Podcast appearances and mentions of Levi Strauss

What really drives business growth today? Gwen Hammes, co-CEO of Cro Metrics, joins me to share how she went from global agency leader to data-driven growth strategist - helping brands like Google, Hyatt, Bombas, and Talkspace unlock next-level success.In this conversation, Gwen reveals what most leaders miss when it comes to AI, martech, and website strategy, and why the human element still matters more than ever. We also talk about customer journey insights that might surprise you, the key to building trust in a digital world, and why hobbies might be the real secret to career fulfillment.If you're a founder, CMO, or curious lifelong learner, Gwen's perspective will inspire you to experiment, evolve, and lean into the joy of building something impactful.

Title: The Unconventional Investor: Why Following the Crowd is Costing You Millions With M.C. Laubscher Summary: In this episode of the Passive Income Attorney Podcast, host Seth Bradley welcomes back MC Lobster, a cashflow investor and entrepreneur. They discuss the importance of diversification in income streams, exploring various investment vehicles beyond traditional methods. MC shares insights from his journey from South Africa to the U.S., emphasizing the opportunities available for those willing to take action. The conversation covers innovative cashflow niches, including agriculture, energy, life settlements, and music royalties, as well as strategies for achieving financial freedom. MC highlights the mindset necessary for successful investing and the importance of accountability in personal and financial growth. Links to watch and subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II3UR8G3eWU Bullet Point Highlights: Mikkel Thorpe helps people relocate overseas and navigate tax issues. The expat lifestyle offers freedom and adventure beyond traditional living. Second residencies provide legal rights to live and work in another country. Tax benefits for U.S. citizens living abroad include the foreign earned income exclusion. Investing in real estate can provide both residency benefits and financial returns. Personal responsibility is crucial for achieving financial independence. Mikkel emphasizes the importance of emotional support during relocation. Countries like Panama offer favorable tax situations for expats. Understanding the legal obligations of living abroad is essential for compliance. Exploring different cultures can lead to personal growth and new opportunities. Transcript: Seth Bradley (00:10.572) What's going on y'all. Welcome back to a new episode of the Passive Income Attorney Podcast. Of course, your favorite place for learning about the world of alternative passive investing so that you can have more freedom, flexibility, and fun. Now, if you're ready to kick that billable out of the curb, start by going to attorneybydesign.com and download the Freedom Blueprint, which will also get you access to partner with us on one of our next passive real estate deals, which we'd love to have you on board for.   to help you on your journey to financial freedom. All right, today, let's talk about diversification in a particular way though. Let's talk about the different ways that you can make money. There are so many different ways. Unfortunately, for most of us, we have it in our heads that there's only one way. For my attorneys out there, well,   We just do our attorney thing and that's how we get paid. We have one stream of income, one active stream. Maybe we save for retirement through a 401k or we buy some stocks and bonds or play around on Robinhood or something like that. But we don't think about all the other ways that we can make money. If you've listened to my show before, I've had so many attorneys on here that have leveraged their knowledge, their background, their experience, their education as an attorney.   to catapult them in other aspects of life, in other avenues of business so that they can create multiple streams of income, whether that's through starting a side business, a side hustle, which eventually might become their full-time hustle or investing in real estate, both passively and or actively. There are so many different ways to make money, but there's more ways than just the things that we've talked about so far. There are so many different ways and there's no magic pill.   Right now we talk about syndications a lot on this show, but it's not a magic pill. I'm not preaching to you and telling you if you don't invest in a syndication or invest in syndications, then you're not going to become wealthy or that investing in real estate is the only way to become wealthy. It's not, it's a tried and proven way to become wealthy. And it's my favorite way and a lot of my guests favorite way, but it's not the only way.   Seth Bradley (02:30.814) And our guest today, MC Lobster, who is no stranger to this show. He's been on here before. He's actually our first repeat guest. but I love chatting with him. He's such a great guy. So knowledgeable. he is a true expert at this idea of diversification across so many different types of income that you can create for yourself. And he's on here on the show today, especially to talk about his new book, the 21 best cashflow niches, where we'll   jump into what some of those are. Some of these things you've probably never even heard about. We'll talk about life insurance contracts. We'll talk about agriculture, energy, of course, real estate and all of those things. But inside you, you'll get some new ideas about things that you never even thought you could invest in. MC Lobster is a cashflow investor and a serial entrepreneur. He's the creator and host of the top rated business and investing podcast, the cashflow Ninja.   which has been downloaded over 3 million times in over 180 countries. He's also the president and CEO of Producers Wealth, a virtual wealth creation firm that assists investors and business owners to set up and implement infinite banking. All right, without further ado, the one, the only MC Lobster, let's go. This is the Passive Income Attorney Podcast.   where you'll discover the secrets and strategies of the ultra wealthy on how they build streams of passive income to give them the freedom we all want. Attorney Seth Bradley will help you end the cycle of trading your time for money so you can make money while you sleep. Start living the good life on your own terms. Now, here's your host, Seth Bradley. MC Lobster, what's going on, brother? Welcome to the show.   Great to be back. Great to connect. Looking forward to our conversation.   Seth Bradley (04:25.71) Absolutely, man. You are my first repeat guest. So you have that honor. Awesome, man. Well, for our listeners that haven't heard you on the first episode, maybe just give a quick rundown of a little bit about your background and who you are and, you know, where you come from and all that kind of stuff,   Definitely honored.   M.C Laubscher (04:46.542) Yeah, originally from South Africa, came to the US in 2001 and just blown away with the opportunity in this in this country. I mean, there's literally no place with the upward mobility like the US. You can literally start here with absolutely nothing, which is what I did. Basically a backpack, a suitcase, five hundred bucks, sense of humor, sense of adventure. And I'm an entrepreneur investor. I've started several companies.   failed at a lot of them, they had a lot of success in some of them. I've been an investor since 2001 in real estate. And I have a couple of companies, people know me for the Cash Loan Ninja, which is a podcast that I started six years ago, which has turned into a full blown financial education company. We have podcasts, tools, resources, programs, and now books. And then also,   know, I have a company called Producers Wealth. We help folks all across the United States. In 49 states, set up infinite banking, a cashflow management strategy utilizing an insurance product. And then I also have a company where we do a lot of syndications in the resort and multifamily space called Producers Capital Partners. But I love cashflow. I love talking about cashflow, creating it.   positioning it efficiently and managing it and then multiplying it. So everything cashflow gets me excited.   Is that all you got going on, man?   M.C Laubscher (06:20.8) You know, throw throw throw a family that's very active and love to do stuff in there. I've got a beautiful wife and two young kids to all one for an off and three boy and a girl. So you can just imagine the energy there. So a full time job almost by itself, right?   That's   All right. Yeah. So many hours in the day, man. I don't know how you do it. I know how you do it. I love what you said about upward mobility, man. And I think we take that for granted in the US. So how is that different in other countries for us? don't even think about that sort of thing.   Yeah, so I grew up in South Africa and then I was fortunate enough, I traveled to a number of African countries and then I also traveled to a number of European countries, Latin American countries and Asian countries. And I don't think people realize, like if you're born in the United States, you literally won a lottery ticket. I it's I don't know how else to say it. When I got here, I looked at this and I'm like, wait a second. So there's not really like you could, mean,   You just bring your game, you start where you're at and the sky's the limit where, you know, it's very tough in certain countries. Let's just use Africa as an example, you know, in South Africa, the lack of infrastructure, supportive infrastructure for somebody starting there and maybe folks from other countries can relate like in Brazil is probably the same, a of Latin American countries that don't have the same infrastructure that's in the States. So let's just say you are,   M.C Laubscher (07:53.614) you're born on the lowest economic rung. That happens to folks, right? If you're born in the United States, well, you still have access to stuff. You could go to a library, jump on a computer, learn skills, there's public schools. When you're born in a shanty town in South Africa or in a favela in Brazil, you don't have the same access. And also when you come here, literally,   I mean, you look at all the rags to reach the stories and, funnily enough, a lot of it is immigrants. You see it, a lot of immigrants rise to the top because most of them, whether they're from Africa, the Middle East, Eastern European countries, Latin America, that's kind of what they experienced too. And I've had conversations with them too where they're like, man, you could do anything you want to here. There's nothing holding you back.   and the sky is limit. It's not even the limit. You could go to space if you want like Elon. no, it's an incredible place. It still is. We live in an incredible time in the US is an incredible country, where, you know, it's all what you make of it, and all how you approach it, right?   Yeah, for sure. mean, it's kind of like, the access to information, the access to technology, the access to education. I know that's kind of a, you know, we fight about that all the time, but we have access to those things up to a certain point for free. Whereas other places do not have that access to information, technology, education. And that in itself gives you power. Knowledge is power. It's not just a saying.   Yeah, think think about the time that we live in. Who is it? Who is in Star Trek? Was it like Buck Rogers or Captain Kirk? Was Captain Kirk the guy? So, I mean, I still remember and we had very little TV. I grew up inside everywhere. We had like two TV channels, but one of them had like Star Trek episodes on. And I still remember like he would press a button and talk to someone on the telly on like a like a television screen.   M.C Laubscher (10:01.082) and I always saw, man, that's, that's, it's so cool. They're not even the same galaxy at that stage, but they're talking to one another. I like they're in the same room. We have access to that. And for most part, it's free. We have like access to star Trek technology in the time that we live in for base, for, most, for the most part, it's free. So you have a smartphone and.   you have some service or an internet connection, you're good to go. yeah, and again, the technology, which, you know, it's the frenemy. It's your friend and it's the enemy. It's a frenemy. But for the most part, if you approach it right and utilize it right, now a lot of the opportunities, when I came here in about 2001,   It was just around the internet kind of boom. So most people didn't really know what was happening there yet, but now everybody's in it. and all over the world. So a lot of the opportunity that only existed in the U.S. then too, are now available in other areas for folks to start online businesses and that kind of stuff globally. You know, to bring it back with Africa, I see on my last visit, and it's been a while ago, but I just remember seeing folks walking around with smartphones and that's all they transected bank.   They do everything on their smartphones. They have SIM cards and they buy like airtime. And I'm like, man, what you could do with a smartphone these days. It's quite incredible. So it's starting to open up in other places. yeah, you know, it's quite, we live in remarkable times and sometimes I don't think we appreciate it because we're so used to it. It's like, man, why is my internet taking so long to get on? I'm like, does anybody remember dial-up?   You know, it's like. Yeah, it will dial up, man. It's like, yeah, if we click on a link on our phone or click on a link on our computer and it takes more than like, you know, a snap, we're just like, what is going on? This is ridiculous. I can't get anything done. like, well, what did you get done when you didn't have that?   M.C Laubscher (12:09.986) Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. As like I said, before I came to the States, I remember we had dial up and I would add to download emails. So you would start at dial up and you would basically hit start for your emails to download and you would go and grab a cup of coffee and do whatever you have to do. And like 20, 30 minutes later, your emails would have been downloaded. That's so now it's, it's like this and everything moves quicker, right? So you can, you can disrupt slow, archaic,   markets in any asset class really, really quickly with technology and boy, there's some dinosaurs, especially in the markets that we were operating, real estate being one of them. And I'm in insurance too, mean, both very, very big dinosaurs that's ready for disruption.   Yeah. Yeah. So let's talk about some of those things that you invest in. know you're pretty famous for infinite banking and also in commercial real estate. mean, what are some of the things that, are some of the best vehicles to invest in that you're seeing today and how has that maybe changed recently? I, and I asked that because there's a lot of people out there, you know, they'll listen to one podcast, right? And it'll just be like, you have to do this. If you don't do this one thing, if you don't take this one magic pill,   You're never going to be able to retire, achieve financial freedom, but we all know that that's not true. Hopefully we all know that, but what are, what are some of the investment vehicles that you love and why?   Yeah, I love what you just said. It's the maximalist approach, right? It's because I made my money in single family real estate that that's the only way to do it or multifamily or so. And that's why my show is to just get as many different ideas in business and real estate and commodities, paper assets. We covered crypto and blockchain since 2016, as I thought was was pretty exciting then. Now it's like out of control. But   M.C Laubscher (14:07.562) Actually, this ties into one of the reasons why I wrote my latest book, because most people would say, MC, you've interviewed like the best minds of business and investing and all these different opinions on your show, which was very funny in the beginning because we're so used to echo chambers. You know, I didn't want an echo chamber. So I would have someone on, for example, that hates Bitcoin. And then was someone on that loves it. And that's the only thing. And people are like, I don't understand. I'm like, yeah, you have to you're both sides of the argument.   and then to make a decision. But yeah, I wrote the 21 base cashflow niches, the book where I share, you know, the top 21 that's been shared on my show and I threw in five bonus ones there, but you know, as a marketer, 26 doesn't set as well as 21, right? It's funny how psychology works. Seven's good, 10, 20, 21. And then you gotta go to 50, I guess, or 100 off to that, right?   But anyway, 21 is what I used for the name of the book. Yeah, I mean, there's incredible niches that I don't think people think about. When you invest too, you know, this is just what I've done and I just share what I do. I eat my own cooking without throwing up. But what I initially did when I built the cashflow portfolio is I was very clear on what I was trying to accomplish with each investment. So what do I mean by that? So some investments you're going to buy,   that's going to be tax favorable, right? A little bit of light on the cash flow maybe, good on appreciation or a little bit light there, but really good on taxes. Then there's certain investments that's very strong on cash flow, okay on the taxes and good on appreciation. And then there's some that's purely on appreciation, okay on taxes and okay on cash flow, but it's really driven by the appreciation. And then there's some that   that's really good on all three. Knocks out a ton of taxes, great cash flow and appreciation like real estate is one of those assets that does that. So you have to be very clear when you build out a portfolio and I would advise just this is what I'm doing in the time that we're living in today that you have diversified income streams within a cashflow portfolio because we're living, mean, again, during times of great change   M.C Laubscher (16:29.25) There's going to be disruption. There's going to be chaos. You don't want to be in one. You don't want to put all of your eggs just in one basket. And that's you know, that's the horse that's going to win you the Kentucky Derby. You got to have a stable of horses and have many access to many different income streams. So what are some of the what are some of the coolest ones that I've seen? There are some some, know, if you're looking for taxes, there's some great plays and energy, great plays.   Disclaimer, not a tax accountant or CPA, but when you invest oil and gas, different energy projects, there's a very, very, very good tax incentives from a strong cash flow and so forth. So that's a great tax strategy, by the way, to offset active income, not just only passive income. If you do it properly and you're investing in it. And by the way, in case anybody hasn't checked energy prices.   It's just skyrocket. Try and put gas in wherever you are right now. So energy prices has a great appreciation with inflation, great cash flow and great taxes. the tax play is really good with that one. Then, of course, mean, different types of real estate. But one thing that I would share that was very interesting when I was writing this book is kind of reflecting on the years of and I've done this six years and all the people that I've interviewed. But one thing was very interesting.   So agricultural, the market is big. There's many different things in agriculture. And that's where a lot of folks obviously invest farmland, livestock, produce, that kind of stuff. What I found just fascinating was the portfolio allocations of some of the wealthiest people on this planet in timber, more specifically tea.   And I'm like, wait a second, because I've some friends that work in family offices, too. So when I came across this, I reached out to them and I'm like, I see like, is there a lot of like the some of the families that are working with you invested in this asset class? And they're like, yeah, it's in all of our portfolios. And I'm like, that is fascinating. So teak, which is in the timber category is is there. And then I started looking into this. And it's like institutional companies are buying this hedge funds.   M.C Laubscher (18:58.594) family offices, like Ted Turner is one of the largest investors. And I looked into this and I'm like, why? And then of course, you reach the conclusion that what happens in agriculture, trees grow, they grew five years ago, they're gonna grow five years from now, they're gonna grow 20 to 25 years from now, they're just gonna do what they do if they're in the right climate, in the right country.   And so forth, so it provides stability to a portfolio. So it's a long term play. It's not a get rich quick scheme. Anybody that's in agriculture that has ever invested in that space knows that this is not a Bitcoin where you buy something and the next day it doubles. It's I mean, it's literally you have to hand it over to God. It's nature. It's going to take time to grow before you harvest. And when you harvest, obviously.   you're going to generate some cash flow from it. But I thought that was fascinating that how they build their portfolio there, they have to have things in there that stabilize it. Obviously, it's very big on real estate. There's a lot of energy plays on there. There's a lot of that in there. Another great asset class that can stabilize the portfolio, which I'm personally an investor in too, is life settlements.   And a lot of folks that say, is what is life settlement? So you can actually sell life insurance contracts just like you would sell real estate notes. So why would somebody sell a life insurance contract? Well, there are some folks that, like most Americans, have all their wealth in their homes and in a 401k. And that's it. No diversification. what happened in 2008, 2009? Well.   They were in retirement already and maybe lost the majority of the equity of the value of their house. They got clobbered in their stock portfolio and their retirement accounts. And now they're out of money basically. So what do you do? And now because of the stress, there's an illness too. So you can sell and you realize, I have a life insurance policy that I could sell to an investor. And then obviously the investor can, and this is being underwritten of course, an agent and so forth.   M.C Laubscher (21:21.804) But they have a life insurance policy that they can sell and live out the remainder of their life comfortably. So there's a win-win on both sides of it. I'll give an example. Let's just say you have a million dollar death benefit and a life insurance policy, and you have like $50,000 in cash value. And you're in a very bad situation like these folks are that I just told you. Well, you could go.   to a live settlement company at that stage, if you qualify, not all of them of course qualify, it has to be under underwritten to make sense for an investor to buy that. But let's just say you could get four to five times the amount that you have some, even if you're getting $200,000, $250,000 in cash, the investor would then pay for that. And then now they own the life insurance policy. So eventually when   when the seller then passes away, then obviously the proceeds gets paid out to the investor. So they got money to live out the remainder of their life comfortably. The other folks then obviously got a return on the investment that they made. And there's pools of this, there's funds, it's a security. So there's a lot of undesirable, just disclaimer and I was warned about all this stuff is there's undesirable.   characters in every industry. And as you can imagine, there's probably a lot in that space. Just be aware that if it's in a fund, which is the best way to do it, because you can diversify over a large number of policies and utilize the law of large numbers like insurance companies, it is a security. So there are security laws that apply to all those things. it's essentially for accredited investors that have access to this.   Institutions, they just buy tons of policies on their own. Life insurance companies buy policies from other. They buy policies from other insurers to have on their books as a hedge. Folks like Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, shocker, he's a big investor in that kind of stuff, too. But yeah, it's a very interesting asset class. And again, with the teak, what does it provide?   M.C Laubscher (23:37.87) Well, it provides stability because you're essentially buying your equity upfront. So the only factor is time, which will impact your return, obviously, right? So you could get a very nice return on that, which you kind of know when you buy it, sort of the equity that you have in that policy. And then with Teak, I mean, it stabilizes a portfolio. So between the two of those great plays, settlements, not as much cash flow heavy, but great upside potential appreciation.   So that was the main driver of that, but it stabilizes portfolios. So there's some interesting stuff that I've seen, but those are, you know, I figured I wanted to share some of the stuff that can stabilize a portfolio too, especially during times of craziness where it's not just speculative kind of place.   Yeah, that's fascinating, man. There's so many different things that you've invested in and that there are just to invest in in general and people just don't know about it, right? They get stuck in that, that 401k stocks and bonds bubble. And they think that that's just the only way to invest. And that's why sometimes I'll say, just get into a passive real estate deal, right? Not just because that's the only way to invest, but once you do it once you kind of surround yourself with those types of people that are looking at alternative investments. And then you start your mind just kind of opens up to   all these different things in agriculture, in energy, in, you know, all of those things that you just mentioned that are out there to invest in. And you just start seeing all these opportunities just around you. And then you can kind of start diversifying away from that.   Yeah, you know what another one is, and I cover this in the book too, which would be interesting for your folks at the time that we live in. You know, we had the whole Joe Rogan thing, the Joe Rogan experience controversy, and we had these folks that wanted to pull their music off Spotify. So some folks, if they actually read the story, might have grasped how that side of the business works. But essentially, you can invest in music royalties. And that's another niche on the book, which someone shared on my show.   M.C Laubscher (25:39.118) a couple of years ago, which I found was fascinating. Now, a musician can sell a portion or all of the royalties on their music to an investor. And that's essentially what happened to a lot of those folks that wanted to leave Spotify. They don't even own their royalties or all of it, maybe a small portion or a part of it, but corporations do. They own their music royalties.   So every single time a song gets played somewhere or is used in a movie or something, royalties are paid on that and the investor collects cashflow. Now, do we listen to music when markets crash? Yeah. Do we listen to music when markets boom? Yeah. We always listen to music, you know, whether it's good or bad times. So it's another, it's another interesting aspect of, of that. Now, why would a musician sell their royalties?   And this is fascinating because that side of the business and my brother, my brother is a musician too. So I learned a little bit of that, that side of it and had an insight of that, but why would they sell a portion or all of it? So maybe they need to fund the next album and they don't have a record label backing that. And maybe they just want to do it themselves or, you know, for them to raise money for the next project would be, would be one example of that. So, and of course, if there's   partial ownership of royalties. It's actually the best way to do that because otherwise the musician doesn't have incentives to keep promoting those songs. Right. So you almost want to go like 50 50 with someone to make sure like they've got skin in the game to still promote their albums and the songs and play them at concerts and all that kind of stuff. Otherwise, they're not really going to care because they don't own the rights or the royalties to that music anymore.   So it's fascinating. There's a whole exchange, as you can invest like an investor, but there's so many ways to do it. There's so many ways. see to your point, I see people argue all the time. This one's better, this one's better, this one. I'm like, you can make, it's incredible to see the ways that people can make money and become successful. There's so many ways to do it.   Seth Bradley (27:53.698) Yeah. Are there any, I know you went through quite a few there and I want to give the entire book away, but are there, is there another like really surprising one that kind of stands out in that book where somebody's going to read and they're like, what? That's crazy.   Yeah, I throw in there a different angle on crypto. So I share a strategy in there. I share a crypto strategy and then I share an angle of how to look at it as an investor because most people think cryptocurrency and blockchain and they go, oh, I just buy Bitcoin and it goes up 20 fold and now I'm a millionaire or a doggy coin and I'll be fine.   But there's actually that's very speculative, obviously, and you're a speculator. What the folks, the absolute cash flow ninjas have done is they have approached this as investors in the space. So they have followed what I call the California gold rush strategy. So they looked at this and said, wow, all right, there's gold found in California and San Francisco in that area.   Instead of going to mine or dig or pan for gold, I'm going to be the person selling the shovels, the picks, the equipment. I'm going to be the person selling the clothes like Levi Strauss. I'm going to be the person there that has provides housing, hotels, bars, restaurants, entertainment, brothels, whatever floats your boat. And I'm going to be the person that offers financial services like Wells Fargo.   You take a different strategic approach of investing. So you actually go in as an investor and say, like in the crypto and blockchain space, I'll give you some examples. The folks that have absolutely made a fortune in this space. Yeah, they had some Bitcoin. Yeah, they were early investors in Bitcoin and Ethereum. But guess what? They were early investors in exchanges. You know, I actually was in the Bauschman group of one of the first investors in Coinbase, which is now   M.C Laubscher (29:59.714) They went public. I think he did pretty well. The same with Kraken. He's also one of the earliest investors in Kraken. So he's on exchange. So the same with music. Do you think a lot of people trade crypto when the markets are going up? Absolutely. A lot of people are chasing the pump. Do you think there's a lot of activity on an exchange when crypto wets the bed and corrects? Absolutely. There's a panic selling going on.   Markets go up, down and sideways. They make money regardless. So that's one way of doing it. But think of other things, right? You know, in the cannabis space, everything was like, if you're a lawyer, I mean, you would never run out of work. If you are a tax accountant, you would never run out of work in that space. The same with crypto. So there's so many legal things happening there. And think about estate plans.   You have coins. How are you planning on transferring that to your children or your grandchildren? How does that work? Nobody's figured that out. There's companies that have been started in that space to address that problem. And you could be an investor in that company. How about taxes? You think they're coming off the taxes in crypto? You think if you're investing in a very, very good tax firm globally or locally and so forth that specializes in crypto, you're going to lose money?   going to be busier than ever. So it's a different kind of angle that you're coming in as an investor in the space, less sexy. I prefer it that way, cash flow, taxes, you're a business owner, that kind of stuff. But it's not the Elon Musk doggy coin kind of style that you're investing in the space. It's a little bit more strategic.   Right. Yeah, I love that, man. And you can use that, you know, that strategy across different industries. Like you said, you know, you're, selling, you're selling the picks and the, and the pans for the gold rushers. You're, selling the tools rather than actually going and trying to find the gold. And those are the people that actually got rich during the gold rush, right? People that sold the tool. So just think about, you know, any hot industry that way, like, what can I do? That's kind of that ancillary angle rather than the direct angle. And that could be the   Seth Bradley (32:18.03) the better investment.   Yeah, it's almost like I interviewed Jim Rogers a couple of times on my show and he's very comical, legendary investor. And he always said to me, know, when I asked him about how, how we like some of the big hits that he had and some of his best investments, he said, MC, it's quite simple. All I do is I sit and I just wait until people, the money is just lying on the floor. And then I go and pick up the money. That's all I do.   So and then I asked him about, all right, what is that? What is how does that relate to it? And it's like when you see something that's a no brainer that everybody else is seeing. I mean, like, for example, the legal side and the taxes and crypto kind of a no brainer. Not a lot of people are thinking about it. It was the same way in cannabis, too, where everybody wanted to invest in a farm or a farmer or dispensary or a distribution and all this stuff.   and deal with all the headaches of the federal government and the local government, you could have been the lawyer starting a legal firm dealing with those headaches for them. You would never run out of work and you could probably charge much, much more. And it's the same thing with the tax thing. So that, in my opinion, was it's just that money lying on the floor waiting to be picked up as an investor.   Yeah, perfect man. Nailed it. one last gold nugget before we jump into the freedom for   M.C Laubscher (33:48.362) Absolutely. Yeah, so I would say the big thing is you have to be very, very specific, obviously, why you're doing what you're doing, what you have and why you have it and what it's doing for you from a strategy. And then that's how you build your cashflow portfolio. But don't forget about the other stuff in your economy. There's a way to make your money as efficiently as possible. There's a way to position it.   And then there's a way to invest in this portfolio. And then there's a way to protect all of us with proper asset protection, with proper estate planning and with proper tax strategy. So most folks don't even think about the estate planning, the asset protection and the tax strategy. You're going to wish you have in five years. This will be a sound bite that that you can keep. You're going to wish you have thought about these things and not just on the shiny stuff.   I know because I've made all of those mistakes. I became a much better business owner investor when I started to put it all together and just didn't chase shiny stuff or had tunnel vision.   Yeah. Awesome, man. All right. Let's jump into the freedom for we're to mix it up a little bit because you've already been on the show once.   It's time for the Freedom Four.   Seth Bradley (35:09.422) So what does your morning routine look like?   You know, it varies since I have two very young kids, but there's one, but there's two things that are consistent. So I make sure that I go for a walk 45 minutes to an hour. And I do spend an hour thinking. It's a habit that I've developed over time and that I learned from Keith Cunningham. So he just calls it thinking time. We don't think because it's the hardest thing to do as Andrew Ford would always say,   So I make sure that I block everything off. No computers, no smartphones, nothing, just me and a pad. And I write down, I have certain frameworks I use to analyze things and help me think through things, looking at the dangers that are out there, the opportunities and how I can capitalize on a lot of the stuff. that's, I mean, that's definitely, that's in my morning. The other stuff, it varies because they got two young ones, but those two things are consistent. So.   clear my mind with a walk, get some exercise in, and then thinking for an hour.   Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes we, have these ideal morning routines put together, but it, know, especially when you have kids and you have all these different variables, that's not always possible, but you know, there are a couple of things that you definitely need to carve out and just make sure you do every single day. All right. With all your success, what is one limiting belief that you've crushed along the way and how did you get past it?   M.C Laubscher (36:40.63) I do it every day and limiting beliefs in the sense of, people talk about the mindset of abundance, you know, and having an abundant mindset, you know, and I intentionally move every single day when I get up, there are some certain elements of scarcity and I transform that into abundance and I do it intentionally. It's actually part of thinking time. You know, I've listened to all the gurus, I get all that.   But I don't wake up in the morning and go, yeah, this is going to be great. Every every person wakes up. This is just how we were built. If we weren't built this way, we wouldn't have survived. So we get up and we scan our environment and we start kind of not in a fearful fear isn't the right word, but it's kind of like fight or flight situation. Like I said, if you're not built that if you weren't built that way, you wouldn't be alive right now. We wouldn't be as a specie.   because otherwise we would have probably the saber-toothed tiger would have probably gotten us. So we were built that way. So I do it intentionally to transform from whatever elements it is of scarcity into abundance. And by doing that and doing that every single day intentionally, it changes your whole day. then you don't have any bad days. So I don't get up drumming my chest saying everything is perfect and rosy and rainbows and unicorns.   I understand that there are certain things that I've got to work out kinks and I have frameworks to do that. And I just make sure that I do it every single day. So overcoming limiting beliefs, we all have some of them. think like the, mean, the biggest one, there are some things like, the biggest one that I've ever came lightly and this is probably over the last three years is,   You know, Dan Sullivan, which is one of my coaches, a strategic coach said, you need to work less and make more money. And I'm like, I don't know how to do I know what's what's the catch here? Yeah. So that was a limiting belief. then I'm like, wait a second, does he have a superpower that I don't have? But then I started to realize that you could structure your day and then have proper systems and processes in place. And that I work four days a week now when I started as an entrepreneur, it was   M.C Laubscher (39:05.866) seven days a week, 10 to 12 hours. Now I work four days a week and it's probably seven to eight hours at most because I have those systems and processes in place. it was, mean, yeah, talk about a limiting belief right there. It was something that I to work out and figure out.   Yeah. Yeah. And it's counterintuitive, right? It's like, wait, work less and make more. That's not how it works. That's not how I was taught growing up. That's not how it works.   It's everything, everything against what you were have been taught in school, right? So it's almost like you have to break down core foundational beliefs and a mindset. You have to double down on that. It's like when Labeque Saki said he makes more money every year and pays less in taxes. When you first hear that and you read the book, you're like, well, how does that, how does that work? So again, beliefs that have to change and then your mindset and then you   learn the game of money and you're like, yeah, that is that's what they do. This is what the castle and then just do they make more money every year, they pay less in taxes, actually get money back from the government, legally, and they work less and then and they make more money.   Yeah, exactly. I had Tom Willwright on the show last month and he said the same thing. That was the his big quote was, you know, the wealthier you get, the less taxes you pay. It's like what? Yeah, but it's 100 percent true, 100 percent true. What do you believe separates successful people like yourself who have taken action and taken control of their life and their own economy from those who get stuck in the nine to five, never take action and maybe never get started with cash flow?   M.C Laubscher (40:50.57) I own all of my outcomes. And I think that's the biggest difference between a lot of folks and people that achieve certain levels of success. I don't blame anyone. Everything that happens is because of me. So even if there is something nefarious done to you, I shouldn't have put myself in that position and I should have seen it coming. So it's my responsibility, not anybody else's.   So I take responsibility for everything that I've done in my past, my present, my future. I own everything. So I was stuck for a while in a deep dark place. We're talking now like 10, 12 years ago and I wasn't going anywhere at that stage. And that was the one switch that I made and I've never looked back since, you know? So I own everything. The good, the bad and the ugly.   Yeah, I love that more than you know, man. Accountability is my number one principle in everything in business and life. Even again, if you if you know inside that maybe it was somebody else's fault, it still doesn't matter. You say, well, what could I have done to change it and to make it better? What could I have done differently? Take accountability for it. Don't blame other people.   Yeah, there's a person that I follow that I was very honored to meet in person, Tim Grover. And he's the guy behind Michael Jordan. mean, he's Michael Jordan's coach, Kobe's coach, know, Dwayne Wade. And he was actually, it's funny that I just saw that he actually worked with the Rams over the past month too, during that. And he's just, I mean, quite incredible because he literally gets you into   This is how a champion thinks. This is what's going in their mind. This is how they're wired. And those folks, mean, it's just so interesting to see. Even if folks don't win, listen to what Tom Brady said, by the way, in his playoff loss before he retired. Where they're like, you you didn't get the ball back and you didn't have another shot. basically you thought you were going into overtime, but then that final play that the Rams got you and he's like,   M.C Laubscher (43:12.386) I shouldn't we shouldn't have been in that situation. I shouldn't have put my team in that situation in the first place. So that's all they think. That's all those folks think. And I know it's sports, but there's so much between sports, obviously, and and business and investing. So you look at the mind of a champion in any industry in any part of part of life. And that's all those folks think, whether it's a whether it's sports, it's a business, a marriage, investments, you know, they own it.   That on the outcomes.   Yeah, for sure. I'm listening to Winning right now, his book on Audible. it's great so far. All right. Last but not least, what does financial freedom mean to you?   You know, freedom is is a is it's it's we're living during interesting times. It's funny how freedom is is being spun. You know, I'm one of those folks that. Nobody grants you freedom, no one. You just you just take it, you're born free and you take it. You know, you can't you can't negotiate it, you can't vote for it, you can't beg for it, you can't plead for it, you just take it.   And you do that by taking action. So financial freedom and the same thing is no one no one's going to give it to you. And you're just going to have to go out and take it. And in the sense is what freedom means to me is having freedom of time, how I spend my time, what I do, having freedom of money. I do things and I spend my time how money no longer becomes a reason why and why I'm not doing something.   M.C Laubscher (44:55.126) relationships, having freedom of relationships. doing cool things with people that I like to do things with and hanging out with people that I want to hang out with. So I don't have to hang out with someone just to hang out with someone. That's what freedom means. then obviously purpose, know, purpose is, yeah, the freedom to pursue what you want to pursue, the stuff that you want to work on, the stuff that you're passionate about.   So you don't do things just to do things and you have to get there by the way, you know, if you if you see all the things that I've had to do to get to the part where I just do stuff that I want to do. It's been a long road. It didn't start with that, but that should be the goal in the end. So we all have to do things that we don't like to do and some way or shape or form. But essentially, when you get to financial freedom, you can just focus on the things that you want to do that you're passionate about, whatever they are. If it's   doing cool things with cool people and cool places. If it's spending time supporting your charities and your church and so forth and being actively involved with that. There's folks that I know that are very wealthy that, mean, they just, and a lot of them, by the way, right now, they're just buying ranches and farms and just living off the land in the middle of nowhere, you know, in different states.   Yeah, I mean, and that's that's it. That's it. That's what they that's what they want to do right now. Get away from all the craziness. They kind of see that things are going to get wilder and crazier in the in coming months and the next couple of years. And they're like, I don't want to participate in this. I'm just going to buy a piece of land in the middle of nowhere and come back when this so when the dust settles. So, yeah, that's that's that's what that's what it means to me. It's it's something that I talk about a lot, too, that I'm pretty passionate about.   Because we are in a fight for it now too. You know, all over the world in many, many, many different ways. So my own little way, I try to, you know, help as many people as I can to get the financial park right. Because if you are financially independent and free, you know, you're not going to be forced into a corner or have your back to the wall and be forced to make decisions that are against your principles, your values, and what you believe in. You're going to tell   M.C Laubscher (47:18.466) people to go pound sand. So I want as many people to be in that position as possible.   man, that was an awesome answer, dude. Let's wrap it up, man. It's been awesome having you on the show. Where can our listeners find out more about you? Where can they get that new book? 21 Best Cash Flow Niches. Tell us all about it.   So cashflowninja.com is everything Cashflow Ninja and the book is called the 21 Best Cashflow Ninjas, Creating Wealth and the Best Alternative Cashflow Investments. It's available on Amazon or cashflowninja.com. And when your listeners purchase a copy of the book, just screenshot a proof of your purchase to my team at info at cashflowninja.com and I'll throw in some bonus goodies. I'll give you a digital version of the book if you wanna read it on Kindle.   A audio version of the book, if you just want to listen to it, driving in your car, working out or hanging out. I've actually curated a library of interviews specifically where people talk about these niches. You'll get access to that and more bonus goodies. So it's available on Amazon dot com, but also at cash learning dot com, you'll be able to buy the book. The twenty one best cash flow and it just creating wealth in the best alternative cash flow investments.   Awesome brother. Well, congratulations on the book launch and it's been awesome having you on the show again. I MC let's catch up soon.   M.C Laubscher (48:37.962) Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.   All right kiddos, MC Lobster, the cash flow ninja, drop in bombs. As always, he always comes up with all these new ideas, all these new ways to create cash flow and income outside of the box. We're not just talking about real estate. We're not just talking about stocks, bonds and mutual funds. We're talking about agriculture, life insurance contracts, all these different ways that you can create income for yourself. There's more than one way.   to create income that does not involve just lawyering, just doctoring, just engineering, just doing your, just creating your active daily, trading your time for money income. So at the end of the day, look, this is the major key. The major key is to get started. Again, I always say start out with a real estate syndication on the passive side because...   that will open your eyes to opportunities. That's what it did for me. When I started investing in commercial real estate to begin with, it was through a passive investment. And then I invested more and then I invested more. And then my network expanded and to people like MC who exposed my mind to ideas about other types of ways to get started in multiple streams of income. Then I bought into franchises, then I bought into crypto, then I bought into all these different things. But until you get started,   and you get this cashflow train moving, you're gonna be stuck. You're gonna be stuck at your day job with one stream of income, putting yourself and your family's financial future at risk. So I encourage you to just get started. So if you're ready to take action and partner with us on one of our next passive real estate deals, go to passiveincomeattorney.com, join our Esquire passive investor club and get started today. All right, kids, until next time, enjoy the journey.   M.C Laubscher (50:34.616) Thank you for listening to the Passive Income Attorney Podcast with Seth Bradley. Do you want more ideas on how to generate multiple streams of passive income? Then jump over to passiveincomeattorney.com for show notes and resources. Then apply for the private Facebook community by searching for the Passive Income Attorney on Facebook. And we'll see you on the next episode. Links from the Show and Guest Info and Links: Seth Bradley's Links: https://x.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.youtube.com/@sethbradleyesq www.facebook.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.threads.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.instagram.com/sethbradleyesq/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbradleyesq/ https://passiveincomeattorney.com/seth-bradley/ https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/sethbradleyesq https://medium.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.tiktok.com/@sethbradleyesq?lang=en M.C Laubscher's Link: https://cashflowninja.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Best-Cashflow-NichesTM-Alternative-Investments/dp/1737883414

Title: The Unconventional Investor: Why Following the Crowd is Costing You Millions With M.C. Laubscher Summary: In this episode of the Passive Income Attorney Podcast, host Seth Bradley welcomes back MC Lobster, a cashflow investor and entrepreneur. They discuss the importance of diversification in income streams, exploring various investment vehicles beyond traditional methods. MC shares insights from his journey from South Africa to the U.S., emphasizing the opportunities available for those willing to take action. The conversation covers innovative cashflow niches, including agriculture, energy, life settlements, and music royalties, as well as strategies for achieving financial freedom. MC highlights the mindset necessary for successful investing and the importance of accountability in personal and financial growth. Links to watch and subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II3UR8G3eWU Bullet Point Highlights: Mikkel Thorpe helps people relocate overseas and navigate tax issues. The expat lifestyle offers freedom and adventure beyond traditional living. Second residencies provide legal rights to live and work in another country. Tax benefits for U.S. citizens living abroad include the foreign earned income exclusion. Investing in real estate can provide both residency benefits and financial returns. Personal responsibility is crucial for achieving financial independence. Mikkel emphasizes the importance of emotional support during relocation. Countries like Panama offer favorable tax situations for expats. Understanding the legal obligations of living abroad is essential for compliance. Exploring different cultures can lead to personal growth and new opportunities. Transcript: Seth Bradley (00:10.572) What's going on y'all. Welcome back to a new episode of the Passive Income Attorney Podcast. Of course, your favorite place for learning about the world of alternative passive investing so that you can have more freedom, flexibility, and fun. Now, if you're ready to kick that billable out of the curb, start by going to attorneybydesign.com and download the Freedom Blueprint, which will also get you access to partner with us on one of our next passive real estate deals, which we'd love to have you on board for.   to help you on your journey to financial freedom. All right, today, let's talk about diversification in a particular way though. Let's talk about the different ways that you can make money. There are so many different ways. Unfortunately, for most of us, we have it in our heads that there's only one way. For my attorneys out there, well,   We just do our attorney thing and that's how we get paid. We have one stream of income, one active stream. Maybe we save for retirement through a 401k or we buy some stocks and bonds or play around on Robinhood or something like that. But we don't think about all the other ways that we can make money. If you've listened to my show before, I've had so many attorneys on here that have leveraged their knowledge, their background, their experience, their education as an attorney.   to catapult them in other aspects of life, in other avenues of business so that they can create multiple streams of income, whether that's through starting a side business, a side hustle, which eventually might become their full-time hustle or investing in real estate, both passively and or actively. There are so many different ways to make money, but there's more ways than just the things that we've talked about so far. There are so many different ways and there's no magic pill.   Right now we talk about syndications a lot on this show, but it's not a magic pill. I'm not preaching to you and telling you if you don't invest in a syndication or invest in syndications, then you're not going to become wealthy or that investing in real estate is the only way to become wealthy. It's not, it's a tried and proven way to become wealthy. And it's my favorite way and a lot of my guests favorite way, but it's not the only way.   Seth Bradley (02:30.814) And our guest today, MC Lobster, who is no stranger to this show. He's been on here before. He's actually our first repeat guest. but I love chatting with him. He's such a great guy. So knowledgeable. he is a true expert at this idea of diversification across so many different types of income that you can create for yourself. And he's on here on the show today, especially to talk about his new book, the 21 best cashflow niches, where we'll   jump into what some of those are. Some of these things you've probably never even heard about. We'll talk about life insurance contracts. We'll talk about agriculture, energy, of course, real estate and all of those things. But inside you, you'll get some new ideas about things that you never even thought you could invest in. MC Lobster is a cashflow investor and a serial entrepreneur. He's the creator and host of the top rated business and investing podcast, the cashflow Ninja.   which has been downloaded over 3 million times in over 180 countries. He's also the president and CEO of Producers Wealth, a virtual wealth creation firm that assists investors and business owners to set up and implement infinite banking. All right, without further ado, the one, the only MC Lobster, let's go. This is the Passive Income Attorney Podcast.   where you'll discover the secrets and strategies of the ultra wealthy on how they build streams of passive income to give them the freedom we all want. Attorney Seth Bradley will help you end the cycle of trading your time for money so you can make money while you sleep. Start living the good life on your own terms. Now, here's your host, Seth Bradley. MC Lobster, what's going on, brother? Welcome to the show.   Great to be back. Great to connect. Looking forward to our conversation.   Seth Bradley (04:25.71) Absolutely, man. You are my first repeat guest. So you have that honor. Awesome, man. Well, for our listeners that haven't heard you on the first episode, maybe just give a quick rundown of a little bit about your background and who you are and, you know, where you come from and all that kind of stuff,   Definitely honored.   M.C Laubscher (04:46.542) Yeah, originally from South Africa, came to the US in 2001 and just blown away with the opportunity in this in this country. I mean, there's literally no place with the upward mobility like the US. You can literally start here with absolutely nothing, which is what I did. Basically a backpack, a suitcase, five hundred bucks, sense of humor, sense of adventure. And I'm an entrepreneur investor. I've started several companies.   failed at a lot of them, they had a lot of success in some of them. I've been an investor since 2001 in real estate. And I have a couple of companies, people know me for the Cash Loan Ninja, which is a podcast that I started six years ago, which has turned into a full blown financial education company. We have podcasts, tools, resources, programs, and now books. And then also,   know, I have a company called Producers Wealth. We help folks all across the United States. In 49 states, set up infinite banking, a cashflow management strategy utilizing an insurance product. And then I also have a company where we do a lot of syndications in the resort and multifamily space called Producers Capital Partners. But I love cashflow. I love talking about cashflow, creating it.   positioning it efficiently and managing it and then multiplying it. So everything cashflow gets me excited.   Is that all you got going on, man?   M.C Laubscher (06:20.8) You know, throw throw throw a family that's very active and love to do stuff in there. I've got a beautiful wife and two young kids to all one for an off and three boy and a girl. So you can just imagine the energy there. So a full time job almost by itself, right?   That's   All right. Yeah. So many hours in the day, man. I don't know how you do it. I know how you do it. I love what you said about upward mobility, man. And I think we take that for granted in the US. So how is that different in other countries for us? don't even think about that sort of thing.   Yeah, so I grew up in South Africa and then I was fortunate enough, I traveled to a number of African countries and then I also traveled to a number of European countries, Latin American countries and Asian countries. And I don't think people realize, like if you're born in the United States, you literally won a lottery ticket. I it's I don't know how else to say it. When I got here, I looked at this and I'm like, wait a second. So there's not really like you could, mean,   You just bring your game, you start where you're at and the sky's the limit where, you know, it's very tough in certain countries. Let's just use Africa as an example, you know, in South Africa, the lack of infrastructure, supportive infrastructure for somebody starting there and maybe folks from other countries can relate like in Brazil is probably the same, a of Latin American countries that don't have the same infrastructure that's in the States. So let's just say you are,   M.C Laubscher (07:53.614) you're born on the lowest economic rung. That happens to folks, right? If you're born in the United States, well, you still have access to stuff. You could go to a library, jump on a computer, learn skills, there's public schools. When you're born in a shanty town in South Africa or in a favela in Brazil, you don't have the same access. And also when you come here, literally,   I mean, you look at all the rags to reach the stories and, funnily enough, a lot of it is immigrants. You see it, a lot of immigrants rise to the top because most of them, whether they're from Africa, the Middle East, Eastern European countries, Latin America, that's kind of what they experienced too. And I've had conversations with them too where they're like, man, you could do anything you want to here. There's nothing holding you back.   and the sky is limit. It's not even the limit. You could go to space if you want like Elon. no, it's an incredible place. It still is. We live in an incredible time in the US is an incredible country, where, you know, it's all what you make of it, and all how you approach it, right?   Yeah, for sure. mean, it's kind of like, the access to information, the access to technology, the access to education. I know that's kind of a, you know, we fight about that all the time, but we have access to those things up to a certain point for free. Whereas other places do not have that access to information, technology, education. And that in itself gives you power. Knowledge is power. It's not just a saying.   Yeah, think think about the time that we live in. Who is it? Who is in Star Trek? Was it like Buck Rogers or Captain Kirk? Was Captain Kirk the guy? So, I mean, I still remember and we had very little TV. I grew up inside everywhere. We had like two TV channels, but one of them had like Star Trek episodes on. And I still remember like he would press a button and talk to someone on the telly on like a like a television screen.   M.C Laubscher (10:01.082) and I always saw, man, that's, that's, it's so cool. They're not even the same galaxy at that stage, but they're talking to one another. I like they're in the same room. We have access to that. And for most part, it's free. We have like access to star Trek technology in the time that we live in for base, for, most, for the most part, it's free. So you have a smartphone and.   you have some service or an internet connection, you're good to go. yeah, and again, the technology, which, you know, it's the frenemy. It's your friend and it's the enemy. It's a frenemy. But for the most part, if you approach it right and utilize it right, now a lot of the opportunities, when I came here in about 2001,   It was just around the internet kind of boom. So most people didn't really know what was happening there yet, but now everybody's in it. and all over the world. So a lot of the opportunity that only existed in the U.S. then too, are now available in other areas for folks to start online businesses and that kind of stuff globally. You know, to bring it back with Africa, I see on my last visit, and it's been a while ago, but I just remember seeing folks walking around with smartphones and that's all they transected bank.   They do everything on their smartphones. They have SIM cards and they buy like airtime. And I'm like, man, what you could do with a smartphone these days. It's quite incredible. So it's starting to open up in other places. yeah, you know, it's quite, we live in remarkable times and sometimes I don't think we appreciate it because we're so used to it. It's like, man, why is my internet taking so long to get on? I'm like, does anybody remember dial-up?   You know, it's like. Yeah, it will dial up, man. It's like, yeah, if we click on a link on our phone or click on a link on our computer and it takes more than like, you know, a snap, we're just like, what is going on? This is ridiculous. I can't get anything done. like, well, what did you get done when you didn't have that?   M.C Laubscher (12:09.986) Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. As like I said, before I came to the States, I remember we had dial up and I would add to download emails. So you would start at dial up and you would basically hit start for your emails to download and you would go and grab a cup of coffee and do whatever you have to do. And like 20, 30 minutes later, your emails would have been downloaded. That's so now it's, it's like this and everything moves quicker, right? So you can, you can disrupt slow, archaic,   markets in any asset class really, really quickly with technology and boy, there's some dinosaurs, especially in the markets that we were operating, real estate being one of them. And I'm in insurance too, mean, both very, very big dinosaurs that's ready for disruption.   Yeah. Yeah. So let's talk about some of those things that you invest in. know you're pretty famous for infinite banking and also in commercial real estate. mean, what are some of the things that, are some of the best vehicles to invest in that you're seeing today and how has that maybe changed recently? I, and I asked that because there's a lot of people out there, you know, they'll listen to one podcast, right? And it'll just be like, you have to do this. If you don't do this one thing, if you don't take this one magic pill,   You're never going to be able to retire, achieve financial freedom, but we all know that that's not true. Hopefully we all know that, but what are, what are some of the investment vehicles that you love and why?   Yeah, I love what you just said. It's the maximalist approach, right? It's because I made my money in single family real estate that that's the only way to do it or multifamily or so. And that's why my show is to just get as many different ideas in business and real estate and commodities, paper assets. We covered crypto and blockchain since 2016, as I thought was was pretty exciting then. Now it's like out of control. But   M.C Laubscher (14:07.562) Actually, this ties into one of the reasons why I wrote my latest book, because most people would say, MC, you've interviewed like the best minds of business and investing and all these different opinions on your show, which was very funny in the beginning because we're so used to echo chambers. You know, I didn't want an echo chamber. So I would have someone on, for example, that hates Bitcoin. And then was someone on that loves it. And that's the only thing. And people are like, I don't understand. I'm like, yeah, you have to you're both sides of the argument.   and then to make a decision. But yeah, I wrote the 21 base cashflow niches, the book where I share, you know, the top 21 that's been shared on my show and I threw in five bonus ones there, but you know, as a marketer, 26 doesn't set as well as 21, right? It's funny how psychology works. Seven's good, 10, 20, 21. And then you gotta go to 50, I guess, or 100 off to that, right?   But anyway, 21 is what I used for the name of the book. Yeah, I mean, there's incredible niches that I don't think people think about. When you invest too, you know, this is just what I've done and I just share what I do. I eat my own cooking without throwing up. But what I initially did when I built the cashflow portfolio is I was very clear on what I was trying to accomplish with each investment. So what do I mean by that? So some investments you're going to buy,   that's going to be tax favorable, right? A little bit of light on the cash flow maybe, good on appreciation or a little bit light there, but really good on taxes. Then there's certain investments that's very strong on cash flow, okay on the taxes and good on appreciation. And then there's some that's purely on appreciation, okay on taxes and okay on cash flow, but it's really driven by the appreciation. And then there's some that   that's really good on all three. Knocks out a ton of taxes, great cash flow and appreciation like real estate is one of those assets that does that. So you have to be very clear when you build out a portfolio and I would advise just this is what I'm doing in the time that we're living in today that you have diversified income streams within a cashflow portfolio because we're living, mean, again, during times of great change   M.C Laubscher (16:29.25) There's going to be disruption. There's going to be chaos. You don't want to be in one. You don't want to put all of your eggs just in one basket. And that's you know, that's the horse that's going to win you the Kentucky Derby. You got to have a stable of horses and have many access to many different income streams. So what are some of the what are some of the coolest ones that I've seen? There are some some, know, if you're looking for taxes, there's some great plays and energy, great plays.   Disclaimer, not a tax accountant or CPA, but when you invest oil and gas, different energy projects, there's a very, very, very good tax incentives from a strong cash flow and so forth. So that's a great tax strategy, by the way, to offset active income, not just only passive income. If you do it properly and you're investing in it. And by the way, in case anybody hasn't checked energy prices.   It's just skyrocket. Try and put gas in wherever you are right now. So energy prices has a great appreciation with inflation, great cash flow and great taxes. the tax play is really good with that one. Then, of course, mean, different types of real estate. But one thing that I would share that was very interesting when I was writing this book is kind of reflecting on the years of and I've done this six years and all the people that I've interviewed. But one thing was very interesting.   So agricultural, the market is big. There's many different things in agriculture. And that's where a lot of folks obviously invest farmland, livestock, produce, that kind of stuff. What I found just fascinating was the portfolio allocations of some of the wealthiest people on this planet in timber, more specifically tea.   And I'm like, wait a second, because I've some friends that work in family offices, too. So when I came across this, I reached out to them and I'm like, I see like, is there a lot of like the some of the families that are working with you invested in this asset class? And they're like, yeah, it's in all of our portfolios. And I'm like, that is fascinating. So teak, which is in the timber category is is there. And then I started looking into this. And it's like institutional companies are buying this hedge funds.   M.C Laubscher (18:58.594) family offices, like Ted Turner is one of the largest investors. And I looked into this and I'm like, why? And then of course, you reach the conclusion that what happens in agriculture, trees grow, they grew five years ago, they're gonna grow five years from now, they're gonna grow 20 to 25 years from now, they're just gonna do what they do if they're in the right climate, in the right country.   And so forth, so it provides stability to a portfolio. So it's a long term play. It's not a get rich quick scheme. Anybody that's in agriculture that has ever invested in that space knows that this is not a Bitcoin where you buy something and the next day it doubles. It's I mean, it's literally you have to hand it over to God. It's nature. It's going to take time to grow before you harvest. And when you harvest, obviously.   you're going to generate some cash flow from it. But I thought that was fascinating that how they build their portfolio there, they have to have things in there that stabilize it. Obviously, it's very big on real estate. There's a lot of energy plays on there. There's a lot of that in there. Another great asset class that can stabilize the portfolio, which I'm personally an investor in too, is life settlements.   And a lot of folks that say, is what is life settlement? So you can actually sell life insurance contracts just like you would sell real estate notes. So why would somebody sell a life insurance contract? Well, there are some folks that, like most Americans, have all their wealth in their homes and in a 401k. And that's it. No diversification. what happened in 2008, 2009? Well.   They were in retirement already and maybe lost the majority of the equity of the value of their house. They got clobbered in their stock portfolio and their retirement accounts. And now they're out of money basically. So what do you do? And now because of the stress, there's an illness too. So you can sell and you realize, I have a life insurance policy that I could sell to an investor. And then obviously the investor can, and this is being underwritten of course, an agent and so forth.   M.C Laubscher (21:21.804) But they have a life insurance policy that they can sell and live out the remainder of their life comfortably. So there's a win-win on both sides of it. I'll give an example. Let's just say you have a million dollar death benefit and a life insurance policy, and you have like $50,000 in cash value. And you're in a very bad situation like these folks are that I just told you. Well, you could go.   to a live settlement company at that stage, if you qualify, not all of them of course qualify, it has to be under underwritten to make sense for an investor to buy that. But let's just say you could get four to five times the amount that you have some, even if you're getting $200,000, $250,000 in cash, the investor would then pay for that. And then now they own the life insurance policy. So eventually when   when the seller then passes away, then obviously the proceeds gets paid out to the investor. So they got money to live out the remainder of their life comfortably. The other folks then obviously got a return on the investment that they made. And there's pools of this, there's funds, it's a security. So there's a lot of undesirable, just disclaimer and I was warned about all this stuff is there's undesirable.   characters in every industry. And as you can imagine, there's probably a lot in that space. Just be aware that if it's in a fund, which is the best way to do it, because you can diversify over a large number of policies and utilize the law of large numbers like insurance companies, it is a security. So there are security laws that apply to all those things. it's essentially for accredited investors that have access to this.   Institutions, they just buy tons of policies on their own. Life insurance companies buy policies from other. They buy policies from other insurers to have on their books as a hedge. Folks like Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, shocker, he's a big investor in that kind of stuff, too. But yeah, it's a very interesting asset class. And again, with the teak, what does it provide?   M.C Laubscher (23:37.87) Well, it provides stability because you're essentially buying your equity upfront. So the only factor is time, which will impact your return, obviously, right? So you could get a very nice return on that, which you kind of know when you buy it, sort of the equity that you have in that policy. And then with Teak, I mean, it stabilizes a portfolio. So between the two of those great plays, settlements, not as much cash flow heavy, but great upside potential appreciation.   So that was the main driver of that, but it stabilizes portfolios. So there's some interesting stuff that I've seen, but those are, you know, I figured I wanted to share some of the stuff that can stabilize a portfolio too, especially during times of craziness where it's not just speculative kind of place.   Yeah, that's fascinating, man. There's so many different things that you've invested in and that there are just to invest in in general and people just don't know about it, right? They get stuck in that, that 401k stocks and bonds bubble. And they think that that's just the only way to invest. And that's why sometimes I'll say, just get into a passive real estate deal, right? Not just because that's the only way to invest, but once you do it once you kind of surround yourself with those types of people that are looking at alternative investments. And then you start your mind just kind of opens up to   all these different things in agriculture, in energy, in, you know, all of those things that you just mentioned that are out there to invest in. And you just start seeing all these opportunities just around you. And then you can kind of start diversifying away from that.   Yeah, you know what another one is, and I cover this in the book too, which would be interesting for your folks at the time that we live in. You know, we had the whole Joe Rogan thing, the Joe Rogan experience controversy, and we had these folks that wanted to pull their music off Spotify. So some folks, if they actually read the story, might have grasped how that side of the business works. But essentially, you can invest in music royalties. And that's another niche on the book, which someone shared on my show.   M.C Laubscher (25:39.118) a couple of years ago, which I found was fascinating. Now, a musician can sell a portion or all of the royalties on their music to an investor. And that's essentially what happened to a lot of those folks that wanted to leave Spotify. They don't even own their royalties or all of it, maybe a small portion or a part of it, but corporations do. They own their music royalties.   So every single time a song gets played somewhere or is used in a movie or something, royalties are paid on that and the investor collects cashflow. Now, do we listen to music when markets crash? Yeah. Do we listen to music when markets boom? Yeah. We always listen to music, you know, whether it's good or bad times. So it's another, it's another interesting aspect of, of that. Now, why would a musician sell their royalties?   And this is fascinating because that side of the business and my brother, my brother is a musician too. So I learned a little bit of that, that side of it and had an insight of that, but why would they sell a portion or all of it? So maybe they need to fund the next album and they don't have a record label backing that. And maybe they just want to do it themselves or, you know, for them to raise money for the next project would be, would be one example of that. So, and of course, if there's   partial ownership of royalties. It's actually the best way to do that because otherwise the musician doesn't have incentives to keep promoting those songs. Right. So you almost want to go like 50 50 with someone to make sure like they've got skin in the game to still promote their albums and the songs and play them at concerts and all that kind of stuff. Otherwise, they're not really going to care because they don't own the rights or the royalties to that music anymore.   So it's fascinating. There's a whole exchange, as you can invest like an investor, but there's so many ways to do it. There's so many ways. see to your point, I see people argue all the time. This one's better, this one's better, this one. I'm like, you can make, it's incredible to see the ways that people can make money and become successful. There's so many ways to do it.   Seth Bradley (27:53.698) Yeah. Are there any, I know you went through quite a few there and I want to give the entire book away, but are there, is there another like really surprising one that kind of stands out in that book where somebody's going to read and they're like, what? That's crazy.   Yeah, I throw in there a different angle on crypto. So I share a strategy in there. I share a crypto strategy and then I share an angle of how to look at it as an investor because most people think cryptocurrency and blockchain and they go, oh, I just buy Bitcoin and it goes up 20 fold and now I'm a millionaire or a doggy coin and I'll be fine.   But there's actually that's very speculative, obviously, and you're a speculator. What the folks, the absolute cash flow ninjas have done is they have approached this as investors in the space. So they have followed what I call the California gold rush strategy. So they looked at this and said, wow, all right, there's gold found in California and San Francisco in that area.   Instead of going to mine or dig or pan for gold, I'm going to be the person selling the shovels, the picks, the equipment. I'm going to be the person selling the clothes like Levi Strauss. I'm going to be the person there that has provides housing, hotels, bars, restaurants, entertainment, brothels, whatever floats your boat. And I'm going to be the person that offers financial services like Wells Fargo.   You take a different strategic approach of investing. So you actually go in as an investor and say, like in the crypto and blockchain space, I'll give you some examples. The folks that have absolutely made a fortune in this space. Yeah, they had some Bitcoin. Yeah, they were early investors in Bitcoin and Ethereum. But guess what? They were early investors in exchanges. You know, I actually was in the Bauschman group of one of the first investors in Coinbase, which is now   M.C Laubscher (29:59.714) They went public. I think he did pretty well. The same with Kraken. He's also one of the earliest investors in Kraken. So he's on exchange. So the same with music. Do you think a lot of people trade crypto when the markets are going up? Absolutely. A lot of people are chasing the pump. Do you think there's a lot of activity on an exchange when crypto wets the bed and corrects? Absolutely. There's a panic selling going on.   Markets go up, down and sideways. They make money regardless. So that's one way of doing it. But think of other things, right? You know, in the cannabis space, everything was like, if you're a lawyer, I mean, you would never run out of work. If you are a tax accountant, you would never run out of work in that space. The same with crypto. So there's so many legal things happening there. And think about estate plans.   You have coins. How are you planning on transferring that to your children or your grandchildren? How does that work? Nobody's figured that out. There's companies that have been started in that space to address that problem. And you could be an investor in that company. How about taxes? You think they're coming off the taxes in crypto? You think if you're investing in a very, very good tax firm globally or locally and so forth that specializes in crypto, you're going to lose money?   going to be busier than ever. So it's a different kind of angle that you're coming in as an investor in the space, less sexy. I prefer it that way, cash flow, taxes, you're a business owner, that kind of stuff. But it's not the Elon Musk doggy coin kind of style that you're investing in the space. It's a little bit more strategic.   Right. Yeah, I love that, man. And you can use that, you know, that strategy across different industries. Like you said, you know, you're, selling, you're selling the picks and the, and the pans for the gold rushers. You're, selling the tools rather than actually going and trying to find the gold. And those are the people that actually got rich during the gold rush, right? People that sold the tool. So just think about, you know, any hot industry that way, like, what can I do? That's kind of that ancillary angle rather than the direct angle. And that could be the   Seth Bradley (32:18.03) the better investment.   Yeah, it's almost like I interviewed Jim Rogers a couple of times on my show and he's very comical, legendary investor. And he always said to me, know, when I asked him about how, how we like some of the big hits that he had and some of his best investments, he said, MC, it's quite simple. All I do is I sit and I just wait until people, the money is just lying on the floor. And then I go and pick up the money. That's all I do.   So and then I asked him about, all right, what is that? What is how does that relate to it? And it's like when you see something that's a no brainer that everybody else is seeing. I mean, like, for example, the legal side and the taxes and crypto kind of a no brainer. Not a lot of people are thinking about it. It was the same way in cannabis, too, where everybody wanted to invest in a farm or a farmer or dispensary or a distribution and all this stuff.   and deal with all the headaches of the federal government and the local government, you could have been the lawyer starting a legal firm dealing with those headaches for them. You would never run out of work and you could probably charge much, much more. And it's the same thing with the tax thing. So that, in my opinion, was it's just that money lying on the floor waiting to be picked up as an investor.   Yeah, perfect man. Nailed it. one last gold nugget before we jump into the freedom for   M.C Laubscher (33:48.362) Absolutely. Yeah, so I would say the big thing is you have to be very, very specific, obviously, why you're doing what you're doing, what you have and why you have it and what it's doing for you from a strategy. And then that's how you build your cashflow portfolio. But don't forget about the other stuff in your economy. There's a way to make your money as efficiently as possible. There's a way to position it.   And then there's a way to invest in this portfolio. And then there's a way to protect all of us with proper asset protection, with proper estate planning and with proper tax strategy. So most folks don't even think about the estate planning, the asset protection and the tax strategy. You're going to wish you have in five years. This will be a sound bite that that you can keep. You're going to wish you have thought about these things and not just on the shiny stuff.   I know because I've made all of those mistakes. I became a much better business owner investor when I started to put it all together and just didn't chase shiny stuff or had tunnel vision.   Yeah. Awesome, man. All right. Let's jump into the freedom for we're to mix it up a little bit because you've already been on the show once.   It's time for the Freedom Four.   Seth Bradley (35:09.422) So what does your morning routine look like?   You know, it varies since I have two very young kids, but there's one, but there's two things that are consistent. So I make sure that I go for a walk 45 minutes to an hour. And I do spend an hour thinking. It's a habit that I've developed over time and that I learned from Keith Cunningham. So he just calls it thinking time. We don't think because it's the hardest thing to do as Andrew Ford would always say,   So I make sure that I block everything off. No computers, no smartphones, nothing, just me and a pad. And I write down, I have certain frameworks I use to analyze things and help me think through things, looking at the dangers that are out there, the opportunities and how I can capitalize on a lot of the stuff. that's, I mean, that's definitely, that's in my morning. The other stuff, it varies because they got two young ones, but those two things are consistent. So.   clear my mind with a walk, get some exercise in, and then thinking for an hour.   Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes we, have these ideal morning routines put together, but it, know, especially when you have kids and you have all these different variables, that's not always possible, but you know, there are a couple of things that you definitely need to carve out and just make sure you do every single day. All right. With all your success, what is one limiting belief that you've crushed along the way and how did you get past it?   M.C Laubscher (36:40.63) I do it every day and limiting beliefs in the sense of, people talk about the mindset of abundance, you know, and having an abundant mindset, you know, and I intentionally move every single day when I get up, there are some certain elements of scarcity and I transform that into abundance and I do it intentionally. It's actually part of thinking time. You know, I've listened to all the gurus, I get all that.   But I don't wake up in the morning and go, yeah, this is going to be great. Every every person wakes up. This is just how we were built. If we weren't built this way, we wouldn't have survived. So we get up and we scan our environment and we start kind of not in a fearful fear isn't the right word, but it's kind of like fight or flight situation. Like I said, if you're not built that if you weren't built that way, you wouldn't be alive right now. We wouldn't be as a specie.   because otherwise we would have probably the saber-toothed tiger would have probably gotten us. So we were built that way. So I do it intentionally to transform from whatever elements it is of scarcity into abundance. And by doing that and doing that every single day intentionally, it changes your whole day. then you don't have any bad days. So I don't get up drumming my chest saying everything is perfect and rosy and rainbows and unicorns.   I understand that there are certain things that I've got to work out kinks and I have frameworks to do that. And I just make sure that I do it every single day. So overcoming limiting beliefs, we all have some of them. think like the, mean, the biggest one, there are some things like, the biggest one that I've ever came lightly and this is probably over the last three years is,   You know, Dan Sullivan, which is one of my coaches, a strategic coach said, you need to work less and make more money. And I'm like, I don't know how to do I know what's what's the catch here? Yeah. So that was a limiting belief. then I'm like, wait a second, does he have a superpower that I don't have? But then I started to realize that you could structure your day and then have proper systems and processes in place. And that I work four days a week now when I started as an entrepreneur, it was   M.C Laubscher (39:05.866) seven days a week, 10 to 12 hours. Now I work four days a week and it's probably seven to eight hours at most because I have those systems and processes in place. it was, mean, yeah, talk about a limiting belief right there. It was something that I to work out and figure out.   Yeah. Yeah. And it's counterintuitive, right? It's like, wait, work less and make more. That's not how it works. That's not how I was taught growing up. That's not how it works.   It's everything, everything against what you were have been taught in school, right? So it's almost like you have to break down core foundational beliefs and a mindset. You have to double down on that. It's like when Labeque Saki said he makes more money every year and pays less in taxes. When you first hear that and you read the book, you're like, well, how does that, how does that work? So again, beliefs that have to change and then your mindset and then you   learn the game of money and you're like, yeah, that is that's what they do. This is what the castle and then just do they make more money every year, they pay less in taxes, actually get money back from the government, legally, and they work less and then and they make more money.   Yeah, exactly. I had Tom Willwright on the show last month and he said the same thing. That was the his big quote was, you know, the wealthier you get, the less taxes you pay. It's like what? Yeah, but it's 100 percent true, 100 percent true. What do you believe separates successful people like yourself who have taken action and taken control of their life and their own economy from those who get stuck in the nine to five, never take action and maybe never get started with cash flow?   M.C Laubscher (40:50.57) I own all of my outcomes. And I think that's the biggest difference between a lot of folks and people that achieve certain levels of success. I don't blame anyone. Everything that happens is because of me. So even if there is something nefarious done to you, I shouldn't have put myself in that position and I should have seen it coming. So it's my responsibility, not anybody else's.   So I take responsibility for everything that I've done in my past, my present, my future. I own everything. So I was stuck for a while in a deep dark place. We're talking now like 10, 12 years ago and I wasn't going anywhere at that stage. And that was the one switch that I made and I've never looked back since, you know? So I own everything. The good, the bad and the ugly.   Yeah, I love that more than you know, man. Accountability is my number one principle in everything in business and life. Even again, if you if you know inside that maybe it was somebody else's fault, it still doesn't matter. You say, well, what could I have done to change it and to make it better? What could I have done differently? Take accountability for it. Don't blame other people.   Yeah, there's a person that I follow that I was very honored to meet in person, Tim Grover. And he's the guy behind Michael Jordan. mean, he's Michael Jordan's coach, Kobe's coach, know, Dwayne Wade. And he was actually, it's funny that I just saw that he actually worked with the Rams over the past month too, during that. And he's just, I mean, quite incredible because he literally gets you into   This is how a champion thinks. This is what's going in their mind. This is how they're wired. And those folks, mean, it's just so interesting to see. Even if folks don't win, listen to what Tom Brady said, by the way, in his playoff loss before he retired. Where they're like, you you didn't get the ball back and you didn't have another shot. basically you thought you were going into overtime, but then that final play that the Rams got you and he's like,   M.C Laubscher (43:12.386) I shouldn't we shouldn't have been in that situation. I shouldn't have put my team in that situation in the first place. So that's all they think. That's all those folks think. And I know it's sports, but there's so much between sports, obviously, and and business and investing. So you look at the mind of a champion in any industry in any part of part of life. And that's all those folks think, whether it's a whether it's sports, it's a business, a marriage, investments, you know, they own it.   That on the outcomes.   Yeah, for sure. I'm listening to Winning right now, his book on Audible. it's great so far. All right. Last but not least, what does financial freedom mean to you?   You know, freedom is is a is it's it's we're living during interesting times. It's funny how freedom is is being spun. You know, I'm one of those folks that. Nobody grants you freedom, no one. You just you just take it, you're born free and you take it. You know, you can't you can't negotiate it, you can't vote for it, you can't beg for it, you can't plead for it, you just take it.   And you do that by taking action. So financial freedom and the same thing is no one no one's going to give it to you. And you're just going to have to go out and take it. And in the sense is what freedom means to me is having freedom of time, how I spend my time, what I do, having freedom of money. I do things and I spend my time how money no longer becomes a reason why and why I'm not doing something.   M.C Laubscher (44:55.126) relationships, having freedom of relationships. doing cool things with people that I like to do things with and hanging out with people that I want to hang out with. So I don't have to hang out with someone just to hang out with someone. That's what freedom means. then obviously purpose, know, purpose is, yeah, the freedom to pursue what you want to pursue, the stuff that you want to work on, the stuff that you're passionate about.   So you don't do things just to do things and you have to get there by the way, you know, if you if you see all the things that I've had to do to get to the part where I just do stuff that I want to do. It's been a long road. It didn't start with that, but that should be the goal in the end. So we all have to do things that we don't like to do and some way or shape or form. But essentially, when you get to financial freedom, you can just focus on the things that you want to do that you're passionate about, whatever they are. If it's   doing cool things with cool people and cool places. If it's spending time supporting your charities and your church and so forth and being actively involved with that. There's folks that I know that are very wealthy that, mean, they just, and a lot of them, by the way, right now, they're just buying ranches and farms and just living off the land in the middle of nowhere, you know, in different states.   Yeah, I mean, and that's that's it. That's it. That's what they that's what they want to do right now. Get away from all the craziness. They kind of see that things are going to get wilder and crazier in the in coming months and the next couple of years. And they're like, I don't want to participate in this. I'm just going to buy a piece of land in the middle of nowhere and come back when this so when the dust settles. So, yeah, that's that's that's what that's what it means to me. It's it's something that I talk about a lot, too, that I'm pretty passionate about.   Because we are in a fight for it now too. You know, all over the world in many, many, many different ways. So my own little way, I try to, you know, help as many people as I can to get the financial park right. Because if you are financially independent and free, you know, you're not going to be forced into a corner or have your back to the wall and be forced to make decisions that are against your principles, your values, and what you believe in. You're going to tell   M.C Laubscher (47:18.466) people to go pound sand. So I want as many people to be in that position as possible.   man, that was an awesome answer, dude. Let's wrap it up, man. It's been awesome having you on the show. Where can our listeners find out more about you? Where can they get that new book? 21 Best Cash Flow Niches. Tell us all about it.   So cashflowninja.com is everything Cashflow Ninja and the book is called the 21 Best Cashflow Ninjas, Creating Wealth and the Best Alternative Cashflow Investments. It's available on Amazon or cashflowninja.com. And when your listeners purchase a copy of the book, just screenshot a proof of your purchase to my team at info at cashflowninja.com and I'll throw in some bonus goodies. I'll give you a digital version of the book if you wanna read it on Kindle.   A audio version of the book, if you just want to listen to it, driving in your car, working out or hanging out. I've actually curated a library of interviews specifically where people talk about these niches. You'll get access to that and more bonus goodies. So it's available on Amazon dot com, but also at cash learning dot com, you'll be able to buy the book. The twenty one best cash flow and it just creating wealth in the best alternative cash flow investments.   Awesome brother. Well, congratulations on the book launch and it's been awesome having you on the show again. I MC let's catch up soon.   M.C Laubscher (48:37.962) Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.   All right kiddos, MC Lobster, the cash flow ninja, drop in bombs. As always, he always comes up with all these new ideas, all these new ways to create cash flow and income outside of the box. We're not just talking about real estate. We're not just talking about stocks, bonds and mutual funds. We're talking about agriculture, life insurance contracts, all these different ways that you can create income for yourself. There's more than one way.   to create income that does not involve just lawyering, just doctoring, just engineering, just doing your, just creating your active daily, trading your time for money income. So at the end of the day, look, this is the major key. The major key is to get started. Again, I always say start out with a real estate syndication on the passive side because...   that will open your eyes to opportunities. That's what it did for me. When I started investing in commercial real estate to begin with, it was through a passive investment. And then I invested more and then I invested more. And then my network expanded and to people like MC who exposed my mind to ideas about other types of ways to get started in multiple streams of income. Then I bought into franchises, then I bought into crypto, then I bought into all these different things. But until you get started,   and you get this cashflow train moving, you're gonna be stuck. You're gonna be stuck at your day job with one stream of income, putting yourself and your family's financial future at risk. So I encourage you to just get started. So if you're ready to take action and partner with us on one of our next passive real estate deals, go to passiveincomeattorney.com, join our Esquire passive investor club and get started today. All right, kids, until next time, enjoy the journey.   M.C Laubscher (50:34.616) Thank you for listening to the Passive Income Attorney Podcast with Seth Bradley. Do you want more ideas on how to generate multiple streams of passive income? Then jump over to passiveincomeattorney.com for show notes and resources. Then apply for the private Facebook community by searching for the Passive Income Attorney on Facebook. And we'll see you on the next episode. Links from the Show and Guest Info and Links: Seth Bradley's Links: https://x.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.youtube.com/@sethbradleyesq www.facebook.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.threads.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.instagram.com/sethbradleyesq/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbradleyesq/ https://passiveincomeattorney.com/seth-bradley/ https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/sethbradleyesq https://medium.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.tiktok.com/@sethbradleyesq?lang=en M.C Laubscher's Link: https://cashflowninja.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Best-Cashflow-NichesTM-Alternative-Investments/dp/1737883414

On this episode of Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different, we sit down with marketing royalty Laura Ries, the daughter of Al Ries and Chairwoman of RIES, to unpack what makes for truly powerful brand building. The discussion, sparked by American Eagle's controversial Sydney Sweeney campaign, offers a masterclass in cutting through the noise and making brands that dominate for decades, not just news cycles. In a world obsessed with fleeting attention spans, viral TikToks, and celebrity partnerships, the rules for building a lasting brand have never been more confusing, or more misunderstood. When “attention” has become the trending currency, too many marketers forget the fundamental principles that separate overnight sensations from category-defining legends. You're listening to Christopher Lochhead: Follow Your Different. We are the real dialogue podcast for people with a different mind. So get your mind in a different place, and hey ho, let's go. Chasing Attention Versus Owning a Strategic Position Laura Ries doesn't mince words. Right from the start, she asks, “Are we just going out for attention's sake?” In the American Eagle campaign, the retailer had Sydney Sweeney, a star adored by a young demographic. front and center with the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” The resulting hullabaloo proved attention-grabbing, but Laura and Christopher quickly zero in on the flaw: it was a win for Sweeney's personal brand, maybe the category of jeans, but not for American Eagle. Compare this to the iconic Brooke Shields for Calvin Klein moment, seared into pop culture by its taboo-breaking line: “Nothing comes between me and my Calvins.” Everyone still remembers it. And Shields herself, now in her 50s and 60s, gets asked about it to this day. Why did it stick when so many celebrity-driven campaigns fade fast? Laura argues the difference is clear: Calvin Klein tied a provocative moment to a real, ownable positioning idea. It wasn't just attention; it was differentiation, and it transformed the brand. The Leader, the Challenger, and the Power of Contrasts Christopher then adds, “The category king of jeans is Levi Strauss”. If you're not the leader, you can't just market the category; you must establish a well-defined, opposite position. Calvin Klein's campaign worked because it created a contrast in the market: there's an implied competitor, a reason to choose Calvin's over everything else. American Eagle, on the other hand, failed to anchor its campaign in any clear difference or strategic enemy. Christopher asks, “If you're American Eagle, what the fuck are you doing?” To this, they both agree: at the very least, American Eagle, given its patriotic name, should have leaned into American-made authenticity rather than a generic celebrity endorsement disconnected from any unique brand promise. Category Design: The True Differentiator Brands like Dude Wipes and Liquid Death exemplify the playbook for building new categories, and thus, legendary brands. Dude Wipes didn't invent wipes, just as Liquid Death didn't invent water. But they staked out a radically different, memorable position: “Dude” wipes for men, and canned water that resembles a beer or energy drink and brands itself as death to plastics. This isn't attention for attention's sake; it's strategic, memorable, and deeply anchored to a big idea: a core enemy, a new experience, a bold promise. To hear more from Laura Ries and her thoughts on why virality isn't enough to build a legendary brand, download and listen to this episode. Bio Laura Ries is a leading marketing strategist, best-selling author, and global keynote speaker. She is the co-author of several influential books on branding, including The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding and The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR written with her late father and legendary positioning pioneer, Al Ries. Her new book The Strategic Enemy: How to Build & Position a Brand Worth Fighting For will be published in S...

In this episode of Lead From Within, Dr. Nick Taylor sits down with Tracy Layney, global HR leader and former Chief Human Resources Officer at Levi Strauss. Tracy reflects on her journey from aspiring ballet dancer to guiding large-scale HR transformations. Together, they explore the evolving role of HR, why mental health matters at work, and how AI could shape the future workplace. It's a conversation about leadership, empathy, and what it takes to build workplaces where people and businesses – thrive.Former Levi Strauss CHRO Tracy Layney shares why so many companies call talent their greatest asset but fail to treat it that way, how burnout reshapes leaders, and why empathy is essential for navigating disruption.

Levi Strauss didn't dig for gold—he built something even better. In this episode, kids will learn how Levi used smart thinking, frugality, and hard work to grow a tiny dry goods business into one of the most famous clothing companies in the world.

This week Ariel welcomes Anna Brockway, co-founder and president of Chairish, the premier online marketplace for exceptional home furnishings, art, and jewelry. Since launching Chairish in 2013—alongside her co-founders, including her husband—Anna has transformed the way designers and tastemakers source one-of-a-kind pieces for the home.With a background in Art History from Columbia University and a successful career in fashion, culminating as VP of Worldwide Marketing at Levi Strauss & Co., Anna brings a unique creative and entrepreneurial vision to the design world. Under her leadership, Chairish has grown to offer over 1.2 million vintage, antique, and contemporary products, serving a global community of design professionals and aficionados.Join Ariel and Anna as they dive into the story behind Chairish's success, the evolution of online design shopping, and why this platform has been named the “#1 can't live without decorating app” by Architectural Digest.—Shop now at Chairish: https://www.chairish.com/And follow Anna on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annabrockway/

12 - A local story where a woman was awoken by a homeless illegal immigrant choking and robbing her! Are we still for the migrants scattered across the country? 1205 - Would Mamdani being the Mayor of New York City be a disaster for Democrats nationally? 1210 - Side - all time “girl next door” 1220 - Beth Ann Rosica broke the news that 62% of Philadelphia schools will have to change their bathroom policies thanks to the OCR's ruling that using bathrooms based on gender identity is against Title IX. Will the schools comply? Your calls. 1235 - Jennifer Sey, former Levi-Strauss executive and current CEO of XX-XY Athletics joins us today to react to the backlash of the American Eagle Sydney Sweeney advertisement. Is this ad as bad as ones created in the 80's and 90's? Is American Eagle dumb enough to be “Racist” in their new ad line? How is XX-XY Athletics doing right now? What does Jennifer think about a fan being ejected in a WNBA game over heckling a player for losing her wig? 1250 - Is Eric Swalwell benching enough to be posting it online? Who at Fox could actually beat him in lifting? Your calls.

12 - A local story where a woman was awoken by a homeless illegal immigrant choking and robbing her! Are we still for the migrants scattered across the country? 1205 - Would Mamdani being the Mayor of New York City be a disaster for Democrats nationally? 1210 - Side - all time “girl next door” 1220 - Beth Ann Rosica broke the news that 62% of Philadelphia schools will have to change their bathroom policies thanks to the OCR's ruling that using bathrooms based on gender identity is against Title IX. Will the schools comply? Your calls. 1235 - Jennifer Sey, former Levi-Strauss executive and current CEO of XX-XY Athletics joins us today to react to the backlash of the American Eagle Sydney Sweeney advertisement. Is this ad as bad as ones created in the 80's and 90's? Is American Eagle dumb enough to be “Racist” in their new ad line? How is XX-XY Athletics doing right now? What does Jennifer think about a fan being ejected in a WNBA game over heckling a player for losing her wig? 1250 - Is Eric Swalwell benching enough to be posting it online? Who at Fox could actually beat him in lifting? Your calls. 1 - Why does it have to be one or the other? Dom highlights that the Frank Rizzo statue is allegedly being replaced with a Sadie Alexander statue. Can we have both and highlight both of their greateness? 105 - Who has a better golf handicap, Trump or Biden? More on the Russiagate scandal. Did Oprah really block off her private road after an 8.7 magnitude earthquake struck Hawaii? 110 - Will we audit the Fed? Your calls. 120 - Would John Fetterman make a good Politics and Pints feature? Your calls. 135 - Your calls continue with the side question. 150 - We can get a credit for having kids? Are we going to privatize social security? Scott Bessent has good ideas, but has to work on his messaging. 2 - Counselor to the Secretary Joe Lavorgna joins the program today. Can we ever expect an audit of the Fed? When will Jerome Powell step aside as the head? How would a social credit for new parents work? How will it help? Are the financial markets reflecting the groundwork that Trump is laying during his second term? 215 - Dom's Money Melody! 220 - Zohran Mamdani speaks on the loss of life after the NFL HQ shooting on Monday. Does Dom buy what he's selling? We listen in live to his press conference. 240 - How can Mamdani defend his previous stances after an ordeal like this? Was Rosie O'Donnell hot? 250 - The Lightning Round!

Heute gibt es wieder fette Beats an den Mikros und diesmal aus Marl. DJ Phil Fuldner ist zu Gast an den Mikros. Eigentlich war er Modell bei Levi Strauss & Adidas und danach MTV Fernsehmoderator. Aber schön sein und TV-bekannt, das reichte natürlich nicht. 1993 wurde ein Tonstudio gegründet und dann einfach mal der Soundtrack von Capt. Future geremixt. Und dann gings richtig ab. Ob House, Progressive, Funk oder 80er Sounds. Er hat alles drauf und sogar manchmal auch Livegesang. Ob er auch noch fantastisch kochen und malen kann erzählt er uns heute. Willkommen im Bottcast.

Carl Quintanilla, Jim Cramer and David Faber explored stocks pulling back from record highs after President Trump threatened to impose 35% tariffs on Canadian goods beginning August 1. The anchors also reacted to comments by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon: He warns of "complacency" in the markets. Also in focus: Wrapping up a big week for tech including Nvidia's $4 trillion milestone, OMB director slams  Fed Chair Powell, the stocks riding the dealmaking rally, Levi Strauss jumps on earnings, countdown to Jim's CNBC Investing Club Annual Meeting. Squawk on the Street Disclaimer

In der heutigen Folge sprechen die Finanzjournalisten Daniel Eckert und Holger Zschäpitz über einen weiteren Bitcoin-Rekord, abhebende Airline-Aktien und eine Verstärkung des AAA-Teams. Außerdem geht es um United Airlines, Delta Airlines, Expedia Group, Nvidia, Levi Strauss, MP Materials, Ramaco Resources, Vertiv Holdings, Hermès International, Microsoft, Apple, Shelly Group (WKN: A2DGX9), Krka (WKN: 903246), Merck & Co., Pfizer, Nova Ljubljanska Banka (WKN: A2N73H), Petrol (WKN: 903244), Zavarovalnica Triglav (WKN: A0D9FA), Luka Koper (WKN: 923271), Telekom Slovenije (WKN: 915855), Expat Slovenia SBI TOP ETF (WKN A2JB7F), Almonty Industries. Wir freuen uns über Feedback an aaa@welt.de. Noch mehr "Alles auf Aktien" findet Ihr bei WELTplus und Apple Podcasts – inklusive aller Artikel der Hosts und AAA-Newsletter.[ Hier bei WELT.](https://www.welt.de/podcasts/alles-auf-aktien/plus247399208/Boersen-Podcast-AAA-Bonus-Folgen-Jede-Woche-noch-mehr-Antworten-auf-Eure-Boersen-Fragen.html.) [Hier] (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6zxjyJpTMunyYCY6F7vHK1?si=8f6cTnkEQnmSrlMU8Vo6uQ) findest Du die Samstagsfolgen Klassiker-Playlist auf Spotify! Disclaimer: Die im Podcast besprochenen Aktien und Fonds stellen keine spezifischen Kauf- oder Anlage-Empfehlungen dar. Die Moderatoren und der Verlag haften nicht für etwaige Verluste, die aufgrund der Umsetzung der Gedanken oder Ideen entstehen. Hörtipps: Für alle, die noch mehr wissen wollen: Holger Zschäpitz können Sie jede Woche im Finanz- und Wirtschaftspodcast "Deffner&Zschäpitz" hören. +++ Werbung +++ Du möchtest mehr über unsere Werbepartner erfahren? [**Hier findest du alle Infos & Rabatte!**](https://linktr.ee/alles_auf_aktien) Impressum: https://www.welt.de/services/article7893735/Impressum.html Datenschutz: https://www.welt.de/services/article157550705/Datenschutzerklaerung-WELT-DIGITAL.html

Nos fijamos hoy en Levi Strauss, en las compañías del sector cripto, en Performance Food Group o en Intel con Javier Aledo, analista de Afi.

Vistazo a Delta Air Lines, Conagra Brands, Freeport-McMoRan, Walt Disney, Ulta Beauty y Levi Strauss & Co. con Rafael Ojeda, analista independiente.

S&P Futures are moderately higher this morning with tariff developments and pending trade deal in focus. President Trump sent out tariff letter yesterday, neither India nor the E.U. received letters. As a result, markets are expecting trade deals to be announced this week with India and the E.U. No major economic releases are due out today. Tech stocks are displaying positive action in the pre-market. On the earning front, Delta Air Lines, Conagra Brands, Levi Strauss, Simply Good Foods, PriceSmart, AZZ Inc., and WD-40 are expected to release this week.

S&P Futures are displaying modest weakness this morning as markets await details from the White House, where President Trump is expected to send out tariff letters to numerous countries today. The focus is on which countries will receive these notifications and what specific tariff rates will be imposed, as the administration's 90-day pause on higher tariffs expires this week. President Trump will be hosting a state dinner tonight for Israel's Prime Minster this evening. Tesla shares are lower after Elon Musk said he had created a new political party. No major economic releases are due out today. On the earning front, Delta Air Lines, Conagra Brands, Levi Strauss, Simply Good Foods, PriceSmart, AZZ Inc., and WD-40 are expected to release this week.

US equity and bond markets were CLOSED on Friday night AEST (4 July) for Independence Day.For the shortened trading week, the Dow rallied +2.30%. The S&P 500 climbed +1.72% and the Nasdaq +1.62%The US corporate calendar this week sees Amazon.com Inc begin its annual “Prime Day” sale event on Tuesday night AEST (8 July). After sales hit an all-time high at last year's event, Amazon has extended this year's sale to four days from two. Costco Wholesale Corp on Wednesday night AEST (9 July). Conagra Brands Inc, Delta Air Lines Inc and Levi Strauss & Co post quarterly results on Thursday night AEST (10 July).

In this episode of The Exit Whisperer, Michelle Wahler shares the incredible 18-year journey of building Beyond Yoga—a body-positive, female-founded activewear brand that made comfort, inclusivity, and authenticity its mission from day one. From hand-illustrated T-shirts to a strategic, self-funded apparel company acquired by Levi Strauss & Co., Michelle unpacks every twist in her story: childhood influences, bootstrapping struggles, wholesale wins, emotional negotiations, and her mindset shift post-exit.   Whether you're scaling your first business or considering your final chapter, this is a masterclass in leading with values and building a brand people love.   00:00 - Intro: Who is Michelle Wahler? 01:45 - Losing Her Dad's Business, Gaining a Mission 05:30 - From Unsweetened T-Shirts to Activewear Vision 08:20 - Meeting Her Co-Founder and Starting Beyond Yoga 13:40 - The Business Was Built for Real Women 17:25 - Why They Never Raised Venture Capital 21:50 - Early Wholesale Wins & Studio-by-Studio Growth 26:00 - Doubling Year After Year (Until the Recession) 30:40 - The Moment They Took Finances In-House 35:00 - Cold LinkedIn Message from Levi's 39:15 - “Build or Buy?” and the Levi's Strategy 42:40 - Reflecting on Earlier Offers and Knowing Their Worth 47:00 - Why She Said No to Fast Growth 52:10 - Controlling Distribution and Staying True to the Brand 56:40 - The Integrity Behind Every Decision 01:00:00 - Closing Thoughts on Exit and Identity

This week's podcast kicks off with senior reporters Gabriela Barkho and Melissa Daniels discussing Klarna's latest earnings, which showed that a growing number of the BNPL service's users defaulting on their loans. In other news, Dockers and The Vitamin Shoppe were both acquired by respective companies. Levi Strauss announced the sale of khakis maker Dockers to Authentic Brands Group for $311 million. The Vitamin Shoppe was bought out by Kingswood Capital Management and Performance Investment Partners for an undisclosed amount. Both sales are examples of struggling retailers trying to find their footing with modern customers. Later in the episode (22:18), Daniels speaks with Liran Golan, the chief supply chain officer at Bansk Beauty that holds hair care brands Amika, Eva NYC and Ethique. They discuss how tariff policy changes can impact brands beyond the duties themselves, with a ripple effect on how brands make, manage and move their product.

The U.S. just received a downgrade to its credit rating, should you worry? Last week, Moody's announced it downgraded the United States sovereign credit rating from AAA to Aa1. While a downgrade is important to understand and can have negative consequences for interest rates, this downgrade did not seem too problematic. I mainly say that because Moody's was the last major credit rating agency to have the U.S. at the highest possible rating. The first downgrade carried the most weight in my opinion as it had the highest shock value. Standard & Poor's was the first to move in August 2011 and the stock market fell 6.66% the session after the announcement. Fitch then lowered its rating on U.S. debt in August 2023 and the stock market lost 1.38%. After this Moody's downgrade the stock market seemed to have little reaction as it actually had a small increase following the news. While this downgrade may sound scary, I don't believe it will have long term consequences considering the fact that US debt is still viewed as a very safe asset. With that said, the US does need to address the growing deficit problem as further downgrades from these credit agencies could cause problems.   Demand for electric vehicles is falling dramatically Electric vehicle sales in the month of April declined 5% while the overall car market grew by 10%. This is only the third monthly decline in four years for electric vehicles. The reason for the decline is consumers are watching their spending more than they have in a while and many of the deals and promotions for electric vehicles have disappeared. It was not just Tesla who had difficulty because of Elon Musk's political association, but even Kia, Hyundai and Ford experienced drops. Rivian was hit hardest on their R1T pickup truck as it saw a 50% decline in sales for April. With some of the crazy electric vehicle lease deals gone, consumers are also asking the question about charging related concerns. There are some car buyers who were considering buying an electric vehicle but they said it's not worth the stress of charging your vehicle all the time. It's just much easier to pull into a gas station that is always easy to find. This is only one month of electric vehicle sales and not a trend that has been going on for a while, but with the increased production of oil from OPEC and a large potential supply of oil in the future, gas prices should decline which takes away the incentive of paying more for an electric vehicle.   High risk, private market investments are showing up in more 401(k) plans Another big 401K provider called Empower who oversees $1.8 trillion in 401(k) assets for about 19 million people has decided it will start allowing private credit, equity and real estate in some of the accounts they administer later this year. I think this is a terrible idea for investors. I have seen the back end of these private deals and many times investors have made no money from them and can only get out a little bit of their money at a time, while they are suffering from low returns and high fees. No surprise Wall Street loves these private market investments because of high fees, which range anywhere from 1% to 2% of the portfolio balance on an annual basis. One way they are trying to sneak in the private market funds is with a 10% allocation in the popular target date funds. This is pretty sneaky because you may be thinking you're getting a pretty conservative stock and bond fund that becomes more conservative as you get older, but with a 10% allocation in these private assets I believe it will increase the funds risk and lower the returns going forward. As always, the bankers on Wall Street only care about generating more fees, and don't care if investors lose money as long as they bring in their billions of dollars in profits. If you see these in your 401(k) options, cross them off the list and stick to the traditional long-term investments that have worked for so many years now.   Financial Planning: Who Benefits from the new SALT proposal? The current SALT deduction allows taxpayers who itemize to deduct up to $10,000 of certain state and local taxes, most importantly their state income taxes and property taxes, from their federal taxable income. The new proposal in the House bill would raise this cap to $40,000 for households earning under $500,000, with a phaseout that fully eliminates the expanded deduction at $600,000. Married and single tax filers alike with incomes over $600,000 would be subject to the $10,000 SALT limit. This change is intended to benefit middle- and upper-middle-income taxpayers in high-tax states, while limiting the benefit for higher earners. The proposal also includes annual 1% inflation adjustments beginning in 2026. If the bill is signed into law in its current form, the larger deduction would apply beginning in tax year 2025. If passed, tax payers who make less than $600k in high tax states who own a home with a mortgage will see the biggest tax benefit and they may want to adjust their tax withholdings or estimated tax payments to account for it. However, the bill has not passed the Senate, and the final terms are likely to change.   Companies Discussed: CAVA Group, Inc. (CAVA), First Solar, Inc. (FSLR), Levi Strauss & Co. (LEVI), & UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH)

HBO Max reverts to its original name, and Levi Strauss sells Dockers. Apple releases CarPlay Ultra, integrates expert ratings into Maps, and plans a visual overhaul for its apps. Concerns arise about Apple's deal with Alibaba and the limited usefulness of the Meta Quest 3 due to scarce 3D content.Conversations on technology and tech adjacent subjects since July of 2020, with two and sometime three generations of tech nerds. New shows on (mostly) MONDAYS!

Fresh news top of the hour: OpenAI and the United Arab Emirates announcing “Stargate UAE” – a massive new data center in the Middle East in partnership with companies like Oracle, Nvidia, and more. OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar joined the team to discuss in a wide-ranging interview also covering the company's future device plans… and possible competition with Apple.   On the broader markets front: stocks trying to rebound after a big sell-off tied to bonds. The team broke down whether the pressure continues with one T. Rowe Price CIO – and the CEO of Authentic Brands brought his read on how the consumer's holding up, fresh off a deal to buy Dockers from Levi Strauss. Plus: the IPO market showing signs of life… Hear from the CEO of MNTN this hour - ahead of their first trade – along with Carlyle's Jeff Currie, breaking down this move lower in oil and where prices go from here.   Squawk on the Street Disclaimer

3pm: Professors worry federal funding cuts to universities will threaten research and democracy // A history of innovation, invention and Federal Funding // John Debates Margaret on Federal Funding for NIH // Today in Hostory // 1873 - Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive patent for blue jeans // LA 2028 Olympics plans air taxi service for spectators

6pm: Professors worry federal funding cuts to universities will threaten research and democracy // A history of innovation, invention and Federal Funding // John Debates Margaret on Federal Funding for NIH // Today in Hostory // 1873 - Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive patent for blue jeans // LA 2028 Olympics plans air taxi service for spectators

This Day in Legal History: Blue Jeans PatentedOn May 20, 1873, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Patent No. 139,121 to Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss for an innovation that would revolutionize American workwear and fashion: the use of copper rivets to reinforce the stress points on men's work pants. Davis, a tailor from Reno, Nevada, originally developed the concept after customers complained about the durability of their trousers. He lacked the funds to file for a patent on his own, so he partnered with Strauss, a San Francisco dry goods merchant who had been supplying him with fabric. The riveted pants were constructed from denim—a sturdy cotton twill that Strauss already sold—which was tough enough for laborers, miners, and cowboys during the American Westward Expansion.The legal protection granted by the patent secured exclusive rights for Strauss and Davis to produce the reinforced trousers, giving them a significant advantage in the market. This protection enabled Levi Strauss & Co. to expand rapidly and establish itself as a dominant force in durable clothing for manual laborers. The patent also illustrates how intellectual property law can incentivize practical innovation by providing a framework for commercial exclusivity.While the original patent expired in 1890, the riveted jean had by then become an entrenched part of American identity. The evolution of the product—from utilitarian workwear to a global fashion staple—highlights how a simple legal instrument can underpin lasting commercial success. The legal recognition of their invention helped formalize what would become a uniquely American contribution to the world's wardrobe. Strauss and Davis's patent remains one of the most iconic examples of how intellectual property law intersects with design, utility, and culture.As federal AI regulation lags, state attorneys general (AGs) are stepping into the void by using existing laws—such as consumer protection, privacy, and anti-discrimination statutes—to govern the use of generative AI technologies. Although only California, Colorado, and Utah have passed AI-specific legislation, AGs across other states are issuing formal guidance and taking enforcement actions to address AI misuse. Key concerns include the use of personal data, deepfakes, fraudulent representations, and algorithmic bias in sectors like hiring, healthcare, and lending.California AG Rob Bonta has warned that AI tools causing misleading or discriminatory outcomes may violate state law, especially in sensitive fields like health and employment. Massachusetts AG Joy Campbell cautioned that misrepresenting AI capabilities or using AI-generated content to deceive consumers could breach the state's Consumer Protection Act. Oregon's guidance focuses on transparency, privacy, and anti-discrimination concerns, requiring consent for data use and allowing opt-outs from significant AI-based decisions. New Jersey's AG launched a Civil Rights and Technology Initiative targeting algorithmic bias, noting that even third-party tools can trigger liability under anti-discrimination laws. Texas AG Ken Paxton reached a settlement with an AI health tech firm over potentially misleading marketing, marking the first known AG enforcement action under consumer protection law involving generative AI.A Reuters column by Ashley Taylor of Clayton Friedman and Gene Fishel of Troutman Pepper Locke LLP emphasizes that companies cannot assume regulatory immunity simply because AI tools are new or complex. Liability can arise from disparate impacts alone, even absent intent to discriminate. Firms must carefully audit their AI systems, clarify marketing claims, and ensure fair and secure implementation across jurisdictions. Given the fragmented legal landscape, businesses should involve legal and technical leadership early in AI deployment to reduce risk exposure.State AGs fill the regulatory voidThe long-running feud between Donald Trump and New York Attorney General Letitia James has escalated sharply with a federal investigation now targeting James herself. Trump, having returned to the White House, now has the Justice Department behind him, while James continues to lead Democratic opposition through lawsuits challenging his policies. Both known for their combative styles, the two have clashed over ideology, politics, and Trump's business practices.The new front in their battle involves allegations that James committed mortgage fraud, based on documents where she allegedly misrepresented her primary residence and misstated details about her Brooklyn property. The Justice Department, acting on a referral from a federal housing agency, is investigating the claims through its offices in Virginia and New York. James's lawyer denies wrongdoing, saying the filings were accurate in context and reflect long-standing property use.James has framed the investigation as retaliation for her successful legal actions against Trump, including a high-profile civil fraud suit that resulted in a $450 million judgment against him for inflating asset values. Trump and his allies have attempted to link James's alleged conduct to the very behavior she prosecuted, suggesting hypocrisy.Despite the legal risks, the public feud may benefit both figures politically. James faces re-election in 2026, and her confrontation with Trump plays well with Democratic voters. For Trump, casting James as a corrupt adversary energizes his base. Their mutual antagonism has become a defining feature of New York's political and legal landscape.Donald Trump and Letitia James Raise Stakes in Bitter Feud - WSJThis week in my column for Bloomberg, I argue that House Republicans' push to repeal major clean energy tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act is a short-sighted move that prioritizes fiscal optics over long-term national interest. While they claim to be reducing the deficit, the repeal would do little to constrain the $3.7 trillion cost of extending Trump-era tax cuts that largely benefit the wealthy. The energy credits being cut were not handouts but performance-based incentives—rewards for building, hiring, and deploying clean tech—that sparked a manufacturing and jobs boom, particularly in red states like Georgia and Tennessee.Eliminating these credits would introduce severe policy instability, undermining both current and planned investments. Companies made long-term siting and hiring decisions based on stable tax incentives; reversing them now would not only threaten those investments but signal to global capital markets that the U.S. is an unreliable industrial partner. I emphasize that the structure of the law—tying incentives to emissions reductions—was one of its best features, offering predictability that's now at risk.This volatility would be a gift to America's competitors. The EU and China are doubling down on green industrial policy, while the U.S. risks stalling momentum just as it began catching up. Trust in federal policy durability isn't easily regained once lost. The repeal wouldn't just cost jobs or projects—it would damage the credibility of American industrial policy in a global race where we're already behind. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

durée : 00:05:12 - Philosophie - par : Thibaut de Saint-Maurice - Peut-on dire qu'une cuisine est meilleure qu'une autre ? Santé, goût, raffinement… Thibaut de Saint Maurice explore cette question en convoquant Levi-Strauss et démonte l'illusion des hiérarchies culturelles : en cuisine comme ailleurs, la richesse vient du partage.

Fred and Freddy Macdonald sit down with me to talk about their latest movie, Sew Torn. They share what it was like working together. We chat about how unique the film is and why people should check it out. In addition, we talk about their father and son relationship. They discuss how each of them have helped them grow into the people they are. Lastly, we finish the interview with the Fatherhood Quick Five.  About Freddy Macdonald Freddy Macdonald is a Student Academy Award winner, and the youngest Directing Fellow ever accepted to the AFI Conservatory. His feature film debut, Sew Torn, will premiere at SXSW 2024. Freddy's AFI admission film, the Sew Torn proof of concept short, was acquired by Searchlight Pictures. It received an Oscar-qualifying theatrical release nationwide alongside Ready Or Not. Additionally, Freddy's AFI thesis film, Shedding Angels, won a Student Academy Award and was shortlisted for a student BAFTA. Freddy also directed 4 music videos for 3x Grammy winner Fantastic Negrito (including his performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert), and 3 viral documentaries following hardware hacker Joe Grand. Go see Sew Torn in theaters. Make sure you follow Freddy on Instagram at @fred.md. In addition, go to their website at macdonaldentertainmentpartners.com. About Fred Macdonald  Fred Macdonald is a writer, producer, and founder of several entertainment and media companies. Furthermore, over the years his companies have partnered with The Walt Disney Company, DreamWorks Animation, Lionsgate / Summit Entertainment, and Viacom. Macdonald was CEO and Chairman of Olive Jar Studios, a film production company with studios in Los Angeles and Boston. While helming the company, Macdonald creative directed theme park media (The Walt Disney Company, Universal Studios), and 5 television commercials (Levi Strauss & Co., Samsung Electronics, and a Coca-Cola CLIO Gold winner that Macdonald creative directed with Spike Jonze). About Sew Torn  Barbara Duggen, ‘The Mobile Seamstress', is struggling to keep her fabric shop alive. After a botched sewing appointment sets her on a quest to replace her client's lost button, she unexpectedly stumbles upon a drug deal gone bad. Faced with two downed motorcyclists, guns, and a briefcase - Barbara is completely torn. She is forced to pick between three choices: commit the perfect crime, call the police, or drive away. The narrative presents the repercussions of all three decisions, and the deadly confrontations that result from each as she gets entangled with the case's owner. Using thread to free herself, Barbara stops at nothing to save her store.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngq4hNcut_Q About The Art of Fatherhood Podcast  The Art of Fatherhood Podcast follows the journey of fatherhood. Your host, Art Eddy talks with fantastic dads from all around the world where they share their thoughts on fatherhood. You get a unique perspective on fatherhood from guests like Bob Odenkirk, Hank Azaria, Joe Montana, Kevin Smith, Danny Trejo, Jerry Rice, Jeff Foxworthy, Patrick Warburton, Jeff Kinney, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Kyle Busch, Dennis Quaid, Dwight Freeney and many more.

Levi help Jacob patent the famous rivet on the Levis jeans that make the pockets so durable. That is how Levis starts to build the empire. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Simple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I'm Stephen's sidekick and business partner Dave Young. Before we get into today's episode, a word from our sponsor, which is, well, it's us, but we're highlighting ads we've written and produced for our clients. So here's one of those. [OG Law Ad] Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, Dave Young, here alongside Stephen Semple. We're talking about empires, we're talking about things that people built, businesses, and you know what I mean, empires. Stephen Semple: That sort of thing. Dave Young: What don't you get about empires? Come on. Boy, the one you just whispered in my ear as the countdown started, I know a little bit about it just because it's like a classic business lesson. Right? Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: If you're going to follow the gold rush, man, don't dig for gold, sell to miners. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah. Big time. Dave Young: You said it's going to be Levi's, so I assume Levi Strauss and Company. Stephen Semple: Yep. Dave Young: This is the guy that started the little store to sell to the miners out in California. Stephen Semple: Yeah. We're going way back because Levi Strauss was founded May 1, 1853. So we're going way back. Today, it's trades on the stock exchange under L-E-V-I, Levi. They've got 3,400 company operated stores. They do like 6 billion in sales and almost 19,000 employees. It is the best selling five pocket gene out there. Dave Young: I don't even think about them as having stores for some reason. That must be outlet mall kind of things. Stephen Semple: Yeah, I think that's primarily what they are because, again, I was the same. I looked, I went 3,400 stores, boy. It's one of those ones you just don't think about it. Dave Young: Yeah. In high school, man, if you weren't wearing Levi, button-up five-pocket jeans, you weren't cool at all unless you had the Jordache back in the day designer jeans. Stephen Semple: There you go. Dave Young: You either go standard Levi's or full designer. God help if your mom bought you Lee. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: Or some off-brand from Sears. Stephen Semple: Yep. Oh yeah. Then it was going to be a rough week at school. Dave Young: Well, take us back to 1853. Stephen Semple: The other thing that's interesting is they hold the original patent for the rivet in the jeans. They actually hold the original patent for that. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: You know the little rivet that you see in the jeans? Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: That's their original patent. Dave Young: Well, that's cool. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Now, jeans were not invented by Levi, so that's often a misconception. The company was started by Levi Strauss, and Levi was a Bavarian immigrant. He actually first had a business doing dry goods in New York City. He built that business basically selling these dry goods door-to-door. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: As you were talking about, Dave, he hears about this thing called the Gold Rush in California. The boom is amazing. I knew it was a boom, but I didn't realize this. In the two years from 1849 to 1850, the population in San Francisco grew from 1,000 people to 25,000 people in two years. Dave Young: I know the Oregon Trail, but man. Stephen Semple: That is just mind blowing. Dave Young: I think a fair number of them actually sailed around South America. Stephen Semple: When people talk about it being a boom and a rush,

It's Tuesday, May 6th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 125 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By  Kevin Swanson Chinese Communists intensifying regulation of churches Christian Daily Korea reports that communist China intensified its regulation of Christian churches effective May 1st. The additional regulations will place controls on missions, Christian education, fundraising, and religious activities over the internet. Specifically, many South Korean missionaries have already been expelled or denied visas under China's increasingly aggressive crackdown since 2017.  South Korean election coming up The South Korean election is planned for June 3rd. A professing Christian, former Prime Minister Han Duck-Soo, is running as an independent in the race. His wife, Choi Ah-young, is a fourth generation Christian. Her father is an elder. And her great grandfather founded a number of churches during the Japanese colonial period of the 1920s and 1930s.  Han's entry heats up the scramble among conservatives to unify behind a candidate to compete with liberal front-runner Lee Jae-myung, whose campaign recently was set back by a court decision to open a new trial on election law violation charges, reports ABC News. 106,745 Russian soldiers and 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died Since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian War, 106,745 Russian soldiers have been killed.  The last year was the most deadly, with a reported loss of 45,287 Russian lives. Ukrainian casualty numbers vary widely — with as many as 13,000 civilians and 60,000 soldiers counted among the dead. Australia lurches left like Canada Following the Canadian election which tipped towards the anti-God, secular humanist, progressive side, Australia did the same thing over the weekend. The liberal Labor Party has secured at least 86 seats in parliament, up from 77 in its last go around.   Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set for his second three-year term in power.  Muslims have six kids on average compared to low fertility of others The global birth rate is crossing the 2.2 children-per-woman mark, crossing over the replacement level of 2.1.That's down from 5.3 children per woman in 1963 worldwide. World Bank data points to the Muslim-heavy nations of Somalia, Chad, Niger, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the highest fertility rates exceeding six children per woman. Countries with the lowest birth rates below 1.0 child per woman include South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Chile, and Puerto Rico. Eastern Europe is seeing the steepest declines in birth rates. Deuteronomy 28:15-18 reminds us of God's dealings with nations: “But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all His commandments and His statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the field.  Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb.” Oil becoming less expensive World oil prices have sunk to $57 per barrel — about the same price as it was in 1987. The average gas price in the United States is $3.26 per gallon, down from $3.76 per gallon last summer. Disney pushes homosexual scene in “Star Wars Andor” Disney has incorporated a prominent homosexual scene in its latest episode of Star Wars Andor. This marks another milestone in the ongoing homosexualization of Disney, with the scene marking the first prominent display of homosexuality for featured characters. Disney has increased its revenues to $91 billion per year, and has registered another 5% increase in its first quarter in 2025.  Overall revenues for the entertainment company are up about 20% since the pro-homosexual organization entered into a conflict with Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.   Levi Strauss and Disney were the first companies to provide benefits to homosexual employees between 1992 and 1995. Conservative Presbyterians growing and Liberal Presbyterians fading The Presbyterian Church in America, the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States, is registering its highest number of members in its 51-year history — topping 400,700 this year. Offerings were up 7.4%, year-over-year, according to stats just released by the denomination. Another conservative denomination, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, registers 33,520 members, growing at a rate of 3% per year. Meanwhile, the more liberal PCUSA church membership has dropped off from 3.1 million to 1.1 million over the last 40 years. Warren Buffet gave $8.4 billion to fund abortion And finally, Warren Buffett has announced his retirement from Berkshire Hathaway, as Chief Executive, effective January 1st. The 94-year-old Buffett is currently listed as the sixth richest man in the world behind Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, and Bernard Arnault of France.    Buffett's foundations have provided $8.4 billion to pro-abortion groups like Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation. Plus, Buffett was a major supporter of the “RU-486” abortion kill pill. Forbes reports that other major pro-abortion billionaire donors include: Mackenzie Scott (Amazon's Jeff Bezos's ex-wife), the Bill Gates Foundation, the Hewlett Family, Michael Bloomberg, and George Soros. But now, take comfort in these words from Isaiah 49: 24-26. The prophet asks, “Can the prey be taken from the mighty or the captives of a tyrant be rescued? For thus says the Lord: ‘Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children. I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine. Then all flesh shall know that I am the Lord your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.'” Close And that's The Worldview on this Tuesday, May 6th, in the year of our Lord 2025. Subscribe for free by Amazon Music or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Wir springen in dieser Folge ins 19. Jahrhundert. Schauplatz ist Kalifornien, wo nicht nur der Goldrausch die Nachfrage nach widerstandsfähiger Bekleidung in die Höhe schnellen lässt. Wir sprechen darüber, wie ein eigentlich nach europäischen Städten benanntes Material in den USA zu jenem Stoff wurde, der nicht nur die Arbeiterschaft einkleidete, sondern bald zum Symbol für Freiheit, Unangepasstheit und Individualität wurde. // Erwähnte Folgen - GAG475: Eine kleine Geschichte des Anzugs – https://gadg.fm/475 - GAG455: Das Unternehmen Pastorius – https://gadg.fm/455 - GAG228: Berliner Blau – die Erfindung einer Farbe – https://gadg.fm/228 - GAG437: Die holprige Karriere des Reißverschlusses – https://gadg.fm/437 - GAG420: Harry Anslinger und der erste "War on Drugs" – https://gadg.fm/420 // Literatur - Daniel Miller und Sophie Woodward. Blue Jeans: The Art of the Ordinary. University of California Press, 2012. - Downey, Lynn. Levi Strauss: The Man Who Gave Blue Jeans to the World. Illustrated Edition. University of Massachusetts Press, 2017. - Gerd Horten. Don't Need No Thought Control: Western Culture in East Germany and the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Berghahn Books, 2020. - Improvement in fastening pocket-openings. United States US139121A, issued 20. Mai 1873. https://patents.google.com/patent/US139121A/en. - Katherine Pence und Paul Betts. Socialist Modern: East German Everyday Culture and Politics. University of Michigan Press, 2008. - Menzel, Rebecca. „Jeans und Pop in der DDR“, 2006. https://zeitgeschichte-online.de/themen/jeans-und-pop-der-ddr - Plenzdorf, Ulrich. Die Neuen Leiden Des Jungen W. Suhrkamp Verlag, 2015. - Sullivan, James. Jeans: A Cultural History of an American Icon. New York, NY: Gotham Books, 2007. Das Episodenbild zeigt einen Ausschnitt der Patentzeichnung für die mit Nieten versehenen Taschen. //Aus unserer Werbung Du möchtest mehr über unsere Werbepartner erfahren? Hier findest du alle Infos & Rabatte: https://linktr.ee/GeschichtenausderGeschichte //Wir haben auch ein Buch geschrieben: Wer es erwerben will, es ist überall im Handel, aber auch direkt über den Verlag zu erwerben: https://www.piper.de/buecher/geschichten-aus-der-geschichte-isbn-978-3-492-06363-0 Wer Becher, T-Shirts oder Hoodies erwerben will: Die gibt's unter https://geschichte.shop Wer unsere Folgen lieber ohne Werbung anhören will, kann das über eine kleine Unterstützung auf Steady oder ein Abo des GeschichteFM-Plus Kanals auf Apple Podcasts tun. Wir freuen uns, wenn ihr den Podcast bei Apple Podcasts oder wo auch immer dies möglich ist rezensiert oder bewertet. Wir freuen uns auch immer, wenn ihr euren Freundinnen und Freunden, Kolleginnen und Kollegen oder sogar Nachbarinnen und Nachbarn von uns erzählt! Du möchtest Werbung in diesem Podcast schalten? Dann erfahre hier mehr über die Werbemöglichkeiten bei Seven.One Audio: https://www.seven.one/portfolio/sevenone-audio

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 15! When it comes to Supreme Court decisions that impacted the classroom, most people know about Brown v Board of Education. A lesser known landmark decision was also very impactful in schools across the U.S. We're talking about Lau v Nichols… a case that influenced the interpretation of Title VI and how U.S. schools needed to support second language learners to succeed in school. In this episode, we talk about the lead up to Lau v Nichols, what the impact of the Supreme Court decision was, and the lasting legacy of the decision. We also take time to address the rhetoric around the ending of the Department of Education and how it would impact not just Bilingual Education but how students are supported in the U.S. We begin the episode with a LOT of current events including growing anti-miscegenation-like decisions, Janet Yang, Alysa Liu, Caitlyn Chen, Te-hina Paopao, and Jonny Kim. We end with another installment of Weird History where we talk about the decision by Levi Strauss and Company to lean into anti-Chinese labor practices back in the late 1800s. If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at info@aahistory101.com. Segments 00:25 Intro and Current Events: Janet Yang, Jonny Kim, Kaitlyn Chen, Te-hina PaoPao, Alysa Liu 06:29 The History of Lau v Nichols and Bilingual Education in the U.S. 17:05 Weird History: Levi Strauss and Company and Anti-Chinese Labor

In der heutigen Folge von „Alles auf Aktien“ sprechen die Finanzjournalisten Christoph Kapalschinski und Holger Zschäpitz über Zoll-Taktiken, gute Zahlen bei Levi Strauss und Börsenrekorde der anderen Art. Wir freuen uns an Feedback über aaa@welt.de. Ab sofort gibt es noch mehr "Alles auf Aktien" bei WELTplus und Apple Podcasts – inklusive aller Artikel der Hosts und AAA-Newsletter.[ Hier bei WELT.](https://www.welt.de/podcasts/alles-auf-aktien/plus247399208/Boersen-Podcast-AAA-Bonus-Folgen-Jede-Woche-noch-mehr-Antworten-auf-Eure-Boersen-Fragen.html.) [Hier] (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6zxjyJpTMunyYCY6F7vHK1?si=8f6cTnkEQnmSrlMU8Vo6uQ) findest Du die Samstagsfolgen Klassiker-Playlist auf Spotify! Disclaimer: Die im Podcast besprochenen Aktien und Fonds stellen keine spezifischen Kauf- oder Anlage-Empfehlungen dar. Die Moderatoren und der Verlag haften nicht für etwaige Verluste, die aufgrund der Umsetzung der Gedanken oder Ideen entstehen. Hörtipps: Für alle, die noch mehr wissen wollen: Holger Zschäpitz können Sie jede Woche im Finanz- und Wirtschaftspodcast "Deffner&Zschäpitz" hören. Außerdem bei WELT: Im werktäglichen Podcast „Das bringt der Tag“ geben wir Ihnen im Gespräch mit WELT-Experten die wichtigsten Hintergrundinformationen zu einem politischen Top-Thema des Tages. +++ Werbung +++ Du möchtest mehr über unsere Werbepartner erfahren? [**Hier findest du alle Infos & Rabatte!**](https://linktr.ee/alles_auf_aktien) Impressum: https://www.welt.de/services/article7893735/Impressum.html Datenschutz: https://www.welt.de/services/article157550705/Datenschutzerklaerung-WELT-DIGITAL.html

Niemand weet hoe en wanneer de handelsoorlog gaat eindigen. Zelfs aanstichter Donald Trump niet en toch moeten bedrijven de komende weken hun aandeelhouders een outlook voorschotelen. Gaan vertellen wat de impact is van die handelsoorlog op de cijfers. Het cijferseizoen begint, met misschien wel de meest chaotisch aanloop ooit.En wij van BNR Beurs gaan je proberen voor te bereiden op dat cijferseizoen. UBS verwacht dat de winst van Amerikaanse bedrijven dit jaar met 0 procent groeit. Waar zitten dan nog de lichtpuntjes en hoe staat het ervoor in Europa? Valt het daar mee of tegen? Je hoort het deze aflevering.Dan hebben we het ook over China. Dat slaat hard terug naar Trump en laat duidelijk merken niet bang te zijn voor hem en zijn heffingen. Met een directe aanval op Trump, die volgens China 'fout op fout' stapelt. De Chinezen beloven 'tot het einde' te vechten 'als de VS zijn zin doordrijft' en niet 'te buigen voor chantage'.Boos is ook Elon Musk. Hij is adviseur voor Trump, maar boos op een andere adviseur van Trump. De architect van de handelsoorlog is dat, Peter Navarro. Musk kan zijn bloed wel drinken, want 'zijn' Tesla wordt hard getroffen door de importheffingen. Volgens Musk is Navarro 'dommer dan een zak stenen' en 'echt een idioot'. Ook hebben we het over Apple. Dat verplaatst de productie van de iPhone voor een groot deel uit China. Precies wat Trump wilde! Al worden de telefoons niet in de VS gemaakt, maar ergens anders...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Asia-Pacific markets are rallying this morning - but Singapore just saw its biggest one-day drop since 2008. The Straits Times Index plunged 7.5%, with marine and property stocks leading the fall. Is it time to rotate to safe havens or start bargain hunting? China and Vietnam in the crossfire of trade tensions – Vietnam is offering to slash import duties on US goods to zero in a bid to avoid steep 46% tariffs, while the US appears more keen to strike a deal with Japan. What do investors need to know here? China may let the yuan weaken and is reportedly prepping stimulus to soften tariff pain, meanwhile copper’s 15% plunge signals economic slowdown fears, but bargain buyers are emerging - particularly from Asia. Michelle Martin and Ryan Huang unpack what triggered the rout, and whether a rebound is in sight. They also assess safe haven plays, currency moves, and discuss Seatrium, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, DBS, Bank of China, Salesforce, Samsung, Levi Strauss, Sino Group, Sino Land, The Hour Glass. Hosted by Michelle Martin with Ryan Huang. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How does a 175-year-old brand stay relevant in a constantly evolving market?Tracey Panek, Levi's brand historian, joins me to share how Levi's balances heritage with innovation to remain a cultural icon. From historical accuracy in marketing to the brand's deep connection with customers, Tracey offers a fascinating look into how storytelling shapes Levi's identity.We dive into what exactly the role of a brand historian plays in modern marketing, how Levi's taps into its rich archives to inspire future campaigns, and why authenticity is the key to long-term brand success. Tracey also shares incredible stories from Levi's history—including how a pair of jeans helped tow a broken-down car and why some fans insist on being buried in their Levi's.If you're passionate about branding, storytelling, and marketing that stands the test of time, this episode is packed with insights you won't want to miss.About TraceyTracey Panek is the Historian for Levi Strauss & Co. and Director of Archives at the company's world headquarters in San Francisco. She manages the day-to-day workings of the Levi Strauss & Co. Archives as a key corporate asset, answering historical questions, assisting designers, brand managers, executives and other employees whose work requires historical materials in the Archives. She regularly hunts for unique vintage Levi's® garments and unusual Levi's® items to add to the Archives.Tracey is a contributor to Unzipped, the company's blog, writing about company history, vintage Levi's® garments, and behind-the-scenes work in the Archives. She narrates the video series From the Levi's® Archives on YouTube and From the Levi's® Archives on TikTok. Tracey is the media spokesperson for Levi Strauss & Co. heritage.Connect with Tracey:https://x.com/TraceyPanekConnect with VeronicaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/vromney/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vromney/If you're serious about advancing your career in marketing and you're looking for some personal insights into how then I invite you to schedule a free Pathway to Promotion call with me: https://pathwaycall.com/If you found value in today's episode, I would appreciate it if you could leave a rating and review.

What a sea of red! There is a duality in in crisis - a time of danger is when opportunity arises. Asia-Pacific markets are trading sharply lower following one of the worst two-day routs in S&P 500 history. Hosted by Michelle Martin, this episode breaks down how global economies and companies like Tesla, Foxconn, and Berkshire Hathaway are responding to escalating trade tensions. We spotlight Oceanus, Uni-Asia, DBS, and UOB on institutional trading activity.Corporate earnings from Levi Strauss to JPMorgan are on the radar this week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All links and images for this episode can be found on CISO Series. Check out this post by Rachel Bicknell of Dell Technologies quoting Mic Merritt of Merritt Collective for the discussion that is the basis of our conversation on this week's episode co-hosted by me, David Spark, the producer of CISO Series, and Jimmy Sanders, president, ISSA International. Joining them is Ngozi Eze, CISO, Levi Strauss.   In this episode: Stop the unicorn hunt Job post inflation Structural misalignment We've got to do better Huge thanks to our sponsor, ThreatLocker ThreatLocker® is a global leader in Zero Trust endpoint security, offering cybersecurity controls to protect businesses from zero-day attacks and ransomware. ThreatLocker operates with a default deny approach to reduce the attack surface and mitigate potential cyber vulnerabilities. To learn more and start your free trial, visit ThreatLocker.com.

Measuring Inclusion: Higher profits and happier people, without guesswork or backlash by Paolo Gaudiano Amazon.com Aleria.tech Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is under fire, but attracting and retaining talent is more important than ever. This book introduces an entirely new approach to DEI, showing how and why measuring inclusion is the key for organizations to enjoy higher performance and greater employee satisfaction, without causing any backlash. Measuring Inclusion offers step-by-step directions, sample data, and real-world case studies to help you make meaningful and sustainable improvements in employee recruitment, engagement, productivity, and retention. You will learn to quantify, track, and estimate the financial ROI of your organization's DEI efforts just as you do with every other business activity―and in the process make your organization more successful and increasingly welcoming for everyone. "A more strategic, data-informed approach to DEI." - Tiffani Wollbrinck, Global Talent Management and Development, Levi Strauss & Co "Practical, measurable strategies that tie directly to business performance." - Kirsty Devine, Head of US HR and Global Projects, The Financial Times "The analytical framework practitioners have been looking for in the area of DEI." - Silke Muenster, Former Chief Diversity Officer, Philip Morris International "A crucial counterpoint to the current backlash against DEI, providing a data-driven justification for why these efforts are essential for business success." - Jennifer Brown, Keynote Speaker and WSJ best-selling author, How to be an Inclusive Leader A former professor with degrees in mathematics, aerospace engineering, and neuroscience, Paolo Gaudiano is an entrepreneur, a teacher, a prolific writer, and a sought-after speaker. His work transforms how people think about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and what they do about it, with the ultimate goal of making our society more inclusive and equitable while driving greater economic benefits for everyone. About the author With degrees in Applied Mathematics, Aerospace Engineering, and Computational Neuroscience, Paolo Gaudiano jokes that he had literally done rocket science and brain surgery before turning to a really hard problem: how to create companies that have happier employees while making more money. A former tenured professor turned entrepreneur, Paolo is Chief Scientist of Aleria, President of ARC, Adjunct at NYU Stern School of Business, and Chairman of the annual Diversity & Inclusion Research Conference. These activities combine Paolo's decades of experience in business, technology, and academia, to transform how people think about DEI and what they do about it, with the ultimate goal of making our society more inclusive and equitable.

Measuring Inclusion: Higher profits and happier people, without guesswork or backlash. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is under fire, but attracting and retaining talent is more important than ever. This book introduces an entirely new approach to DEI, showing how and why measuring inclusion is the key for organizations to enjoy higher performance and greater employee satisfaction, without causing any backlash.Measuring Inclusion offers step-by-step directions, sample data, and real-world case studies to help you make meaningful and sustainable improvements in employee recruitment, engagement, productivity, and retention.You will learn to quantify, track, and estimate the financial ROI of your organization's DEI efforts just as you do with every other business activity―and in the process make your organization more successful and increasingly welcoming for everyone."A more strategic, data-informed approach to DEI." - Tiffani Wollbrinck, Global Talent Management and Development, Levi Strauss & Co"Practical, measurable strategies that tie directly to business performance." - Kirsty Devine, Head of US HR and Global Projects, The Financial Times"The analytical framework practitioners have been looking for in the area of DEI." - Silke Muenster, Former Chief Diversity Officer, Philip Morris International"A crucial counterpoint to the current backlash against DEI, providing a data-driven justification for why these efforts are essential for business success." - Jennifer Brown, Keynote Speaker and WSJ best-selling author, How to be an Inclusive LeaderA former professor with degrees in mathematics, aerospace engineering, and neuroscience, Paolo Gaudiano is an entrepreneur, a teacher, a prolific writer, and a sought-after speaker. His work transforms how people think about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and what they do about it, with the ultimate goal of making our society more inclusive and equitable while driving greater economic benefits for everyone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Business Brain, Dave Hamilton and Shannon Jean discuss Levi Strauss and the origins of blue jeans, highlighting how the company pivoted from selling dry goods to revolutionizing durable workwear. They then shift to listener engagement, sharing an updated review from a long-time fan and announcing a […] The post Quitting After the First Failure – Business Brain 626 appeared first on Business Brain - The Entrepreneurs' Podcast.

Daily Dad Jokes (26 Feb 2025) The official Daily Dad Jokes Podcast electronic button now available on Amazon. The perfect gift for dad! Click here here to view ! Email Newsletter: Looking for more dad joke humour to share? Then subscribe to our new weekly email newsletter. It's our weekly round-up of the best dad jokes, memes, and humor for you to enjoy. Spread the laughs, and groans, and sign up today! Click here to subscribe ! Listen to the Daily Dad Jokes podcast here: https://dailydadjokespodcast.com/ or search "Daily Dad Jokes" in your podcast app. Interested in Business and Finance news? Then listen to our sister show: The Daily Business and Finance Show. Check out the website here or search "Daily Business and Finance Show" in your podcast app. The Christmas Jokes electronic button now available on Amazon. Perfect for stocking fillers, Secret Santa and Kris Kringle! Fun for all ages and guaranteed to provide laughs (and groans). Click here here to view ! Jokes sourced and curated from reddit.com/r/dadjokes. Joke credits: H-DaneelOlivaw, NagyLebowski, thomasbrakeline, Man-e-questions, feyd313, GoonerBear94, sarcasticpremed, DocWat326, dustaknuckz, sporkjustice, dubaidadjokes, Leboy2Point0, , witchhuntermcedgyboi, GhostOfSup, AaronEspositoMusic, Zeal3113, donttakethechip, benmwaballs, Like8catsbro, Br4ve_He4rt, iamkeerock, porichoygupto, procrastiprov, mesir, languagepotato, Jaesquared, techtornado, bob0212, Garrod_Ran, Paradigm_Shiftz Subscribe to this podcast via: iHeartMedia Spotify iTunes Google Podcasts Youtube Channel Social media: Instagram Facebook Twitter Tik Tok Discord Interested in advertising or sponsoring our show? Contact us at mediasales@klassicstudios.com Produced by Klassic Studios using AutoGen Podcast technology (http://klassicstudios.com/autogen-podcasts/) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jennifer Sey was a national gymnastics champion who then won awards for exposing the abuse many female gymnasts suffered at the hands of their male coaches. She was also a celebrated executive with fashion giant Levi Strauss before being canceled for speaking her mind. Now, she's the founder and CEO of XX-XY Athletics, a new brand committed to protecting women in sports from males unduly entering their spaces. She joins Liel to share how she ended up behind the president's desk at the signing of a recent executive order, what it was like to have J.K. Rowling endorse her ad, and why Nike and every other big brand in sports is now copying her message. 

Last week, Daniel Lurie, an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, was sworn in as San Francisco's 46th mayor. What are his plans for the city?

VISITÁ NUESTRA WEB: https://www.historiaenpodcast.com.ar/ En 1848, un hallazgo en un molino desató una locura que cambiaría la historia. Miles dejaron todo en busca de un sueño dorado que, para la mayoría, se convirtió en una pesadilla. Pero no todo fue pérdida: ¿sabías que Levi Strauss llegó a California y creó los primeros jeans Levi's para los mineros? Un ícono que nació de la fiebre del oro. Descubrí cómo este fenómeno moldeó la economía, la sociedad y hasta la moda. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the stakes are high, will your brand rise to the challenge—or collapse under the weight of public scrutiny?In today's episode of Best Story Wins, we're going global—literally. Our guest, John Onoda of IQ 360, shares how the strongest brands aren't just built in boardrooms but forged in the heat of crises and opportunities. With a career spanning iconic companies like Levi Strauss and General Motors, John taps into why communication, adaptability, and brand experience are more critical than ever in businesses.We also explore IQ 360's impactful work, from guiding Hawaii through the pandemic to supporting organizations in the aftermath of the Maui fires. Plus, John unpacks how today's leaders can stay ahead by embracing influencer-driven narratives, workforce challenges, and the AI revolution.Join us as we discuss:How to harness the power of influencers to amplify your brand's story.Keeping your workforce inspired and aligned during turbulent times.Why AI and predictive analytics are the ultimate tools for staying ahead.

On this Small Business Saturday episode of “Furthermore with Amanda Head,” Amanda features two inspiring guests who exemplify resilience, innovation, and the entrepreneurial spirit.First, Amanda welcomes Jennifer Sey, a former U.S. Women's All-Around Gymnastics Champion turned Emmy-winning producer, Levi Strauss & Co. executive, and now the Founder and CEO of XX-XY Athletics. Sey shares her journey from champion athlete to corporate leader and courageous advocate for common sense amidst challenges from progressive activism. Sey discusses her company's mission to protect women's sports and her latest performance collection, featuring leggings, bike shorts, tanks, and tees that combine style with superior fit and fabric. With support from ambassadors like Riley Gaines and Chloe Cole, Sey is building a brand rooted in integrity and excellence.You can listen and watch her full interview with Amanda Head by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tktAy7PQnkoNext, Amanda welcomes U.S. Army veteran and master craftsman Michael John Brown, who shares his powerful story of survival and creativity. As a chronic pain and cancer survivor, Brown recounts how former President Donald Trump's Veterans Choice Program helped him overcome medical crises and regain control of his life. Now thriving as an artisan, Brown creates custom leather holsters and hand-turned wooden bowls that reflect his dedication to quality and craftsmanship.You can listen and watch his full interview with Amanda Head by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwD-Rigc8CwTune in for two incredible stories of perseverance, purpose, and the pursuit of excellence. You can shop Sey's latest collections at XX-XYAthletics.com and explore Brown's handcrafted works via his Instagram: @Michael_John_Brown.Once you're done listening to the podcast and shopping small businesses, go ahead and check out Amanda Head's latest video podcast episodes on Rumble or Youtube and subscribe to her channels today:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FurthermorePodRumble: www.rumble.com/c/c-6349263See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

[SEGMENT 2-1] Bad signs for Democrats 1 There are LOTS of bad signs for Democrats and their minions. If they are crying now, I say them this is only the beginning. They are about to get CRUSHED under the weight of Hurricane MAGA and the mandate of Americans. We lived under pure tyranny for 4 years, and prior to Trump 8 years under Obama. America asked for Obama, then soundly rejected him and his policies in 2016. Then in 2020 the cabal gave America the finger. Well in 2024 we gave them the fist! Listen to the media tell all that they fear about Trump. And as you listen tell me if they didn't do almost everything they fear?   [X] SB – Media on 2nd Trump term Mexico/Canada…annex Shoot visitors to the WH Violence like J6 Illegal to run against him Throw them in jail, persecute the media Rewrite the constitution Sent jail, minority groups, assassinate generals Ordering troops to attack citizens His base will try to kill people Take away your vote Senate and House paralyzed End of democracy Destruction of the DOJ; entirely transformed Everybody in the coup elevated Persecute enemies LGBTQ Last election Tear down our institution Purge the government of employees Use the military to squash protest Stay in office forever  [SEGMENT 2-2] Bad signs for Democrats 2   [X] SB – Jimmy Kimmel it's a terrible night Terrible night, women children immigrants science justice seniors allies NATO democracy decency   Yes, the Democrats got shellacked in the last election. And while that's a breath of fresh air, it's hardly the only sign that the political winds are changing. Let's dive into some of the “bad omens” for the Left that even they can't spin positively. Sign #1: Target Brings Back “Merry Christmas” Remember the days when retailers greeted us with “Happy Holidays” as if to tiptoe around the obvious? This year, Target's shelves are shamelessly decked with signs that say “Merry Christmas.” Maybe it's a minor detail, but it's clear: in retail at least, the “woke Christmas” is out and tradition is back in style. Is this a Targeted pivot away from Leftist culture wars? Sign #2: Barack Obama Goes Silent In a true sign of the times, Barack Obama has gone radio silent. Apparently, he's been avoiding the media since Election Day. Maybe he's hiding out with fellow critics who seem to have slithered down into their usual rat holes. Could it be that they're nursing bruises from the political ass-kicking of a lifetime? Or perhaps the Obamas joined all those celebrities who threatened to leave the country if Trump go re-elected? Regardless, if Obama and his ilk are smart, they have assessed their real political power and figured out that they have none. It's probably best that they sit things out for a while. Sign #3: Democrats Lose Their “Poop Map” Mayor London Breed like crapped her jeans as she lost to Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie. Breed, whose tenure began in 2017 brought sky-high crime and deteriorating quality of life so much so that one of America's most iconic cities became known for its "poop maps". These were given to tourist to guide them away from the rough areas of San Fran where vagrants were known to take a dump openly in the streets. The Chamber of Commerce should be beaming, as they can stop that BYO Poop Bag initiative planned for 2025. I'd wish Daniel Lurie luck, but the only direction for this city with London Breed gone is up. Sign #4: Harris's Campaign Debt Dilemma Barack Obama once declared, “Elections have consequences.” And Kamala Harris is learning the hard way. With her $20 million debt and over $1.6 billion spent, she's left looking like the Welfare Queen of campaigns. Perhaps the optics would be less tragic if she had something to show for it, other than a spectacular loss and a tab bigger than California's state debt. Sign #5: “Tampon Tim” Can't Even Hold His Own District Kamala's running mate, Tim Walz, lost his own district to Trump. So much for the Democratic power couple; Tampon Tim couldn't even hold his home turf. But hey, he still made a great addition to Harris's sinking ship. Beta males don't make good marketers to real men, for the record. Sign #6: Jack Smith Backpedals on Prosecuting Trump Jack Smith is backing off the Trump charges, citing “the technicality of prosecuting a sitting president.” Is he serious? If you believe that, I have a “winning strategy” from Kamala's campaign to sell you. My bet? Jack's future looks pretty dim. He's seeing the writing on the wall and realizing no sunglasses are going to help with the glare from this MAGA hurricane.  [SEGMENT 2-3] Dem influencer lament 1 Elections have consequences. So do actions. And Democrats pushed America way too far. For many of us, the next 4 years are super important. Because we have more years behind than we do ahead. So we will relish this win as we should. Because while the win is for us and feels good, the real win is for America and our children and grandchildren. Few realize how important this win was, because no child should experience the political fear we have over the past few elections. But now is our time to truly right the ship. A Democrat “influencer” and his ilk are finally experiencing what I've been experiencing for over a decade. Listen to him explain what's happening to them. [X] SB – Dem influencer Lost 5000 subscribers Never go down, they go up; All hemorrhaging subscribers; record cancellations of paid memberships The importance of influence  [SEGMENT 2-4] Dem influencer lament 2 [X] SB – Jimmy Kimmel crying The View says that Trump will take them off the air. Really? The thing that will take The View off the air is the viewpoint of the women on The View. Listen as one woman tries to help them make sense of their loss, but they are having none of it. [X] SB – The View The way that the Left speaks to its voters…like joy and inclusiveness They need to be introspective      Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-kevin-jackson-show--2896352/support.

Building a Brand Customers Love  Shep Hyken interviews Joanne Chan, CEO of Turner Duckworth, a world-class branding agency with studios in San Francisco, London, and New York. She talks about how brands like Amazon, Coca-Cola, and Levi Strauss & Co. infuse a clear vision and emotional connection in their branding to communicate a customer-focused experience.  This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:    How can a company integrate customer service into its branding strategy?  What role does customer experience play in brand loyalty?  What are the key elements of a logo or brand identity that influence customer experience?  Why is it essential for brands to infuse emotion into their visual identity systems?  How should companies handle feedback to improve their brand's customer experience?  Top Takeaways:      Branding is crucial for any company because it defines how customers perceive the business. A strong logo and brand identity can create emotional connections with customers, making them more loyal and engaged.     Successful branding involves creativity and an understanding of what the brand represents. A great logo or brand can stand the test of time while still resonating with new customers, like Amazon's smile logo, which emotionally connects the customer to a happy experience and communicates that Amazon sells everything from A to Z.      In any business relationship, listening is vital to understanding client needs and expectations. Listening helps you create solutions that cater to the client's specific requirements. Listening with empathy throughout the partnership can nurture long-lasting relationships and repeat business.    Everyone makes mistakes, and in business, you must handle them well. When a mistake happens, take responsibility, listen to your customers, and work to solve the problem together. Owning and handling mistakes well shows your customers that you are reliable and committed to delivering an amazing experience.    Creating a brand involves more than just a name or logo. It's about evoking emotions. This involves using design to speak to the heart of what the consumer cares about. That's part of the customer experience.    The new generation of customers interacts with brands differently. They expect personalized and engaging experiences. Brands must be flexible and adaptable while maintaining consistency.    Plus, Joanne shares how her team came up with the Amazon logo and how they purpose-built it for the future. Tune in!  Quote:   "To infuse a brand with personality, marketers need to understand that brands are a way to communicate with their customers. The more emotion you infuse into a visual identity system, the more connection you can have with your customers."    About:    Joanne Chan is the CEO of Turner Duckworth. They managed packaging and brand identity projects for clients like Amazon, Coca-Cola, Levi Strauss & Co., and Samsung.  Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daniel Lurie, the nonprofit founder and Levi Strauss heir who ran one of the most expensive races for mayor in modern city history, will succeed London Breed as the next mayor of San Francisco. Lurie ran as the only major candidate without experience in city hall — and that outsider message resonated with voters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices