“You’re the smartest broke person I know.”
That’s what he said to me.
At the time, I wasn’t wallowing in money… but I definitely wasn’t broke either.
Let’s call it comfortable,
with a fire in my gut to grow.
That’s why we were talking in the first place.
He wanted someone to build funnels for his financial clients.
That’s what I do.
Have done for decades.
Not just theory, not some PDF I read in 2016,
real work,
real testing,
real results.
The problem?
He had never built a funnel himself. Not one. I built the one that was currently bringing him business. (I have always been better at helping other make more money that I make for myself.)
But he still insisted on micromanaging every move. Defining what a funnel is. Telling me how to build something I’ve been doing for decades (because of something he heard on a podcast).
Tensions escalated, and we eventually agreed to part ways, but not before he threw one last jab:
“You’re the smartest broke person I know.”
And that line stuck with me.
Not because it hurt… well, maybe it stung a little… it more pissed me off than anything… but mainly it revealed everything about how this world works.
We don’t value wisdom unless it shows up in designer shoes. We don’t listen to experience unless it walks in with a big bank account and flash.
Recently, I came across Ecclesiastes 9:16:
“So even though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long.”
Man.
That verse hit like a punch to the ribs.
Because I’ve lived that.
I’ve been in rooms where I knew the answer, had the solution, carried the blueprint in my bones… and still got ignored because I wasn’t wearing it on my wrist.
This isn’t bitterness.
It’s perspective.
Because the truth is I’d rather be the “smartest broke person you know” than the richest fool in the room.
I’d rather be the one who actually knows than the one who pretends with a good logo and a loud voice.
And if that means being overlooked while I do the work?
So be it.
Because God sees.
And now, here I am, about to walk into one of the toughest seasons of my life.
I don’t know if I’m fully prepared.
I don’t have all the answers.
There’s a monumental challenge to overcome.
And no, I’m not backed by a safety net or dripping in ease.
But I’ve got wisdom forged in fire.
I’ve got grit that can’t be bought.
And I’ve got a God who has never let me go.
So I’ll take the next step.
Not because I know the path…
but because I trust the One who does.