Salmeron Financial

Most people never see the inside of this room.

Not because they couldn’t find Madison Square Garden.

Because they didn’t know the right person. (I’m fortunate to have in my corner)

Wealth works the same way.

The strategies that might actually protect what you’ve built, potentially reduce what you owe, while creating access to your wealth when you need it — they’re not on CNBC.

They’re not in your quarterly statement.

They’re in conversations many investors never get access to.

My purpose is to make sure you’re in the room.

If you’re wondering whether you’re in the right conversations — that’s worth a thought.

📍 New York Knicks locker room, Madison Square Garden

p.s. (For the record, I asked if I could suit up. They said no.)

Standing at the New York Stock Exchange yesterday.

The bell. The marble. The history. Pretty impressive.

Also: SO MANY SCREENS.

Flashing numbers everywhere. Tickers updating in real-time. It’s basically Times Square but for people in suits yelling about basis points.

Twenty-five years ago, young Rick thought THIS was where wealth was made.

Pick the right stocks. Time the market. Find the next Amazon. Outsmart the algorithms.
I genuinely believed long-term financial success was all about investment selection.
I was completely wrong.

This is where billions change hands daily. Fortunes made and lost. Empires built and dismantled.

And yet—none of that matters if you’re making terrible decisions with the money you already have.

Here’s what three decades taught me:

The market doesn’t care if you’re disciplined. It doesn’t care if you’re saving or spending. It doesn’t care about your trajectory.

It just… is.

Your wealth isn’t built here.

It’s built at home.

→ The spending you control
→ The plan you follow
→ The behavior you master
→ The panic you DON’T succumb to when markets drop
→ The accounts you consolidate instead of ignore
→ The Saturday you choose investing over spending

Investment selection matters. A little.

But I’ve watched brilliant investors destroy themselves with terrible behavior.

And I’ve watched mediocre investors build massive wealth through relentless discipline.

It’s almost all about behavior.

The bell rings daily at 9:30. Then 4:00.
The clients who win? They’re not obsessing over screens.

They’ve mastered their behavior while the market does its thing.

Young Rick didn’t understand that.
Current Rick does.

The market will do what it does.

Your job? Don’t destroy yourself while it’s doing it.

Are you doing that?
Or are you still staring at screens thinking that’s where the answer is?

Introducing two guys from completely different worlds.

One built a fast-food empire one location at a time. The other built a financial advisory business one delighted client at a time.

I talk a lot about ‘Brand Score’ – that 1-100 measure of how people perceive your reliability, integrity, and trustworthiness.

Jack Cowin built restaurants from scratch in Australia, building his to darn near 100. Four hundred eighty locations later, the market agrees.

And if you’ve built any business past the survival stage, you already know: in the trust economy, Brand Score spends harder than actual currency.

Customers and clients are keeping this score for you– and they’re voting with their wallets, their referrals, and their loyalty when your competitors come calling.

And this part is important: Brand Score isn’t just for entrepreneurs.

Your kids are keeping score on whether you show up to their games. Your spouse is keeping score on whether your words match your actions. Your friends are keeping score on whether you’re there when it’s inconvenient. Your body is keeping score on whether you honor your commitments to it.

Every promise kept or broken. Every time you show up or disappear. Every moment you deliver or stay in the corner.

The score updates in real time. Every. Day.

Jack built his through 50 years of consistent delivery when no one was watching. That’s what creates billion-dollar businesses. That’s what creates unshakeable relationships. That’s what gets you on stages you never imagined standing on. Getting to share that stage with him? Life highlight.

Also, a powerful reminder that what you do when nobody’s counting is exactly what creates the score everyone sees.

Thought for the day, share your answer: A month from now, what’s the one relationship where you want someone to say, “Your Brand Score just went up 20 points”?

P.S. Pretty sure my Brand Score with Barbara Cole Salmeron went up 10 points just for getting this photo. Worth the 18-hour flight.

The financial advisor that clients remember:

1 Answered the phone when markets got scary

2 Spoke in stories, not spreadsheets

3 Protected them from their own worst impulses

4 Made their word worth more than any account balance

5 Told them hard truths they needed to hear

6 Treated spouses like a partners, not spectators

7 Stayed consistent through decades, not just months

8 Connected them with the right specialists

9 Showed up when showing up mattered most

10 Made them feel heard, seen, listened to

11 Treated small clients with the same integrity as large ones

12 Asked how they could serve better

13 Calmed their nerves during crazy times

14 Recommended what was best, not what paid most

15 Communicated proactively, not reactively

16 Revealed solutions they didn’t know were there

17 Let integrity set the agenda

18 Earned trust before asking for business

19 Acted as their financial firewall when emotions ran hot

20 Made being reliable look effortless

Which one matters most to you?