The School of Greatness
The School of Greatness

7 SECRETS To Start Building Long-Term WEALTH! EP 1194

Today’s episode is a solo episode all about the 7 secrets to building long term wealth. I’m going to break down some of the core principles that helped me when I was broke and living on my sister’s couch over a decade ago that still hold true today. I believe if you can put these into practice, it’l

Featured Speakers

Lewis Howes HostLewis Howes Guest

Topics Discussed

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: Lewis Howes delivers a solo episode outlining seven modernized wealth-building principles inspired by The Richest Man in Babylon: pay yourself first, control expenses, multiply money through investing and scalable income, protect against losses, own assets, secure future income through skills/branding, and increase earning power. He emphasizes consistency, automation, mentorship, and ownership as the foundation of long-term financial freedom.

Main Topics: Pay Yourself First (Priority: 5/5): Set aside a portion of every paycheck before spending, treating savings like a non-negotiable expense to build emergency resilience and future wealth. Control Expenses and Live Within Your Means (Priority: 5/5): Budget realistically, understand current savings runway, and avoid lifestyle inflation by automating savings and tracking spending. Make Money Multiply (Priority: 5/5): Move beyond trading time for money by investing in compounding assets and building scalable, passive, or recurring revenue streams. Protect Money from Losses (Priority: 4/5): Reduce risk through diversification, long-term discipline, and avoiding speculative decisions driven by market emotions or hype. Own Assets and Build Equity (Priority: 4/5): Seek ownership in real estate, businesses, stock market holdings, or your own company so wealth can grow beyond wages. Ensure Future Income Through Skills and Branding (Priority: 4/5): Invest in yourself, create an online presence, launch side hustles, and build a personal brand to remain valuable in changing markets. Increase Earning Ability (Priority: 5/5): Raise rates, improve lead flow, optimize systems, expand products, strengthen teams, and keep learning to grow income over time.

Key Arguments: Savings must come first because emergencies and instability can happen at any time. Living within your means is essential regardless of income level; overspending destroys wealth-building potential. Wealth grows faster when money is invested in assets that compound, rather than only earned through labor. Automation and diversification reduce emotional decision-making and improve long-term outcomes. Ownership creates leverage: equity, real estate, business reinvestment, and index-style investing can build wealth over time. Personal brand and skill development function like a modern resume and help create future income. Increasing revenue is not only about working more; it can come from pricing, systems, marketing, products, and team quality.

Data Points: Episode number: 1194 - Intro of the podcast episode Longevity of the show: almost 9 years - Lewis references how long he has run the School of Greatness Total episodes mentioned: over 1,000 - Lewis says he has done over a thousand episodes Savings rule from David Bach: 1 hour of income per day - Example for setting aside savings Savings rule from Kevin O’Leary: 10% of every single penny - Suggested automatic savings rate Wealthfront minimum to start: $500 - Sponsor mention for opening an investment account Wealthfront annual management fee: 0.25% - Sponsor details for automated investing Wealthfront promotion: $5,000 managed for free forever - Offer tied to Lewis’s referral link Side-business prevalence in the U.S.: 1 in 3 people - Used to encourage launching a side hustle Future side-business intent: 25% - People planning to start a side business in the next year YouTube pre-monetization timeline: 5 years - Lewis says Greatness Media published before YouTube revenue turned on YouTube publishing cadence: 2-3 times a week - Describes Greatness Media’s long-term content strategy Greatness Academy library: over 100 hours - Membership training offer Timing of content monetization: 5 years later - Returns from YouTube and content investments

Pivotal Quotes: "goes back to what we say, pay yourself first" — Lewis Howes: Explaining the first wealth-building lesson from The Richest Man in Babylon "the worst exchange in the world is trading time for money" — Tony Robbins: Referenced while discussing why money must be multiplied through investing and scalable income "The world makes room for passionate people." — Lewis Howes: Closing message tying passion, gratitude, and worthiness to long-term wealth

Implications: Listeners are urged to adopt disciplined saving, automated investing, and ownership-minded habits now. The episode frames wealth as a learnable skill built through consistency, not luck, and suggests modern creators and professionals must combine personal branding with scalable income to stay financially resilient.

🔓 Sign Up for Unlimited Episode Search

About The School of Greatness

Lewis Howes is a New York Times best-selling author, 2x All-American athlete, keynote speaker, and entrepreneur. The School of Greatness shares inspiring interviews from the most successful people on the planet—world-renowned leaders in business, entertainment, sports, science, health, and literature—to inspire YOU to unlock your inner greatness and live your best life.

View all episodes from The School of Greatness