What role do you have in the game of life, and how are you playing? Are you making conscious choices to improve your world? Are you creating your own opportunities and thinking creatively? Or are you lost in reaction to your environment, living in survival mode, and adhering to the status quo? Are you playing offense or defense?
For many of us, we’ve had no choice but to live in defense; we struggle to survive financially, emotionally, and even spiritually. We may assume that the way things are is the way things are and make no effort to change them. While we may have a glimpse of inspiration or a sense that there’s another way, we quickly forget about it. Sometimes it takes a crisis for us to realize we can’t keep going the way we are going.
It’s a gift to meet someone who defies the odds in ways that make us feel we can no longer tell ourselves the same old excuses. My guest, Leon Howard, is one of those people. Born into a city where the sound of bullets in the park is commonplace — and where kids are taught early how to duck and run from those bullets — Leon watched his mom get shot at the age of 9. He was in prison by 17 but had a fortuitous meeting with another inmate who taught him about the stock market. Recognizing this blessing for what it was, Leon embarked on the long journey that brought him where he is today. He now teaches financial literacy to marginalized communities, and while being entirely self-taught, has the expertise that rivals that of an investment banker.
Leon’s life changed when he decided to play offense — to be proactive, to live with intention, and to do things differently. Remember, greatness rarely follows the well-worn path. And if you want your life experience to change, you’ll need to change too. Let’s get started!
Who Is Leon Howard?
Known for “educating the culture on how to build wealth one share at a time,” New Orleans native Leon Howard, popularly known as Wallstreet Trapper, has been dominating wealth building through the stock market for years. Growing up in New Orleans, Leon is no stranger to the streets and the pitfalls that exist there. During his 10-year prison bid, he learned about the stock market and since then has been applying and teaching it to everyone willing to learn. Leon provides a plethora of resources to students ranging from courses, ebooks, and a private members-only group where he simplifies wealth creation and normalizes generational wealth for the black community through investing in the stock market. Today, he has a community of over 700,000 Trappers that he teaches about investing and wealth building.
The Remarkable Experience That Transformed Leon’s Life
Leon grew up in New Orleans in a community deeply affected by violence, poverty, and substance abuse. He suffered hardship at an early age when he saw his mom shot before his eyes, grew up in gang territory, lived with his grandmother while his mom was in prison, and was homeless at 14 when his grandmother passed away. In his community, there was little choice when it came to survival. You either became a gangster or became an athlete, and those who didn’t protect themselves were easy targets.
While not everyone will be able to relate to Leon’s childhood environment, too many others will. As Leon pointed out, socioeconomic disparities, segregation by class and race, and other imbalances have created a wide rift in our society. Not only do marginalized communities often struggle with gaining access to the same opportunities as others, but they also have access to a completely different set of knowledge about money.
We cultivate an understanding of investments, real estate, equity, life insurance, and other aspects of generational wealth through connections. Phone calls, parties, fraternities, and other social situations are where people make introductions and share information. Knowledge is passed down from person to person — not just in schools — and is a fundamental part of what stops people from generating true wealth.
While Leon was cut off from this information, he had a stroke of good luck. During his ten-year stint in prison, he had the blessing of meeting a teacher in the most unlikely of places — a semi-solitary confinement cell.
“He was like, ‘Have you ever seen a million dollars before?’ He was like, ‘You’ll never see it playing that game.’ Playing what game? The streets. … And I kind of just took that in for a second. Because up until that point in my life, I never met a successful drug dealer.” – Leon Howard
He spent 45 days with this inmate who was in for financial fraud, who taught him about investments, real estate, and true wealth. Leon reflects on the three points that hit home the most: Stop trading time for money, learn how to make your money work for you, and learn how to give value to people.
These lessons still influence Leon’s approach to wealth today.
