The Everyday Millionaire and Mindset Matters Podcast

What does it really mean to protect your wealth in a world of rising debt, persistent inflation, geopolitical uncertainty, and growing questions about the stability of our financial systems?

In this episode of The Everyday Millionaire, Patrick Francey sits down with David Beahm, President and CEO of Blanchard and Company, to explore the role of gold, silver, and other precious metals in building financial resilience.

Drawing on his extensive experience in banking and precious metals, David challenges conventional thinking about investing. Rather than viewing gold solely as an asset purchased for appreciation, he explains why many investors consider it a form of financial insurance, something intended to preserve purchasing power and provide protection when traditional markets face uncertainty.

Patrick and David examine the implications of government debt, currency debasement, and central bank gold purchases, along with the growing industrial demand for silver driven by emerging technologies and infrastructure. They also explore the differences between owning physical metals, investing in ETFs, and purchasing mining stocks.

For anyone considering precious metals, the conversation gets practical. David explains dealer premiums, bid-ask spreads, secure storage options, liquidity, and the importance of working with reputable companies. He also highlights common mistakes, including purchasing collectible coins when the actual goal is exposure to the underlying metal.

Beyond the financial discussion, David shares his professional journey from commercial banking to leading Blanchard and Company, the lessons he learned during periods of economic uncertainty, and the importance of preparation.

The conversation closes on a deeply personal note as David reflects on loss, gratitude, and the family and friends who have supported him through a difficult chapter.

Ultimately, this episode isn't about predicting the next financial crisis. It's about asking better questions, understanding your exposure to risk, and making thoughtful decisions today that may protect your financial future tomorrow.

People & Resources Mentioned

Guest and company

David Beahm, President & CEO, Blanchard and Company https://www.blanchardgold.com/david-beahm/

Blanchard and Company https://www.blanchardgold.com/

Jim Blanchard, Founder of Blanchard and Company https://www.blanchardgold.com/about/gold-company-history/

Books and authors

Anthem by Ayn Rand https://aynrand.org/novels/Anthem/

Ayn Rand https://aynrand.org/

Music and movies

Imagine Dragons, Whatever It Takes https://www.imaginedragonsmusic.com/

Top Gun (1986) https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/top-gun

Precious metals resources

Royal Canadian Mint, Gold Maple Leaf Coins https://www.mint.ca/en/shop/bullion-products/gold-bullion-coins

United States Mint, American Buffalo Gold Coins https://www.usmint.gov/coins/coin-programs/american-buffalo-coins/

World Gold Council, Gold Market Research https://www.gold.org/

Hancock Whitney Bank, David's Former Employer https://www.hancockwhitney.com/

What if feeling stuck has less to do with discipline, motivation or willpower, and more to do with the systems you’re living inside?

In this episode of The MindShui Way, Patrick Francey and Steffany Hanlen explore how the systems, routines and unconscious habits operating in the background of our lives can either move us toward what we want or quietly keep us exactly where we are.

Patrick begins with a fundamental question: What are you working backwards from? Before creating better habits, setting goals or trying harder, we need clarity about where we actually want to go. From there, systems become the framework that helps turn an intention into consistent action.

Drawing from Steffany’s decades of experience coaching elite athletes, they explore why high performance is rarely built on willpower alone. Athletes preparing for a world championship or Olympic podium create systems around training, recovery, nutrition, sleep, preparation and focus. The same principle applies to business, relationships, family life and personal growth.

Patrick and Steffany also unpack the important difference between routines and systems. A routine may nurture and support you, while a system creates a repeatable structure that reduces unnecessary decisions and keeps you aligned with a larger outcome.

But systems shouldn’t become rigid forms of control. As our circumstances, values and goals evolve, our systems need to evolve with us. What worked five years ago may no longer support who we are becoming.

The invitation in this episode is simple: take a look at the systems already operating in your life. Are they intentionally designed around where you want to go, or are they simply producing more of what you already have?

Because clarity creates direction, but the systems you build determine whether you actually get there.

When life feels heavy, it is easy to make a sweeping conclusion: everything is wrong. But what if your whole life is not actually stuck? What if one area has become difficult enough that it is colouring the way you see everything else?

In this episode of The MindShui Way, Patrick and Steffany explore seven areas of life where “stuckness” tends to hide: mental, emotional, spiritual, physical, financial, vocational and relational. Rather than treating dissatisfaction as one overwhelming problem, they challenge us to separate the pieces and identify where the friction is really coming from.

The conversation begins with the stories we continue to tell ourselves, particularly those rooted in the past. Patrick and Steffany discuss how old experiences, memories and beliefs can become part of our identity long after they have stopped serving us. Self-awareness is only the beginning. The deeper work is asking whether the story we are carrying is still true, and whether we want it defining who we are today.

From there, they explore what happens when our values and choices fall out of alignment, when constant information leaves no room for reflection, when our bodies are depleted, when financial pressure occupies too much mental space, or when our work no longer fits the person we are becoming. They also examine relationships, boundaries and the difference between needing another person to complete us and entering relationships as whole individuals.

Throughout the conversation, one idea keeps resurfacing: getting unstuck does not necessarily require blowing up your life. Sometimes it means creating space, changing perspective, questioning an old story or, as Steffany puts it, simply taking one rock out of the backpack.

Before deciding that everything is broken, slow down and look more closely. Your whole life may not need fixing. You may simply need to identify where the clutter is and start there.

“We do not climb mountains so people can see us. We climb mountains so that we can see the world.” - Pauline Nguyen

Pauline Nguyen’s story begins with survival, but this conversation is ultimately about something much bigger: what happens when we stop allowing survival to run our lives.

Pauline escaped Vietnam with her family as part of the first wave of boat people after the war. Her father built the boat that carried them out of the country, and after nine days at sea, the family spent a difficult year in a refugee camp in Thailand. Growing up with a father deeply affected by war and trauma taught Pauline to read moods, anticipate danger and live in a constant state of hypervigilance. Those survival skills created enormous capacity, but they also came at a cost.

In this deeply personal conversation, Patrick and Pauline explore the journey from survival to self-mastery and why success in the outer world does not necessarily mean we have mastered our inner world.

Pauline shares how unresolved trauma can become embedded in our behaviour, relationships and leadership, and why emotional regulation is not simply a wellness practice. For entrepreneurs and leaders, it can directly influence decision-making, negotiations, team culture and performance.

They explore the importance of nervous-system regulation, intentional breathing, different forms of rest, building capacity by doing difficult things, and learning when to put the weight down. Pauline also explains why she believes great leadership must move beyond mindset to encompass the body, heart, health and spirit.

After 25 years building Red Lantern into an extraordinarily successful Vietnamese restaurant, Pauline has learned that leadership is not only about what we accomplish. It is about the state from which we lead.

This is a powerful conversation about breaking cycles, building capacity, finding purpose, practising emotional mastery and creating success that does not require sacrificing yourself to achieve it.

People mentioned (with URLs)

PAULINE’S FREE GIFT – The Sovereign Leader Reset – If you’re a founder or a leader who’s mastered the outer game and knows the inner one is next, this is for you. Visit growth.pauline-nguyen.com to grab the offer.

What if being smart is actually one of the reasons you stay stuck?

In this episode of The MindShui Way, Patrick Francey and Steffany Hanlen Francey explore self-awareness beyond the usual clichés. Intelligence, education and success can make us assume we understand ourselves, but sometimes being smart simply makes us better at explaining and justifying our behaviour. A convincing explanation is not necessarily an honest examination.

Patrick shares a powerful experience from an executive coaching exercise where members of his team were asked to identify his “kryptonite.” The consistent feedback was that he could become defensive when receiving information, interpreting it as criticism. What made the exercise valuable was not discovering a flaw, but becoming aware of a pattern he could then recognize and change.

Steffany brings the conversation into high-performance sport, describing how athletes can become trapped in their own stories and intellectualize their performance instead of experiencing it. She also shares a striking story about an athlete who became so accustomed to the scent of Steffany’s perfume at competitions that changing it disrupted a familiar performance anchor.

The conversation moves through relationships, habits, productivity, comparison, envy and the ways we unknowingly repeat patterns. Patrick and Steffany discuss how self-awareness can help us recognize what triggers defensiveness, what we are avoiding when we stay busy, and what we expect other people to provide for us.

Most importantly, self-awareness isn’t just about finding what’s wrong. It is also about discovering what allows you to operate at your best.

Whether it is sleep, environment, relationships, routines, emotional triggers or the stories you tell yourself, greater awareness creates the opportunity to make different choices.

If there is an area of your life where you continually feel stuck, the most useful question may not be, “Why does this keep happening to me?” but rather, “What part am I playing in the pattern?”

What if one of the worst decisions you ever make is the one you never make?

In this episode of The MindShui Way, Patrick Francey and Steffany Hanlen Francey explore the hidden cost of indecision and why avoiding a choice is often a decision in itself. We spend enormous amounts of energy worrying about making the wrong move, but rarely calculate what waiting might cost us in lost opportunities, stalled relationships, missed growth and time we can never recover.

Patrick introduces a practical framework for looking at decisions, from everyday choices to major business, financial and life decisions. Rather than focusing only on the potential upside, he suggests asking a more useful question: Can I live with the downside if this doesn't work out? By understanding the potential consequences, we can manage risk without pretending we can eliminate uncertainty.

Steffany brings another dimension to the conversation, exploring the role of emotion, intuition, values and self-trust. Sometimes we aren't afraid of the decision itself. We're afraid of the outcome, how others may respond, or what making the decision will require from us next. They also examine whose voice may actually be influencing our choices, from parents and partners to peers and the fear of judgment.

The conversation tackles analysis paralysis, decision fatigue and the endless search for more information. Patrick and Steffany discuss how systems can reduce unnecessary decision-making and preserve our mental energy for the choices that genuinely matter.

Ultimately, making a decision creates direction. It produces feedback, and feedback gives us the opportunity to adjust, rechoose and move forward.

Patrick closes with perhaps the most revealing question of all: What if you're avoiding a decision because once you make it, you no longer have an excuse not to act?

Sometimes clarity isn't about discovering what you should do. It's about recognizing what has been keeping you from doing what you already know.

What happens when money, ownership, technology and even work itself move onto entirely new digital rails?

In this episode of The Everyday Millionaire, Patrick Francey sits down with Matthew Le Merle, Managing Partner and CEO of Fifth Era and Blockchain Coinvestors, for a wide-ranging conversation about blockchain, artificial intelligence, digital finance and what Matthew describes as the emerging autonomous digital economy.

Matthew begins by stripping away much of the complexity surrounding blockchain. Just as the internet transformed the movement of information and communication, blockchain provides infrastructure that allows value to move digitally. Money, commodities and assets can increasingly be transferred, stored and transacted in ways that are faster, less expensive and available around the clock.

But the conversation goes well beyond technology.

Patrick and Matthew explore what rapid innovation means for investors, entrepreneurs and small business owners trying to make decisions in an environment that can feel increasingly uncertain. Matthew argues that resisting change may ultimately be more dangerous than engaging with it. The goal is not necessarily to become an early adopter of every new technology, but to understand where the world may be heading and identify where innovation can solve real problems.

They also tackle some of the more uncomfortable questions surrounding digitalization, including privacy, government control, trust, fear and the potential unintended consequences of technology. Matthew offers a framework for thinking about innovation through fear versus optimism and explains why maintaining a positive outlook does not require ignoring legitimate risks.

Finally, Patrick and Matthew turn to cryptocurrency and Bitcoin. Matthew distinguishes speculative crypto assets from projects building real technology and explains why he believes Bitcoin still has work to do if it is ultimately going to fulfil its original promise as a practical form of digital money.

It is a thoughtful conversation about preparing for change without blindly trusting it, and understanding the opportunities emerging as technology, finance and artificial intelligence increasingly converge.

People mentioned (with URLs)

Resources Mentioned

What if your identity is not something fixed, but something you are continually building?

In Episode 254 of The MindShui Way, Patrick Francey and Steffany Hanlen-Francey explore identity as a “living architecture” shaped by our experiences, environment, habits, values, relationships and the feedback we receive from others. Rather than accepting “that’s just who I am,” they challenge listeners to consider whether the identity they are carrying still supports the person they want to become.

Steffany introduces three interconnected identity stances: opinion-based, performative and purposeful. Opinion-based identity develops largely through external feedback and other people’s perceptions. While this feedback can help us understand ourselves, becoming dependent on approval can lead to people pleasing and keep us trapped in an outdated version of ourselves.

Performative identity emerges when we consciously begin trying on new ways of showing up. Whether becoming a better leader, athlete, speaker, partner or businessperson, growth often requires developing new habits and behaviours before they feel natural. Performance does not necessarily mean being inauthentic. It can be the bridge between who we have been and who we are becoming.

Purposeful identity is grounded more deeply in values, meaning and conscious choice. Instead of constantly asking how others see us, we become clearer about what matters, what we stand for and how we want to live.

Patrick and Steffany discuss how these identities overlap and change throughout life, from business and sport to relationships and community. Ultimately, the question is not simply “Who am I?” but “Who am I becoming, and is that person aligned with the life I actually want?”

Identity is not a destination. It is something we are building every day.

Technology is making us faster, more productive and more connected, but could it also be quietly disconnecting us from ourselves?

In this episode of The MindShui Way, Patrick Francey and Steffany Hanlen-Francey explore a question that goes well beyond whether AI is good or bad: Are we unintentionally outsourcing our identity to technology?

From AI-generated writing and algorithm-driven social feeds to the endless pull of scrolling, Patrick and Steffany examine how easily outside influences can begin shaping what we think, what we value and even how we present ourselves to the world. Patrick shares his own experience using AI extensively for research and productivity while deliberately protecting his authentic voice. He also discusses how algorithms reinforce confirmation bias, often requiring conscious effort to seek perspectives outside what technology assumes we want to see.

Steffany brings the conversation back to awareness and intentionality. She shares a revealing experience of losing three hours to mindless scrolling, unable afterward to remember much of what she had consumed. Her practice of “sun before screens,” along with intentionally returning to physical books and real-world spaces, highlights the importance of creating distance from the constant digital feed.

Together, they consider what this means for personal development, creativity, business and younger generations growing up without ever knowing a world before AI and social media. When technology can make almost anyone sound knowledgeable, polished or creative, authentic experience and individual perspective may become more valuable, not less.

The challenge is not to reject technology. It is to use it consciously without allowing it to define us.

Patrick and Steffany leave listeners with a deceptively simple question: Is this truly who I am, or am I being directed?

“It’s not what I said, but what you heard. The power of communication is in the person receiving the communication.” – Mike Phillips

Leadership may start with you, but according to leadership educator, keynote speaker and coach Mike Phillips, it should never be about you.

In this episode of The Everyday Millionaire, Patrick Francey sits down with Mike for a wide-ranging conversation about what separates true leadership from simply holding a leadership title. Drawing on more than 30 years of experience in leadership, coaching, automotive sales and marketing, Mike shares why the best leaders remain committed learners and why earning the trust of the people around you matters more than the title on your business card.

Mike and Patrick explore the essential qualities of effective leadership, including vision, grit, character, accountability and, perhaps most importantly, communication. Mike explains why communication is ultimately measured not by what a leader says, but by what the other person actually hears. From unexpressed expectations to assumptions and unclear instructions, they examine how seemingly small communication gaps can create unnecessary friction within teams.

The conversation also turns deeply personal as Mike discusses his Christian faith and the role it plays in his approach to leadership, service and relationships. He shares his belief that genuine leadership requires caring about people beyond the results they produce.

Mike then recounts the extraordinary experience that profoundly changed his perspective on life. After becoming critically ill with COVID-19 in 2021, developing pneumonia and ultimately suffering the collapse of both lungs, Mike says he died before being revived. He spent approximately 40 days in hospital and emerged with a dramatically different understanding of purpose, family, faith and contribution.

His experience provides a powerful reminder that achievement means little if it comes at the expense of health, relationships and the people who matter most.

This conversation explores leadership beyond titles and tactics. It is about learning to lead yourself, communicate with clarity, serve others, face adversity with grit and recognize that sometimes the smallest next step can represent an enormous victory.

People mentioned (with URLs)

Resources Mentioned