What if the money you’ve spent decades building is invested in things you barely understand—and controlled by people you’ll never meet?

Mat Sorensen is a business and tax attorney, entrepreneur, author, and founder of Directed IRA. After helping thousands of investors use retirement accounts to purchase real estate, private businesses, oil and gas, venture capital, and other alternative assets, he became one of the nation’s leading authorities on self-directed investing.

In this conversation, Mat and David explore why there is no single path to wealth, why earning money and preserving it require different skill sets, and why many successful investors prefer to stay closer to their capital.

Mat explains how self-directed retirement accounts can allow investors to move beyond stocks and mutual funds and invest in assets they already know and understand. But greater control also brings greater responsibility. The investor must build the network, evaluate the operator, understand the risks, and develop the judgment to make informed decisions.

They also discuss Mat’s unconventional path from becoming a father at 18 to building a national law firm and one of the fastest-growing self-directed retirement companies in the country.

The goal is not simply to invest differently. It is to build wealth with greater clarity, connection, and choice.

Connect with Mat Sorensen and Directed IRA:
https://directedira.com

Use discount code FREEDOM150 to save $150.

Connect with KKOS Lawyers:
https://kkoslawyers.com

The Self-Directed IRA Handbook:
https://sdirahandbook.com

Get David Phelps’ book, The Exit Optional Playbook:
https://exitoptional.com

00:00 — What Does It Mean to Be Wealthy?
01:19 — Why Mat Calls Himself a “Wealth Lawyer”
03:12 — There Is No Single Path to Wealth
06:06 — Becoming a Father and Husband at 18
09:20 — Why Mat Chose Law and Entrepreneurship
12:08 — Discovering Self-Directed IRAs
15:25 — Building Directed IRA
18:03 — Why Wealthy Investors Favor Alternative Assets
21:20 — Staying Closer to Your Money
23:48 — Who Is a Good Fit for Self-Directed Investing?
26:34 — Control Requires Education and Due Diligence
28:54 — Why the Best Investors Specialize
30:18 — Tax Strategy, Asset Protection, and Estate Planning
32:21 — How to Connect With Mat and Directed IRA

What if the secret to lifting your grandchildren at 85 isn't a supplement or a cold plunge, but a lifestyle you start today?

Dr. Howard Luks is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and author of Longevity Simplified. His message is simple: our bodies were designed to move, and the capabilities you don't train are the ones you lose.

Howard explains why the 10,000-step goal is a marketing myth, why falls are less about the fall itself than the frailty that follows, and why pain doesn't always mean harm. He and David explore metabolic health, recovery, and the surprising reason tennis may add more years to your life than running.

Ninety to ninety-five percent of longevity comes from a few simple habits. The rest is garnish.

Episode Links
Longevity Simplified by Dr. Howard Luks - https://a.co/d/0cD34tw4
Connect with Dr. Howard Luks - https://substack.com/@hjluks

Get David Phelps' Exit Optional Playbook – https://exitoptional.com

Timecodes
00:00 – Intro
01:06 – Introducing Dr. Howard Luks
02:45 – From Scalpel to Prevention: How His Thinking Evolved
05:45 – What Is Metabolic Health?
09:46 – Movement as the Foundation of Longevity
12:43 – Falls, Frailty, and the Brain-Muscle Connection
20:03 – Loneliness, Purpose, and Why Tennis Wins
24:45 – Running, Osteoarthritis, and Rethinking Old Assumptions
30:48 – Cutting Through Longevity Trends and Supplements
38:12 – The Non-Negotiable Habits for Staying Active at 85

Most people are taught to follow a familiar path:

Get an education. Find a good job. Save money. Contribute to retirement accounts. Avoid mistakes. Trust the experts.

It sounds responsible.

But Kim Kiyosaki believes there is a more important question beneath that advice:

Are you building security—or are you building freedom?

Kim is an entrepreneur, real estate investor, bestselling author of Rich Woman, and co-founder of the Rich Dad Company alongside Robert Kiyosaki. In this conversation with David, she challenges many of the assumptions people inherit about money, investing, education, and financial independence.

Her own journey began with a $45,000 rental house, a trembling hand at the closing table, and just $25 a month in cash flow.

The amount was almost irrelevant.

What mattered was that she had crossed the line from studying investing to becoming an investor.

Kim explains why financial intelligence cannot be outsourced, why mistakes are often the price of growth, and why no one will ever care about your financial future as much as you must.

She and David explore the difference between assets and liabilities, cash flow and speculation, and security and control. They also confront one of the greatest barriers facing successful professionals: the fear of being wrong.

School teaches us to avoid mistakes and search for the correct answer. Investing and entrepreneurship require experimentation, judgment, collaboration, and the willingness to learn through experience.

But this conversation is about more than money.

When Kim and Robert became financially free in 1994, they did not simply stop working. They gained the ability to ask a more meaningful question:

What do we actually want to do with our lives?

Financial freedom is not the absence of work. It is the ability to choose your work, direct your time, protect what matters, and build a life that is not dependent on the next paycheck.

Security may help you feel protected.

Freedom allows you to decide what your life is for.

Episode Links:
Learn more about Rich Dad – https://richdad.com
Cashflow Board Game – https://richdad.com/cashflow-game-online/
Rich Woman by Kim Kiyosaki – https://www.amazon.com/Rich-Woman-Investing-Women-Because/dp/B002GJU4SG

Get David Phelps’ Exit Optional Playbook – https://exitoptional.com