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This guy trained soldiers in Afghanistan. Ashley Doyle. So he spent years leading, mentoring, developing people in some of the most intense environments imaginable.

When I first started being coached, I realized how much I didn't know. In the past, just based on my previous career, you know, you go through a lot of adversity and you have to persevere a lot through challenging times, and that right there will help build your confidence. I was able to tap into my life experience and confidence that I already have to help people achieve what they want to financially as well.

Welcome back to Wealth on Main Street. Uh, today's episode is We're just really honored to have a fellow teammate, an advisor on our Ascendant Financial team who's now a pod leader on our Ascendant Financial team. And this episode is definitely not about some guy who watched 3 YouTube videos, bought a blazer too tight in the shoulders, and started calling himself A wealth strategist.

He might own that blazer, but that's not what this is about.

Oh, he probably does.

This guy trained soldiers in Afghanistan, like real pressure, not my Zoom froze kind of pressure. Like Ashley Doyle, AKA Ashley Doyle. So he spent years leading, mentoring, developing people in some of the most intense environments imaginable, the former Yugoslavia, Eastern Europe, Afghanistan. And now he's bringing that same level of calm and disciplined leadership into helping families and to helping business owners and to helping teammates. And I think that listeners are really going to feel in today's conversation that we have with Ash the conviction. And he's honest to goodness, like he's got a pretty rare combination of humility, competence, and quiet confidence. And it's just awesome to have him as a teammate. And I think it's refreshing, frankly, in an industry where, you know, some people post more pics beside Lamborghinis than they actually spend time helping clients. And so This episode's about leadership. It's about service and purpose. And for the advisors who are listening, we've been getting a lot of connection from advisors who say they love these interviews, Rich, that we're doing with teammates. And it's compelling several of them to look at becoming a part of the Ascendant Financial team. And that's just the truth. In fact, there's one that Ash and I were talking about this morning who's joining the the Ascendant Financial team, and another one in the United States who's joining the team who has said, "These advisor interviews are what compelled me to take that next step and talk to somebody." Because if you're an advisor out there and you're wondering if there's still a place in this industry where culture matters and where mentorship matters and people genuinely want to see you win, then you're going to want to see this episode the whole way through. Ash, welcome to the show.

Thanks, Jayson Lowe. Um, thank you for that kind introduction and those kind words. And yes, I do have a couple Blazers and I'm very proud of them.

Well, take us back for a minute. So before Ascendant, before being in this industry, like, what, what originally led you into the Canadian Armed Forces?

That's a great question. When I was young growing up in downtown Toronto, I would always, there used to be an armory right down the road called Moss Park Armory. And I remember it 'cause it was always, it always stood out right on the corner of Queen and Jarvis. And it had these two large artillery cannons out front. And that would always kind of catch my eye. And I guess I was a, you know, as a child growing up, I kind of liked army movies and action movies, things of that nature. I don't know, so call it, you know, blockbuster indoctrination or whatever. Whatever term, but I always kind of wanted to either be in the military or be a police officer when I was growing up. Not kind of, not sure where that came from. Now, from the military side, I'm the 5th generation of Doyle to serve this country and, you know, the UK as well. But from a policing perspective, not really. So I just kind of naturally was drawn to that building and I went in there one day and, uh, I guess they had Army Cadets, and that's kind of where I started at the age of 13 and got involved in that. And the natural progression just kind of stayed, and I just kind of stayed in it the whole way through.

Some people learn and get an idea what they want to do early on. Um, it's pretty interesting how that happens. I mean, uh, there certainly wasn't an opportunity for me to become an electrician like that at 13, but to hear you go through that story, knowing people who did Cadets when I was you know, young. I think that's really interesting. I suspect that when you get into that community environment and you see what's possible and you're learning skills on the go, you can kind of develop and see just that natural progression. But, you know, shooting forward, here we are today, and of course you're helping people with the Infinite Banking Concept. You've been out of the armed forces for a number of years, and you— there's probably some type of a progression that occurred there as well from seeing the concept, learning about it, deciding to get started, and then eventually wanting to go to the next step. So, shoot us forward now. How do we get to that stage?

I have a bit of a problem where once I latch on to something, I usually don't do it halfway and I'll usually jump in with both feet. So, I just happened to come across the two words, infinite banking, and that sparked my interest and curiosity because I'd never heard those two words placed together before. And someone that doesn't come from money is usually interested in something finance or banking because you must— you probably think to yourself, there's got to be something that I'm not aware of, or I haven't been educated on, or there's got to be some kind of secret out there that I need to become aware of to become successful financially in my own life.

It's probably a black box somewhere.

It's probably in a black box somewhere, and you're probably usually, you know, subconsciously looking for opportunity. So when something like that comes up, it usually will pique your interest. And yeah, I came across those two words on social media and I had to kind of dive in and I went down the Google rabbit hole like most people do when it comes to research. And that can be good or bad. Now, in my example, it ended up being good because fast forward, it led me to where I am today, being able to help people and coach people through this process. And allow them to understand what's possible when they have a little bit of knowledge and some proper guidance.

Based on that, so if you think of, well, I would say every advisor who begins this journey, they struggle with confidence early on. And so how did you push through that?

Confidence for me really hasn't been an issue in the past, just based on my previous career. You know, you go through a lot of adversity and you have to persevere a lot through challenging times. And that right there will help build your confidence. Once you have an understanding and a good grasp on what you're trying to understand and teach people, you know, your confidence will slowly build over time. So I wasn't really— it wasn't the confidence bit. It was just the lack of knowledge. To being able to pass that on to people. But once I got a grip on that and I was coached through and given all the proper resources to bring myself up to that level, I was able to tap into my life experience and confidence that I already have and then communicate that in an effective way to help people achieve what they want to financially as well.

And so, now that you're a team leader, here at Ascendant? Like, what, what is— what does leadership mean to you today versus 5 years ago?

Having the passion to see people succeed is a leadership trait that I believe will be across the board. And it doesn't matter what your former career was, where you came from, and it could be starkly— that contrast could be completely different from what I was doing to what I'm doing now. But the difference there is the passion to see people become better than they are right now, to see people succeed. And it's kind of like mentorship. Whenever you see the person that you mentored become as successful or surpass you, that's the ultimate accomplishment.

Oh, yeah. Amen to that. Couldn't agree more.

And you've had such an interesting experience once you mentioned, like, not, not going half-assed into something. And I mean, that's really been evidence from my vantage point watching your journey, because I remember meeting you at— I think it was your first Think Tank event at the Nelson Nash Institute. And, you know, you— one thing that always connects with me, Ash, is that you show up. So it doesn't matter what's going on, there's an opportunity to learn, you're going to be there. And you know, you'll move mountains to get into the room so that you can be around the community and the people. And when it comes to the infinite banking space, you've really set yourself apart in doing that. And I find it so interesting because, you know, in all the years that Jayson and I've been going to think tanks and I think I was probably emceeing the first one that you showed up at, so I might not have been able to be fully present at every conversation because I'm bouncing around the room here and there. But, you know, I'm also an observer and I like to see who's, who's participating. Not sure if becoming your own banker fits your goals? Trying to figure out if this is even for you? Well, save some time. Look, our free 7 Simple Steps report is the fastest way to find out. It's designed to give you total clarity and focus your effort on what really matters. Plus, you'll get access to 4 of our bestselling books as a bonus. Go ahead, get it at 7steps.ca. That's 7steps.ca. And it's always interesting to see how people get something different out of the event, out of the environment, and what type of a goal or objective they have when they're there. Some people want to learn, well, how do I, how do I become a better salesperson? Or how do I learn about this? And, you know, my interpretation of your context in being at these events is just how do I get as much information as I can so that I can, I can find a way to apply it, apply it to my life, apply it to the people I might help and serve. And being that you've attended a number of those events and you've also attended a, a coaching academy with the Adelson National Institute, what have you noticed or what would you say has been some of the key takeaways or advantages of making sure you attend those type of platforms that are in the space that you, you spend your time now?

That's a great question, Richard. And I love the point that you brought up about information, you know, learning through osmosis is, is one of the best ways, right? And that's that proximity influence that Jayson Lowe talks about all the time. And I completely agree. And what I would also say is my number one objective when I go to any of these events is just surround myself with the wealth of knowledge that's there, that's present, and just, just be a fly on the wall and listen to and take in and absorb as much as I possibly can within that short time period, because I know it's going to be a long time before it comes back around again, before I have the awesome an excellent opportunity to go and attend another one of these events. And I also look at it as like compounding, right? So, the more you attend there, my number one focus when I walk away, although information is great, it's relationships. I love being surrounded by like-minded people that are all moving in the same direction with the same goal to help serve and improve the lives of those they come in contact with every single day. And if you can be in a group like that, in an atmosphere like that, that's the ultimate energy driver and motivator to want to go back and repeat that feeling and that experience time and time again. And I've been able to see, I've been able to do that 3 times so far in this short period of time. So, I'm telling you, like, it works and it will pay for itself over and over again, but you have to show up. You have to be in the rooms. You have to be part of the conversation, and you really have to pay attention to and nurture those relationships so that not only that you're getting out of what someone's offering, but also that you're giving back to and contributing to that relationship. So, it's reciprocal as well.

I love that. And Ash, when we were chatting early this morning, we were chatting about a gentleman who's going to be joining our team. For the benefit of everybody who's watching and listening, what would you say to an advisor out there who feels stuck or isolated in their current environment?

That's a great question, Jason. I would say if you pay attention to the success that's in the environment that you're participating in, if you look to an organization or you look to a team of people that have the processes in place, that have the platforms already there. If you can find an organization that has the proven success and you can plug into that, learn from that, contribute to that, and grow with that, why wouldn't that be something that you would want to do? You can always go it alone., but operating alone isn't always the best recipe.

Well, and all that proximity influence you talked about and the feeling of being in that environment of people, you, what you're identifying about, you know, the timeframe around the clock or a year between a think tank event, which is a once a year opportunity, coaching academies with the NNI, they're, they're maybe 2, 2, potentially 3 times a year. In fact, there's one coming up in Calgary, Alberta this year. In September, which I'm excited about. There's a lot of individuals, advisors in this space, specifically in the, you know, the infinite banking world where there's this often feeling of feeling like you're a Lone Ranger, you know, and even Nelson talks about the Lone Ranger syndrome a little bit in his book. He's more referencing the consumer, the person who is doing this way of implementing things in their life, and maybe they feel like, oh, well, no one else I know is doing it. And so, but Nelson would say, well, he would say, well, good, you're the one that's right. So it doesn't really matter what everyone else is doing. But even from an advisory standpoint, you know, if, if, if you're so far around from being around that environment, that connection, it, it can maybe feel a bit lonely. It can feel a little bit, you know, difficult to keep that motivation and that fire going, even though you have the passion. And being that you get to embrace that on a regular basis, I mean, there's, there's weekly opportunities to connect with our team members. What do you think is the difference between someone who, who maybe doesn't have access to that versus what you've been able to tap into since you've been on the journey actively now teaching this message to other people?

It's great that you bring up those points, Richard, because it really comes down to that. When you say proximity influence, if I want to condense my learning and knowledge transfer into the shortest possible time that I can, How am I going to do that? Well, I'm going to tap into resources and experience that's already in the industry and for people that are already doing it. So it— if you're not in a team environment, if you're not part of a team, it's going to be more difficult for you to condense that learning time frame and get to a higher level sooner, right? So I would say that Once again, it comes back down to those relationships. There are people in this community of advisors and practitioners that are more than willing to take time to have a conversation with you. They are more than willing to pass on the knowledge that they have. You just have to ask. And if we're staying true to Nelson's principles and we're trying to achieve and reach the tipping point, get that 10%. If we're trying to do all that, then we need to leverage the people in the community to help us all get to the same destination, because there's no— where you're not going to be able to do that by yourself. Only as a group of practitioners are we going to be able to achieve that, and we have to be on the same page promoting the same message so we can help as many people as we can possibly reach. And when it comes to competition, there is a very small percentage of the people, the population across North America that know about this and that are implementing this. So there is more than enough opportunity for everyone to help spread this message and help those people that we're trying to serve.

I would ask you in follow-up to that, I mean, for, for someone, you know, who's hearing about the infinite banking concept for the first time, how do you explain it in plain English? We were just talking about this earlier this morning. Like, how do you explain it in plain English?

If I were to summarize it in a couple of words, it would be exercising control over a function that you're going to require for the rest of your life, which is the use of money, right? So, you know, we talked about it earlier, there's lots of noise out there, but we really just have to break it down and look at the basics of what we're trying to discuss. We're trying to find the best tool that's going to help us achieve control, confidence, with ready access to capital to take advantage of opportunities. What does that look like and what is that? Well, that is the Infinite Banking Concept. And so, if we start to dial it in and really remove a lot of the verbiage, we're talking about controlling something so that somebody else isn't controlling it for us.

Yeah, that's exactly right. And Rich, for your knowledge, uh, well, and for viewers and listeners too. So we were chatting this morning just around, uh, you know, one of, one of the frequently asked questions that comes up is, uh, you know, is infinite banking better than investing in the stock market? And it's, it's, uh, it's two completely different things, right? Infinite banking has no more to do with investing in the stock market than stock— the stock market has to do with infinite banking. One is a process where you're controlling how you finance the things that you need throughout the course of your lifetime, and your need for finance will be extensive. And the other is investing, in this case in the stock market, which is entirely different. That is a function, uh, of deploying capital, and your intention is to trigger or create a capital gain or, or to, to, to earn income off of an investment versus controlling how you finance the things that you need. And so it's so interesting, you know, when, when it's explained in such a ridiculously simple way. I think, Ash, you said it earlier where it was like sometimes it can be difficult for some people to, to grasp how simple it is. It's like, surely there has to be something sensational about this.

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It's really this simple.

Yeah, that's—

it's ridiculously simple. And I can hear Nelson just whispering in our ears right now, just saying, it is meant to be ridiculously simple, and it's so true. Yeah.

Are you sure it doesn't have something to do with a whole bunch of arbitrage? Don't we need to— doesn't— isn't arbitrage— that's a fun word to say. Isn't that what this is all about, Jayson Lowe? I thought that's the only way it works.

Oh my God, it's like—

I think anytime— I think anytime you can, you can spice something up or add a little bit of flair to it or use fancy words, anytime you can do something like that you know, you're approaching it from a sales perspective and you're trying to make it sound better than it really is, or you're trying to sensationalize it, like Nelson would say. And there's no requirement for that. The concept is ridiculously simple. So just keep it simple. Less is more. You don't need to get complicated. But that's what people believe when they hear a lot of noise in the market and on social media. They're expecting that when we have a conversation with them that we're going to give them the secret, the key to the secret sauce, or there's going to be, you know, it's got to be more complicated than it really is. There has to be more layers to it. Like, what's the magic? What's the magic solution? That's not it.

I agree.

Ash, in the time that you've been doing this meeting with, you know, prospective people, look at exploring the concept for their own life and they're booking their first meeting or first conversation, or maybe you've got 'em on a 1-hour Zoom and you're digging into things a little bit more. They've done some education work. Have you heard this before? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. I totally get it. I totally understand. Can you just tell me how it works? So I always like how people will tell you how much they know and understand and then immediately ask you a question that indicates that they don't know and understand anything. And it's nothing against them. It's just like if you follow the bouncing ball, like, you know, on the old karaoke machine, the little ball bounces on the words. It's like, is this— do you hear it coming out of your own mouth that way? Like, is that just me hearing it, or what's taking place right now?

I'm pretty sure that's also why, you know, Nelson talks so much about the arrival syndrome. And, you know, and he focuses so much on the human condition and psychology, because if you can't identify how we act and respond to things, then when you actually go through that and experience that in life, you're not even going to know how to react. Or you're going to overreact or underreact. So if it, if it's not, if you haven't been made aware of the issues and the conditions that you'll go through psychologically, then you're never going to be able to figure it out. And, uh, and credit to Nelson for, for putting that in his book and putting so much emphasis on that. Like, that, that right there is worth its weight in gold, you know. Even, even if you took nothing else away from his book Becoming Your Own Banker Even if you just were able to take that and run with that, I think he would be happy.

Yeah.

Okay.

So here to contrast that, so can you think of a moment that a conversation, maybe an interaction that you've had, whether it's with a prospective client or an existing client, and you left that Zoom meeting or that in-person meeting thinking, Wow, this is why I do this.

Yeah, that's, that's a great, great question, Jayson Lowe. I would say yes. I have a client who's a large family, lots, lots of, lots of little ones, and it's always a joy and a pleasure to have a conversation with them. And they're really taking the time to understand but also put themselves in a good position financially for their children, focus on estate planning, focus on, hey, what's the next steps? Like, what do I in case something were to happen. And they're also starting this process, building out their, their, their family, family banking system by having all their kids, you know, doing it as well. But it's always such a joy to listen to them because they have such a willingness and an eagerness to learn so that they can benefit and better their, their family's financial position from, for now and securing their legacy moving forward. Anytime I, you know, conversations like that, they're just it's worth, it's worth the reason why we do this.

All day long.

I gotta share this with you guys. So I was, uh, at an amazing meeting here this week with a gentleman, uh, amazing guy, one of my favorite clients. Such a neat guy, uh, always has an amazing attitude and really, really circles back to the book on a regular basis and Nelson's teachings. Now, his oldest son, uh, has been uninsurable. He has a disability, and, uh, because of that, he will require some, you know, assistance at various, you know, throughout, throughout life. And so At some point in time, we were talking and said, you know, at some point in time, we're going to be talking about one another in the past tense. One of us or both of us aren't going to be here, but your son will still be here. And in that scenario, we have to think differently about how we put certain things together. And so here we are at a position where gratefully and thankfully, when he first came to us, he already had some term insurance in place. Amazing. His family's protected. He had something in place. The previous advisor who I would hug, if I knew who the person was, I'd give him a big hug. Because they did something really powerful and really important. They put a child protection rider on that term policy for, in this particular case, is $2.50 a month. They locked in this little piece of protection that actually created an opportunity to turn into a new life insurance policy up to $250,000 at age 25. Well, here we are. We're, we're, we're 4 or 5 months away from age 25, and you received a notice in the mail. That he can exercise this option.

Yeah.

In fact, he wanted to get rid of this policy and I said, well, don't do that. We need to keep it and we need to keep it for this reason. Yeah. And we, this, like, this is a critical cog in your family's machine. So we have to make sure that we maintain this. So he had to go through a term renewal, maintain it for a couple of years just to be able to turn this thing on. And we're in the process of now sketching out how to do that.

That's great.

Now, is it with the company that I'd prefer or that he would prefer? The answer is no. But we've got, you know, Nelson would say, work with what you got.

That's right.

And, and so it was just a fun and really engaging conversation. And, and I learned some interesting— because we're always learning what we do. And I learned some things about, at least at the rules in Ontario, someone who's got, you know, a particular disability, they might qualify for certain assistance programs. And but in order to do that, they can't have— they can end up with a net worth over like $100,000, like If they had cash value and they owned the policy and it exceeds that number at some future point, it would kill their income benefits potentially, which could be devastating in the future. Yeah. So we had to have a conversation about ownership. Well, the good news is the father can own it and the son doesn't have to own it. And they've already created in their will a, a trust model that will be set up upon him and his wife passing so we can transfer the contingent ownership to the, to the trust. When they go so that it won't interrupt any of those benefits. And then it's like, well, the other thing is we want to make things simple and easy so that at this future point in time when you're no longer here, while it would be great if we could pay a premium, it'd probably be a lot easier if he doesn't have to. So why don't we set the payment period to a lower timeframe, like a 20— you know, it's fully funded in 20 years. There's no requirement for premiums afterwards. So we can create the methodology that allows us to think into that future environment.

And so it was a really good example of Nelson thinking long range.

Rule number one, you got to think long range. He says, learn how to think beyond your own lifespan. And just the pure idea of that one thing, which has become a natural statement for me. Sometimes I catch myself and like, oh, there was a point in time in my life where I didn't know that that was possible. I couldn't comprehend the idea that you could think beyond your own lifespan.. And ever since the day that Nelson taught me that you could do that, I've never been able to go backwards into the space where I realized it wasn't possible. And so once it becomes this known element, it's like you just move forward in that direction and you don't realize that there was like life before. Does that make sense?

Yeah, perfect sense.

That's a, that's a good job, Richard. That's a great example of really looking out for somebody and, and them, and them really taking ownership on I'm looking after their family as well.

Well, and we, we get the opportunity to do this. And it's— so you kind of going to your question, you know, if you had that, that moment in time where you realize that there's, you know, this, this family now gets it or this family gets to do these things, you know, that's one of the most amazing elements that we're privileged to be able to have on a pretty regular basis with our clients and our team, often we share stories. Jayson Lowe, how often do we get on a meeting with the team and you're like, okay, everybody, before we get started, let's go and look at some of the Google reviews and then we're going to read it. Okay, Ash, you read one. Richard, you read one. And we read it out for the whole group and everyone gets kind of invigorated by what it is that we do.

That's right. There's a— do you mind if I share a short story that goes along those lines, Richard?

Go ahead.

So, I was actually just responding to an email from a client and it had to do with the last quarterly coaching session that you ran there, Rich, with legacy and stuff like that.

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And they were looking at it through the lens of, well, this is like a future me problem. I'm not going to worry about this. I'm not in my 80s or, you know, on my deathbed or whatever it is. So maybe I'll forward this or, you know, to my beneficiary or something later on or whatever that is. And it was a great teaching moment to be like, well, no, this is there because Although we like to think that we're going to live a long life, unfortunately, you know, there are accidents and tragedies that happen every day. And God forbid that doesn't happen to us. But if we don't set the plan in place to be able to help our family at the time when they're going to need it most during that difficult time of someone passing, well, then we're doing them a disservice by not even addressing it. Yeah, we don't want it to be a— we don't want it to be a reality. We don't want it to happen. But unfortunately, we don't get to control all things in life. So, it was a good opportunity to say, "No, that's— I understand that that's your perception of it, but this is why we put that, laid that training on for our clients so that they can bring that to the forefront so they can really lean into and cover off all the bases of the stuff that we're trying to talk about when it comes to think long range." Sharp example.

Okay. I think this will be two questions, Ash, which marry up really well. So I'm curious, and you can attest, I haven't asked you this question in terms of particulars, but what have you learned from being coached personally inside Ascendant Financial? And what excites you most now about mentoring newer advisors?

I think when I first started being coached, I realized how much I didn't know. So, like, you know, you go through your qualifications and your licensing and it all— you have to do all the regulatory things to be able to even speak about the tool that we use. But that just gets you in the door. There is so much more to learn. When it comes to really having great conversations with people to really put the best plan in place to look after them and their families. And that is another level of experience that you really have to learn. So, being able to be plugged right into Ascendance and getting all of this great information from these great people that we have here on the team and just the level of of knowledge that they have, it would take you decades to learn this on your own. So, once again, shortening those learning timelines, you know, it's the only way to really do it. And yeah, I tap into you guys all the time. And whether it's me asking a direct question or as they say, there's a reason why you have two ears and one mouth. So, pin your ears back, right? Because you're about to learn, you know what I mean? So, and that's why, like I said, you know, and to Richard's point, I'm at all places all the time because it's the only way to really get good and bring the most value to the people that we're trying to serve. And to now being in position to pass on the same stuff, I think the message that we're saying to people that we engage with on a daily basis, the message that we're passing on to clients that we already have, being consistent in that message and really showing, um, showing how dedicated and motivated we are to, you know, helping people better their position financially in life right now and really laying out that strong foundation so that if they're not in a good position now, they'll create that for future generations. And if they are in a good position now, they'll just further enhance financially what they're already doing and ensure that that legacy is maintained and passed on and kept in the family.

This is really good.

Piggybacking on Jayson Lowe's question a little bit, you know, I'm, I'm curious because all these opportunities to listen, I mean, where do those opportunities come from? We have a lot of options on a weekly basis to plug into different things that we do. What would you say, you know, month by month is one of the favorite things that you like to connect with that as an advisor, you have an opportunity to tap into at Ascendant? What stands out for you?

It's a great question, Richard. I would say other than individual times that I get to have great conversations with both of you, outside of that, outside of direct communication, I would say one of the sessions I probably look most forward to, and I think a lot of teammates would agree, is the Learn with Jay on a weekly basis that we get to have great teaching moments from Jayson Lowe directly and anything else that comes up within those opportunities as well. And then also, the great mastermind sessions that we have within the advisor team as well at Ascendant. I don't know where else you're going to get that. So, that right there, those sessions are key other than individual conversations and individual meetups.

Yeah, mastermind sessions. I know those are great because often where there's a case study, that's an example that's put forth. Someone's nominated, they bring forth something that's a scenario for a given client circumstance, how they solved it, how they put it together, questions and concerns that came up. Sometimes it's an underwriting issue and how do we deal with that? Sometimes it's a financial barrier and how do we help able to find or figure out a way to navigate capitalization for the policy for the individual. Sometimes it's a business or a corporate situation. So all of those are dynamic, and week by week you get a different taste and a flavor of what those things are, don't you?

Absolutely. The, the learning at Ascendant never stops. It is a weekly, a daily, an hour-by-hour thing. And we encourage that on the advisor team and, and on the entire Ascendant team. We encourage that so that we, we can fight against that arrival syndrome. We do, we do not want to get to be in that position. We want to constantly be learning. We want to constantly be better. We want to constantly do better. And by us constantly improving, having those conversations, having those meetings, having those learning sessions that amplifies what we're able to bring to our clients and the people that we're going to be working with to rest assured that they are in good hands and in a good position. And we are here putting in the work to give them the best possible outcome we can. Hmm.

So that is awesome.

What has you excited? What has you excited about the next one year, the next 3 to 5 years in being able to help clients and help mentor advisors as you look out into the future?

I think there's some layers to that question, Richard, but no, there's a lot going on.

Just peel the onion for me, Ash.

Go ahead. Start peeling away. All right. I'll try not to cry. So, there's lots going on, right? So, there's lots of growth within Ascendant. And I'm so looking forward to all the great, fantastic initiatives that we have currently in the works, we have that are coming up as well. The way that we're really leveraging the experience, we're leveraging the technology like most people are right now, and we're really putting that to work for us so that we're only going to be able to— we're going to be able to better and provide more time for clients, be able to provide, you know, create more efficiencies and really have a better experience overall, not just for the teammates that we have here at Ascendant, but also for the clients that we're serving as well. And then, you know, I'm looking forward to, as you mentioned, the coaching academy coming up in Calgary. You know, I'll be there. I think it's going to be the last one. So, you know, but we'll see. We'll see. But I think it will be. But you definitely got to go if there's one in Canada. You got to go there.

There.

And, uh, so I'll see you there for that one for sure. And I'm just looking forward to the next time that the team can get together, uh, which is looking like October, where we, uh, we get together for our team events. And I'm just looking forward to breaking bread, having great conversations, and spending time with the highest quality of people.

And Chris Pronger.

And Chris Pronger. That's right.

He's gonna be there, so that's gonna be pretty special.

Um, do I need to put my goalie gear on? Am I gonna be taking slap shots from the blue line or whatever?

Oh yeah, we're going to be recording some pretty funny stuff, and he's all in too. Uh, yeah, it's a— yeah, you can just picture it now. He's got the Ascendant Financial jersey on and he's just body slamming.

If we had pucks and the pucks were labeled with, uh, like bad marketing that we see about IBC, like get rich buying cars, and he just winds up 100 mile an hour slap shot right there. You don't want to be serving this up, do you?

Totally.

Uh, Ash, okay, we do this now, we do this with, uh, you know, each, each one of our teammates that, um, that we have on the show, and this is sort of our top 10, um, this or that. You ready?

All right, let me just, let me just limber up here. Hold on, gotta stretch. All right, let's, let's do it, let's do it.

Okay, number 10 of This or That: training soldiers in Afghanistan or trying to explain to a grown man why financing a jet ski for 26% and 19 years of financing might not be a wealth strategy.

Oh boy, I think it's easier to train soldiers in, in, in war environments than it is to, to have that conversation.

Okay, number 9: military combat boots or those pointy dress shoes that financial guys wear that look medically unsafe?

Let's go with the boots. All right. I like, I like, I like a good set of shoes, but I mean, come on. Okay.

Number, number 8, incoming battlefield pressure or hearing, so this whole infinite banking thing sounds too good to be true.

I'll take the pressure.

Okay, number 7: surviving military inspections or surviving LinkedIn posts that start with "get rich and get back all the money that you ever pay for cars"?

Inspections are a lot easier because, uh, that's going to be a lot of time spent correcting.

Okay, got it. Um, what number are we on now?

7.

Tactical military operations or a prospect saying, "My accountant says I should not probably get more insurance." I want to have the insurance conversation.

Okay.

6, former Yugoslavia or the emotional war zone known as a couple disagreeing about money. At their kitchen table?

They're both war zones. I think the one overseas is a lot easier.

Okay.

All right.

So far we're doing pretty good.

Okay. 5, carrying military equipment for 20 kilometers or carrying the emotional burden of knowing that people spend $1,400 a month on a truck payment and call life insurance expensive.

Yeah, I'm going to easily carry that pack all day long. Okay.

For military leadership training, or trying to lead a group of prospects who watched 2 TikTok videos and now think that they're going to get back every penny for everything that they ever buy.

The leadership one will probably take longer to develop as a whole, but I like the challenge, so we're gonna have to go with, uh, the other group.

Okay.

3: a disciplined military routine, or the average person's financial plan? Eh, we'll figure it out.

I'm going to go with the routine on this one.

Okay.

This is good. We're doing well.

Okay. We got 2 more. So number 2, number 2, well, I would ask you this, which one requires more courage, running military PT or telling your spouse how much interest you've paid to banks over the course of your lifetime?

I was—

wow, okay, all right. And number 1, carrying tactical gear for 14 hours straight through mountainous terrain, or sitting through a conversation with a person who says I don't need life insurance. I'm healthy.

Uh, I'm going to go with the, the, the bad terrain. Cause at least there's probably room for improvement.

All right, Rich, take us home, brother.

Thanks, Ash. This was great. Uh, excited for the next time we have you back on the show, of course. And, uh, Excited for seeing you, I'm sure, probably before September, but who's to say? Obviously, we've covered a lot of ground here, and not only have you provided a great deal of service already in this point in time in your life because of your military background and all the things you've, you've done, if everyone gets an opportunity to hang out with Ash for, for the event that happens after the event, that's always the best part, to go and hang out with Ash, by the way. You'll hear some great war stories and, uh, you will certainly get an earful for his, uh, feelings on the current, um, current scenario around the government situation in Canada, uh, if you're interested in that type of thing. I know I am. But despite all the effort and that you've put forward, all the service you've provided, a lot of people don't realize and won't know what what you've already been a hero for. But if we were to tell them what you're excited about being a hero for and who you want to be a hero to going forward, how would you describe it?

Well, that's such a great question, Richard. I would say I'm more focused on making people that we work with a hero to their families than I am being a hero to them. And I'm just happy that we have the opportunity to put people and their families in a better position than before they, before they knew about us. And my service ties directly, and my continued service ties directly to, I just really despise people being taken advantage of. So, with the knowledge and the capability that I have, I am more than willing to step in and do my part in trying to eliminate someone being taken advantage of and make them aware that they can be in a better position and things don't have to stay the same. They don't have to stay status quo as they are right now.

That's really well said. And, uh, I would say that, uh, you know, guys, this, uh, this, this show was— this episode was fun. And, uh, I think, you know, Ash, uh, you've heard— well, and Rich yourself as well, everyone who's watching and listening— you've heard the expression that, uh, success leaves clues. I think leadership does too. And Ash has gone from serving and protecting people physically to now helping teammates, helping clients to protect their families, their businesses, their futures. And that's really special. And for everybody listening today, especially advisors, maybe these interviews that we do with our teammates, maybe they land with you and you've been feeling like, uh, there has to be more to this business than, uh, chasing transactions or working as a rugged individualist, you know, working alone or operating in an environment where your growth feels capped. And sometimes the next chapter of your life, it just starts with a simple thought, right? Like, what if there's a better way to build my career in this business? And, um, so if Much like Rich and I always say, I mean, if today's episode resonated with you, just make sure you follow along. Share this episode maybe with someone that you care about. And if you're an advisor who wants to learn more about what we're building at Ascendant Financial, just reach out to us. It's just a conversation because Ash can attest to this with his experience before and after that. I think the right environment can completely change the trajectory of a person's life. And, uh, and Rich, I think for you and I, unlike the military, um, at least in this business, nobody's yelling at us to do push-ups if we miss a KPI.

No, but, but everyone—

at least not yet.

You, you do get invited to do some. I know, uh, uh, and it's— and there's nothing— one, one of the cool things that we didn't mention about our team, of course, is there is some health accountability that happens as well.

Sure is.

And so, you know, there's, it's also fun to see how we, we, we can call each other out playfully about how we can level up, not just in our knowledge and understanding about how we help clients, but also in how we help our own families and help our own longevity. So there's something to be said for that, that we often don't really touch on, but that is a theme around what we do here and being able to be not only held accountable, but to know that there's people who are going to cheer you on for whatever those goals are that you're setting for yourself is pretty nice when it's all in a tight ecosystem.

Amen to that.

And Jayson, we talked about this earlier, like you don't know what you don't know, but if you want to know, all you have to do is ask.

Well said. And, uh, speaking of not knowing what you don't know, and you might want to know it because knowing it would be helpful to know, there's another video that just popped up, and that's the algorithm doing what it's engineered to do, which is, um, to support what Rich and I always say, and that's, uh, continue your journey of learning. There's always something new to learn, and watch that next video, keep going and develop good insights, and ask a lot of great clarifying questions. Guys, this was a ton of fun. Have an outstanding rest of your day. And to all our viewers and listeners, stay awesome.