1. “My husband doesn’t trust me to run our business”

If you've recently discovered this podcast and you've wondered, how can I get Ramit to answer my specific money question? There are two ways to do it. Number one, you can apply to be on this podcast, although we are already full for the rest of the year. Number two, you can join my Money Coaching membership in this program. We do a ton of cool stuff I want to make sure you know about it. We do a monthly live call with me where I cover some of my favorite money topics that I can't go into publicly in as much detail as and I break down our members conscious spending plans. Plus I answer your questions live. We also have tons of virtual events coming up that cover every aspect of living a rich life. For example, our new event, Money for Aging Parents is coming up at the end of October that is included for all Money Coaching members. You get access to our library of all past calls like how to Find an Extra Thousand dollars a Month and how to Do a Rich Life annual review. Plus we have a Money Coaching community group where you can see inspiration how other people are spending their money and get your own questions answered if you want to get help. If you want to meet amazing other people in Money Coaching and you want to build your rich life faster and bigger, you should check out Money Coaching today. Go to iwt.commoneycoaching to join right now. That's iwt.com moneycoaching.

I tell her, you know what, why don't you put yourself in my shoes sometimes? I understand that it's too big for her, that it's too the shoes are too big for her.

On today's episode, I'm going to be working with Alyssa and Elon about a money problem that they have. But as I get deeper into the discussion with them, I realize it's not really about money. It's the communication between the two of them that is the real problem. Imagine your husband talking about you like this.

Alisa's nature is inside the box and my nature is to think outside the box.

Uh, are you kidding me? Who talks about their wife like that? Especially when you and your wife are supposed to be running a business together.

I'm an entrepreneur. She's not an entrepreneur. She is an employee.

This is the I Will Teach youh to Be Rich podcast and I'm your host, Ramit Sethi. Now, I've always been fascinated with money and psychology. I remember writing about money while I was a student at Stanford, studying technology and psychology there and absolutely loving talking to my friends about money. So many of Us claim that certain things are important to us, and yet our behavior doesn't actually match up to it. Think about it. There's money. Yeah, I know I should save more. There's flossing. Yeah, I know I should floss more. There's calling our parents or going to the gym. There's so many things in our lives that are genuinely important to us, and yet we find it really difficult to do. And I know what this like growing up, I would joke that I was just a skinny Indian guy. I would look around and I would see a bunch of people who looked really fit. They seemed to stay fit and put on muscle effortlessly. And I just felt like I was on the outside. Like everybody had read a book about getting fit. And I was absent that day at school. And it took me many years, lots of getting help and hiring trainers and reading books to finally figure out what other people seem to effortlessly know. And I think a lot of us feel like that about money, like we were absent the day that everyone else seemed to learn it. So I'm fascinated with money psychology, and I'm also fascinated with how it plays out in relationships. Part of this is inspired by my own relationship. When I was dating my now wife and we got married, we went through a lot of difficult conversations to be able to get on the same page about money. And so I started talking to other couples. I talked to friends, I talked to readers, and you will not believe some of the stories that I heard. We have couples that have vastly different spending styles, couples where one person earns a hundred times what the other does. And in almost every couple, they grew up with totally different philosophies on money. And I thought to myself, when was the last time any of us had the chance to listen to a real couple sharing real stories about their money problems and a conversation where they actually shared real numbers also? And the answer is never. Most of us have these conversations, sometimes fights with our partner, but we never get the chance to sit in a room like a fly on the wall and listen to other couples talk about their money problems. Well, that's what I wanted to bring you on this podcast in the hopes that it can inspire you and maybe help you with your money psychology as well. Alyssa and Elon are like so many of the couples that I'll speak to on this podcast. They come to me for a very specific money problem, usually a really specific type of fight that they've been having constantly. But as I ask them questions and unpeel the layers of their relationship together, we'll discover that it's really not about the financial question they originally came with. There's almost always much deeper issues now. Alyssa and Elon have been in a relationship since 2007. They're now married, and they're co founders of a baklava company. The business is doing well, really well, except for one thing. They just can't seem to agree on almost anything. Now. That's where I come in. I've got a couple ideas, but first I need to ask them some questions to figure out what's really going on.

It wasn't really a discussion. It was just like, he's gonna do it. But I also don't feel comfortable with you just doing whatever you want with it. Since we're in a relationship together and our finances are shared. I was scared. I got in a fearful mindset. I was afraid he would lose our money, make mistakes with the money, even though all he wants is to make as much money as possible.

You're listening to I will teach you to be rich. Alyssa and Elon are struggling to see eye to eye. They both lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic.

Luckily, we both are entrepreneurial, and I started babysitting. Elon tried a horrible job roofing. We don't speak about that. I mean, we weren't gonna. So I started selling baked goods on Facebook, and Elon saw that I was getting really busy, and he said, there could be a business opportunity out of this. Let's make my famous baklava. And the sales exploded.

A lot of us believe that one magical day when we have a million dollars or a successful business, all of our financial problems will vanish. Guess what? That never, ever happens. In fact, if you want a million dollars tomorrow, would you know exactly how to spend it? Would you know how to change your money attitudes? Would they just magically transform overnight? Of course not. These are skills that we learn over time. Now, Alyssa and Elon are quickly realizing that they don't have those skills. And with this new business, it's starting to cause serious issues.

I'm doing the baklava now. He was still helping, but I was getting. I had way too much on my shoulder. I couldn't manage it. We bake it, and then I go to the farmer's market. I set up a canopy. We call over every single person. We offer them samples. It's super interactive and tiring way of working. Then you tear down at the end of the day and do it all over again. So I felt like I couldn't handle this level of Work. And I also was having a hard time that he was putting so much time into the crypto.

Wait a second.

What's this about crypto?

He said, I'm going to do this cryptocurrency thing. And it wasn't really a discussion. It was just like, he's going to do it, but. But I also don't feel comfortable with just you just doing whatever you want with it. Since we're in a relationship together and financially, our finances are shared. I was scared. I got in a fearful mindset. I was afraid he would lose our money, make mistakes with the money, even though all he wants is to make as much money as possible.

Okay, did you catch all those red flags? No discussion. Don't feel comfortable, scared he would lose our money. These are all clues I'm listening to, I'm hearing them, and I'm filing them away because I suspect these are clues that give us a hint as to what's really going on. All right, let's keep going.

There were times when he was supposed to do a market, and some exciting thing happened on the crypto, on opportunity to make a bunch of money, and he just didn't go to the market. And for me, because the markets are so important to me, because it's a new business that I really care about, I just felt. Felt like, how can I rely on him? He's just doing the crypto. He's not. He doesn't care about. This is my. Just my experience. I felt let down. Elon's top priority is making money. End of story. If he sees something that can make more money, he's gonna go for it. So we don't see eye to eye, because I see the business as a little baby that we're growing, and I care about it, and I care about our image and our. And our reputation and about fulfilling our commitment.

Okay, on a scale of 1 to 10, how sure are you that that's exactly what he's going to say?

9.

What surprised you about what Alyssa just said?

Nothing much. I know her reaction. I know how she is. She thinks in a certain way. Okay. And Alisa's nature is, let's say, inside the box. And my nature is to think outside the box. Because when you think outside the box, you find the solution for inside the box. That's my life experience.

Okay? This is red flag central. My alarm bells are ringing. I mean, can you believe Elon is talking to me about his wife as if she isn't even there? Now, what I wanted to do was to get back on track and talk about their business.

The startup was the idea of how to create a product that we don't have to basically work for so many hours. So I came up with a solution of how to sell a good product that has a nice markup and then basically we don't have to work as hard. So once we did that and we stabilized it together. By the way, the difference between us is that I'm an entrepreneur from a very young age. And most of her life, she's not an entrepreneur, she is an employee. So I know more how to think as an entrepreneur and how to grow a business and how to invest. And again, one investment going to another one. And I'm not afraid to do that because my life experience taught me that when you make a mistake, a good mistake, because you learn from it and then you learn basically how to make a profit, how to not make that mistake. Same goes with profit. So you're not going to make or you're going to lose at the beginning, but it's going to teach you in the future how to not make that mistake again and then make profit.

Let me just jump in here for a second and remind you who Elon is lecturing. I've started multiple businesses. I've employed lots and lots of people. I run a business that reaches over a million readers a month. I mean, I appreciate the business lecture, but I didn't really come here to be lectured to by Elon. And if he's being like this with me, I hate to think what he does when he's communicating with Alyssa.

Real question for you. Do you know how often you're supposed to see your primary care physician? How about the dentist? How about a dermatologist? A lot of us just wait to get a text from the dental hygienist to know it's time to make an appointment. But your health is important and we talk about going from defense to offense with your money. What about with your health? Why not make your life easier and book this year's appointments today with zocdoc? Zocdoc is a free app and website where you can search and compare high quality in network doctors and click to instantly book an appointment. They have over 100,000 doctors across every specialty from mental health, dental, primary care and more. Just filter for the doctors based on your insurance, your location, even ratings and find a doctor who's a good fit for your needs. Plus, Zocdoc appointments happen fast, usually within 24 to 72 hours instantly. Click through your options, book the appointment.

And you are good to go.

If I needed to find a new doctor today, this is what I would use. Stop putting off these doctor's appointments and go to Zocdoc.com ramit to find and instantly book a top rated doctor today. That's Zocdoc.com Ramit Zocdoc.com Ramit what comes to mind when I share these specific moments? Renewing your passport. Scheduling a dentist appointment. Replacing that light bulb that's been out for six months and you're not sure what's the right bulb. We all procrastinate on weird stuff and taxes are usually right at the top of that list. We wait until the last second, then we get overwhelmed. We got to pull all this paperwork and we're panicked because the deadline is approaching. That's why I recommend guilt. Now that tax season's over, this is actually the best time to get ahead. If you run a business or you filed for a tax extension, one small move right now could save you thousands later. G is not just another CPA firm. They helped one of my colleagues rethink his entire tax setup. Now he's saving more than he spends on tax prep. With G you get a proactive year round strategy, not just a one time filing. Credits, deductions, business structure. It's handled. And their tech platform makes it easy to stay organized. You'll also get access to Gilt's full tax library with guides on retirement plans, QBI and more. So if you've got a business or you filed for an extension, this is the window to take control of your tax plan. Head to joingelt.com ramit to book a consultation and as a member of my community, you get to skip the waitlist. Again, that's joingelt.com ramit join G-E-L-T.com ramit taxes don't have to be a task with Gelt. They can be a tool to build.

Wealth.

For her to understand it. It was very hard and we had a lot of collision and a lot of fights. So my motto is basically to dare and to endure. Basically dare and you conquer. Because if you don't dare and you stay basically in that safe place, you're not gonna get any.

I have a real problem in my life. It's called Indian Auntie face. Now if you've ever talked to an Indian auntie and you've said something that she doesn't like for example, that you love to drink or you don't care if you get a C in school, she will be Physically unable to contain the look of judgment and disgust on her face. Unfortunately, I have this problem too. So right now, as I'm being lectured to by Elon about dreaming to dare, my face looks like I just ate a combination of three onions and a glass of lemon juice. I really need to change the subject right now.

How big of an issue do you think that this, what we are talking about, is on a scale of one to ten?

Oh, wow. Big. I would say even eight, nine, Sometimes even ten. Wow.

Okay. Alyssa, what about you? One to ten?

An eight. I put it in.

Okay, so you're both pretty aligned that this is a real and serious issue.

Mm, yeah. But it's thing is, she. When she asks me to see eye to eye, I find a way to see it. But when I tell her, you know what? Why don't you put yourself in my shoes? Sometimes I understand that it's too big.

For her, that it's too.

The shoes are too big for her.

This was honestly really hard to listen to. It was hard for me, and I'm.

New to this relationship.

I can only imagine how difficult it is for Alyssa to have to listen to these kinds of comments. It's clear that there's not a mutual respect in this relationship for each other. So let's recap. Alyssa believes that the problem is really about Elon being reckless and inconsiderate. Elon believes this is about Alyssa not not being cut out for entrepreneurship. I think it's deeper than that. What do you think is going on? I have a suspicion. Let's listen a little bit more to see if I'm right.

So, Elon, what about the fact that you were going to go to show up and sell the baklava, and then you decided not to go to that market?

Okay, so the thing is that the market was very. The market with the crypto was very busy, and I saw an opportunity.

And what do you think Alyssa was thinking when she expected you to go there and you didn't?

Well, she was extremely disappointed.

Why?

Because she's thinking that I'm neglecting the business. But the way that I see it is to create a cash flow. So I know that if I'm going to lose a day of work over here and I can do triple or four times the amount of working in my computer, then I rather work in my computer because eventually we have a common goal. When I have a vision, and sometimes it's a big vision, I know it makes her scared. She gets afraid.

Yeah. It makes me nervous.

Tell me more.

Well, I Never imagined having such a big life. It was. I grew up in a family that had enough money to travel two weeks a year and go. I went to college, and I always had everything I needed, and so I never thought that I need more. And Elon grew up in a poor home and really suffered, and he doesn't ever want his kids to live like he did. And he's just. He's has a big personality and big dreams, and that's okay. And I'm yourself.

I want to know more about you.

Okay.

One thing I noticed is that you both love to talk about what the other person does, thinks, wants, and you actually don't talk about yourself at all. Have you noticed?

Yeah, now that you mention it, yeah.

And I would say that maybe 80% of the time, you're right, but 20% of the time, you're way off. And both of you believe that you know the other person better than you actually do.

Right.

Okay.

So stay on yourself.

You grew up.

You had a fine life. You never imagined that you would what?

I never imagined having an extravagant life. Like, I always imagined just having basic stuff. And for me, basic means a decent home and a decent car, you know, like a Nissan, like a 1500 square foot house. It's just not until recently that I started thinking, oh, you know, it would be nice to have more. And it would be nice to not work as hard, because I'm working, I'm giving, like, everything I have right now.

What happened to make you start to slightly change your thinking?

Well, it was a combination of Elon and not to stroke your ego, but I read all your stuff and taking your course course on wealth triggers, which is like blowing my mind. Sometimes when you hear something from your partner, it's harder to receive it. But when you hear from your partner plus someone else who knows what they're talking about, you start thinking, maybe I can want that. I think I would never felt comfortable to want in my life. I. If we're getting authentic here. I grew up with an alcoholic father who kind of. His needs were always the most important needs of the family. And we had to kind of work around what he wanted. And he's always been in recovery, but it doesn't change what happens in the mind.

Yes. Now we're really getting somewhere. First of all, I want to acknowledge how much courage it took for Alyssa to share that personal information with us. And I feel really honored that she felt safe and she felt comfortable enough to share that right here. I also want to point out that it's okay to want more?

Yes.

You have my permission. Wanting a life of more is one of the classic tenets of I will teach you to be rich. So I'm thrilled to hear that Alyssa has realized she wants more. But even though we just made that big realization, there's still more to unpack. Here we're talking about rewriting years and years of conditioning, conditioning, that told Alyssa that she should just be happy with what she's got. You can't change that mindset overnight just by flipping a switch.

I grew up accepting what came to me. I think that's where it really comes down to. So it wasn't until recently that I said, you know what I'm allowed to want, but then took another step to be like, how do I want?

We're starting to really understand Alyssa on a much deeper level. I was curious what Elon thought of hearing this.

Elon, have you ever heard Alyssa talk about this?

No. Refreshing. Because I know every time when you are afraid of doing something, getting out of your comfort zone, it comes from something in the past, something that you experienced before.

Okay, but tell me about how you feel hearing this, not how other people feel. Tell me about how you feel hearing your wife just share things she's never shared before.

That made me feel really, really good.

Oh, well, I'm happy.

Yes.

I don't understand why it made you.

Feel good, though, because right now, finally, we understood that where it's coming from.

Honestly, that's amazing to watch this happen. I can tell that both of you love each other. You know, there's a lot of respect in the way that even your body language is. And you're both game to come here and speak to each other in a way that I can tell you haven't before. Alyssa, there's so many things that you just shared with both of us that are crying out to be explored. But, Elon, if you're hearing these things from your wife, are there any things that make you curious or surprised?

I would like to know, what are you so afraid of? Where is the fear coming from? Because everything that I endured in my life, it was because of fear. And fear is not something you are born with Only two fears. Fear of falling and a fear of sudden sound.

All right, guys, this is where I did something that I wish I hadn't. I got so irritated with yet another one of Elon's lectures, especially after Alyssa was so open and honest with both.

Of us that I got so irritated.

I just cut him off. And I wish I hadn't done this. I Don't think it was professional, but I wanted to keep it in the episode so you know exactly what happened.

Wait, wait, wait. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. So, no, no, no, no. You were supposed to ask her about how she was incredibly open, and within five seconds, you turned it into a lecture about the fears that a baby's born with. Now, Elon, it's funny, but do you buy. Maybe she finds it difficult to be open because the minute that she is, what does she typically receive from you? A lecture.

Yeah.

Try it again. And this time, get curious about your own life partner who just revealed something you've never heard. And do you maybe want to dig in and ask her a question?

What would you like me to do better so you won't be so afraid of my goal?

What do I want you to do? What? What do I need from you so that I can allow you to reach your goals? Is that the question?

How can I make it more convenient for you? More comfortable?

You will be more at peace with your goals.

I ask Elon. Ask a question. Elon's question is, how can I help you achieve my goals better? How are we talking about your goals?

I know.

And then, Alyssa, you accepted his question. You were about to indulge his fantasy about his goals.

We're talking about your alcoholic dad, and.

Now it's his goals. Where did this come from?

You're right. I was thinking about my goals. I'm so focused about my goals, sometimes I'm blinded about other person's needs.

Now, remember that Elon and Alyssa originally came to me wanting business advice about baklava. But we've discovered that the real issue is so much deeper. Think about your own life. Do you have a certain thing that you and your partner constantly disagree about, maybe even fight about? It might be who loads the dishwasher, or one of you spends too much on clothes. But if you go five levels deeper, if you really treat it like a scientist, like an investigator trying to find out what's going on, what do you think the real issue is? Well, the problem here is simple communication. But Elon won't listen to Alyssa long enough to learn what's really going on.

When I talk to new business owners, I hear a lot of the same motivations. I want to make extra money. I want more freedom. I want flexibility. But I will tell you something that I've never heard. I want to start a business so I can fill out a bunch of tax forms. That sounds like my hell. The good news is, you don't need to be a tax expert to start your own business. Instead, you can use Gusto, this episode's sponsor. Gusto is online payroll and benefits software built for small businesses. It's all in one. It's remote, friendly and it's incredibly easy to use so you can pay, hire onboard and support your team from anywhere. They offer automatic payroll tax filing, simple direct deposits, health benefits, workers, comp 401k matches, you name it, they can help. Plus, it's quick and easy to switch to Gusto. Just transfer your existing data and get up and running fast with no hidden fees and no surprises. Try gusto today@gusto.com ramit and get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months of free payroll@gusto.com ramIt Once more gusto.com ramit there's this myth that if you rent, it means you haven't made it. I don't really believe that I rent and I want you to know that you are not a failure if you choose to rent. In fact, I want more freedom right now than buying a 30 year mortgage. But if I'm spending thousands of dollars a month, I want to get some of the perks that homeowners get. And that is where BILT comes in. BILT is a loyalty program for renters. You pay your rent through BILT and you can earn points for it.

Think about it.

You're earning points for your biggest expense every single month and you can redeem those built points towards flights, hotels, Lyft rides or even future rent payments. BILT has evolved into a complete rewards ecosystem where you get rewarded for the first time as a renter. And it's easy. Almost any payment method is compatible so you can start earning right now. I wish I had had this when I first started living in New York. Plus, BILT recently announced that homeowners will be able to get rewarded the same way on their mortgage in 2026. So stay tuned. Join the loyalty program for renters@joinbuilt.com Ramit that's J-O-I-N B I L T.com Ramit and make sure you use our URL so they know that we sent you.

Alyssa Elon's having a tough time asking a curiosity based question. So as his partner, help him out. What question do you think he might ask that would allow you to open up a little bit more and to talk more about the stuff you just shared?

How can I support you on that journey?

I will ask you more often. What can I Do?

Well, you can ask me now.

What can I do to make you more curious or make you more enthusiastic about the goals that I'm thinking? Wait a minute. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. There's probably a language barrier over here.

All about you.

Okay. No.

Elon, your English is fantastic. The problem is not English.

I would like you to ask me.

Okay.

How can I support you in your journey on learning how to want?

Oh, okay. So how can I support you on your journey? How to want?

Well, I can tell you how.

Okay.

I would like to have your support for me to make more decisions based around our baklava business. Because I am not going to sabotage our business. I'm going to make sure that we maintain a great profit and a great markup. But I have a lot of experience and I want a better future for us. And I know, I trust my decision making in the business. But I need to have your support to let me explore what I can do with it. Because right now, I don't feel supported in making little changes like branding the boxes and making banners and making decisions.

Oh. Oh. So finally we got something that we had an argument about. I agree completely with what you said. Okay. I want you to there more because owning a business, not only doing the same thing constantly, all over and over again, it's not like being an employee. You always have to reinvent and use your imagination to make the business look better.

No, Elon, you had it. We just got to the point where you were actually able to ask Alyssa a real question about herself. That was fantastic. The two of you agreed that you both want Alyssa to have more control over the baklava business. Amazing. And then you followed up with another Elon TED talk.

Okay, what is it that you want to do do that you feel that I'm depriving you of?

I want you to trust me and making decisions with our business because I make really good decisions.

So I trust you. Okay. You need to do whatever you need to do to make yourself feel better. And when I will see the results that they're bearing fruit, it will even make me happy. So I would like you to do what you think that you try to do.

Did you understand the part where I explained my decision making process? Well, I make good decisions because of my education and life experience and my thoughtfulness to everybody. See.

Elon, that was the first time today I've heard you ask a legitimate question to her. You said, what do you mean? You just said that. And I had a huge smile on my face as you said that. And you two actually connected. You were legitimately curious.

No.

What do you mean? Decision making process?

That's a great question.

And, Alyssa, I could hear it in your voice. What did you feel when you heard that question from Elon?

I felt hopeful.

And that, to me, was the best moment so far. That was hard to get to. And honestly, it seems so simple, doesn't it? The fact that you said, what do you mean? Decision making? What's the big deal? But that was. Imagine you're climbing up a hill. You just made it to the first peak of the mountain.

Okay, so this is fantastic. This agreement that they've made is a major breakthrough. But right now, it's just words. What I want to do is practice something I call failure expectation. And this is basically expecting to fail, trying to break the agreement right now while we're in this safe space to predict what might go wrong and practice so that we're prepared for what can happen in the future. I'm going to try to run them through an actual disagreement they've had, and let's watch how they handle it.

You can both be successful as business partners. You can. I believe that. I can see glimmers of it. But you can't do it the way you've been doing it because you look down on each other, you scoff at each other. You don't respect each other for the mutual skill set that you bring. So you have a couple of options. One, you can stop partnering up in business. That is probably the cleanest and most obvious solution.

That's what I'm trying to achieve.

Okay, partner?

Yeah.

Okay.

Okay, we'll talk about that. So go ahead, tell him. It seems like that was a surprise to Elon.

No, the way that. Basically, what I thought is, everybody, each one of us is going to have a part, and he's going to have to do his part. Okay. And that's what I said at the beginning when she struggled with her part. Then things start to get complicated.

And what about when you struggle with your part?

I barely do. Really?

You didn't show up to the market that's struggling? No.

Okay. My part of the business is the background part, purchasing and making mixes. I'm helping as much as I can, but what I do also takes so much energy from that. Managing both of the worlds. It's like sometimes you can come to a point that you can just collapse too much.

So earlier you said that there's crypto and there's baklava, and we each do our part in each. But the truth is I have no part in the crypto whatsoever.

Okay.

And it takes up almost all of your time, morning and night. That's when I propose to hire someone to help in the kitchen that it can relieve. It would be good for everybody to have someone help me in the kitchen, because it's a weight off of your shoulders. So by me wanting to take over the baklavat because I want practice developing something on my own, being more daring, trusting myself, and it also allows you to focus on what you want to do. I think our relationship would be healthier and our business would be healthier. But I would never say that it's not your business. We're in it together. We created it together. It's your business. But it's, in my opinion, a better way to accomplish our goal to move forward in the future. Because right now, we're just bouncing things back and forth and not going anywhere. That's not addressing what I want and need, which is, as we discussed, is a big issue. I need more help.

Okay. For this matter, basically, Ramita would like to share it with you. So she came up with this idea, and I told her, no problem. She wants to take a professional conditioner pastry chef, and I'm not willing. But if you can bring someone who is not a professional chef to the kitchen and help you with the preparation, I don't have a problem with that. It will be. Wait a minute. It will be a cheaper manpower.

I understand Elon, and we discussed that, and I agreed not to hire that particular person. However, I would like to hire someone else and pay them less than her professional fee.

He said okay, so. Okay, so I had a problem with that. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Back up. Elon has already told Alyssa that this is fine. Now, up until now, he's been the main focus of my energy on this episode. But it sounds like maybe that hasn't been completely fair. You know, you've heard that phrase, communication is a two way street. And if Alyssa and Elon are having this conversation over and over and she's not acting on the outcome, then maybe it's no wonder he's becoming frustrated. Let's figure out what's going on here.

I know that some of us think better when we write our thoughts out.

But for a lot of us, including.

Me, I'm better when I can think out loud. If that's you, I recommend you check out Whisper Flow to save you tons of time to bring your ideas to the page. Whisper Flow turns your voice into clean final draft writing inside whatever app you're already using email, Slack Docs, even text messages. And it works on Mac, Windows and iPhone. So instead of spending all of your time responding to messages, especially while sitting at a computer, you can hit a hotkey, speak and the text appears. It's accurate, it's fast, it's all formatted so you can get back to work. Here's what my friend said about it. Whisper is amazing because it learns the way you speak. So you can send this rambling note as a text message and and it kills all the filler words and it perfectly formats it for you. They said it's much better than using the Apple voice to text feature. The spelling is way better. If you want to buy your time back and get back to what matters, check out Whisper Flow. Try it for free@whispersflow AI ramit that's whisperflow AI ramit wisp are flow AI slash ramit or click the link in the description below. When I was growing up I did not know anything about nutrition. I didn't know the word protein until I went to college. Now I have learned a lot more about nutrition. I love understanding my macros and adjusting them depending on my goals, especially so I don't have to think about it.

Now.

There are lots of ways to do this. You can do it on your own. You can get a chef. For a lot of people that sweet spot is Factor. Factor is a chef crafted dietitian approved meal delivery service that helps you eat well without wasting time. It's delivered right to your door ready to eat and they're perfect for you when you are too busy or too tired to cook. But you still want something that's healthy and nutritious. They have lots of different options including Mediterranean Keto Protein plus and GLP Friendly Meals. Their variety is good. You're not stuck eating plain chicken and rice every day just to hit your macros. 97% of customers say that Factor has helped them live healthier lives and if I needed healthier ready made meals I would give them a shot. Eat smart at factor meals.com/ramit50off and use code RAMIT50OFF to get 50% off your first box plus free breakfast for one year. That's code RAMIT50OFF at factor meals.com for 50% off your first box plus FREE breakfast for one year. Get delicious ready to eat meals delivered with Factor offer only valid for new Factor customers with code and qualifying auto renewing subscription purchase.

Are you both in agreement on that?

I always agreed. I don't know how something became a problem again.

Elon Musk and Alyssa love to talk about each other as if they know exactly what the other person is thinking. This is common in couples, especially long term relationships. The problem is that it's clear that they often don't know what the other person is thinking. And that's when you get mistaken assumptions.

Alyssa, is that your understanding that Elon agreed to what you want to do with the chef?

We. We did agree, and I was nervous that you would change your mind because we. We had a huge fight over it before, so it's a sensitive topic, but I'm my understanding that I have your support.

Okay, this is super interesting. Alyssa and Elon solved the problem, and then Alyssa ra. Reset that problem back to square one. She got the go ahead. She got an agreement with Elon, and instead of pushing forward, she buried her head in the sand and pretended that it hadn't actually happened. So we may have just uncovered a major cause of their problems, but I think the lecturing is still a bit of an issue here. Let's keep pushing forward.

It's not the first time that I said it. I said, it's not. As long as that person is not a professional person. Because first of all, he's gonna ask for. He's gonna ask to be paid over the top, more expensive than anybody else, double or triple per hour.

Elon, lock in the win. Lock in the win. My man, you're about to go into lecture land, which nobody wants to hear. Say to her, alyssa, I love you. Yes, we agree. I want to support you. Let's do it instead.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Why?

What do you get out of it, Elon? So let's try that one part again.

Go ahead.

Whatever it is you need to do, just do it. Okay.

So you trust me to make decisions. Thank you. It feels good to be heard.

This was a special moment. Sometimes all we really need is to feel heard for someone to listen to us. And so many of us go through life without anyone really, truly listening to us.

We.

Without anyone asking us things like, what do you mean? Hey, can you tell me more about that? I'd love to hear your thoughts on that. I remember having a customer service problem with this very large company, and I wasn't treated very well by one of the employees. And I was so frustrated that I emailed the CEO of the company, and I told him, hey, I don't want to leave a negative Yelp review for you, but as a business owner, I'm guessing that you will to know how your employees are treating your prospects. He Wrote me back in five minutes on email. He apologized to me. He offered to call me right away. We got on the phone, and he simply said, I'm so sorry for your experience with my company. Can you tell me what happened? So for the next 10 minutes, I vented to him, and I told him what had happened. And at the end, he apologized, he listened to, and he told me he'd look into it. And one final thing. He said, if you ever have the need for one of our products again, please email me directly. I felt so good. I just wanted to be listened to. And that's exactly what Alyssa is experiencing for maybe the first time in their relationship.

Now I want to talk, Alyssa, because this isn't Pick on Elon Day. There's a couple things that I want to really focus. So it seems like Elon had initially agreed to this chef thing, but then, as you pointed out, you got too nervous, and so what'd you do? It seems like you let it fester, started spinning, and then brought up the whole argument again. Is that. Is that accurate representation of what happened?

Yes.

And how do you think Elon feels when you do that?

Super frustrated.

Why?

Well, why do I need to keep repeating myself?

And I imagine that must be a little frustrating for you, Elon.

Yeah.

Yes.

Okay.

So, Alyssa, what do you think you could do differently? If Elon agrees. Hey, get the less expensive chef. What should you do?

Get the less expensive chef.

Yeah, just go for it. He said, I agree. So done in his mind, I think he said, look, we talked about this.

Like, two months ago, two weeks ago. Like, go.

Why are we talking about this again? We are stuck talking about this. Meanwhile, I want to be over here.

Yeah.

And so when he says, be bold, this is one example, right?

Yeah.

You made a decision. Let's not talk about it again. Let's go.

I'm aware. I'm aware that I haven't acted on that, despite coming to an agreement.

Yeah.

Seems very strange to me. And I think. I'm afraid that he'll change his mind.

And. And if he changes his mind, what happens?

Then I have to battle my way back to it, try and win another argument, which takes so much energy.

And then what happens?

It's just a really long process. I have to prove myself and, you know, really vouch for myself. And it's just really. It's. The communication is hard.

I think the key word there was afraid. This brings us full circle all the way back to the beginning of the episode. Do you remember what Alyssa said? She said it makes me feel nervous to imagine having such a big life. Alyssa's upbringing has made her so scared, so nervous to dream big, so uncomfortable around money that it's actively paralyzing her ability to run her business.

I'm really so grateful that you and Ramit are connecting because it helped me realize part of the reason why I haven't been acting. Because if I'm like a little bird and you're telling me how to fly, I'm really a little freaked out. I've got some great ideas. I see some places I really, really want to check out, but I can't jump out of the nest unless I know that you, you've got my back.

Now.

If the two of them had been told at the beginning of this episode we need to work on communication, they never would have listened. It's important to meet people where they are. They wanted to talk about baklava and finances.

Great.

That's where we started. But ultimately, we will almost always peel those layers into something much, much deeper.

I realized that I basically hurt you by not supporting you. Okay. I wanted to listen more to.

Did you catch that? Elon says he's realized he's hurt Alyssa by not supporting her and he wants to listen more to what she wants.

Thank you. That's all I ever wanted. I am willing to support you on your journey as I know you. Now that we have a clearer vision, I know that both of us will be considered in moving forward.

Will this last? I don't know. Alyssa and Elon have a lot of work to do, but they've tasted what it feels like to be aligned and they've learned a few new skills today on how to talk to each other, how to ask curiosity based questions. It's possible this is a flash in the pan and they go right back to their old patterns tomorrow. But my hope is that it can be the start of a totally new way of relating to each other about money and business and their relationship overall.

If you've enjoyed this episode, please follow.

Or subscribe to I Will Teach youh to Be Rich on any podcast platform and you'll get notified each time we drop a new episode. And if you've really enjoyed what you've heard so far, rate and review us too. I would love to have your rating, and we're just starting out, so those reviews and ratings really help. Thank you. Here's what you'll find next week on the I Will Teach youh to Be Rich podcast.

It's annoying. How much money do you make an hour? And how much time are you spending? Trying to save $2. Doesn't make sense. It's annoying. When we go up for dinner, you're like, I want this thing, but I'm gonna get this thing. Because five dollars different. And one hundred and fifty dollar bill. Who cares?

He's cheap.

Why do you return all my gifts that I buy you? Because you don't want me to spend money.

I don't like a gift.

Do you two want to ask each other anything or share how you're feeling?

No.

Would your family say that you are cheap?

Yes.

Yeah.

What about friends?

Yes.

Some.

I don't think all of them.

You want to know something? You're cheap. If your friends and family would say it, you are cheap.