Ep 56 | If the Rich Look Morally Bankrupt, Why Build Wealth at All?
Building wealth feels morally complicated right now — not because money is evil, but because power gets messy once money stops being a constraint. Priya Malani sits down with Pia Silva to unpack why so many ethical, thoughtful people feel conflicted about building wealth — and why opting out may actually leave power in the wrong hands.
They challenge the idea that money corrupts, explore how wealth tends to amplify character rather than change it, and make the case for why ethical people building wealth matters more than ever.
If you’ve ever worried that money might turn you into someone you don’t respect, this conversation will reframe the question.
Takeaways:
If ethical people treat wealth like a moral hazard, the most unethical actors inherit more influence by default.
Money doesn’t automatically corrupt, it often reveals and amplifies what was already there.
The ethical question isn’t “should I build wealth,” it’s “what decisions will I pre-commit to before money stops being a constraint.”
You don’t need to love capitalism to operate effectively inside it — you need clarity, rules, and intention.
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Guest Bio:
Pia Silva, founder of No BS Mastery where she trains experts, consultants and boutique agencies on the No BS Business Model to make $250K-$500K+/year with more freedom and ease, and without employees. She’s a TEDx speaker, host of The No BS Mastery Podcast, former Forbes contributor, author of Badass Your Brand and author of the upcoming book Scale Solo (March 2026).
Guest Links:
Book: nobsmastery.com/book
Playbook: nobsmastery.com/playbook
Instagram: @pialovesyourbiz
Podcast: piasilva.com/podcast
Transcription
Welcome to the F Word. As you know, I run a company that helps people in their thirties get their financial shit together, which means helping them build wealth. But I'm doing this episode because in light of recent events, building wealth feels morally complicated. Right now I wanna start by saying that I'm not fluent in academic or political theory about wealth and power, but lately when I look at how extreme wealth shows up in our world, culturally, politically, morally. It doesn't look aspirational. It looks hollow disconnected, sometimes dangerous, and I've caught myself thinking something that I don't love admitting, but I think a lot of people are thinking, if this is what wealth does to people, why would I want it?
Clearly there are counter examples. Melinda French Gates has been very intentional about using her wealth to expand opportunity, especially for women without positioning money as a tool for control or dominance, which tells me this isn't about wealth itself. It's about how power gets expressed once money is no longer a constraint. That's a scary question to sit with when your job is helping people build wealth, money gives you options, safety, freedom, power over your own life, but some of the most visible examples of wealth today seem paired with a loss of values, empathy, and accountability.
Today's conversation isn't about proving that wealth corrupts that would be too simple. It's about sitting in the discomfort of this moment and asking a better question, how do you build wealth without losing your sense of character or moral direction? How do you build wealth without becoming someone you don't respect? I asked my longtime friend Pia Silva to join me because she's one of the few people who can hold this tension without sugarcoating it and without spiraling into cynicism. Pia is an entrepreneur, author, and strategist who has spent her career thinking about power, money agency and ethics in practice, not theory. She doesn't let people off the hook and she also doesn't let them opt out. And that's a conversation I think we all need right now. So let's get into it.
Who the fuck am I to tell you what to do with your money? My name is Priya Milani, currently managing millions of hardworking dollars. Enough foreplay. Let's talk money. Welcome to the F word, smart Money. No,
Pia Silva. Welcome to the show.
Thank you so much for having me, Priya. Great to be here.
Really excited to to chat with you today. I think this is a very important topic. Before we get into the conversation, can you maybe just tell us a little bit about why you feel equipped to talk about money, power, wealth, without oversimplifying it?
Well, let's be clear, I'm not like a sociologist who has written a book about this, so I'm not like a leading expert in this topic. But I will say, you know, I have an economics degree from Wesleyan University. I had a focus in social entrepreneurship. I was a starting block fellow. I worked at the Clinton Global Initiative, thinking about money and how it relates to doing good in this world is something I have always been, very focused on. And I have since built multiple businesses, made millions of dollars, helping small businesses build businesses that support their lifestyle and help them build wealth for themselves and their families. So this has just been a through line for everything I've done in my career and really since I was like 15 and read, you know, Stephen Levin Freakonomics for the first time. So. I love talking about it. It's one of my favorite topics.
Yeah, it really is. You and I have talked a lot offline about this and that was great framing. I think it definitely is something that you're very passionate about. Well read on. I wanna start with a feeling that I think a lot of people have, even if it's not something that we're able to like articulate super clearly. But I'm, I'm gonna say it kind of in a direct way, how I think about it lately. It just feels like money makes people worse. When you hear that, what do you think people are actually feeling?
Yeah, I mean, I, I get where that feeling is coming from. When we look at the structures of capitalism and what's happening at the very top, it can be very easy to equate making money and having power with corruption, bad things, especially because we're also inundated with news that is heavily focused on negative things. Right? So I feel like, of course, that connection is being made. I also have spent years doing, while I coach small businesses, working on money mindset, and I find that most people that I work with do have some sort of underlying story of, you know, people who make a lot of money are immoral or aren't good. And when we uncover that, I usually ask them, well, well, what do you think that does to your ability to make money in your business? Which by the way, is why you're here working with me. What do you think it does to your ability to make money? Or build wealth in your case, if you also have this feeling that money corrupts and it and bad, only bad people have money, you know?
And of course you kinda laugh and you're like, yeah, it's probably not helping because, so I, I think it's a really important thing for all of us to notice because we all probably have that on some level. I think it is really easy to make that big general connection. Wealth equals, IM moral corruption when what you and I are talking about with wealth, what, what I'm talking about with building wealth and making money with my small business clients is not the people that we're talking about at all. Right? We wanna make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. You know, we wanna be able to accumulate maybe a few million or $10 million in our lifetime so that we have a cushion for retirement. I'm not trying to make billions of dollars, right? So I would not equate making that kind of money with the billionaires. Some people would say, and I, I don't. I'm not gonna argue one way or another. 'cause I don't necessarily think this is wrong, but I could see an argument against it that it, that it's impossible to make billions of dollars without immoral practices.
So there's an argument for that. But again, I feel like that is so far, so disconnected from what we're talking about. I get served up a lot of reels on, on Instagram, like, which I, I love this kind of content. Showing the numbers, like showing if this grain of rice is a hundred thousand dollars, you know, and you have a million dollars, this is what your little pile, or $10 million, this is what your pile of rice is. Now let me show you what the billionaires are talking about, and it's like vats and vats of rice. You can't even, right. So I think it's very hard to conceptualize the gap between being a multimillionaire and very wealthy, according to me, and being a billionaire. Just not, it's a, it's galaxies away and it's very hard to, for our human brains to like really grasp that. 'cause those kinds of numbers are just hard to grasp.
I think the one thing that you touched on is a really good takeaway is the idea that examining that limiting belief, there's one thing I know about you, you hate sweeping statements. And that's a good thing. You really want to, what does that mean? And so dissecting your limiting belief, dissecting even that starting point suggests. So you're probably on a morally more sound path than most.
Yeah, absolutely. And that's, you know, if we wanna get into why I think it's not only moral for us to make money and build wealth, but I actually think it is kind of our duty for those of us who can is because I think it's important for moral, ethical people to be the ones with money and power and influence. So I think it, it is unfortunate that some of the most ethical and moral people carry around consciously or subconsciously this story that if they make too much money, they will become corrupted or become immoral, because those are the exact people that we need to have the money and have the influence in politics, have the money because they're the ones who are gonna be more generous with that money.
You know, maybe in both like a, a donation, you know, supporting causes in nonprofits kind of way and or just how they spend their money, right? You can't shop at the local farmer's market and support local businesses if you don't have money. 'cause that shit's expensive. So, you know, it's like you, you can't do a lot of things that actually support other small businesses. And I'm obviously a huge proponent of small businesses and, and supporting small businesses. You can't do that if you don't have enough money. So these are the things that I think about, when it comes to like the morality behind making money, of course, in an ethical way.
We talked a little bit about causation and correlation. It sounds like what you're saying is that money has the ability to amplify or reveal character, not necessarily change it.
I think that's a great way of putting it. You know, we've had this debate offline like, does money corrupt people? If you make enough money, will you become corrupted? Well, first of all, I'd love to see a study that with sound scientific practices, see if they can determine whether that is or isn't true. I am positive that money has corrupted people. I'm also positive that there are people who have not been corrupted by money. So can we really conclude that money corrupts people or can we conclude that to your point? It, it kind of allows you to be more of what you already are. I. It's probably yes, and it's probably all of those things, right?
There are wonderful examples of people making money and doing incredible things with it. I remember a story of a guy building like a factory, and his intention was he, he basically built a really big business with a lot of employees and gave everybody, every employee had shares in the company. Like everybody was an like, not an equal owner, but, but not like he gave 5% of the company to the employees, like the company was divvied up amongst the employees. That's an example of somebody building an amazing business and then doing something incredible with it. That one story is enough to say no money doesn't corrupt. And I, as a, an eternal optimist, wanna believe that that's not just how human nature works. And again, that's why I want to help more people who are ethical make more money.
Yeah. So what would you say to someone who feels like opting out of building wealth is the morally high ground position?
I mean, look, everyone is entitled to their position, and I don't think somebody who feels that strongly about it is gonna be very good at making money anyway. So like, I think that person should, should do their thing. You know, I, I greatly respect people who live off the grid and completely away from capitalist society as much as possible. You know, Steve and I, my husband Steve and I, we tried to do that for a little while. We went and lived on a farm and bartered our labor for room and board. Basically. We like lived on the farm and, and ate off the farm and, and worked on it in, you know, to compensate. That's not an easy life, you know? And I think that's a life that some people can live. And I mean, not that you're saying that's what those people would do, but I feel like, yeah, those people also, anyone who lives like that, they are contributing in their own way.
I don't know why, but I've always felt like money comes to me. Like, I've always felt kind of like, oh, I can always make more money. And I've, I've always kind of had this positive feeling about it, and so I've always kind of felt like. Is something that I know how to do and I'm good at, so I should do it, you know? And somebody else who has the ability to do something different, they should do that because that's also a really, you know, that's like an econ 1 0 1 thing. Like everybody should do the thing that they're really good at. They should do that really well. And let's trade. Right. What is that competitive advantage? I don't remember that much from my econ.
It's been a minute.
That one I remember. We won't say how long, but it's been a minute.
Yeah, so those people who are feeling like, nah, I'm not interested. That looks like something that just creates greed and creates corruption. To the top of what we were talking about earlier. It sounds like there's probably more beneath the surface, some limiting beliefs there that might be influencing their decision to opt out. They might even just be scared like that. Like you just said, it sounds like a law of attraction thing where money, you're very positive about it. You just attract it. There are probably people out there who just feel like, for some reason when I get money, it slips through my hands, and maybe that's for the best because look at the people who have money. They're not super admirable.
Yeah, well, you're right. Like anytime you've got a really strong negative feeling about anything, usually a bit of digging or maybe some therapy can uncover that. That belief came from somewhere because that's what we are as adult humans. We're a series of beliefs and stories that we accumulated along our life. I mean, that's why I'm so interested in and enjoy doing a lot of limiting belief exercises because there's always more layers to peel and there are always stories under there and, and these are all. These are all connections that sometimes we make often subconsciously when we're children and then we just carry them through our lives and then we look at the world through that lens and then experience things that are happening as confirmation that what we believed was true.
It's why we watch so many people watch the same video and see completely different things. It's 'cause that's confirmation bias at its strongest. So I think it's a, a matter of listen, everybody has the right, and I believe everyone has the right to believe and think whatever they want, as long as it's not harming other people. But it is also something that if you don't think it's a really positive force in your life to have that belief, you can absolutely do some work to figure out where it came from and maybe change it into a positive.
I heard you on respecting everyone's position, everyone's life decision and what's best for them, but it sounds like the argument could be made that ethical people who choose to step back from building wealth are actually unethical.
We all have to decide what our ethics and our morals are. So you and I are here discussing what we think is ethical and moral. And this is just my personality is I've always been very pragmatic. That's just how I approach things. And so to me, even if you think our structures that we live in, the way our government operates, capitalism in general, like even if you think it's completely corrupted, it still is the world that we live in. And so as a pragmatist, I go, so we need to play within the walls of that. Even if it's not perfect, I don't opt out. I say, well, I like poker, you know, I like a strategy game. Like, okay, well this is the game. And it's not totally fair, but what can we do to make it better? You know? And what can I do personally and what skills do I bring to the table that I can leverage to make this part of the world a little bit better for myself and for the people around me?
I mean, what else can we do as humans? Except that if everybody does that, it will be a great positive effect.
Yeah, it's a very constructive narrative and, hopeful one. I still think there are some people out there who probably think it's just too dangerous because I am an ethical person and I can see myself like being an ethical person as I build wealth. But at a certain point when I taste, I've never had a million dollars. I don't know what it's like to have a million dollars, and if I've never had $5 million, I don't know what it's like to have $5 million and it, at a certain point, I might even be worried that it could change who I am, and I'm worried that it would, and I don't wanna risk it. What would you say?
I think someone would have to be really aware to be that aware of their story. Right? I don't think most people are aware that they're walking around with that feeling. It's more of an a subconscious story. But once you become aware of that, I would then ask that person, okay, but if you could like control what you did, if you had $5 million, what would you want to do with it? Are you saying, I would hope that if I had $5 million, I would give away half of it. Why don't you do the exercise of saying, what does an ethical person who has $5 million look like? And then ask yourself, is that what you would want to do? And then you could decide, hey, I mean I know plenty of people where a small amount of that money is for them. They make money and they're motivated to make money because of all the good it can do in the world. And you know, you don't have to do very much looking to see all of the need in this world and all of the people who could use help.
So if you're a super ethical person and you could make $5 million and you don't want, and it's not because you wanna have $5 million, then you can make a pact with yourself. This is, I am making this money not for me, but for those people over there. And not only do I think that would probably motivate you to make it more, but that would be just an incredible way to live your life. So rather than let the fear of this will change me, I would encourage that person to switch and look at what could be done with that kind of money. And is that the kind of thing that I wanna do? Because the motivation really isn't the money. It's what Money is nothing, right? Money is just a tool.
I also think when you pose the question, the money becomes this number and it's very abstract. So when I help people figure out how much money they wanna make in their business. I tell them, I want you to write down literally every single thing you wanna buy. You know, tell me how much it costs for you to live. Tell me what kind of life you wanna live that you can't afford now with dollar amounts, because you will be so much more motivated to make that money when it's connected to a lifestyle you want. And I know you, this is exactly what you do with people too, right? It's like, we don't need endless cash. Part of that can be, and I wanna be able to donate, you know, $20,000 a year to causes. I believe in like, I'm like, put that on your plan. Yeah. Because that's an exciting way to build a business. You know, think about it from the ground up as opposed to just this big lofty number. You've never seen anything close to $5 million. So of course it just seems very abstract and it's not tangible. So that's how I would think about it. I would just completely reverse how you thought about that number.
That's great. And beyond a pact with yourself. Make the plan, right? Yeah. Like we see probably 20 to 30% of our clients who are in their early thirties building charitable donations or just some way to give away part of their wealth into their financial plan. So maybe it's not happening in 2026 or 2027, but they know, okay, by this time I am going to have and will be able to give. They've actually planned for it. It's, it's, it's gonna happen. It's an incredible thing to plan for actually. I like that. That feels very tangible. You can almost safeguard against wealth being a corrupter by having a plan, by dissecting the way that you think, making a pact with yourself, making promises to others having accountability.
That's a great point, and that's shameless plug. That's a great reason that people should work with you is because by working with someone like you guys, you are helping them think through this. Mm-hmm. You're helping them put the plan in place and then it's, it's almost happening automatically. And it would become something that that person would have to say, you know what, I've just, I've decided even though I had this $5 million plan to give it all away. Right. I don't wanna do that anymore. Right.
That's a different decision.
I'm ready to actually say, no, I wanna keep all of that for myself and like go on a ridiculous vacation. I don't know. So I think having that, you guys are basically like that, that team behind them going like, this is what you wanted and let's help you get there. And I think that's just so valuable.
That's such a good segue, wanting to talk about wealth. Because this is something you and I have talked about a lot as optionality, right? It gives you so many options for yourself, for your, people around you. You say it very well that in the work you do to increase the value of your company, it benefits the employees, it benefits your family, the employees, their family, and all the people that they take on as clients. It improves your ability to protect yourself, to support yourself, to protect others, to leave bad situations. There's like the other side of building wealth that you're not necessarily thinking about when you're just thinking about it as this evil thing.
Absolutely. I mean, having money gives you options and you don't even know what options you might need or want in the future. So it is a safety net in that respect. Obviously when you are living paycheck to paycheck, you have very few options. You, you have to continue to work. And so, I mean, obviously I'm a big proponent of that as well, and I think that's one of the biggest things that people who come to me for their business help are looking for, because they don't want to feel completely tied down to their business, just like they didn't wanna feel like they were, you know, at the mercy of their job. And by the way, like we all know the job market now, even when you are very high up jobs are not forever anymore. You don't work at one place forever. So there's the opportunity to maybe take some time off to maybe switch careers or maybe, maybe at some point you wanna start a business. The more wealth you've accumulated, the more options you will have and the, and really the money gives you time. So I see money and time are so interrelated. The more money you have available to you, the more time you have to play with.
Is it actually harder to build wealth if you have empathy and ethics and personal limits.
I think there's no question it's easier to make money and build huge businesses if you are not highly ethical. Like, you know, we've heard stories of companies that just pollute, you know, so, so they're whatever their generating, you know, their, oil or they're digging into the ground and, and then they just pollute the water with chemicals and it's totally illegal. But they do it because the, the fine, if they ever get it, is gonna be cheaper than what it would've cost to dispose of this properly. That's one example.
You know, Walmart is a great example. Walmart, well, first of all, pays their employees very poorly, right? They're like minimum wage, but they also, on top of that, they purposefully keep their employees hours under full time so that the, so they don't have to give them benefits, which would cost more money. And so those employees can't work full-time hours. They won't allow them to, and then they have to get their healthcare and their benefits from the government, which means our tax dollars are subsidizing the workers at Walmart. If you look at the top billionaires in the world, it's like the Walton family are like five, six, and seven. You know, there's like five of them on there. That's different people having all of this wealth. That is so much money for you to then be treating your employees like that. Oh, and by the way, that's just costing us the taxpayers a lot of money. So it's both unethical for the people who work for your company, who make it the billion dollar business that it is, and for like the people of this country and.
You know, we're not like trying to go into that conversation, but my point is, you know, Walmart was able to become the mega store that it is because it undercut prices from all of its competitors. You know, and I, I've shopped at Walmart. I'm not saying I don't shop at, you know, I haven't shopped at Walmart, but it would come into these small towns and all of the small businesses would go outta business because they couldn't compete with the pricing because Walmart would just undercut everybody's pricing. And part of the way they did that was by not paying their employees very well. So all of these tactics, you know, you have to decide what you think. Is that ethical or not? It's, it's certainly questionable. You laugh at me. I'm like, on the other extreme, I'm like, wanna pay everybody like more than the going rate, because I want people to be paid well, you know? And as somebody who feels like I know how to make money and I'm always gonna be okay, I am like, I wanna make sure this money is like being redistributed. Like I'm the person who tips a dollar, even though the person literally just like handed me a muffin. I'm like, yeah, but they're a service worker, you know, and they're not making a lot of money and it's expensive to live. So
For the record, I am also on people being paid well, but you definitely take it to the next level of anyone listening is looking for any kind of job. You should hit up p Silva. She does pay very, very well. It is easier to make money pursuing an unethical. But that doesn't mean it isn't our responsibility as ethical humans. In fact, it's more of a responsibility for us to fill the void. Like if people who are ethical don't step up and build wealth and distribute it and make it a better world, we're going in the wrong direction.
Yeah, absolutely. And you know, to be fair, I think that all of this just plays into my personality. It's like it's a puzzle. It's like I don't wanna just build a successful business. I wanna build a successful business that I'm also really proud of, and that also really supports people and that is, you know, doing all of these different things. Okay, so here are all the inputs. Now, how do I make this business successful? You know, I, I like get off on that kind of stuff. So, you know, maybe it's just my personality and it's harder is my point. It's harder, it's a harder puzzle, you know, I, I live in the online business space and there is so much BS in this space, you know, and, and I continue to believe it, but then I hear about it, it's like, there are people who will just lie. You know, we were talking about people who sell face creams, about not aging, who don't tell you that they've had like tons of Botox and a facelift. But they're like, oh, it's just the cream. I mean, that is so unethical, you know? But there's tons of that out there. So, so if you are not that person, like we need you.
Yeah. Need more of the ethical voices. It's, it stinks. I get very defeated sometimes when I think about the media and how the narratives. We have no control over the noise and it's, it's, it really puts the onus on us to have to stop, think about what we're being fed, and go seek out facts and reality. Quite frankly,
It is the hard work of not feeling defeated when you see those negative things and then opting out. I think it's like, because it's not, oh, everyone's bad. Oh, everyone's corrupt. When I see that, you know, these people on line that are lying and or hear about it. I'm, I always look at it like, yeah, some people are always gonna do that. And that's been true for all of time. You know, like there will always be people who do grifter things and there are also always people who are doing the right thing and trying really hard, and we have to seek those people out and support them, because that's the only way those people will be able to rise if, if they're supported by others.
Yeah. One of the things that's really big for me with my business is eliminating the stress for people so they can go out and do their best work. 'cause money is such a source of stress that if we can take some of that off their plate and let them go, make money, then they'll be able to do more good in the world.
Absolutely. Because how much good can you do in the world when you are always stressed and strapped for cash, not just from a monetary perspective, right? Like if you are living in scarcity 'cause you don't have enough and you're always stressing about money. It's not just that you, it's. Don't have access to be generous with, it's hard to be generous with your time and who you are. I mean, I can think back on all the times that I've been really stressed about money. It's like I'm not that pleasant to be around because I'm just kind of consumed by that stress
Revival,
And that has a huge ripple effect on my husband, on my child, on my friends. Like there's so much that cannot be measured that has, an effect on how we all live. You know, it's like the butterfly effect. You know, you walk down the street and you're pissed off, and then you like bump into somebody and you're like, Ugh. And then that person's like, whoa, what's that about? And then like, keep walking, and they like, don't tip the person because they're like pissed off. You know? Like, I mean, it's just, just goes on and on and on. I remember somebody giving me the, the challenge and it was so great. Just like really purposefully like walking through the world with like a really big smile on your face and just like being really, really polite and it is amazing to see what kind of reaction you get from people.
People are so. I mean, it's not so different, but they just, their response is so big and you can just see it automatically if you go overboard with just being like, oh my gosh, thank you so much. And you, you're just naturally like this, so, so I'm speaking for somebody who usually walks through the world, like, don't talk to me, like I'm on a path. I got places to be. When I do that, I notice such a difference in like how people are really just so happy to be smile at and like all of these things. And it, it, you can tell it's just a ripple effect.
I like to make friends.
You love friends.
For the person who is listening to this, at this point, you did an amazing job. I mean, you really make being ethical, very aspirational, sexy. It's
Guys,
It's everything's go. What you're able to do with money, to what you're able to do with your personality to drive and spread good in the world is, is super, exciting and, and influential in a very positive way, but if there's someone still feeling a little bit conflicted about money and that it's, that's still like the moral piece of it just isn't hitting for them, what would you want them to walk away from this with? Like, what's one nugget for somebody who still feels a little morally conflict conflicted about money?
The only way that you can have money and use it for good, if that is something that you think is a positive thing, is if you do the work of figuring out why you have a, a really deep moral connection to this thing that really is just a tool because if you unhook it. I would argue you could do a lot more good in this world than if you continue to hold onto that and therefore opt out of society, right? Like we're capitalist society. Money is how everything works. Money is involved in almost everything. So it's an opportunity and it's an opportunity you have to, you know, entertain, but I would hope somebody walks away going like, yeah, I'd, I'd like to look at that more because maybe if I changed my perspective on that, I could do a lot more good in the world.
Love that. Money is an opportunity. Money is a tool. And if you're someone who is morally sound and want to do good in the world, and the only way you can do good in the world monetarily is if you allow yourself to make space for, for money in your life,
Monetarily being the operative word here, right? Like there's plenty of things you can do that are good in the world without money, and I don't wanna, suggest that I'm saying that's the only way to do good.
Yeah.
It's just one of many ways and it's a powerful one. I. I think that there are some people where the good that they are best suited to do is not related to making money, and I want those people to do that thing, and I am going to do this because I think that this is something I'm good at, and that's that comparative advantage thing again, you know, it's like we should all do the thing that we are best at, so we can do the most good in the way that means the most to us. I'll share a, a quick story that really stuck in my head when I heard it a long time ago. A story about a lawyer who made $200 an hour and he wanted to do good in the world. He would volunteer at the soup kitchen for two hours a week. Okay. And the story was kind of talking about like, Hey listen, you wanna volunteer at the soup kitchen for two hours a week? That's amazing. Like, that seems great, but just know if we're being pragmatic about this, it would actually make more sense for you to work two extra hours and take that $400 you made and donate it to the soup kitchen because $400 is worth a lot more to the soup kitchen than two hours of your time. Now, that doesn't mean he can't volunteer at the soup kitchen. In fact, he probably does it because it makes him feel good. But if we can detach ourselves from that pure emotion, if you really wanna do the best in the world, you should make $400 a week and donate it. Wow. Like $400 a week to the soup kitchen would be amazing. So that's where I'm always coming from.
And it's not the touchy feely thing, you know, it's like, it's more fun to be like, look at me like I'm, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm in here connecting with people. And there's value to that too. I'm not saying there's, there's lots of value to that. But if we look at like where our biggest value lies, sometimes it's, sometimes it's not in the gutsiest way. Sometimes it's in a more pragmatic way, but I like to think of it like that. 'cause I wanna do the most good in the world. I wanna have the biggest impact. So how can I personally have the biggest impact? I gotta look at where my skillset lies and and focus there.
I also like to root everything that we do in rationale, like sound rationale when it comes to financial planning and investment management. And that can be tricky 'cause the people that we're dealing with, obviously money is an emotional topic and everyone has a different relationship with it. But I've known you over well over a decade at this point and I've seen you walk the walk and truly take a very pragmatic approach that has allowed you to do more good in the world than pretty much anyone else that I know and you're an inspiration truly. I really, really appreciate your point of view and how hard you work to do good in your business, but also in your community, your friend group, you keep pushing everyone to be better and strive for moral high ground and just humanity.
Thank you. I really appreciate that prayer. That really means the world to me and right back at you. I think that's why we're friends.
Okay. I am gonna lighten it up. We always end the show with a segment that we call Best Bite. You know, I'm a foodie. You are also a huge food snob, so I'm very excited to ask you this question. Oh, Pia. Oh, Pia. So what I wanna know is what is something that you've eaten recently? It can be maybe something you're a great cook. So you always make very fancy things. But you also live in Williamsburg and have like, you know, amazing restaurants at your disposal. What is something that you've eaten recently that you think you'd wanna recommend? Where should I go? What should I order?
One of the best things I've eaten recently is the Madai tartar at Tanon Brooklyn. Oh my gosh. Madani, Japanese red snapper, Rocchio pickles, white dressing, chives, lemon zest. Sha coupon, milk bread. Yeah. All these amazing things. It was like a tar tar on something with this milk bread. Oh my God. I dream of that.
That was so, so good. We did. And shout out Tanin. That place is amazing. Oh my God.
I went twice in like one week.
I did too. Actually. I went with you and then I went back a couple, couple weeks later. Yeah, I did. I did. I love, I love eating out. I did put that dish, the madai salmon tartar. Is it?
Yeah, the ma Tar. Tar, I think it's red snapper.
Red snapper, madai red snapper. I put it on my Instagram story, but I didn't talk about it in best Bite, so I'm really glad you picked it. 'cause it was definitely one of my best bites too. What? That's a good one. So delicious and beautiful. Oh my God, it's so pretty. Just presentation,
Everything about that place. Love it. Pia Silva, you have a book coming out? I'm, I'm, I'm in the middle of reading it. By the time this episode releases, I will have finished it. It is such a good, it's your second book. Can you tell us a little bit about it and who it's for?
Yes, it is called Scale Solo for experts who want to profit more, deliver faster and cut the bs, and it is for solo expert led businesses, consultants, boutique agencies, anyone selling high level expertise, who doesn't necessarily want to hire a big team, but they want more profit freedom and ease in their lives. It's coming out on March 3rd, and I'm really excited about it. All the early readers are gonna be getting the book by the time this comes out. And, it's, it's a business model that I have been teaching and perfecting for the last 10 years. And it's really different from what most business coaches, I guess, teach because it's very specifically for people who don't want to build billion dollar companies, you know, who are not trying to scale up to millions and millions. They just wanna make a lot of money and have time freedom for themselves. And those are my people. You can check it out@nobsmastery.com slash book.
And I also understand you have a giveaway for the listeners today.
Yes. So, you know, obviously I encourage you to read the book if you are interested, but I actually took the most important seven steps out of that book and put it into a playbook. So it's almost like the cliff notes of the business model. And you can grab that at no bs mastery.com/playbook.
That's awesome. We'll drop all those links into the show notes and then tell us, your handles. How do we find you on social? How do we follow your story and how do we stay in touch with everything you're doing? Pia?
Yeah, you can follow me on Instagram. I'm at Pia Loves your biz, BIZ. That's probably the best place. Or you can check me out on my podcast, no BS Mastery. I talk about all of these things and more, every week.
Awesome. Thank you so much. Pia. Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm really grateful for your perspective and I, I know other people will be too. And to everyone listening in this episode made you think differently about money, power, or what it means to build wealth. Maybe it brought a limiting belief to the surface. I hope you consider sharing it with a friend who might need that perspective. And as always, I appreciate any support. You can show the show, so please like, follow, subscribe, and yeah, it helps us reach more people who want real conversations about money and life. Alright, that's it for today. See you next time.
Thanks for listening to the F Word with Priya Milani. If you like what you heard, hit subscribe wherever you're listening and leave us a review while you're at it or approval. Junkies, don't forget, you can find a ton of great resources, content courses, and other freebies at Stash wealth.com. Now for the Capital F stuff, our lawyers want us to say.
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