Dustin's Book: The Prologue & Chapter One (#121) — Transcript
Updated: Oct 26
THE PICTURE OF WEALTH · EPISODE 121
Dustin Serviss reads the prologue and first chapter of his book, introducing Theo and the question behind his search for a picture of wealth.
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This transcript was generated from the episode audio and lightly edited for readability. It may contain transcription or speaker-attribution errors. Refer to the recording for exact wording.
Chapters
[00:00:00] Prologue: The Question
[00:02:14] A retirement question follows Theo
[00:04:03] Chapter one begins: Chloe
[00:05:50] A different way to recognize success
[00:07:35] A conversation outside his comfort zone
[00:09:20] What does a picture of wealth look like?
[00:11:03] Drawing the idea on a napkin
[00:12:51] Connection and a second picture of wealth
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Transcript
[00:00:00] Dustin Serviss: Welcome to the picture of wealth or TPAW as we call it. I am your host, Dustin Servais. Listener, this is your trusted host, Dustin Service. I'm gonna be reading a book that I wrote for the next few weeks, each chapter, each episode. Enjoy. Man's picture of wealth. Prologue, the question. Hey, photo guy. How do you plan to retire? The other guys in the jeep, all billionaires, all clutching craft beer cans and cigars, turned to hear Theo's reply with amused looks on their faces. Theo blinked, thought for a moment, and realized he had no idea what to say. He was the one who usually asked the questions.
[00:01:03] Dustin Serviss: He'd been drilling these guys with questions about their businesses all weekend, and having the table suddenly turned caught him off guard. Theo thought back to all the conversations he'd had in the past four years while trying to win the ultimate picture of wealth contest. He thought about Omar, the Italian car parts billionaire, Kaz, the unlikely farmer, and Carlos, the famous scuba diver in Cabo. They all had different things to say about how they achieved their wealth and what they valued and how it all somehow made Theo question his own approach. He also thought about Manns, the old caretaker of the luxury retreat where
[00:01:38] Dustin Serviss: these men each had spent twenty thousand to spend four days fishing and drinking expensive booze. How did he wanna retire? With all these people and conversations in mind, the first thing that came to Theo's mind was happy. Quote, unquote, happy, he said aloud. Knowing before he even opened his mouth that these guys were going to laugh their heads off, I wanna retire happy. From the front seat, Roy Duran, the Canadian oil tycoon, and Theo's subject for the contest gawked loudly. Yeah. But first, you need to cash out and get a big chunk of green to live on that. That is how you retire happy, my friend.
[00:02:14] Dustin Serviss: Theo tried not to inhale the cigar smoke and shifted in his seat. Yeah. I guess. He was more than a little embarrassed to be talking about his own finances with people so far ahead of him in the game. Orson, their fishing guide, cut in, five minutes to the honey hole, boys. You better be ready to catch some big ones. The others turned back to their beers and other conversation as the Jeep headed towards the far end of the lake. But Roy's question kept ringing in Theo's head. What about his retirement? At his graphic design and marketing firm, he'd built a nice library of stock photos and images that provided a decent steady income.
[00:02:49] Dustin Serviss: Hey, Roy, Theo said. You know what you said about cashing out? I get paid every time someone downloads one of my photos from the Internet. As long as that revenue covers my bare minimum, I'm set. I make money doing nothing. That's how I'm gonna retire. The three rich guys chuckled. Bill said, my bare minimums are golf, boat gas, club fees, and good one. The bigger the bills, the happier I must be. They laughed. Do I have to include my ex wife's jewelry shopping habit in my bare minimum? Roy asked, and they laughed even louder. Theo thought about how many ex wives the men must have between them,
[00:03:26] Dustin Serviss: and then he thought about his own wife, Ashley, who was at home that very moment angry at him. He was confused. These were wealthy men, successful men. They had made good investment decisions, he assumed, and had probably worked hard to save the huge fortunes they had now. Now they got to do bucket list items like this incredible trip, but he wasn't sure expensive things and bragging about them was wealth. He thought about the fights he and Ashley had had whenever he dug in his heels about something money related and about the sacrifices they made. His intentions were good. He thought that if he made a decision that brought in more money, his
[00:04:03] Dustin Serviss: family would be better off and happier. But it seemed like more and more of those decisions just made his wife angry. Orson pulled down into the clearing near the shore, and the mist covered cove came into view. Watching the others mill around putting on their fishing gear, Theo pondered why he was there to capture the ultimate picture of wealth. But he was starting to wonder if being wealthy and being rich were revealed by very different pictures. Chapter one, Chloe. Twelfth of August two thousand sixteen, Austin, Texas. The energy was palpable as Theo entered the conference area of Austin's newest
[00:04:43] Dustin Serviss: ultra chic boutique hotel and micro conference center. He was meeting Omar and Sari in the billionaire's penthouse suite in an hour, but he wanted to take a moment to relax and get his head in the game. As it were, his flight from Vancouver had been delayed, and he'd had to race over straight from the airport. He was frazzled and more than a little nervous. According to the signs everywhere, the hotel was hosting the sales awards for the LiveNow health products, what looked like a line of women's nutrition and longevity beauty products. He approached the lobby bar and asked the bartender for a soda and lime.
[00:05:17] Dustin Serviss: What's all the cheering in the next room? The bartender smiled as she prepared his drink with a flourish. Oh, this is the main event for all the top saleswomen in North America. They come here every year. To qualify, a rep needs to earn more than a million a year. They're great tippers. Theo raised his eyebrows and took a seat at the bar. As he sipped his drink, he could not help but tap his foot on his barstool. The pump up music laughter and cheering from the conference room was infectious, and he found himself wishing he could join in. He turned around to people watch from his barstool, and at that moment, the
[00:05:50] Dustin Serviss: doors of the conference room swung open. Some two hundred people, almost all women, poured into the surrounding halls and lobby. They were glowing, talking, laughing, and checking their phones. Theo noticed they wore name badges of different colors. What's with the badges? Do you know? Theo asked the bartender. The colors signify how many days off per year the person takes. How about that, No way. No joke. She turned and headed down the bar to serve another patron. This was a twist Theo had never encountered. These people made great money and celebrated big goals and they focused on days off.
[00:06:24] Dustin Serviss: Theo looked at the nearest sign and typed live now health into his phone. It was a global company with an old school multilevel marketing feel. Through the crowd, Theo noticed one woman with a cluster of five or six others waiting to talk to her and take selfies. He asked for another drink. And when he turned back, he saw the group had dispersed and the queen bee was approaching the bar. She sat down two seats from Theo. She was hard not to look at. She practically sparkled with energy and smelled how Ashley smelled after she'd been at the spa. Delicious. Everything about her said money. Her clothes were obviously expensive.
[00:06:57] Dustin Serviss: Her black hair was styled in a perfect mass of curls. She wore dark, well fitted jeans and a white t shirt with a deep v neck that contrasted attractively with her dark skin. It read excuse me while I succeed in big block letters. Artfully applied gold eyeshadow shimmered from her eyelids all the way to her high arched eyebrows and expensive looking rings adorned most of her fingers. The woman emulated confidence. Theo read her badge, Chloe Ellis. She ordered a g and t. In university, Theo was a full scholarship volleyball player and was captain of his team. He'd won sports and after graduation business awards and had been to lots
[00:07:35] Dustin Serviss: of networking events where he was comfortable making small talk. He may have been lacking financial confidence lately, but he still always felt okay striking up conversations, especially with women. But this woman was giving his confidence a challenge. She nearly hummed with it herself. He was intrigued by her and the company, more specifically, how they created the infectious energy he had just witnessed. What made this group buzz? Theo faltered, feeling himself exiting his comfort zone, but he took the chance. He thought, what about Wayne Gretzky saying, you miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take. Did you win an award today?
[00:08:12] Dustin Serviss: Theo asked. It was the first thing that came to his mind. She said, pardon? I should have been focused on my interview, not flirting at the bar, Theo thought. But he stuck to the game plan. Unable to fabricate a new entry point, he asked again. Did you win an award today? Oh, she said. No. I was presenting this year. Oh, wow. That's great, Theo said rather lamely. I mean, the energy in that group is insane. If you ladies could bottle that up, you'd be millionaires. She smiled and said, that's kind of what we do. And we are millionaires. Oops. He knew that. A number of the women from the lobby bar had come to sit at the bar.
[00:08:47] Dustin Serviss: Most were casually dressed, no power suits or cocktail dresses, and all seemed very relaxed and friendly. He turned back to Chloe and said, I'm Theo. She shook his hand. Chloe, you're here for the realtor convention? No. I'm a photographer. Oh, are you on an assignment? Sort of. Actually, I'm trying to win a contest. The assignment is to take the ultimate picture of wealth. So I'm here meeting my subject. He's this big billionaire from Italy. Khloe turned in her seat and looked Theo up and down, looking interested for the first time. He had the distinct feeling of being sized up.
[00:09:20] Dustin Serviss: But instead of wanting to know who the big shot billionaire was, Khloe leaned in and looked him in the eye. So tell me, Theo, what does a picture of wealth look like? He was surprised by her directness. Khloe obviously wasn't one for small talk. Well, they want me to capture a wealthy person in their element doing something that only wealthy people can do. The photo I'm hoping for this year will be of a billionaire making a billion dollar deal. He stopped and looked around the bar, which was buzzing with Khloe's amped up colleagues. He wondered what Omar and Sari's work events were like. I have to be honest.
[00:09:53] Dustin Serviss: I'm really intrigued by your group. Many of you earn over a million, you said? That's right, Khloe said. And we're all independent operators. The thing that sets us apart though is that lifestyle is intentional for us. The mantra of the company is family, fun, then financial. We've all built into being happy first and achieving success over time, really trying to enjoy the journey along the way instead of sacrificing our lives just to pile up a lot of money. She seemed to consider him for a moment and then leaned in. I have a question for you, mister wealth photographer. Yeah. For sure.
[00:10:26] Dustin Serviss: Theo was pleasantly surprised that she had chosen to keep the conversation going. Khloe set her empty glass down and nodded at the bartender for another. She said, if you're studying wealth, consider this. If I retire at age sixty and then die at sixty three, whether I had one point five million or three million, I still died with money in the bank. So one could ask, should I have lived more of my life? Should I have given more away, invested more in my happiness along the way, or was I right to keep saving my money and my fulfillment for later? Theo thought about that for a moment as they sipped their drinks.
[00:11:03] Dustin Serviss: It felt like his working life had been focused on building more, saving more, and trying to show everyone he was doing well. I don't know, he finally blurted out. How would you define wealth? Chloe looked at Theo, paused, and then moved into the stool next to him. She asked the bartender for some more napkins. I assume you're not doing origami, she said and gave her the pen too. Chloe pushed the pen and napkin over to Theo. Show me what you think you know so far about this ultimate picture. Draw what you think wealth looks like. Theo stared at her. He was on the hot seat now.
[00:11:35] Dustin Serviss: Well, wealth, having enough money to support your family and do what you want, when you want. He drew some boxes on the napkin and labeled them expenses, assets, savings, investments. He showed her and she slid it back to him. Good start. Now flip it over and break it down. Be more specific. Theo turned the napkin over and started again. This time, he drew bigger blocks and inside the bottom block wrote expenses, savings, assets. In the upper block, he wrote business costs, profits, investing. Chloe nodded. That's better, but what's missing? Theo stared at the napkin with its clumsy boxes. He added spaces for profit and the kids' education.
[00:12:14] Dustin Serviss: She took the napkin and pushed it aside, grabbed a new one. But that's all money, Theo. What about the rest of your life? The most important parts. She started drawing and when she was done, placed her napkin on top of Theo's. Here's what you need to consider. On top of your money plan, mental health, physical health, education, and solid connections with positive people in your life, and my favorite, spending. If you don't have a good lifestyle, you have nothing. Before a person can start investing in assets and savings, vehicles, and real estate, they need to see the value investing in themselves.
[00:12:51] Dustin Serviss: She shoved the napkin back over to Theo, and he stared down at them, catching himself before he rolled his eyes. He thought about the billionaire he was meeting in a couple hours and whether he did much investing himself. Then why don't investment books ever talk about that? Good question, Theo, Chloe said. She took the two napkins and placed them next to each other. If I were looking for the ultimate picture of wealth, I would be trying to capture the level of connection a person has with their friends. And I'm not talking about expensive golf trips with partners at the firm or surface level conversations at events.
[00:13:22] Dustin Serviss: I'm talking about connecting with true friends on an emotional level. What do they fear? What are they most proud of that isn't bought with money? What do they really want? If you could somehow capture that, I would vote for that photo, Khloe finished. Theo looked over at the napkins, which combined his original sketch with her ideas expanding on them. He was floored to hear someone so successful talk about things like friendships and emotions as values above money. He'd always thought of those things as bonus items, side effects of being successful. He realized that it had been a long time since he'd had a friend
[00:13:58] Dustin Serviss: that he had a true connection with emotionally. His old friends had all faded away as their various careers started taking off. Just then four women entered the bar laughing and excited. The smell of expensive perfume filled the air like a tropical breeze. One of them spotted Khloe. Khloe, come on. There's a pop up at a penthouse across the street. DJs and champers, everyone's going. Be right there, Chloe said. And with that, she threw a fifty dollar bill on the bar, put her hand on Theo's shoulder and said, I really hope you capture that picture well, Theo. She tapped his napkin diagram and winked.
[00:14:32] Dustin Serviss: Maybe you could enter an art contest if you don't win. And with that, she was gone. Thank you for tuning in to this episode. If you enjoyed the show, please like and rate the show. Share with a friend or use your new knowledge in your next conversation. If during the show something gave you a pang of inspiration, motivation or sense of uncertainty, act on it now. Get the clarity you're looking for. Find the permission you seek. Go to servicewealth dot com to discover how others are learning how to take Fridays off or buying a recreation property or spending more money.
[00:15:03] Dustin Serviss: If you're an organizer of an event where you believe my philosophy of finance lifestyle design would be applicable, go to servicewealth dot com and book me as a speaker at your next event. If you want a copy of our new book coming out soon, send me a message on Instagram or Facebook and we will be sure to get you a first copy.