[Podcast Episode #15] The Real Reason You’re Not Rich

Let’s talk about a truth too many business owners are afraid to face.

It has nothing to do with your product. Or your market. Or even your competition. The real reason many entrepreneurs never build true wealth? They never learn to sell.

In a recent episode of Get Your House in Order, Philip and I (Cris) unpacked this idea head-on. And to frame it, Philip brought up a man who, for many of us, stands tall in the pantheon of world changers: Martin Luther King Jr.

We all know King as a civil rights leader. A man of courage, conviction, and world-shaping words. But here’s the lens that caught me off guard: Philip called him one of the greatest salesmen in history.

Standing at the Lincoln Memorial, where King delivered the famous “I Have a Dream” speech, Philip turned to his companions and said, “This wasn’t just a moment of history—it was a masterclass in sales. He sold a vision to an entire nation.”

That struck me deeply. Because we often disconnect vision from sales. But think about it: what is sales, if not inspiring someone to see a better future and believe they can be part of it?

Here’s the hard truth: too many business owners avoid sales like the plague. They tell themselves it’s not their gift. Or they’ve hired someone for that. But I want to be clear—

If you’re the head of your organization, you are in sales.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve studied engineering or economics, whether you come from a medical background or tech—your first and most important job is to sell. You’re the chief evangelist for your vision. That responsibility is yours, and it cannot be outsourced.

You see, we often talk about the Medici bank, the art, the architecture. But do you know what Cosimo de’ Medici had that most don’t? The ability to sell vision. To persuade popes and kings, to inspire architects and artists, to secure backing for his ideas. That wasn’t luck. That was skill. Refined. Practiced. Mastered.

Let me share a story Philip told that brought this principle to life in a heart-wrenching way.

He once visited Kibera, one of Africa’s largest slums in Nairobi, Kenya. Amid the dust and hope, he toured a school supported by the Gates Foundation. Millions in funding. Dedicated staff. But only 1–2% of students ever escaped the slum.

When he asked his driver—a former student—why, the answer was sobering: “Because there are no jobs.”

And why are there no jobs?

Because too few people know how to build a business. And too few business owners know how to sell.

Sales creates opportunity. Sales creates value. Sales creates freedom.

That’s why I’ve told my three sons, in no uncertain terms: “If you know how to sell, you will never be hungry. You can go anywhere in the world and survive—because you bring value wherever you go.”

Sales isn’t about pressure. It’s about persuasion. It’s not about forcing—it’s about casting vision. The same skill that helped King move a nation is the one that can help you build a business, provide for your family, and contribute to your community.

Let me be blunt. I’ve met brilliant entrepreneurs who still struggle financially. Not because they don’t work hard. Not because they don’t care. But because they never learned to sell.

So what do we do?

We make sales a priority.

At Medici, we say: build a culture of sales. Everyone on your team—regardless of their title—should know that sales fuels the engine. On small teams, especially, hire people with sales instincts. Train your people to think like value creators. Because every interaction with a client, a vendor, or a stakeholder is a chance to cast vision.

And yes, develop yourself. Read the books. Take the courses. Join a coaching program. Don’t just learn sales—master it.

In our Self-Managing Business Coaching Program, we give business owners a framework to 10x their revenue—and it starts by making sales a non-negotiable.

Wealth doesn’t come from products alone. It comes from persuasion. From vision. From making sure the world not only sees the value you create—but is moved to act.

So let me leave you with this:

What sales conversation have you been avoiding?

What would happen if you embraced selling—not as a necessary evil—but as the very art that built Florence, inspired nations, and can change your business forever?

The moment you master that, you’ll never be poor again.