“Master yourself, and the world becomes yours to conquer.” — Friedrich Nietzsche.
Dave got married in 1982 and started the real estate business, which grew dramatically. In fact, he was pulling in $250,000 a year. On top of this, he had simultaneously reached millionaire status by the ripe young age of 26. He seems to be living the dream. However, he also possessed something else, and it contained the seeds of his dream’s destruction, DEBT!
His ambitious business dealings in his early career led to his accruing more debt than he should have to fund his real estate investments. Things really started to fall apart for him after the Tax Reform Act of 1986 was passed.
As a result, many of the banks that he had loans with wanted their money back A.S.A.P. They eventually gave him 90 days to unload over $1.2 million, and after struggling to repay his called debts for over two and a half years and getting very near to paying them all back by trimming it down to just $378K, he eventually gave up and on September 22, 1988, filed for bankruptcy.
After losing everything due to bankruptcy, he decided to start over again, but this time, wisely, by acquiring financial intelligence. Dave begins studying everything he can get his hands on that is related to money and its proper management. He also begins seeking out the advice and wisdom of elders in his community. And he eventually turned his sights towards seeing what he could learn about money from the Bible.
He slowly begins his climb back into prosperity and is determined never to get into debt again. His advice began to be sought by more people from his church, and then the local community.
Soon thereafter, an opportunity arose for him to get on a local radio show, “The Money Game,” which was later renamed “The Dave Ramsey Show”. With every show Dave did, and every new person whom he helped financially, his popularity grew, and with it, his influence and his fortune.
In 2020, the show was rebranded as The Ramsey Show. He also has a podcast and a YouTube channel where he publishes recorded versions of his talk show. As of 2025, The Ramsey Show is among the most-listened-to radio shows in the United States according to Talkers Magazine.
You Can`t Lead What You Don`t Live!
Dave Ramsey, through personal leadership, was able to unlock his power to lead others through the Financial Peace University and other initiatives via the Ramsey Solutions.
Those who master themselves are the ones most capable of positively influencing their world. [To be continued next week].
You can master Personal Leadership with a practical framework from the new book, Leader, Lead Yourself: Unlocking Your Power with Personal Leadership by Dr. Michael Koku.
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