The Wealth Within: How Self-Worth Shapes Net Worth with Justin Chastain, AFC®️(Re-Run)

1 - > Rachael DeLeon: Welcome to Real Money Real Experts, where we 2 - > bring you interviews with leading financial professionals, 3 - > sharing their stories, their challenges, and their advice for 4 - > helping people manage money in the real world. 5 - > I'm your host, Rachel DeLeon, Executive Director of the 6 - > Association for Financial Counseling and Planning 7 - > Education, or AFCPE. 8 - > SPEAKER_01: And I'm your co-host, Dr. 9 - > Brandi Baxter, Accredited Financial Counselor, AFCPE 10 - > member, and your 2025 AFCPE for president.

11 - > On every episode, we take a deep dive into the topics and stories 12 - > that you care about the most: helping clients, building 13 - > community, and growing in your work and your career. 14 - > Today's guest is Justin Castain, an experienced financial planner 15 - > who empowers business owners and families to achieve financial 16 - > freedom and peace of mind through personalized planning 17 - > and strategic wealth management. 18 - > SPEAKER_03: Welcome to the show, Justin.

19 - > Glad to be here and Brandy and Rachel. 20 - > I listen to you guys so much. 21 - > I'm excited to finally get to be a guest. 22 - > Rachael DeLeon: Let's just start from the beginning.

23 - > Tell us a little bit about your journey into the financial 24 - > planning space. 25 - > You are a financial planner, but you hold both the CFP and the 26 - > AFC. 27 - > How did you get started in this field? 28 - > SPEAKER_03: As we like to say, sometimes we can get more 29 - > degrees in a thermometer.

30 - > But the reality of it is, is that, you know, my journey was 31 - > long because I, you know, as I briefly mentioned, and I think 32 - > some people know about me, how I got into this field completely 33 - > from ground zero is my mother passed away early on in life. 34 - > And that left a tremendous mark because I don't say this just 35 - > because I have her DNA. 36 - > I say this because just about everybody that met her loved her 37 - > personality. 38 - > She absolutely was a joy to be around, showed gratitude every 39 - > day, but she was really good with numbers.

40 - > She worked on the accounting side for a corporation here out 41 - > of Greenville, South Carolina. 42 - > But what I noticed even in that, I do believe there's silver 43 - > linings in everything. 44 - > I learned that time is of the essence, time is precious. 45 - > And with that, I said, I wanted to find a career in a field that 46 - > helped people, first and foremost, have an educator's 47 - > heart.

48 - > I'm a tremendous believer in that. 49 - > And through that, my parents had a great financial planner. 50 - > My dad was a business owner, my mom worked for a corporation. 51 - > And through all of the complicated trust and moving 52 - > things and making sure everything was all right, what I 53 - > learned, what that financial planner actually did, was hey, 54 - > you're getting the money into the buckets of value so that 55 - > when life happened, you didn't worry about money.

56 - > And through that conversation and going through college, 57 - > because all this happened when I was a senior in college, I 58 - > started talking about the career path. 59 - > But this particular financial planner said, you know, I would 60 - > go and look at doing more financial coaching and looking 61 - > at credentials like the AFC because you have an educator's 62 - > heart start there. 63 - > And when I did, I got just doing workshops, helping people. 64 - > And really that was the foundation.

65 - > That was the itch, that was the bug that said, you know what, 66 - > I'm so good at a few things in this life. 67 - > When I figured out that I was fairly decent at helping people 68 - > in this capacity, I'm like, this is it. 69 - > So from there, the AFC really kind of jumpstarted me into 70 - > being a lifelong learner. 71 - > I don't believe, you know, there's so many things in our 72 - > industry where people say, oh, if you get all these 73 - > credentials, you're you you have imposter syndrome.

74 - > I don't believe that. 75 - > I believe the only way we can be better for our clients and 76 - > others is to continually reinvest in ourselves. 77 - > And I think there's a reason when you're on an airplane, they 78 - > tell you to to focus on your oxygen first because you're not 79 - > going to be able to help the person next to you if you're not 80 - > taken care of. 81 - > And I've just lived by that.

82 - > Rachael DeLeon: I think that's great. 83 - > Again, we talk about imposter syndrome a lot on here. 84 - > I think it's surprising how it comes up with a lot of different 85 - > people, but also our people are lifetime learners. 86 - > And the reason is because of the value it adds to their clients 87 - > and the work that they do with clients.

88 - > And so I'm curious, you got the AFC and then went on to also 89 - > burn your CFP. 90 - > What would you say to a financial planner who's maybe 91 - > looking for lifelong learning? 92 - > How has the AFC and CFP really supported you in tandem? 93 - > SPEAKER_03: I would say the reality of it is that utilizing 94 - > the AFC and working and coaching and being able to get really 95 - > more in the weeds with clients, because on the planning side, 96 - > you know, the difference is you might be doing some tax 97 - > strategies or you might be doing some estate planning.

98 - > There might be some cash flow planning, but the majority of 99 - > that, when clients are at their foundational building point, 100 - > that's where the coaching and education comes in. 101 - > And that directly the AFC helped me tremendously because when 102 - > you're actually going through budgets and not just explaining 103 - > what a budget is, but really giving clients goals to obtain 104 - > and coaching them back on how to maintain that and really just to 105 - > empower themselves.

106 - > You know, how do we give our dollar a job is the best way 107 - > that I put it to clients that I'm coaching with. 108 - > That is the building block. 109 - > If people and clients can't understand how money comes in 110 - > through income and leaves and expenses, it's going to be very 111 - > difficult to wealth plan or tax strategy plan. 112 - > We have to have something to work with.

113 - > And the AFC, I mean, not only from the way that the actual 114 - > community is set up, I mean, the way that we can communicate with 115 - > other AFC members, asking questions, benchmarking 116 - > questions, going through this career journey of the ebbs and 117 - > flows that it is. 118 - > Because, you know, again, when you're coaching clients, 119 - > sometimes it's not for the faint of heart, right? 120 - > I mean, it it's it can be a hard challenge because money is so 121 - > emotional with clients.

122 - > But I think the community that the AFC has tremendously impacts 123 - > and empowers the AFC coach. 124 - > But also in order to do that, we we get that empowerment from our 125 - > community and we give that back to the clients. 126 - > And I think that's one of the things that does a tremendous 127 - > job in you saying, hey, I need to go on and do continual 128 - > learning through our CE credits and just the symposiums that we 129 - > have, tremendous value add in lifelong learning.

130 - > SPEAKER_01: Wow. 131 - > Justin, that was a great connection between the value of 132 - > having the AFC and coupling it with your CFP. 133 - > And I love how you zeroed in on community. 134 - > One of the things that our community is big on is 135 - > supporting our clients in making financial decisions, informed 136 - > financial decisions.

137 - > And you were sharing the story about how the financial planner 138 - > who worked with your parents helped them, I believe you used 139 - > the phrase, to have these buckets of value of what was 140 - > important to them so that they could, you know, pour into these 141 - > buckets and ultimately make decisions based on their values. 142 - > Share with our audience how you help your client with these 143 - > buckets of values and how to make financial decisions. 144 - > SPEAKER_03: When I meet with a client, first and foremost, I 145 - > want to establish a relationship.

146 - > I don't look at any client as a dollar sign or, you know, and 147 - > I've even had certain clients where they'll come in and say, 148 - > Hey, do you have certain thresholds of income or money 149 - > that I have to bring in? 150 - > And the reality of it is, is no. 151 - > And what we're really truly looking for is can we help these 152 - > clients on a but much bigger level? 153 - > Because I want to understand what a retirement in an ideal 154 - > world looks like to them.

155 - > I want to know what their life looks like if they're building a 156 - > business, what their family looks like. 157 - > Because here's the reality: as a planner or even as a financial 158 - > coach, it's hard for me to direct any type of goals if 159 - > there's not an emotional connection to it. 160 - > You know, it's interesting. 161 - > I look at gyms, they're packed right now.

162 - > You know, everybody is gung ho set on 2025 right now. 163 - > But as we get further into 2025, right, um, we don't care how we 164 - > look in a bathing suit in March like we thought we would. 165 - > I have to understand what that client is looking at and they're 166 - > needing to do long term. 167 - > So instead of going to the gym and wondering if I could look 168 - > like Arnold Schwarzenegger or, you know, whoever's on this 169 - > fitness magazine, right?

170 - > I need to understand, okay, is my blood pressure getting 171 - > better? 172 - > How are my cholesterol levels? 173 - > You know, the longevity markers that I'm looking for to be the 174 - > best version of myself so I can go and make the most positive 175 - > impact to the people that I love and care. 176 - > That's true wealth.

177 - > So when I set these buckets up, I want to set goals around. 178 - > If they tell me, hey, Justin, I've struggled setting an 179 - > emergency fund. 180 - > Okay, well, instead of calling it emergency fund, what is it 181 - > emotionally that you fear the most that if it was to break 182 - > down or break today, you would struggle being able to gain that 183 - > money. 184 - > If you want to take your family on a nice vacation, instead of 185 - > just saying, okay, vacation fund, put the actual destination 186 - > in there, right?

187 - > Have these memories connected to it because as somebody that has 188 - > experienced grief in my life, I and you know, listening to Brene 189 - > Brown and a lot of other great psychologists out here on it, 190 - > and I never understood it until I went through it. 191 - > Grief is nothing that you will get over, it is always a moving 192 - > target. 193 - > You know, on certain anniversaries, my mom's 194 - > birthday, the date she passed away, I feel like I did the day 195 - > that I was in the hospital, the day she died.

196 - > It hits me. 197 - > Now, how I choose to move forward with that is in my 198 - > control. 199 - > But there's not always good and bad days. 200 - > And I think a lot of times people just assume oh, if I just 201 - > have this financial plan or I have this financial coach and I 202 - > have more money, my life is hunky-dory.

203 - > And I know that's a southern term, but hunky dory, if I have 204 - > to be a Noah Webster here, hunky dory just means that it's gonna 205 - > be peaches and cream and everything on top that you want. 206 - > But the reality of it is that it's not. 207 - > There will always be struggles in life that you deal with. 208 - > And I'll I'll never forget one of the things that I had a 209 - > client tell me, and and it was eye-opening.

210 - > It and I they had come into a lot of money due to somebody 211 - > passing away, and they just said, Man, I thought this would 212 - > have solved a lot of my problems. 213 - > It solved one of them, but I still feel like the person I did 214 - > when I didn't have this money. 215 - > And I think for me, I have more empathy with my clients, whether 216 - > I'm developing a cash flow budget for them or educating 217 - > them. 218 - > And on the planning side, knowing that whether they have a 219 - > lot of money or a little money or somewhere in between, we're 220 - > all human and we have those human elements, and we need to 221 - > make sure that we're setting goals that are centered around 222 - > values and what that client, what motivates that client, 223 - > because if if it's just a an objective number, yeah, that's 224 - > our job to be objective, but it's not really motivating.

225 - > And I think that's one of the things of empath that I have 226 - > again, and I credit my mom, and I say this either my mom was 227 - > really brilliant or she was a really good plagiarizer, right? 228 - > But at this point, it doesn't make a any difference. 229 - > But she used to tell me this, and it makes so much more sense 230 - > to me now than it did when I was in my late 20s or early 20s. 231 - > And she would say, Justin, wake up and show gratitude every day 232 - > to your clients and also just for your feet hitting the 233 - > ground.

234 - > And I've always said this if the best part of waking up is 235 - > folders in your cup, I don't think you're gonna have a very 236 - > good day. 237 - > That's just me. 238 - > When I wake up, the best part of my day is knowing my eyes 239 - > opened, right? 240 - > So, and my feet hitting the ground.

241 - > But with all that, she said, by showing gratitude, you stay and 242 - > remain a lifelong learner. 243 - > And she told me, she said, you could not go and grab coffee 244 - > with Jeff Bezos and just think that you could become a 245 - > billionaire because Jeff Bezos had a lot of luck along the way. 246 - > He had hard work, but he had a lot of luck. 247 - > And she said, you can't look at that man or woman that's begging 248 - > on the street corner or maybe homeless and assume, go out and 249 - > have lunch with them and assume they did everything wrong.

250 - > Sometimes they had misfortunes. 251 - > But if you could be the guiding light and show gratitude and 252 - > just realize helping your fellow human, that's the key to 253 - > empathy. 254 - > And I tell you, even though my mom's body's not physically 255 - > here, she's with me every single day with every client that I 256 - > come in contact with. 257 - > That is truly the embodiment of the spirit that I feel that the 258 - > AFC represents really well.

259 - > And it has made me stronger in my career. 260 - > SPEAKER_01: From values to gratitude, so powerful. 261 - > And I think as financial professionals, these are really 262 - > good messages that we should hold on to and to remind us when 263 - > we're approaching our work. 264 - > And so you did talk about working with businesses and 265 - > working with families.

266 - > And it made me think, you know, so much of what we see in media 267 - > nowadays and especially with social media, everyone's trying 268 - > to build a brand and they're trying to have a brand message. 269 - > And so our question for you, Justin, is when you think about 270 - > building wealth for your families and your business 271 - > owners that you work with, what is the difference between 272 - > building their wealth and building a brand? 273 - > You know, you have a wealth of experience in working with 274 - > business owners.

275 - > So, what what do you see are some of the key differences 276 - > there? 277 - > SPEAKER_03: That's a great question. 278 - > And you know, social media is such an interesting thing to me 279 - > because the only one that I'm still active on is MySpace. 280 - > Now, I have not gained a ton of followers on it, and Tom has 281 - > even left me.

282 - > Like Tom has even said, look, you're so wonderful that I'm not 283 - > even gonna be your friend. 284 - > Now, um, but but interestingly enough, I think that there is a 285 - > difference. 286 - > There, there is a true difference. 287 - > And I heard this one time, and and I really didn't fully 288 - > understand it until I got a little older.

289 - > I think Mark Twain said it, but the older we get, the wiser our 290 - > parents become. 291 - > And my mom and dad both reinforced I, you know, one of 292 - > the things that I've been tremendously blessed with, and I 293 - > know that not everybody gets it, but we had great parents and a 294 - > great family dynamic. 295 - > And that's one of the things that I'm more grateful for as I 296 - > get older. 297 - > When I was younger, I probably pushed back on that because we 298 - > knew it all at that age, right?

299 - > But now I'm like, man, they were so smart. 300 - > And my mom and dad, defining wealth to them was this if you 301 - > want to increase your net worth, it starts with self-worth. 302 - > And what I have learned over time, it's just almost the same 303 - > thing if somebody wants to build a brand. 304 - > I know we were talking about this even before we got on the 305 - > call today.

306 - > Now, it used to offend me, but some of your audience members 307 - > are gonna hear my accent and they're gonna say, Man, that guy 308 - > really sounds like he's not from the South, the deep south. 309 - > I mean, we're talking, you know, you're going 30 feet deep in the 310 - > soil to find that accent. 311 - > That sounds like something that needs to read a few more books 312 - > without pictures, and I get it. 313 - > But as I've gotten older, I've come to terms that that's who I 314 - > am.

315 - > That's my authenticity. 316 - > If you're building a brand of anything, it you don't have to 317 - > go out here on tic-tac-toe or tick tock or whatever the young 318 - > kids are calling it. 319 - > And I'm I'm I'm I'm not that old, but I'm kind of playing on 320 - > that a little bit. 321 - > But it doesn't matter what platform you're using, you will 322 - > build a brand by being authentic to yourself.

323 - > And if it's a little different, that's gonna set you apart. 324 - > Yeah, there's gonna be people rib you for it, but lean into 325 - > that. 326 - > Lean in to your uniqueness. 327 - > And again, I go back, and I know this is not mother said notebook 328 - > here, but my mom always used to tell us, and I've got a younger 329 - > brother named Matt, and she would tell us both it is better 330 - > to be disliked for the person that you are rather than to be 331 - > love for the person that you're not.

332 - > And whether you're building a brand or you're setting goals 333 - > financially, your brand ultimately becomes who you are. 334 - > And I love comedy. 335 - > If if honestly, I wasn't doing this, and somebody said, What 336 - > career field would you do? 337 - > I would be a writer and doing stand-up comedy.

338 - > That is my gift. 339 - > Again, I'm telling you, I have so few talents, it is almost 340 - > sad. 341 - > I mean, seriously, it is sad. 342 - > But the one thing that I can do, and I try to do for everybody, 343 - > is put a smile on their face.

344 - > And Jim Carrey once said, You lose yourself when you become 345 - > all these characters because you can't be Jim again or Justin 346 - > again or Rachel or Brandy. 347 - > Being yourself is your brand. 348 - > And again, if people rib you for that little bit of difference, 349 - > I'm telling you, that can be your unique skill set. 350 - > Lean into it.

351 - > Now, there's a there's some things we probably need to 352 - > refine just a little bit because we all need coaching, every one 353 - > of us, myself included. 354 - > But it's one of those things where find that uniqueness and 355 - > that's where you can build a brand. 356 - > And you know, I know people in my industry, they don't use 357 - > social media not one bit at all. 358 - > And they're highly successful and it's word of mouth.

359 - > But if that is something you enjoy doing, whether it's on a 360 - > podcast or it's social media or it's doing workshops, find that 361 - > and lean into it. 362 - > Your journey is different than so many other people's, but when 363 - > you find your brand, that can that ultimately will find some 364 - > revenue streams for you. 365 - > And if you can find something that solves a complicated 366 - > problem, that's your payday. 367 - > That's where you're gonna get paid.

368 - > Figure out ways to love that, lean into it. 369 - > But wealth and true wealth, I mean, literally, is when you 370 - > find that authenticity and how to build your brand, you'll 371 - > generate income, but you gotta have that self-worth first. 372 - > So, what I mean by that is on payday, remember to pay yourself 373 - > first. 374 - > Start with save yourself first and give to charities.

375 - > I'm big on giving back and doing that. 376 - > But I see a lot of clients, they'll pay all of their bills, 377 - > and then whatever's left over they try to save, and that just 378 - > never works. 379 - > It just doesn't. 380 - > So on day one, when I first got my job, in my automatic bill 381 - > pay, my parents made me in my online bill pay create just an 382 - > LLC.

383 - > So on payday, my automatic emergency fund went to me. 384 - > I treated myself just like Verizon Wireless or whatever 385 - > other bill that I may have out there, and that self-worth 386 - > equals net worth. 387 - > And if you try to do it reverse, it it just doesn't stick because 388 - > of money again is so emotional. 389 - > And and having that brand quality reinforces who you are 390 - > and who you're trying to be authentic to.

391 - > And it sounds cliche, but at the end of the day, and at the end 392 - > of the night, when you lay your head down on that pillow, you 393 - > have to answer to yourself, nobody else. 394 - > And there might be bosses, there might be other people, but it if 395 - > you lose your sense of self, it's very difficult to stay on 396 - > track for any financial goals, mental health goals, or physical 397 - > goals. 398 - > Rachael DeLeon: That's super powerful. 399 - > And I think there's oftentimes when you're starting out and 400 - > you're building a business and you're seeing all the things 401 - > around you, you feel like you have to plug into that path and 402 - > do things the way you've seen them charted before.

403 - > And there's so much real value. 404 - > And you're gonna stick with something and find joy in that 405 - > work if you do it in the way that brings you joy and aligns 406 - > with your values. 407 - > So I really love that. 408 - > SPEAKER_03: And I would add just one other thing.

409 - > I would say to that, I even found myself early on in my 410 - > career trying to be all things to all people because hey, you 411 - > need to be more on social media. 412 - > And all jokes aside, I mean, I do have Facebook, I have uh 413 - > LinkedIn, I have an Instagram, I think. 414 - > I don't know, it's probably delayed at this point. 415 - > There's nothing instant about it, but it's because, I mean, 416 - > and and all for me, now I love doing podcasts.

417 - > I love talking because I have an inquiring mind. 418 - > I love learning about people. 419 - > But being on social media and taking a picture of me eating a 420 - > salad for lunch and saying, you know, hey, have a great day, or 421 - > a picture of a cat on a clothesline like we had enough 422 - > thing in there. 423 - > That's just not me.

424 - > It's just not. 425 - > But if that is you, lean into it. 426 - > But I you will find successes outside of that. 427 - > So if you try to do too much, I've had physical burnout at 428 - > work to where I'm like, you know what, I I'm almost not enjoying 429 - > what I'm doing because I'm trying to do too much.

430 - > It's okay to be intentional with what you're doing and making 431 - > sure that intention aligns with that authenticity. 432 - > That that would be some recommendations I would have 433 - > anybody early on in their career. 434 - > Rachael DeLeon: All right, kind of leaning into this 435 - > entrepreneurship questioning, you know, a lot. 436 - > The people that listen to our podcast are starting to bridge 437 - > into private practice.

438 - > And personally, I am married to an entrepreneur who owns a small 439 - > business. 440 - > And I'm just curious, a lot of times when we're business 441 - > builders, we're looking at ways to build wealth. 442 - > What is the difference between someone who's building wealth 443 - > for their family versus building wealth for their business? 444 - > SPEAKER_03: What I would tell anybody that is looking to go, 445 - > and and I and I feel like, and I don't have the data on this at 446 - > all, but you know, especially when COVID was coming around, 447 - > everybody wanted to be quote unquote an entrepreneur.

448 - > But before that, it was like, no, everybody go work W-2, get 449 - > your benefits, et cetera. 450 - > What I would tell anybody, owning your own business and 451 - > being an entrepreneur is exciting. 452 - > It does come with a level of perks. 453 - > But if you think that it's going to be easy just because you're 454 - > good at something, I I would get a second opinion, right?

455 - > I mean, I'm not saying that whoever told you that didn't do 456 - > it, but a lot of times we look at people that's owned their own 457 - > business and they've owned it for 20 years, and you're like, 458 - > oh, because they're doing it like this now, that's what I 459 - > want now. 460 - > Well, it didn't happen for them overnight. 461 - > Being an entrepreneur is not a nine to five job. 462 - > It's just not.

463 - > There's going to be a lot of long hours. 464 - > I will tell you there will be a lot of, even for somebody like 465 - > me who doesn't cry a lot, I think I probably cried more in 466 - > the first year of running my own practice, you know, being on my 467 - > own, and only because you're learning, right? 468 - > Like you are learning and you have to give yourself that 469 - > grace. 470 - > But when you're building wealth for a business, this is what I 471 - > tell everybody.

472 - > If you want to grow it, and let's just say your business, 473 - > like you want to have employees, you better be the kind of person 474 - > that's okay with eating last at the lunch table because 475 - > everybody else's payroll has to be paid before you get paid. 476 - > All your employees come before you. 477 - > Retirement benefits and adding that. 478 - > But what I would say is if you're building wealth of any 479 - > kind, you have to give yourself time.

480 - > It's not going to happen overnight. 481 - > So you've got to think long term. 482 - > So if you're thinking about running a business and you're in 483 - > a W-2 situation now, I would encourage you to have an 484 - > emergency fund of at least four to five years because it's going 485 - > to you're going to need that grace to actually feel like, 486 - > okay, I'm making it. 487 - > But building wealth as a business owner and and to lay it 488 - > out in just easy pick variables, the first thing I would do is 489 - > get some mentors around you.

490 - > Either people that are running their own business or people 491 - > that, and it doesn't have to be the same industry, but listen to 492 - > those mentors. 493 - > How did they do it? 494 - > How did they grow? 495 - > Did growth always equate to more profitability?

496 - > The second thing, start small and learn fast. 497 - > There used to be an old expression, start small and fail 498 - > fast. 499 - > There's no such thing as failure until you truly, truly give up. 500 - > But the third piece of advice I would give you on building that 501 - > wealth is learn to pivot.

502 - > Don't be so stuck in your ways that you think you know 503 - > everything. 504 - > There are business plans that you think you're gonna do, and 505 - > guess what? 506 - > That business evolves into something else in a year's time. 507 - > Give yourself that grace to make sure that you can do that.

508 - > If you allow yourself to do those three things, around that 509 - > third or fourth year, that income should be coming in at a 510 - > certain level to where you are making over and above probably 511 - > what you ever thought you could as a W-2 employee. 512 - > And that's where we can start setting things up for wealth and 513 - > the transfer of wealth. 514 - > But the foundations are still the same. 515 - > On the individual side, I would encourage people to do the same 516 - > thing.

517 - > Find mentors, find communities where people are doing planning, 518 - > saving, etc., on things that you want to try to do. 519 - > The community involvement piece, not only just from sticking to 520 - > goals is helpful, but also on a mental health aspect. 521 - > When you're not in maybe the best of modes or places, that 522 - > group can help you out.

523 - > Secondly, start small and learn fast. 524 - > If you don't have an emergency fund on the individual side, no 525 - > worries. 526 - > Start with something small, break it down month by month, 527 - > and even go smaller than that. 528 - > See what you need to save per day to hit that goal.

529 - > And then thirdly, sometimes we need to pivot. 530 - > We need to pivot from ideas, pivot from strategies. 531 - > That doesn't mean giving up. 532 - > But in every one of those aspects, what I'm recommending, 533 - > have a coach, have somebody in your corner.

534 - > Don't think you can do it all on your own. 535 - > The mass majority is still going to be up to you and your family 536 - > on the individual side or the business side. 537 - > But if you don't have a mentor, it's so easy when times get 538 - > hard. 539 - > You can't even see a light at the end of the tunnel.

540 - > And I told somebody the other day, when I was the first year, 541 - > the only light at the end, I thought I saw a light at the end 542 - > of the tunnel, but it was just a train coming at me full speed. 543 - > It wasn't even the light you wanted to see. 544 - > So if without mentors and people really encouraging me and 545 - > helping me, it was tough. 546 - > But if you but it but wealth mindset is a long-term, not 547 - > anything that you're going to see drastic results in the first 548 - > one to three years.

549 - > Wealth is literally driven out five years plus and beyond. 550 - > And if you and if you give up before that, wealth and wealth 551 - > creation is difficult to actually accomplish. 552 - > So have a long-term mindset with that. 553 - > SPEAKER_01: Justin, that is such a great point about just not 554 - > expecting it to happen overnight.

555 - > And you're so right. 556 - > A lot of people started businesses because they saw 557 - > someone else's destination versus their journey. 558 - > And I love how you may not have been aware of this, but you said 559 - > a few different times about the value of having mentors and 560 - > communities. 561 - > And as an AFC, you know, I know that this field is very 562 - > specific.

563 - > And you're also a CFP. 564 - > And so there are lots of regulations around what you can 565 - > and cannot say. 566 - > But when we think about mentors and communities, what are some 567 - > traits that you would share with our audience that they should 568 - > look for in a good mentor or coach as they're either building 569 - > their businesses, building their brands, or serving their 570 - > clients? 571 - > SPEAKER_03: As people always ask, first of all, it goes back 572 - > to what we said, even as you're building a brand, somebody 573 - > that's authentic.

574 - > They don't have to just be like you. 575 - > As a matter of fact, I would even argue if you can find 576 - > somebody that gets you out of your comfort zone, if their 577 - > authenticity pushes you just a little bit, not in an aggressive 578 - > way, I'm just saying challenging you, maybe the way that you're 579 - > thinking about something. 580 - > But they they will earn the right because they do have an 581 - > interest in you to give you that feedback and for you to receive 582 - > it.

583 - > But I think finding somebody that's authentic, that's true to 584 - > themselves is critical. 585 - > Because you don't want somebody that's gonna lie to you or be 586 - > unethical or not have your best interest in mind. 587 - > Number two, somebody that is transparent. 588 - > And what I mean by that is they're not gonna be on 589 - > Instagram or TikTok or Facebook shouting from the mountaintops 590 - > how everything is just perfect.

591 - > And what it took them 10 years to build, they did overnight, 592 - > and you can click and subscribe to their model and they'll teach 593 - > you how to do it. 594 - > No, you want somebody that's gonna say, Yeah, absolutely. 595 - > Hey, I want somebody that's gonna say, tell me the good, the 596 - > bad, and the ugly. 597 - > And you know, I would always frame it to my mentors and still 598 - > do, hey, I know what you're doing now, but what's one thing 599 - > that makes you hit that alarm clock and still roll over and 600 - > stay in bed?

601 - > What is the one thing that doesn't excite you about going 602 - > to that venture? 603 - > And because that that's important, that is drastically 604 - > important, and then it kind of leads me into that the the third 605 - > quality that I look for. 606 - > And that's somebody that has gratitude or enjoys giving back. 607 - > You know, that's critical.

608 - > If you find somebody that all they do is take, take, take, you 609 - > know, again, it's gonna be a very empty road to the end of 610 - > that rainbow when you find out that that pot of gold didn't 611 - > change your life. 612 - > Because everything that we ultimately find a solution to 613 - > creates another problem. 614 - > And if they're not willing and you're not willing to learn how 615 - > to give back and build bridges, a lot of times it's gonna be a 616 - > short-lived relationship.

617 - > And those three qualities I think are big. 618 - > And you'll find that people that want and show gratitude and give 619 - > back, you'll find a lot of things, and there's a lot of 620 - > psychology behind this. 621 - > Number one, they're overall happier people, but then number 622 - > two, you'll find that there's not really a destination to what 623 - > they're what they're doing because they just enjoy helping 624 - > people. 625 - > And if you don't have that last piece, I don't know how 626 - > effective of a mentor you're gonna be anyway.

627 - > Because that's really what mentorship is about. 628 - > It's about we versus me. 629 - > And again, I I see this a lot, even when we do exit strategies 630 - > for business owners. 631 - > There's some people when they sell their business, they think 632 - > that's the happiest day of their life, and then you know what, 633 - > they're calling us back two months later.

634 - > Hey, do you know anybody that's hiring part-time? 635 - > And it's because they've lost their purpose. 636 - > But giving back to organizations and finding charitable 637 - > workforces to work for keeps you grounded, keeps you humble. 638 - > And I I've seen it in my own personal life on the days that I 639 - > might not feel like I'm being the best version of me.

640 - > I go in and help somebody, and they brighten my day more than I 641 - > could have ever brightened theirs. 642 - > So I think those three qualities are instrumental in having a 643 - > good support group and mentorship. 644 - > Rachael DeLeon: Wow, I love that. 645 - > You've provided us and our listeners with so much to think 646 - > about today, and I really appreciate it.

647 - > Time flies when you're having fun and we're nearing the end of 648 - > our time together. 649 - > And at the end of every interview, we like to ask our 650 - > guest about their two cents. 651 - > We think of our podcast as a bank of knowledge, and we want 652 - > to know your two cents. 653 - > What real money quote would you add to our bank?

654 - > SPEAKER_03: I would say that true wealth is how money impacts 655 - > you and the people you care about. 656 - > And it's not about money being the end goal, it really is being 657 - > appreciative for the things that you have in the here and now. 658 - > And it's okay to have goals on where you want to be, but money 659 - > literally is just the tool. 660 - > Don't forget relationship.

661 - > Life is too short to only worry about money. 662 - > And again, I think when we bullet back and we pull the pill 663 - > away from the onion, it's not that it's money. 664 - > It's the the fact that we can't spend times doing the things we 665 - > love with whom we love. 666 - > That's the biggest thing.

667 - > So, how do we develop strategies to get money to do that? 668 - > And again, as I say, just because you leave this earth and 669 - > your body might not be physically here, how you've 670 - > impacted somebody, whether it's through a mentorship, charitable 671 - > giving, or just literally being a steward of education, that is 672 - > your legacy. 673 - > Not the trust, not the money you leave behind. 674 - > It is your attitude.

675 - > And I'm a firm believer in that. 676 - > And I get up every day with a sense of gratitude to do that. 677 - > And I would encourage fellow AFCs and even with our clients, 678 - > if you have that sense of gratitude, even during the 679 - > darkest times, you tend to look towards the silver lighting. 680 - > SPEAKER_01: Wow, Justin.

681 - > I feel like you totally gave us more than two cents. 682 - > That last quote was so, so powerful. 683 - > Thank you. 684 - > And thank you for joining us today.

685 - > Before we close, please let our listeners know how they can 686 - > connect with you. 687 - > SPEAKER_03: So you can find me on Facebook and social media. 688 - > So it on my Facebook account, it's Justin Chastain, advisor at 689 - > Parallel Advisors. 690 - > And then on the Instagram account that I have, it is the 691 - > financial planning professor, is where they can find me.

692 - > And of course, if they go to parallelfinancial.com, they can 693 - > find my credentials there and reach out to me via email or a 694 - > phone call if they would like to. 695 - > You're not going to give your MySpace? 696 - > They can have it.

697 - > But you know, all jokes aside, I think Tom kicked me off. 698 - > You know, when your only friend on MySpace is leaving you, you 699 - > kind of get a little discouraged. 700 - > Rachael DeLeon: I love it. 701 - > Well, thank you so much, Justin.

702 - > This was such a pleasure. 703 - > It was great chatting with you today. 704 - > SPEAKER_03: Likewise, I've had a blast. 705 - > SPEAKER_01: Rachel, it was so great talking with Justin today.

706 - > He shared so many nuggets about value buckets and the importance 707 - > of community and good mentors and coaches. 708 - > I mean, when he was talking about the value of the AFC 709 - > community, I was nodding my head over here like a bobblehead 710 - > because I so agree that that has really been, even for my own 711 - > career, it has been such a value add. 712 - > So I was just really grateful to hear him talk about that and his 713 - > story was so powerful. 714 - > Rachael DeLeon: I think one of the coolest things about 715 - > interviewing people on this show is hearing their journey into 716 - > the space and Justin's like his origin story and sort of that 717 - > pivotal moment in his life when he lost his mom.

718 - > It you can see how that just framed his journey, not only as 719 - > a professional, but as a person. 720 - > And that feeling of gratitude and even reframing how we look 721 - > at wealth. 722 - > And I think what an amazing financial coach or financial 723 - > counselor, in his case, a planner, to have in an 724 - > individual's life. 725 - > And so it's just a reminder for all of us to, you know, start 726 - > our day with gratitude, lean into that, and a reminder of how 727 - > much impact this community is making in the lives of others.

728 - > So really enjoyed our conversation today. 729 - > The opinions of our podcast guests are their own, which 730 - > means that their stories, views, or lived experiences may differ 731 - > from yours or mine. 732 - > However, the one thing you will always find on this show is a 733 - > common thread. 734 - > Our guests knit about helping people with their money to 735 - > improve their lives.

736 - > And they believe in upholding high standards for the clients 737 - > and the communities that they serve. 738 - > We encourage you to tune in to Real Money, Real Experts with 739 - > open curiosity. 740 - > Why? 741 - > Because it's oftentimes in the conversations where viewpoints 742 - > or stories differ from our own that we learn the most.