The School of Greatness
Why Most People Will Never Build Wealth (And How to Be Different) | Vivian Tu
02 Feb 2026
Chapter 1: Why do most people struggle to build wealth?
Our middle class is shrinking. More people will go into that category of kings, and more people will go into that category of really suffering. There will be people who figure it out, but then there's also a group of people who aren't going to be able to figure it out. Their life is going to get meaningfully worse.
You are going to see people continuously wake up one day in their 40s or 50s and look at themselves in the mirror and be like, what happened?
She's one of the most trusted voices in personal finance today. She's a former Wall Street trader turned top podcaster and bestselling author. Please welcome Vivian Tu.
I am going to sit here and be the first person to tell you it ain't fair. Life ain't fair. Some people are born on third base. Some people are out in the parking lot with the person who is selling those illegal hot dogs that does not have a vendor's license. But just because our current society is not perfect does not mean that you can lose hope.
What are the first three steps someone should take to set themselves up by the end of 2026, they feel like they have a lot more peace because of the actions they've taken with this three-step game plan?
I would say...
Every time I'm around you, I feel wealthier. I feel like money pours into my heart and there's just abundance that is coming to me because you give such good wisdom and strategies on how to mentally, emotionally, and tactically create more financial freedom in your life. So thank you for being here. You've got a new book called Well Endowed, the last book you had crushed.
And this book is about the secrets to strategic spending, building a financial foundation for you and your family and creating lasting generational wealth. Make sure you guys get a copy of this. And as someone who just got married this year and just had twins recently, this is exactly what I need to start learning.
And I probably should have started learning this stuff years ago before getting married and before having kids. There seems to be a lot of financial insecurity in the world right now. And specifically over the last five years, we're at this like half of a decade mark since COVID, right? And 2030 is gonna be here before we know it. We're 2026 starting out right now, this episode comes out.
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Chapter 2: What is the buy, borrow, die strategy for wealth building?
This is not investing. This is not a market. You have literally opened a book. You've opened a sports book, but for real life things happening.
For life events. Life events.
Yeah.
And
We are conflating gambling, which let's be clear, nobody is a good gambler. There might be some really, really talented poker players who have honed in those skills, what have you, but nobody's a good gambler. Nobody is good at the slot machine. Nobody is good at the roulette table. Nobody's good at gambling. You cannot get better. It is luck. And the house always wins.
And so my thing is, is when you see these prediction markets, just know it is akin to you flipping a coin and putting money on if it's going to land heads or tails. And I think it's incredibly silly to call that investing because it will likely lead to you depleting your wealth versus increasing it.
Yeah, it's very addictive. It's very like adrenaline rush.
You get a little confetti sign every time you place a thing. Of course, you feel good.
That's crazy. Maybe I'll win something.
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Chapter 3: How does discomfort contribute to personal growth?
for a casino anything they have to put at the bottom call you know gambling addicts anonymous or whatever and like they have to do all of that disclaimers because it's a vice in the same way that cigarette boxes have to tell you that it it is cancerous carcinogenic that alcohol labels have to have you know like drink responsibly like it's a vice and it is incredibly addictive because it operates on the same neural pathways as other addictive substances yeah
yeah if you're gonna gamble you need to look at it as entertainment yeah and just say if i go to vegas and i spend like three hundred dollars on roulette yeah it's like 200 for you 300 for me i'm a little more risky you know 300 bucks i'm like all right this is my two hour window it's like going to a very expensive movie i'm watching a movie yeah it costs money win or lose i walk away being entertained yeah but not risking like i need this money
And there's an energy around going into gambling. I always go in having fun. I used to, when I was poor, like 15 years ago, I used to go gamble and $100 was like everything to me. And I had this kind of anxious energy where I really didn't want to lose the money.
Of course.
And I lost it every time.
Because you weren't playing to win, you were playing not to lose.
Exactly. And now I play so light and free because I don't look at it as like, I need to make this money back. And I feel like I win every time. I probably don't. You don't. But I feel like, man, I'm just winning left and right. And it's more of an enjoyable experience rather than all my hopes and dreams on if this hits red seven. You know what I mean? Exactly.
And you've got to switch your mind into thinking like, I can't gamble at all unless it's just fun. And I have nothing to lose with a couple hundred bucks here or there. And I know it's just money that I'm never going to get back.
It's the cost of admission to the movie.
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Chapter 4: What mindset differences exist between the wealthy and those in scarcity?
They were a little too big, or I can't remember if they were a little too big or a little too small.
A couple thousand dollar heels or something.
Yeah, they were like a thousand dollar heels. They were black leather, gold toe. I sold them. You still have them today.
I do, by the way.
And I was like so shell shocked that she would give these to me because she could easily have sold them for $700, $600 on some secondary website.
It's too much time. It's just like, here you go.
It's not the time. Because she had other clothes going into bags that were going out.
She was going to sell.
She was going to like, you know, send to a service that would sell them for her and they would take a cut and whatever. but i asked her i was like why are you giving these to me and she said i think every young woman needs a pair of heels that helps her stand a little taller and makes her feel just like a little bit bigger a little bit better And she was the big sister I always wanted.
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Chapter 5: How can embracing discomfort help escape a B+ life?
And so
You're an only child?
I'm an only child. No pressure.
No pressure.
No pressure. Your girls are lucky in that way. But like, I feel like I saw how often they were scoffed at or taken advantage of. And it made me sick because I was born here. I'm not here to survive. I have a sense of entitlement and I don't think that's a bad thing. I am entitled to a good life. I am a strong believer that only good things happen to girls like me.
And I say that boldly and proudly every single morning in the mirror. I'm like, bad things like this don't happen to girls like me. And people are always like laughing on my team. They're like, that's like literally a delusional thing to say.
That's why you are where you are, because you're delusional. I am a little delusional. And that's why you are where you are, because you believe it.
I believe it. I truly do believe it. But I believe that I am entitled to thrive in this country, looking the way- Let's freaking go, Vivian. I am entitled to thrive in this country, looking the way I look, however I sound, in a way that my parents never felt that they were entitled to.
And maybe in part, they were truly discriminated against whatever, but I think a lot of it was also a self-fulfilling prophecy in that because my parents were like, oh, well, my English is not good, I'm not going to ask for a raise. even if my mom was the star chemist at her pharmaceutical lab or my dad was like, oh, I should just be happy to have a job. I don't want to rock the boat.
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Chapter 6: Why is having a financial plan crucial for success?
And when I bring you around and people see how big your ring is, that is a flex for me.
It's true.
And so I think for him, there are so few moments in his life where he gets to celebrate. And so he wanted some big things.
Yeah.
private fireworks. You gotta pay a guy to go off on a little boat and like shoot stuff off. Like that's very expensive. Like this man is risking his life and it is very expensive per minute that the fireworks are going off. They charge you by the minute. They, he wanted, you know, the upper level food and the
like 10 person band and the amazing quartet orchestra while he was walking with his mom down the aisle. He wanted all these things. And at a certain point I was like, you are so wasteful. I can't believe you want this. Like why, why, why, why? And it wasn't until I realized that like he had never been able to celebrate all of his accomplishments in the way that I had.
that I finally realized it wasn't about the money. It wasn't about the wedding. It was about being able to say that like, I'm in a position in my life that I never thought possible. I want to celebrate with somebody who I've committed my entire life to.
And in part, we want to make sure that it's a memorable experience for all of the people we're asking to come halfway across the world to Italy to. And it wasn't until he explained it to me like that, that I was like, Okay, well now I feel bad.
Now I feel like the dirt bag.
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Chapter 7: What are the first steps to creating financial peace?
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And now it's time to go out there and do something great.