July 2, 2025

Happy Wednesday, everyone! 🎙️
Good morning! We’re officially rolling into the middle of the week—and if no one’s told you yet today: you're doing better than you think.

Now here’s something to chew on with your morning coffee: Most people don’t miss out because they’re not deserving… they miss out because they’re not asking.

Today’s topic is all about learning to speak up, lean in, and claim what you want—whether that’s more money, more time, better opportunities, or a little more room to breathe. 🙋‍♀️💬💼

Because the truth is: the world rarely hands out rewards for quiet effort. But it does respond to clear, confident action.

Let’s talk about asking—and why that small, bold move might just be the key to everything you’ve been waiting for.

— Ryan Rincon, Founder at The Wealth Wagon Inc.

— Niccolò Machiavelli

Market Update: It was a choppy day on Wall Street—think tug-of-war between sectors.

The Nasdaq dropped 0.82% and the S&P 500 edged down 0.11%, but the Dow Jones shook off the negativity with a 0.91% climb. Classic Dow: marching to the beat of its own drum. 🥁📈

Bitcoin had a bit of a tumble, slipping 1.21%, while Tesla took the biggest hit, plunging 5.34%—someone check the autopilot. 😬
Nvidia also tripped, down 2.97%, reminding us even tech giants aren’t invincible.

On the flip side, gold shined with a 1.28% gain, and silver tagged along, up 0.20%.
And Ford? It revved its engine with a strong 4.70% jump—clearly shifting into gear. 🚗💨

Mixed moods across the board, but if you were holding Ford or gold, today probably felt pretty golden.

UPS Deploys EVs for Final-Mile Deliveries Across Major U.S. Cities
UPS accelerated its electric vehicle rollout, adding 1,000 EVs for urban delivery in Chicago, Houston, and Atlanta. Class-A emissions drop meets class-A customer service. Who said brown trucks couldn't go green?

IBM Rolls Out Leadership Academy for Women in Tech
IBM launched a global initiative aimed at cultivating senior female talent in cloud, AI, and cybersecurity leadership roles. Mentorship, workshops, and executive exposure are all on the table—complete with a “shark-tank” pitch finale. It’s not just glass ceilings being smashed—it’s glass boardrooms.

3M Unveils Workforce “Shift Swap” Platform to Boost Flexibility
3M tested an internal app that lets front-line workers trade shifts, balance schedules, and even team up on projects. Want Tuesday mornings off? Connect with Maria. It’s crowd-sourced scheduling—HR meets harmony.

McDonald’s Tests AI-Generated Menu Suggestions Based on Weather
McDonald’s pilots an AI engine that recommends seasonal menu items—hot cups of coffee on rainy mornings, ice-cold smoothies at noon. Creativity meets climate. Fries not included but highly recommended.

TikTok Unveils Analytics Dashboard for Brand Sponsorship ROI
TikTok rolled out a new dashboard letting companies track real-time engagement, sentiment, and pacing on influencer campaigns. Brands can now see if a dance trend truly becomes brand love. Marketing just got measurable.

MasterCard Partners With Spotify to Offer Music Rewards on Cards
In the U.K., select MasterCard holders get a free month of Spotify Premium with certain purchases—followed by discounted renewal. Spend, stream, repeat. Commerce meets cadence.

ING Introduces Voice Banking on Alexa and Google Assistant
ING now lets customers check balances, pay bills, and set budgets using voice commands via Alexa and Google Assistant. “Hey Google, transfer $50 to savings.” Banking just got conversational.

Citigroup Launches Small Business Accelerator Focused on Urban Retail
Citi kicked off a mentorship and financing program to boost boutique retail startups in major metro hubs. Think incubator meets opportunity—seed capital to brick-and-mortar support. Local business just got corporate-level backing.

Stripe Expands Pilot for Embedded BNPL in E-Commerce Platforms
Stripe added Buy-Now-Pay-Later options directly into Shopify, Etsy, and Wix checkouts—attracting millennial and Gen Z buyers. Split payments, satisfied shoppers. Conversion rates just got cooler.

Spotify Tests AI-Powered Playlists Curated by Your Calendar Entries
Spotify’s R&D team is experimenting with playlists that match your day’s schedule—“deep work,” “post-lunch reset,” or “end-of-day unwind.” AI meets mood—and your tempo.

Zoom Adds Real-Time Translation to Live Meetings in Beta
Zoom’s new feature auto-translates speech into 12 languages, displayed as captions. Meetings just got multilingual magic—no flags required. Zoom fatigue, meet global fluency.

Apple’s New WatchOS Beta Automatically Detects Car Crashes
The latest WatchOS beta includes crash detection tech that alerts emergency services when it senses a collision. It's like having a guardian on your wrist. Safety meets silicon.

Brazil’s Amazon Pact Aims to Preserve Rainforest with Corporate Partnerships
Brazil launched a public-private initiative inviting corporations to fund Amazon preservation through agroforestry investments. Forest meets finance—and ESG scores just got a green upgrade.

EU to Invest €10B in Africa’s Clean Energy Infrastructure
The EU announced a €10 billion investment to build solar, wind, and hydropower in North and East Africa. Climate meets cooperation—and corporate sustainability goals get a global stage.

Japan and Australia Sign AI Ethics and Data-Sharing Pact
Japan and Australia just inked an agreement to share best practices and research in ethical AI deployment. Tech meets trust—global norms get a Pacific seal of approval.

Okay, quick confession.

I used to be one of those people who thought, “If I just do great work, the money/opportunities/respect will come.”

Spoiler: it didn’t. Not until I started asking for it.

And no, I don’t mean demanding stuff with “main character energy.” I mean making clear, bold, reasonable asks that most people are just too nervous (or too polite) to make.

So if you’ve ever felt like you’re doing all the right things — working hard, learning, showing up — but still not getting the income or progress you want…

Let’s change that.

Here’s a wild truth:

The world often pays you what you’re willing to ask for — not what you’re worth.

Which means if you:

You're likely leaving thousands — sometimes tens of thousands — on the table.

And we’re not doing that anymore. Cool? Cool.

Let’s break it down into simple, real-life scenarios:

Don’t just wait for “review season.” Be proactive.

Here’s a simple 3-step script:

Step 1: Track wins for 60 days. Write down everything you did that saved money, brought in revenue, improved a system, made clients happy, etc.

Step 2: Schedule a 1-on-1 with your manager. Let them know you’d like to discuss performance and compensation.

Step 3: Say something like:

“Over the last [X] months, I’ve led [Y results], and I’d love to discuss aligning my compensation with the value I’m bringing to the team.”

Boom. Confident, clear, not aggressive.

Raising prices isn’t greedy — it’s sustainable.

A few signals it might be time:

Try this message with current clients:

“Hey [Client Name], I’ve updated my rates to better reflect the value and outcomes I’m delivering. Starting [Date], my new rate will be [$X]. I’d love to continue working together and will ensure a smooth transition.”

Respectful. Professional. Easy.

This one’s big, especially for folks in the early phase of their money journey.

If you don’t have clients or income yet — your #1 job is to make it easy for people to say yes to you.

Try things like:

Most people don’t ask because they’re afraid of rejection. But silence is worse than hearing “no.”

Whether you're in a job, business, or still figuring things out — referrals are gold.

Simple script:

“Hey, I’m doing [X thing] and have a few openings. Know anyone who might be a fit or could use help with this?”

It’s not salesy. It’s human.

And you’ll be shocked how many people want to help — but only after you ask.

Let’s be honest. The fear of asking usually boils down to this:

“What if they say no and think I’m annoying or greedy?”

But here’s the truth:

You might even find they say, “Oh yeah — I was meaning to bring that up!” or “Thanks for letting me know!”

The world doesn’t reward quiet brilliance. It rewards confident clarity.

So let’s practice asking more often:

It doesn’t make you needy.
It makes you intentional.

Because the truth is:
You might already be good enough. Smart enough. Valuable enough.

You just haven’t been asking loud enough.

Spencer Rascoff co-founded Zillow, scaling it to a $16B valuation. But everyday investors couldn’t invest until the IPO, missing early gains. So he made sure that wasn’t the case with Pacaso. Pacaso has made $100M+ in gross profits by disrupting the $1.3T vacation home market. And unlike Zillow, you can invest while Pacaso is private.

Invest today

Why did the economist always carry a pencil?
In case they needed to draw a conclusion.

July 2, 1962:
Walmart opened its very first store in Rogers, Arkansas.
Today, it’s the largest retailer in the world — proof that sometimes the most ordinary beginnings lead to extraordinary scale.

Steve Jobs banned furniture from his house for months because he couldn’t find pieces that met his design standards.
Lesson? Great visionaries obsess over details — even off the balance sheet.

Would you rather…

(Impact vs. endurance — which one scales in your eyes?)

*Answers at the bottom