Money Isn't Real, And That's Why You're Still Broke w/Josh Forti

How Childhood Conditioning Programs You to Stay Small Forever It w/ Mitchell Ryan

Most people walk through life believing their thoughts, their voice, and their choices are their own. They are not. They were written for you long before you were old enough to question them, and this episode is about tracing that writing all the way back to its source. Adam Rother sits down with Mitchell Ryan, voice and embodiment coach, to pull apart the invisible architecture of social programming that most people never examine. They start where it all begins: school. Not because school is simply bad, but because the structure itself trains a set of deeply specific behaviors. Asking permission before you move. Dreading Monday and living for Friday. Getting publicly humiliated in front of your peers the first time you got an answer wrong or spoke too loudly. These are not accidents. They are conditioning, and the beliefs they install run quietly in the background of every decision you make about money, relationships, expression, and authority for the rest of your life. Mitchell brings a precision to this conversation that most self-help content skips entirely. He makes a distinction early that reframes the whole discussion: not all programming is harmful. Language is programming. Culture is programming. Religion is programming. The question is never whether you are programmed. The question is which programs are running you toward your own potential and which ones were installed to keep you manageable for someone else's system. From there the conversation goes somewhere most people are not ready to hear. Mitchell explains that the people who build empires out of spite, to prove a teacher or a parent wrong, are still handing all their power to that person. The empire is real. The freedom is not. True reclamation of personal power is not about rebellion. It is about reconciliation, recognizing the gift in the wound, and stopping the transaction entirely. The episode then moves into what Mitchell actually works on with clients: the voice. Not as a communication tool, but as a direct readout of how safe a person feels to exist as themselves. He breaks down why the classroom shame most people experienced in childhood gets locked into the nervous system and never actually leaves. It shows up decades later as a monotone delivery, a hesitation before speaking, an inability to hold a frame under pressure, or a compulsive need to justify yourself in comment sections. That nervous system pattern is not a personality trait. It is stored conditioning waiting to be processed. What Mitchell and Adam arrive at by the end is something that cuts against the entire self-improvement industry: the goal is not to build a better performance of yourself. It is to get safe enough in your own body that what comes out of your mouth is no longer filtered through what you think people need to hear. Speaking from the heart is not a metaphor. It is a physiological state that most people have never actually inhabited because they have been too busy managing how they appear. This conversation will not tell you to be yourself. It will show you why you have not been able to, and it will name exactly what is in the way. Guest: Mitchell Ryan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mitchell.d.ryan [https://www.instagram.com/mitchell.d.ryan] Hosted by Adam Rother Website: https://www.brainwashedtobebroke.com [https://www.brainwashedtobebroke.com] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rotheradam/ [https://www.instagram.com/rotheradam/]

School Doesn't Teach You About Money And It Is On Purpose w/Sarah Thompson

If you have ever wondered why school doesn't teach you about money, this episode of Brainwashed to Be Broke exposes the social programming that keeps hardworking people stuck. Adam Rother sits down with affiliate marketing coach Sarah Thompson, a former healthcare worker who got a 15 cent raise and a pizza party for years of effort, then discovered passive income at 35 and felt like she had been lied to her whole life. We dig into why school doesn't teach you about money on purpose, who profits when you stay financially illiterate, and why so many believe college is a scam built to sell a feeling instead of real skills. Sarah breaks down the limiting beliefs about money she had to unlearn, the scarcity mindset passed down from a loving family, and the money guilt that quietly caps your income. You will also hear why affiliate marketing for beginners may be the simplest path to passive income, how she turned a $7 training and a Canva checklist into thousands of dollars a day, and why busyness is a distraction the system rewards. This is a conversation about deprogramming the beliefs you inherited about money, work, religion, freedom, and what you are truly worth. In this episode, you will discover: - Why school doesn't teach you about money, and who actually benefits from the gap - How a 15 cent raise pushed Sarah to discover passive income at 35 - The limiting beliefs and scarcity mindset that secretly cap your income - Why affiliate marketing for beginners can start with almost no money - How money guilt and family conditioning sabotage wealth, even for good people - Why hustle and busyness keep you broke while the system wins If this conversation helps you see your programming more clearly, subscribe to Brainwashed to Be Broke, like the video, comment with the biggest belief you are questioning now, and share this with one friend who needs to hear it. Adam's socials: Website: https://www.brainwashedtobebroke.com [https://www.brainwashedtobebroke.com] X: https://x.com/adam_rother [https://x.com/adam_rother] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rotheradam/ [https://www.instagram.com/rotheradam/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rotheradamlive [https://www.facebook.com/rotheradamlive] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rotheradam [https://www.tiktok.com/@rotheradam] Guest: Sarah Thompson Affiliate marketing coach and entrepreneur Facebook: Sarah Day Thompson Instagram: @makemoneywithsaraht Chapters: 00:00 Intro and meeting Sarah Thompson 02:24 Discovering passive income during COVID 02:53 Why she felt lied to about money 05:00 The college or fail myth in high school 06:07 Why college is largely a scam 08:49 You don't need money to start a business 10:55 Why affiliate marketing is the easiest start 17:50 Her first affiliate product and lessons 22:26 The limiting beliefs that keep you broke 25:24 Money guilt and the scarcity mindset 33:39 Why busyness is a distraction not progress 38:29 Stop taking money advice from broke people 42:23 Money beliefs from childhood 50:08 Money, marriage, and respect #socialprogramming #conditioning #moneymindset #freedom #deprogramming

Your Environment Determines Your Future, Not Your Effort w/Bashar J Katou

Living someone else's dream is the quiet trap most high performers never notice, and Bashar Katu spent years inside it before he broke out. He escaped the Iraq war at 16, watched his father lose a thriving factory, and then almost got programmed into becoming a doctor because that was his mother's vision of a good life, not his. This conversation exposes the conditioning that scripts your career, your money, and your sense of what is even possible. We get into why your environment determines your future far more than raw effort, how the American dream is a lie that sells comfort while quietly keeping you broke, and why your circle determines your future income whether you admit it or not. Bashar breaks down the beliefs around money, wealth, sales, and freedom that he had to unlearn, the ego that blinded him for a decade, and the deprogramming it took to stop living someone else's dream and start building his own. If you have ever sensed your goals were handed to you by family, school, religion, or plain social programming, this one will land. In this episode, you will discover: - How conditioning from family and school quietly installs a life script you never chose - Why your environment determines your future more than talent, willpower, or a degree - The doctor trap that almost cost Bashar the entrepreneurial life he actually wanted - How he went from Iraq war survival to building toward a billion dollar exit - The ego and fear of regret that keep smart people stuck and broke - Why chasing passion is a trap and what to chase instead for real freedom If this conversation helps you see your programming more clearly, subscribe to Brainwashed to Be Broke, like the video, comment with the biggest belief you are questioning now, and share this with one friend who needs to hear it. Adam's socials: Website: https://www.brainwashedtobebroke.com [https://www.brainwashedtobebroke.com] X: https://x.com/adam_rother [https://x.com/adam_rother] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rotheradam/ [https://www.instagram.com/rotheradam/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rotheradamlive [https://www.facebook.com/rotheradamlive] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rotheradam [https://www.tiktok.com/@rotheradam] Guest: Bashar Katu Founder of BJK University, serial entrepreneur Facebook: Bashar J Katou Chapters: 00:00 The life script you were programmed to follow 01:50 Escaping the Iraq war and moving to America 03:16 Almost brainwashed into becoming a doctor 04:25 Dropping out to follow his father's path 06:30 Your environment determines your future 10:03 Life in Iraq when survival was the only plan 12:32 How school and culture program you for a degree 14:56 Ego and overconfidence as the first obstacle 21:24 The Jeff Bezos regret story 24:56 Focus and beating shiny object syndrome 35:18 Forget passion, chase money and helping people 39:08 BJK University and impacting a million lives 42:36 Why brick and mortar beats online coaching 52:01 Change your circle, change your life #socialprogramming #conditioning #moneymindset #freedom #deprogramming

Money Isn't Real, And That's Why You're Still Broke w/Josh Forti

Money isn't real, and that one fact might be the reason you feel stuck, broke, and exhausted no matter how hard you work. In this raw conversation, entrepreneur Josh Forti exposes the most invisible piece of social programming most of us carry: the belief that the dollar in your wallet is actually money. It isn't. Legally and literally, it stopped being money a long time ago, and that quiet switch is a big part of why you're broke even while doing everything right. Adam and Josh dig into how hard work got sold to us as the only path to wealth, why inflation is stealing your time and life energy without your consent, and what real freedom looks like once you separate being rich from being free. They unpack the conditioning around the money beliefs we inherit from family, school, and religion, the day a handful of men rewrote the rules of money in secret, and why sound money would change everything from your finances to your relationships to your health. Money isn't real in the way you were taught, and this is less a finance lecture and more a deprogramming session for anyone who suspects the game is rigged. In this episode, you will discover: - Why your dollars quietly stopped being money and what that does to every paycheck - How inflation works like a hidden tax that steals years of your life - The real difference between being rich and being free, and why most people chase the wrong one - The 20 apples example that makes money printing impossible to unsee - The secret meeting that changed what money meant without a single vote from you - What sound money is and why it could flip the entire system back in your favor If this conversation helps you see your programming more clearly, subscribe to Brainwashed to Be Broke, like the video, comment with the biggest belief you are questioning now, and share this with one friend who needs to hear it. Adam's socials: Website: https://www.brainwashedtobebroke.com [https://www.brainwashedtobebroke.com] X: https://x.com/adam_rother [https://x.com/adam_rother] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rotheradam/ [https://www.instagram.com/rotheradam/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rotheradamlive [https://www.facebook.com/rotheradamlive] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rotheradam [https://www.tiktok.com/@rotheradam] Guest: Josh Forti Entrepreneur, founder of The Golden Mic Method, and follower of Jesus Website: https://www.joshforti.com [https://www.joshforti.com] Facebook: Josh Forti Instagram: @joshfort YouTube: @JoshForti Chapters: 00:00 Welcome and why the truth sounds controversial 02:35 The brainwashing story that keeps you broke 04:27 Is a 20 dollar bill actually money 05:04 How they changed the meaning of money 100 years ago 07:48 Money is stored energy, so what are you working for 12:56 Rich vs free, what real freedom means 16:25 Why Bitcoin is the only real money 19:43 The 20 apples trick, how inflation steals from you 21:25 How printing money steals years of your life 25:14 You cannot prove your money is in the bank 29:34 Why prices should fall but never do 44:03 Jekyll Island and the greatest money heist 47:18 Going all in, out of the US dollar 49:25 How Elon Musk and the pursuit of truth changed him 61:17 Raising kids to live in truth #moneyisntreal #socialprogramming #soundmoney #freedom #deprogramming

How the 9-5 Was Engineered to Keep the Economy Running w/ Brendan McCauley

What if everything you were taught about money, work, and success was designed to benefit someone else? That is the conversation at the center of this episode. Adam Rother sits down with Brendan McAuley, business coach, systems strategist, and author of Clients for Coaches, to unpack the financial conditioning most people carry from childhood into adulthood without ever questioning it. Brendan cashed out his 401k at 27 and chose entrepreneurship when his own father was worried enough to send him to a psychologist. Ten years later, that decision looks a lot less reckless and a lot more like clarity. The episode opens with a blunt question that most people never stop to ask: who actually benefits when you have no financial literacy? The school system teaches ledgers and balance sheets. It does not teach wealth building, generational wealth, or how to create your own personal economy. Brendan and Adam dismantle one of the most persistent beliefs in modern culture: that a job is safe and entrepreneurship is reckless. Adam flips it. Relying on one employer for your entire income is a single point of failure. Build a business with three hundred customers and lose one, you still have two hundred ninety-nine. The system is not broken. It was built this way, rooted in Industrial Revolution thinking that needed workers, not owners, not thinkers. Adam's socials: Website: https://www.brainwashedtobebroke.com [https://www.brainwashedtobebroke.com] X: https://x.com/adam_rother [https://x.com/adam_rother] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rotheradam/ [https://www.instagram.com/rotheradam/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rotheradamlive [https://www.facebook.com/rotheradamlive] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rotheradam [https://www.tiktok.com/@rotheradam] Guest: Brendan McCauley Connect with Brendan👇 🔗 Facebook: Brendan McCauley 🔗 Website: coachuntangled.com [http://coachuntangled.com] Chapters: 00:00 Why Adam Started This Show: Programming Passed Down Through Generations 02:21 The Federal Reserve, The Creature from Jekyll Island, and Financial Conditioning 04:02 One Income vs Many: Why Entrepreneurship Is Actually the Safer Bet 05:52 Designed to Go Through the Motions: School, Church, Corporate Path 08:38 What Business School Actually Teaches About Money and What It Misses 10:53 Risk Tolerance, Cashing Out the 401k, and Trusting Your Own Judgment 13:49 The Authority Protocol: Synergy, Systems, and Scalability 17:42 Building a Business Around Your Life, Not a Job Around Your Business 19:19 The Authority Ecosystem: Making Noise, Capturing Leads, and Recurring Revenue 27:06 Brendan's Childhood Programming: Divorce, Binge Eating, and Self-Esteem 29:10 The Flea Jar: How Conditioning Caps What You Think Is Possible 30:02 Invest in a Coach: The Shortcut That Changes Everything 36:31 People Without Goals Die Young: Who Benefits from Your Complacency 37:05 The Dog on the Nail: Why Pain Threshold Determines When You Move 44:41 Why School Never Taught You About Money and Who Really Benefits 46:23 Money as Value Exchange: Learning to Charge What You Are Worth 48:13 Generous Givers and Excellent Receivers: The Belief Blocking Your Income 53:14 Gratitude, the TEAR Framework, and Rewiring Your Morning State 56:00 Final Thoughts: You Get Paid Based on the Value You Bring #socialprogramming #conditioning #moneymindset #freedom #deprogramming