Vallo Arumäe - Achieve Financial Freedom

Foreign.

So. So one of the definitions I have about wealth is that that wealth is measured in time and money is. And the rich is measured in. In money. So it means that, let's say if you have $10,000 coming in and you have, let's say, $2,000 living expenses, it means that your wealth is five months. Because if your income would stop today, you could live five months from this reserve. But once you get to this financial independence level, your wealth becomes infinite because even if you don't work anymore, the assets will actually cover your living expenses forever, which is the totally different world that will open up once you get there.

Welcome to the mindtrax podcast with breakthrough ideas to live your best life possible and how to make it happen. I'm Paul Shealy and today we will be joined by Valo Arume. Follow. Arume co founded Starfish Academy to guide individuals toward financial independence. His teachings focus on practical finance and business strategies, aiming to foster a global community of practice for independent business owners and investors. Palo offers transformative education on personal finance, planning, asset creation and investment, empowering people to achieve a lifestyle where their money works for them, and sharing insights rarely discussed and in traditional educational settings.

Hello, Valo. So good to be with you. Thanks for being a part of the podcast.

I'm Paul. Nice to talk to you and it's an honor to be with you here.

Oh, it's so great. We've got quite a history together and in Estonia and Lithuania, you're a big deal. I mean, in terms of what's happening in financial education, you're on the newspaper, the radio, the television.

You have quite a presence there. And I'm really honored that we get to share your growing international business with the world. And I'm also excited that our viewer can come to understand what they can do to achieve financial freedom in their own lives. So let's begin, if we could, with your definition of what is financial freedom.

Yeah, I've been passionate about financial independence already for about 15 years and I realized quickly that when you want to be financially independent, then your cash flow from your investments has to be higher than your living expenses. So this was my definition and when I first time filled my personal financial statement and I realized that I had zero investments which brought me cash flow, then it was a great wake up call and it was about 2008 when I realized this that I need to make a change.

Excellent. So when you recognize that, I imagine there's kind of a mixture of two things. One is a little bit dread and worry and I Think a lot of people have anxiety about finances. And the other is as a wake up call, maybe a kick in the butt. I've got to do something. Now. When you did that financial statement, basically what was it that you were looking at?

I had actually, at that time when I was doing the statement, I had a pretty good job. I was the CEO of a logistics company. I had a pretty good salary. I had just moved into the house that I had bought with a loan. So I was doing kind of, you know, in a society standards, I was doing pretty well. And then it was, it was the summer of 2008 and I just was invited to a club and we just played together a game which was called the Cash flow game. And in this game there's a financial statement. And then when I went back home, then I thought that, okay, what if I would put my real life numbers to this financial statement? And at that time I already realized that in order to win the game in the real life as well, you have to have assets which will cover living expenses. And when I fill in my real numbers there, I realized that I had zero assets. So it was like, okay, you know, do I want to continue like this? Or maybe it's time to change my mindset and start learning about it. So it was a really kind of a big decision when I was, you know, I think one of the reasons why people don't realize it is that, you know, finances is something that it's not taught in school or it's not taught at home. And when we never have filled the statement, then we don't even realize, you know, how we are doing in the, in the money game in real life.

Yeah, so, yeah, so in essence, most of us are living our lives getting an income or a paycheck and putting out our expenses. And it's sort of, yeah, let's, let's keep it going. So there's a shift in thinking that occurs in order for financial freedom to really occur. And you've created a roadmap of five stages. So if we could look at that roadmap one stage at a time, that would probably be good to get us all oriented.

Yeah, we can do that. This was one of the models that we created over the, over the years, just from the real life experiences, how the path to the financial freedom looks like. So we realized that there are actually five different distinctive levels where people are. So it starts with survival. So a lot of people are actually in the survival level, which means that they don't have any money put aside. They don't have any investments. And of course, they don't have any cash flow from the investments. So the focus is mainly on maintaining the income and then, you know, paying paycheck to paycheck, which, you know, it's quite a risky situation to be. And when the environment changes outside, then, you know, it might be quite difficult, the financial situation.

So this is also a time where it's easy to feel anxiety and hope that we can keep our job, hope that our business stays in business, that whatever we're putting into it will support us. And when my parents were creating an income and working for a company, there was a lot of trust and loyalty to those companies because they knew that. That they would be taken care of. But something happened in the 80s and the 90s that really shifted that. And all of a sudden there were no guarantees.

Yeah. And if you think about it, actually, you know, being good employees is quite a risky situation because you have only one income, it's from your employer. And if something happens with that, then, you know, you might lose your income while you're. When you're an entrepreneur, you might have, you know, 10 or 20 different customers. And if you lose few of the customers, nothing happens. You still have the income. So there's certain level of risk involved of being also an employee.

Okay, we'll talk about the entrepreneur in a little bit. Let's go to stage two, if we could.

Yeah. So the stage two is that in order to get from level one to level two, it means that you start, you should have cash reserves put aside. So there's an easy concept called pay yourself first, which is nothing new. This has been already written, like about 100 years ago in a book. In the book the Richest man in Babylon. So basically it's an idea when, from the next payday, you just start putting money aside. So it means that you should have at least three to six months cash reserves put aside.

Now a lot of people will say, no way, I can't put anything aside. I'm spending every dime I have today and putting money on a credit card to cover my expenses. How am I supposed to put aside money at level to get to level two? Yeah.

And I think this is the logic. What you're actually teaching yourself is to take a small step. So it doesn't mean that you have to put 50% aside immediately, but you can start with 5% or 10% and you're on the way. And then each quarter you can actually start increasing it. And also what's interesting is that when you start Put money aside, then people become more innovative and they actually find ways how to manage even with a lower.

Lower income. So this is definitely doable. And if you haven't never done it before, then you can just start with 5% from the next payday or $50.

$100, whatever it is. I mean, anything, as long as you make that commitment, do it. And I love what you're saying about innovative because.

The creation of money is a creative act. The creation of financial wealth is an act of creative thinking around how you use the abundance of the environment that we live in to produce the life that you want to live. So, yeah, super important to move into that creativity. And I also like what you're saying again about entrepreneurship. I do want to get to that. What were you going to say?

Yeah, I was just wanting to add that it's actually not even about the amount what you put aside. It's about building a habit. So once you have the habit, then you can always increase, increase the amount. But the hardest thing is to have the monthly habit.

And the point is that we have a habit of.

Poverty, thinking of lack and limitation, thinking of, I got to get mine in, I can't give it away. And so there is that shift in thinking is a habit of mind.

Yeah. And I think you have to enjoy putting money aside more than spending. And that's a tricky one because most people enjoy spending more.

Ah, super important. Yeah, I'd love to cover that a bit more. I would like to also say that when I got my business started, I had a little line that I printed just below where I signed my name to pay it for a bill or to put money wherever it needed to go. And it was a quote from Akio Morito, who at that time in 1981 was the chairman of Sony Corporation. And what he said was, the only and everlasting source of profit is the creation of value. And so as I would sign my name, I would repeat that phrase. Became a mindset that my job every day as an entrepreneur is to create value for the customers that I serve. Now that's also going to work, if you work for a paycheck from a company as well, is to recognize and promote the value that you bring.

Yeah, I mean, if you break down the whole journey to like three parts, then it starts with having a revenue. It means that you have to have some income. You can have it from the salary, you can have it from the business, but you need to have an income. Once you have the income, then you need to start to grow. The capital. And then you need to put this capital to the cash flow. So there are actually three easy steps. But if you don't have enough income, then the second and the third step will never happen.

Got it? Okay, so let's go to the third step. What is that third step?

Yeah, I mean the, when we talk about, you know, turning your capital into the investment or into the cash flow, I mean this is the key. So this is in our model, it's the third level, which is called well being, which means that if a person has a good salary, maybe you're an entrepreneur, you have enough capital coming from the business, then you need also a financial education in order to start investing part of that money which has put aside or coming from the business as a profit to some of the investments. And then of course you need to understand what are the different assets you can, you know, invest in. And then what is the where is your passion? Because it's really about not finding the most popular asset, but finding an asset where you really have the drive and the passion and the love. Because this will keep you on the track. If you just do it for the money, then it's quite easy to, you know, fall off the track. But if you enjoy it, whether it's real estate or it's a business, or it's paper assets like stocks and bonds, then you will become better if you enjoy it.

Okay, so this is, this is where your company really focuses. Financial education is at that level three. So is it about making those kinds of distinctions? Is it about encouraging people to make investments? Or what is the financial education as you conceptualize it or teach it to others?

Yeah, I would say that definitely the easier way is that if you also have a business which is profitable because then you have just more possibilities to invest. But it's totally okay not being a business owner and still having a path of the investment. So it really starts with, I would say, conscious decision that there's some things to learn about financial education and then starting the small steps, you know, taking the first investment or finding yourself a community of like minded people who can share what they are doing and you can learn it from each other. And that's exactly what we have been doing also here in Estonia, Lithuania, is that we have created a practical community of people who are in the same place, but they want to have more wealth and freedom in their lives. So having really the strong supportive environment around you is the key. Because if you do it alone, then it's quite easy to fall off or you just end up With a question which you don't know the answer, and then you just stop it.

Ah, yeah. And I think that as soon as someone's overwhelmed, whether it's by information or words they don't understand, I mean, even the use of the word asset, like, what's an asset? Right. I mean, that can be a.

Instant shutting down of the mind. And if a person believes they're not worthy, they're not smart enough, they don't belong here, whatever it might be, or they're fearful. I know so many people who love lost their rear ends on all this stuff, right. Anytime those sorts of thoughts or feelings come through, that's going to shut us down. So your education is really about creating a community of learners, a community of practice, so that it's a supportive environment to expand your thinking on what's possible.

Exactly. So it's. It's actually two parts. One is the preparation, which is the learning part, which means that you need to have the basic financial literacy. And the way how we teach people is through the. Through different games and simulations, because it's the best way to learn, because it's people teaching people. And you can get the feel that, okay, if this happened in the game, how it would be in the real life. And also that was my situation when I realized that in order to win the game, you need to have assets. And then I realized that in my real life, I didn't have them. So it was a question, okay, what is an asset and what is my path to the financial freedom? So it really starts with a mindset and also with a decision that maybe the results that I have today is not something that I dream about. In order to change it, I have to change my beliefs first and then the actions will follow.

Okay. So beliefs and mindset are things that I do want to cover. Right now we're at level three. And what's also important in your model? It's kind of an hourglass shape. And I think about level three as being kind of a. A pinch point, a point where there's a bit more constraint. I'd be interested in why that is important to your model. So let's talk about getting from level three to level four.

Yeah. I would say that there is a trap also implemented in this level three. And the trap is between comfort and freedom. Because some of the things that we do towards comfort will actually take us away from the freedom. And the reason being that if you have a good salary or if you have already some money put aside and you have a good job, then you naturally want to increase your living standards, but it means that you're also moving away, that the same investment could go to the potential asset creation. So instead of spending it to the comfort, you should actually stop it, become financially smart and start investing to the assets before, I mean, until you get already income from the assets and then you can go back to the comfort. So it's kind of delaying the comfort at that level, which is the most hardest part, because you actually can do it, but consciously you have to push it forward for the future.

I love that the comfort zone is not a place where we're growing. Growth really happens at the leading edge of our comfort zone, where we're on that border between, okay, I know what I know, but now I need to know what I don't know. I've got to step into the unknown. And again, why it's so important to have good education. Because what has been unknown, you'll find out, is it's common knowledge among those who are building wealth in their lives. So what is level four?

Level four is called wealth, which means that you basically have covered your main living expenses, but you still want to keep going because you know, you want to build yourself life where you have maybe double or three times more income from assets than you have living expenses. Which means that you, you can be totally free of choosing of what you do on a daily basis because you don't have to work for money anymore. And also what happens next is that you can start to kind of think about the generational wealth because you can all also, you know, inherit some of the wealth that you're creating also to the future generations. So it's more like going forward even you got the, you know, basic financial independence, but you still want to keep going because know, that's where the game gets, you know. Most interesting.

Excellent. So this idea of wealth is also important to understand that the word wealth and well being are synonymous in old English. And so there is a level of well being when you're building these kinds of assets and the income that's happening whether you're working, playing or sleeping. And I remember in the early days of setting up learning strategies, I didn't set it up as Paul Shealy Corporation, you know, I set it up as a company that whether I was there on stage delivering or not, it could be generating wealth and, or generating income revenues. What happens with those revenues will determine whether it's wealth or not. Right, so they go ahead.

Yeah, exactly. I mean, if you're in level three and you're entrepreneur Then definitely one of the big changes that has to happen is that how can I build a business system that doesn't depend on me? Because it's so easy to create yourself a job and then stay in that job for the next 10 years and never pay yourself a profit. But if you have the idea that, okay, I need to create myself an asset, and as long as I'm there and depends on me, it's not the real assets. So. So this is definitely one of the big mindset changes that entrepreneurs will have to go through to get to the level four.

Excellent. So somebody who's wants to be in business for themselves, but is just trading their time and never really getting ahead, it becomes more of a burden, more of a stress.

Exactly. And if you think about the definition is that it means that the assets should automatically work for you and cover your living expenses. So one of the definitions I have about wealth is that wealth is measured in time and the rich is measured in money. So it means that let's say if you have $10,000 coming in and you have, let's say, $2,000 living expenses, it means that your wealth is five months. Because if your income would stop today, you could live five months from this reserve. But once you get to this financial independence level, your wealth becomes infinite. Because even if you don't work anymore, the assets will actually cover your living expenses forever, which is the totally different world that will open up once you get there.

Excellent. So is that where we're now at level five?

Yeah. When you go to level five, then it means that you don't have to worry about any gas reserves. You have enough money coming in, your asset value is, is 1 million or more, and you can then start to really focus on the generational wealth. You can, you know, help other organizations. So it's more like building a wealth for the generations from that point on.

Excellent. So it's like your money reservoir is large enough that it's flowing over and helping others. One of the people that I've worked with creating a para liminal with is Ken Honda in Japan. And he talks about how his income is so sufficient for his family of three in the two homes that he lives in that he actually supports 40 other families with his, with the wealth that's coming in on a monthly basis. So it's a beautiful thing when you realize what can happen. So let's go back now to the idea of mindset. We referred to it, but I'm not sure that we've ever really defined it. I mean, everybody Understands? Yeah, you have to have the right mindset. But what is a wealth building mindset?

I would say that one of the key things which really changed my mind is that I used to think that I should focus on the income, which means that I should focus on the salary. And once I realized that it's even not part of the definition. What is financial freedom? It's the money coming from the investments covering your living expenses. So there are only two parts, assets that create money or living expenses. And even if your living expenses are low, then you're actually much closer to the financial independence than those who have higher expenses. So it means that.

A truck driver or some medicine person who has low expenses is actually closer to the financial freedom once he starts to build assets, because the barrier that he has to go higher is actually much lower. So it's an easier and shorter journey to get there. But it starts with the mindset that I need to start to create assets. I think this was one of the biggest things that I didn't realize before. I was always focusing on the salary, you know, how can I get more income? But then I realized the game is not about income. The game is about creating assets. And if I can get ahead with that, then actually the freedom starts to increase.

So it's a wonderful thing when you can be debt free, when whatever it is that comes in is going to growing your asset portfolio.

You had an epiphany for yourself because as you said when we just got started that at the time that you were learning about this, you had just gotten a mortgage on a house and there was a transition you made with that house that turned it into an asset. Would you tell that story?

Yeah, it was a decision when I decided that in about 12 months I will quit my job. And at that point, my biggest distraction was actually this mortgage. Because I had just a few years ago built myself a house. And it was about 2009 when we had the previous financial crisis and the interest rates were quite high. Which means that at that point, this house mortgage payment took about 50% from my income. But when I had the decision that I would leave the job, then the question was, okay, how can I get rid of the mortgage? And then when was the moment when the financial literacy actually really helped me because I realized that there's two kinds of debt. There's a. There's a bad debt and there's a good debt. So bad debt is something that you have to pay. And most people have bad debt, like a credit card debt, some car lease their home Loan, stuff like that, basically something they have to pay, and there's a good debt, which means that someone else will pay it. So when I quit my job, which meant that I lost my salary, I still had the mortgage, and I had two decisions. Whether I will sell the house or I will rent it out to somebody else who will start to pay for my house. And because I realized that there is a good debt, then I actually saw that the better solution was to rent it out. Somebody actually paid for my mortgage, and I got also $1,000 extra from the, from the rental, which allowed me actually to rent for myself an apartment, which meant that I actually, yes, I stepped back from the house to the apartment, but I basically, I decreased my, you know, mortgage from 50% to zero. And it was only because of the understanding of the words. And the language of money is really about the financial literacy that if you understand the definition of the words, you can actually use it in the real life. And that's what. What happened and helped me to. To get out of the rat race.

That's so cool. I love the way you're saying it. To get out of the rat race. So you decided to quit your job a year before you did, and the intent was to set up your company Starfish, right?

Yeah, exactly. I was, at that point, I was already passionate about financial literacy. And we had. We had been teaching about this philosophy in Estonia before that. I used to actually work in logistics for quite a while. I was 15 years in the logistics industry. So the change was quite a huge one because I had to basically let go of everything in my professional career to take the leap of faith and to start something totally from the scratch. And I had no security that I will, I will make it. So it was actually quite, quite a big change. But at that point, I already realized that I just need some more time to implement it because I had the mindset, I knew what has to happen. I just needed one more extra year to make it happen. And that's when I got financially independent in 2011. I got even more passionate to share it and teach it to everybody else.

Excellent. Now, just in case somebody doesn't know what logistics is, that's like shipping and.

Yeah, it's. It's actually, it's shipping, it's freight forwarding. Our company was actually representing UPS Global Forwarding in, in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuanian markets. And I was the CEO of the company. So basically we were organizing, you know, air freight, road freight, sea freight shipments all over the world. So I was really passionate about that. But then, you know, this financial education kicked in and I just stayed there as a, as a member of council with the logistics company.

Now what's so cool about that is that would be a very esteemed position that most people would envy. And yet once you awoke to the idea that you were still trading dollars for hours.

You weren't living the life of your passion around the idea of financial freedom and you had essentially built yourself a prison.

Yeah, and I think it was, it was because I realized what the game is about. The game is not about the salary, the game is about assets. And I realized that I need to change my game. And it was quite painful because I had to basically Let go my 15 years of career in an industry where I was quite well known and I was doing in my mind pretty well. But when I looked my personal financial statement, it didn't look so well. So that was really a wake up call.

That's super cool. So let's talk about the biggest obstacles that you see people facing when they're making the shift to creating true financial freedom. What do people need to let go of? I mean, I love this idea of it's not about the income, it's about the assets.

Yeah.

So that's, that's a mind blower right there. Super, super good.

I would say that there are like two things which comes to mind. One is definitely fear, because we fear everything which is unknown. And as we didn't have the financial education in schools and at homes, the, and people who haven't learned about it, then it feels quite scary. And we are actually trained to rely on financial advisors and other people in our finances instead of taking full responsibility with our finances. So I definitely, the fear is one thing.

And the second thing which I think really helped me, and this is something you also talk about, is making a decision. Once you set the intention, everything will change. But you have to be brave enough to have the intention. And I remember so clearly, it was like 2008 in the middle of the global financial crisis and I said that, okay, you know, I'm not going in the right direction. If I don't make any change, I will have a, you know, a day to day salary and, and the job for the next 15 years as well. And it's not sustainable because the game is not about that. The game is about, you know, building an asset which will eventually cover your living expenses. So yeah, I would say that decision had a really strong influence because I made it just in my mind. I have to do it. And whatever it takes, I Will learn it and I will implement it. And then it was the only question about staying on the track and not falling off. So yeah, maybe you know even better about the fear, but it's basically the fear of unknown.

Yeah. And then the other thing is letting go of bad habits. Either bad habits of thinking or spending or.

Moving toward comfort or perhaps even numbness and keeping in a story about oh, the economy is not a good time. Oh this is like the worst time in human history could ever do. No, right now is the best time in human history to make the change you want to. Right?

Yeah. I mean there are so many opportunities out there once you learn the different mindset and I would say that it has been almost like 180 degrees shift in the mind because the things that I was thinking in the past that are risky, I'm actually using it now in my advantage. And depth is one of the good things. Most of the people use debt to their disadvantage. They get deeper and deeper in depth and they don't have any assets that will cover those depths. But once you learn to use the good depth, you know, it's actually a leverage that can get you ahead if you use it for the right reasons. So. So this was just one example which is total opposite that most people think about.

Yeah, if you have debt at 3% and you're earning 6% with your investment, your asset. Yeah, that's, that's a no brainer. It's going to make a big difference. So let's, let's talk about the franchises you own with Business Network International. So BNI or why is networking such an important thing for everybody to be thinking about in their professional lives?

Yeah. I have also this thinking in my mind for a long time is that good ideas that do not happen in person's mind, but it happens between people. So if you talk with other people then the great ideas will come. And once I started to learn about financial education, I was attending different seminars, conferences. I joined the John Maxwell team. That's how I also met you. So I realized that talking to people and getting the ideas actually helps to fasten the process how to make these changes. So this was definitely part of the kind of reason is that intentionally set yourself to personal development. And I know that your listeners also on the path of personal development because once you change your mind, you know you will change your feelings, you will change your actions and you will change your results.

And the teachers, the guides, the support that we need can only show up when we take that leap of faith, when we Take that step forward. So you invested in BNI franchises. Why that compared to, say, some other opportunities you might get into?

I think the first thing that really got my attention with BNI was the philosophy that BNI has, which is givers gain. And I had this. Givers, givers, gain, gain.

Anyone who gives is going to get.

Exactly. And I had the mindset that, you know, if you want to have more time, give more time first. If you want to have more money, give more money first. So it was already my mindset that you have to give first in order to get something. And that was like, wow, there's a global organization of entrepreneurs which just come together every week to help each other. And I said, okay, it must create something really magical. And I was like, okay. You know, PNI wasn't at that time in Estonia.

And actually it came out quite interestingly. I talked to my business partner in Lithuania in 2014, and he said that he's part of the BNI in Lithuania and it's such a great organization helping each other and there's a great energy over there. And then two months later, I went to the John Maxwell event, and I was participating one of the home study courses. And one of the steps in the home study course was to find a local BNI chapter. I was like, okay. My business partner just talked about it like two months ago, and now it's the second time somebody asked me about bni, so I have to check what it is. And then I looked it and realized that Estonia was one of the few countries that did not have bni. So I wrote them, I said, I love the concept, how it's working. And then I got an answer that we're actually looking somebody to help to launch Estonia for bni. So that was actually the, the, the, the. Why? Because I really realized that if you put entrepreneurial people in the same room with the mindset of helping each other, there's something definitely happens. And, and yeah, I've been doing now this for. For the last eight years, and it has created a lot of revenue and nice contacts, business contacts, especially not only Estonia, but also globally, because there's a global convention I'm going every year.

Oh, yeah, good. And BNI also promotes the idea of how much revenue is actually transacted as a result of connections that are made with members. Do you know what the number is today, what they're saying?

Yeah, the number is. Let me. Let me think. What was the final number? But, yeah, this was one of the things also that catch my mind is that There's a lot of networking organizations that just come together and you hope you get something out of it. But in BNI you actually measure it so you know exactly how much you cut returned from the one year of, you know, being a member there. So yeah, there's like, I think the last 12 months is like some 23 billion or something like that.

Wow.

So like 11 million referrals in the last 12 months and it's growing every year. So next year BNI will be actually 40 years old and they have had 40 years of successive growth every year.

That's so cool.

Part of what I think of networking is promoting.

Yourself, promoting your work, sharing the value that you're most passionate about, that you embody. And I think of that also in the context of selling, selling oneself or being an unabashed self promoter. And you know, I've been on stage wherein an hour long talk, I ended up selling almost $200,000 worth of products and courses. And at the time that that organization was promoting, I was the top selling. And they said wow, you're such a great salesman. I thought, I don't know that I was selling. I was just sharing from my heart what I know makes a difference in people's lives. Can you talk about why selling our gifts, our talents, our acquired knowledge, skills and attitudes is such an important skill for us to develop in today's economy?

Yeah, I think it's one of the most important skills for any person that doesn't matter what the area is because basically sales equals income. Those people who have little income usually cannot sell. And sometimes it can be also some limiting belief about sales because they have an understanding that sales is something pushy. But it doesn't have to be because sale is basically communication. And if you are becoming better in communication, it will definitely increase our incomes. But, but the thing with the sales is that you have to be passionate about it. You have to really believe it. And also one of the, one of my mentors also told me once that if you know how to teach, you never have to sell. So this is exactly relates to your experience is that I'm also really passionate about teaching what I know. And because I'm passionate about it and I'm just telling what I'm, what I have done, then it's automatically selling. Even I don't have to, you know, consciously think about sales, it will sell. So, so definitely this is something to become better at. And doesn't matter if you're an employee or if you're a business owner, it really depends how much income you will get from sales.

Excellent. Excellent. And I think it's true also, Valo, that when you're a representative of the thing that you're most passionate about, others are going to say, I want what she's got. I want what he's got. They see that you're lit up by something, and they want to be lit up in their lives in the same way. So I think communication and also enrolling. I mean, we're really enrolling people in the life that they. They want to live for themselves.

Yeah. And also kind of realize that there are, like, two parts of the sales is. One is authenticity. I think it's very, very important. Authenticity and integrity about it. And the other thing is to. To make complex things simple, because there's a lot of people who make simple things look complex. But I have exactly the opposite feeling that, you know, if I have a knowledge or some deeper understanding of something, I have to make it so simple that everybody understands it. And when you can do that, it will also relate to the sales.

Well, your success in Estonia and Lithuania and the recognition that you're getting and the important launching of this work internationally is a good testimony to your skill at doing that. So I really want to acknowledge our years together and my admiration for what you're doing for people. I think to eliminate financial anxiety is going to save a lot of marriages. It's going to create a lot of future wealth for the children of the world that see that money doesn't have to be scary. That abundance comes from creative ideas and from the ability to communicate and help others. So, yeah, thanks very much for your life's work. Yeah.

Paula, I would actually like to thank you as well, because you have played a quite significant part in my growth journey as well, because one of the philosophies that we also teach is that, yes, we talk about financial education, but we also talk about harmony of life, which means that you have to have actually harmony with. With your inner world, with your health, with money, with relationships, and also your fulfillment. And I've been actually, you know, working with you for the past eight years and also, you know, having a strong influence in my personal development, you know, having a possibility to talk to you on a monthly basis. It really has contributed to my success as well. So thank you.

Thank you so much. It's been my honor as well.

Valo, to finish up our time together. What word of encouragement would you give to someone understanding that this road to financial freedom means that you start wherever you are? And wherever you are is okay, to start, you don't have to be anywhere other than where you are. What final good word would you leave with our listener?

I would say that, first of all, I really, truly believe that financial freedom is possible for everybody. But it has to start from your belief as well that it's also possible for you. Because I've seen so many people who think that, you know, I'm not a numbers person, I'm not an economy person. You know, I'm more like a artistic one. So, you know, the numbers are not for me. But every day we have to use money to pay for different expenses, which means that everybody can become much smarter with the personal finances. And it's actually possible for you as well if you focus on that. So I'm not different than anybody else, except that I just focused on the topic and I'm just living proof that anybody can make it. It doesn't matter if you live in the States or you live in Estonia or live in any other country. If you just stay on the course, it's actually possible for everybody. So, you know, just have an open mind and just, you know, start learning and implementing in the real life as well.

Excellent. Set the intention. Believe in yourself. You'll get what you need to get where you want to go. That's so great. Thank you so much, Paolo. Such a pleasure to be with you.

Thank you.

All the best. Bye for now.

Foreign.

I hope you enjoyed our conversation with Valo Arume. And now in the second part of the podcast, it's just you and me. I'll tell you how to use the Paralimal sessions in the MindTrax app to easily handle obstacles and move toward the success you want, especially as it relates to Vallo's message. If you're new to the relaxing paralyminal audio sessions, they use breakthrough technologies to activate your whole mind in only 20 minutes to help improve any area of your life. Let's get going.

Hi and welcome to this follow up to my conversation with Valo Urume and our dialogue about achieving financial freedom. There's so many great Paralympicals that are a part of this topic. So much is available to us to help make that shift from wherever we are right now to creating greater financial freedom in our lives. There are four areas that I'd like to focus on based on the conversation Navalo and I had. First is around mindset and belief. Second is around abundance consciousness. The third is about wealth creation, and the fourth is about possibility and opportunities for making a shift. So let's talk about mindset. And belief, obviously a big part of everything we're talking about. You could hear in his journey to creating the wealth that he has in his life, the final financial freedom that he has from all of his many investments and businesses, is to recognize that even for him, it was a big challenge and one of the most difficult times in global economics. He decided to make that shift. So I want to think about three different parallel that could help. The first one is called abundant money mindset, where we can look at what is our past mindset around money, what is my current thinking and mindset, and what future mindset would I like to have. And in this parallel you're actually rewriting the narrative of your own financial life and deciding right now how it is you would like it to go forward from here. The second parallel is personal genius. One of the things that came up is a lot of people will stop themselves because they don't think that they're a money person or a numbers person. And there are a lot of great books that have been written about this to help make that shift. But it's also important for you on the inside to recognize that this is something that you can master. Any working adult today can master these principles. And personal genius is, it's like self esteem supercharger for the learner. So you recognize that inside of you is a brilliant accelerated learner born into the world to learn what's necessary to get you where you want to go. Personal genius is such a great place to start in any big endeavor that you might have. The third around mindset and beliefs is the belief paralleliminal where you get to look at any negative or self defeating self limiting beliefs, shift those and then put into play positive new life enhancing beliefs that will get you where you want to go.

Right? So the second area is around abundance consciousness. My philosophy is that abundance is the natural state of the universe. It's always got everything to be sufficient to whatever needs to occur. There's no lack or limitation in the universe as we understand it. And it's our access to that abundance that creates what we would call an abundance consciousness or a prosperity consciousness. And so the para liminal of choice is the prosperity para liminal. You have an abundance of energy, connection, learning capability, money to do whatever is the next step that is yours to do. So prosperity parallel is an essential one. I used it to grow my businesses. It's something that I love going back to, especially in any area where I might have some doubts or some little niggling voices that are saying, not sure this is really for you. Well, it happens to all of us that those voices could be there. So let's shift that. Let's put some positive voices in and connect with the true infinite intelligence that is communicating through us, us, every single moment of every single day. So prosperity. The other one, which I think is a super good one, especially to understand this idea of sufficiency, is the parallel I did with Lynn Twist called the Soul of Money. Soul of Money is the title of a book that Lynne Twist wrote. Definitely worth the read. She and I created the Soul of Money para liminal so that we can recognize that how we use money is the lifeblood of the global economy. Just like the blood that's in our veins that needs to be moving, it needs to be in process. Same with water. If it's stagnant, it becomes toxic. Money needs to flow and the more it flows, the more abundance is able to come to us. And Volo put it very succinctly. He said that givers get right. Givers are people who are given. So we need to be in that flow. We need to be in the sharing of ideas, the sharing of our knowledge, our skills, our gifts, our talents, our problem solving capabilities. When we receive money as expressions of appreciation, what we appreciate, appreciates. Put your money where your passions are and you'll see your wealth and capabilities grow. Soul of money. The third area that I wanted to talk about is wealth creation. And there's two ways in which we could think about this. There is a parallel called.

Wealth motivator, wealth motivation, which is about creation of wealth, recognizing that we can create the ideas necessary to bring our wealth, our problem solving abilities to create solutions for others and be remunerated, be appreciated in the form of financial expression, money that would be given to us. So super important to think about growing your capabilities, growing in your ability to create wealth in any area of your life. There's also two other ways in which we could be thinking about wealth creation. And that's every daily transaction. As Valo talked about, most people are just thinking about income and buying what you can with your income. And he's saying, yeah, you have an income now, let's turn that into assets and assets that are going to generate wealth for you long into the future. And that becomes a topic of every dollar we earn. A part of that is mine to keep and then be able to turn into assets that will allow me to create wealth in my life. So the parallel of choice is called financial security. And it's about those daily, small, daily decisions about what you receive, receive and what you give, very important. The mindset, the belief. It's a great para liminal to help create the wealth that you want. The third para liminal in this area is the para liminal I referred to during my conversation with Valo. It's the parallel I did with Ken Honda from Japan called Happy Money. It's this idea that money is designed as an expression of those things that we're most passionate about. Put your talents to work in what brings you the greatest happiness and share that happiness with others. You're building your financial reservoir, and when that's full and it spills over, it's not for you to hoard and keep and make just your own, but to really spread into the world. As you give, you realize that you're given more and more and more. So Happy Money is a beautiful book. It's also really a beautiful para liminal that I did with Ken. Now the fourth and final area is the idea of possibility and opportunity. So when we think about getting at the edge of our comfort zone, and Valo really put that in a cool way, there's a lot of people use wealth to create comfort. And really, if you're spending in order to maintain a sense of comfort, thinking about building assets and allowing that financial freedom means that there's going to be a little pinch point in your shift in consciousness. And that pinch point is in shifting your priority on what brings you the greatest comfort. Is it financial security and financial freedom or is it your lifestyle, being comfortable that you don't have to think about other things? And what he's talking about is confronting whatever fear might be there that's keeping us in a comfort zone instead of moving us to the edge of our comfort zone and into the new ways of doing being that we really want. So the first para liminal in this area is going to be fearlessness. Because if we recognize that there is nothing to fear other than the fears that we're holding, as we learn to let go of those fears and trust that the universe has our back, we're going to discover we can do this. Every great development in my business life has been.

By making a choice to go to that ragged edge of comfort, into what's possible. And only when I recognize what's possible and set my intention for that, will the opportunities to make that a reality be presented to me. So fearlessness is going to put me in that place, seeing my intention, seeing the possibility, welcoming opportunities, and taking those next steps forward. The second para liminal in this area is what Valo and I talked about at the end of our conversation, which is the importance of communicating your values, what it is that you value most, what you're most passionate about, and the contribution that you can bring to improve the lives of other people, whether you're working for a paycheck for a company or whether you're an entrepreneur needing to sell your services and your products. In either case, it's important that we learn to be great salespeople. And the Sales Leap paraliminal is the ideal one. You'll. You'll learn that there's several steps in the sales cycle, and whichever one you might not feel super strong about, you can use that listening opportunity to gain strength, gain focus, gain your intention, and break through to the next level. And I actually created Sales Leap and talked about it as Performance Leap. So if you have to get up on stage in order to give a presentation or even to your business group to be able to present yourself, or whether you're a professional athlete or.

An actor, whatever it might be, Sales Leap is actually a great one to be listening to.

I eventually created a next one that expands it more to any kind of performance and it's called Performance Leap or it's the idea of being able to break through in any performance area in your life. So think about Sales Leap and think of it, as Valo said, is your ability to communicate. Communicate what? Communicate. Here I am. Here is a value that I have to share with you. Let me help you gain the true value, the wisdom, the knowledge, the skills, the attitudes that will help you break through to your next level. And for all of us having been through this conversation, it's the breakthrough to true financial freedom. Thanks for being here. Look forward to the next time we have an opportunity to be in dialogue. Peace and blessings.

Thank you for joining. Joining me today, I applaud your willingness to maximize your potential. You can easily use the paralympical audio sessions in the MindTrax app to stimulate your non conscious mind, I.e. your inner mind, to reduce any resistance in your life and to propel you toward the success you want. Go to www.mindtracks.com.

Go. These amazing audio tools have helped millions and I encourage you to bring them into your world today. Be sure to be back for more episodes of the mindtrax podcast. You'll find insightful conversations with authors, experts and thought leaders all devoted to improving your life's experience. Thank you again for being here on our MindTrax podcast.

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