incorporating infinite Banking in their life. And, and from the entrepreneurs that we speak to, you know, we. We've been. We've interviewed a ton of amazing entrepreneurs, people who have sold businesses, had great exits, understand how to sell businesses, understand how to prepare your business for sale. They're learning a lot about mindset, a lot about setting large goals, a lot about how to rethink maybe what type of business they have and how that business can add more value into not only their life. Bless their family more, but also bless the people that they serve in their business more. So, totally, there's a lot of things that are outside of the. The fringe of what we talk about just around Nelson's message and ibc. And I'm grateful to be a part of the journey, Jay, with you and that we've had a ton of fun, totally doing it. And I can't wait to see what more fun we get to have. Me too.

Yeah, we're gonna have a lot of great guests, too. And with everything that's going on, you know, out there, sometimes, you know, people can get hung up in all the noise. And so we do, I think, a really, really great job of really dissipating the noise and helping people really understand the. What Nelson would say is the ridiculous simplicity of IBC and to change more lives in a really positive way. And, yeah, just. It feels incredibly fulfilling. It's. And it's great. And, you know, we receive a lot of kind feedback, which we sincerely appreciate from listeners and people who tell us that they find it, you know, really informative and entertaining, which just so happens to be the language we use in promoting the podcast, because that's the feedback that we're getting. It's like, you know, you make the topic informative and it's entertaining at the same time. You know, when you have guests on, you know, you're very entertaining and it's. It's fun to. To listen to, and it's enjoyable, and you get to learn and. And develop new insights in your thinking. And so that's a one. One element of. I think among so many things that we miss about Nelson so much is that I always find myself curious, what would Nelson be saying about the times that we're in. What would he be reading and what would he be encouraging us to read? And what conversations would he be sharing and what infinite wisdom he'd be passing along? And he, he had a brilliant way of doing it where he just planted that seed in your brain, which triggered, you know, okay, I've got to rethink my thinking on this. And then once it strikes, you contact him and you have the discussion about your thinking. And he, he was always so happy about that. You know, he would always go, all right.

Or, or, or he would emphasize, you know, he would say, exactly, or he would say, precisely.

And then he would just kind of go into, you know, expanding on it.

So what a great man. It's interesting to, to think about that. And as you're, as you're discussing that, I'm like, yeah, well, imagine if we would have had Nelson on the podcast and had the chance to interview him, like, what would he say? And then my brain, like, instantly answered the question of, well, of course I know what he would say. He'd say the same thing that he said all the time because he always kept it consistent.

He.

Right, it's all about the message. And then he would, you know, he would take him. You know, he would go down a rabbit trail of some kind, and, and probably by the time that we needed to wrap up the episode, he would circle back around and close the loop. Totally.

That was Nelson. That was totally Nelson. But, you know, we're here, we're here doing, doing this because of all of the people, being the some parts of everyone who's mentored us and provided us with great guidance and great counsel and great wisdom, and being surrounded by so many great teammates who take care of all the other unique capabilities that make a recording blossom into video and social media content and written content, blog articles, just to name a few, all those references. Books. We're releasing a book every single quarter and so much more that we have planned to create value for our listeners and to our subscribers. And we want to encourage people, let us know what exactly it is that you truly value so that we can deliver more of it to you. And we're remarkably grateful and humble with all the kind feedback that we get. And we're always the door to ideas and suggestions of what you'd like to hear us and see us talk about. That door never closes. It's open 24 7, 365. So continue to bring that feedback to us to say. Here are some things we'd love to see you guys talk about and hear you talk about on the show and, and we'll make it happen.

And if you'd like to be a guest on the show or you'd like to come back on the show. Yeah, let us know that too. That would be a miracle. We, you know, we, we definitely have lots of people that are interested in joining the program and we, we always are looking for the having more of those amazing conversations, especially with folks that are already embracing and utilizing Nelson's concept in their life in some way and sharing what comes up for them, what's true for them. And with that in mind, I just want to do a big shout out and say thank you to all the amazing guests that have been on our program for blessing their time and their knowledge and their capacity to give and share so that our listeners can, you know, absorb a lot of that amazing content and that mental power that can be then used as fuel for your own future decision making.

Amen to that. 1000% all day long. And so to our viewers on the YouTubes, boom. The playlist appeared again. And it's amazing. Keep progressing on your journey. Watch the next video that we've recommended to you. We know you're going to love it. And to all of our listeners, thank you, thank you sincerely for all your support and stay tuned for the next three years because it's going to be pretty incredible.