Inspired Money

AI is disrupting every industry. But the biggest fortunes aren't made by the disruptors.

They're made by the companies that supply them.

88 years ago this week, a chemical company proved this principle in the most unlikely place: your bathroom.

Wilmington, Delaware. February 24, 1938.

DuPont began commercial production of a revolutionary new material: nylon bristles for toothbrushes.

For centuries, people had cleaned their teeth with boar bristles, animal bones, and horsehair. The bristles retained moisture, harbored bacteria, and fell out constantly. But there was no alternative.

Then Wallace Carothers, a brilliant but troubled chemist, spent years in DuPont's labs trying to create synthetic fibers. His team tested countless polymer combinations before discovering what they called "Fiber 66."

The material was strong, flexible, and dried quickly. Perfect for bristles.

The Weco Products Company launched the finished product as "Dr. West's Miracle-Tuft Toothbrush," using DuPont's nylon. Price: 50 cents (roughly $11 today). Within months, demand outpaced supply.

But here's what most people miss:

DuPont didn't try to compete with toothbrush manufacturers. They became the essential supplier that every toothbrush maker needed.

By the time nylon stockings launched two years later, DuPont had already proven the model. They didn't sell finished products. They sold the materials that made finished products possible.

The same pattern is playing out right now with AI.

💼 What this means for your wallet:

Everyone's chasing the next ChatGPT or the next AI startup that will "change everything."

But the biggest winners in the AI boom might not be the companies building consumer applications. They might be the ones supplying the infrastructure: chips, data centers, cloud services, energy.

DuPont didn't make toothbrushes famous. Nylon made DuPont famous.

Are you investing in AI's finished products, or the materials that make them possible?

Featured image is an AI-generated historical illustration, not a period photograph.

1 day ago | [YT] | 2

Inspired Money

Yesterday, America witnessed something it hadn't seen in 46 years.

Jack Hughes ripped a shot past Jordan Binnington in overtime. USA 2, Canada 1. Olympic gold. The first since 1980.

Forty-six years to the day after the Miracle on Ice.

February 22, 1980. Lake Placid, New York.

A group of college kids faced the most dominant hockey team ever assembled. The Soviet Union had won four straight Olympic golds. They'd crushed the NHL All-Stars 6-0 in Game 1 of the Challenge Cup just a year earlier. Vegas oddsmakers gave the Americans virtually no chance.

The Soviets had professionals who trained year-round. The Americans had amateurs who'd been playing together for only seven months.

But head coach Herb Brooks saw something others didn't.

He didn't try to out-skill the Soviets. He prepared his team to outlast them. Brutal conditioning. Relentless skating. A system designed to exploit Soviet weaknesses in the third period when legs got heavy.

Midway through the third period, the U.S. trailed 3-2. Then Mark Johnson tied it. Then Mike Eruzione scored the go-ahead goal. The final 10 minutes felt like 10 hours.

"Do you believe in miracles? YES!"

Here's what most people miss:

It wasn't a miracle. It was preparation meeting opportunity at the exact right moment.

Brooks had studied Soviet hockey for years. He knew their patterns. He knew when they'd be vulnerable. He bet against the consensus, and he was ready when his moment came.

💼 What this means for your wallet:

The best investors operate the same way. They don't follow the crowd. They study, prepare, and position themselves before opportunities become obvious to everyone else.

When markets panic, most people sell. The prepared investor buys.

When everyone chases the same hot stock, the disciplined investor looks for overlooked value.

The 1980 team didn't win because they were lucky. They won because they were ready when others counted them out.

Are you prepared to act when your moment comes—or are you waiting for certainty that never arrives?

Featured image is an AI-generated historical illustration, not a period photograph.

2 days ago | [YT] | 10

Inspired Money

Higher-income shoppers are shopping at dollar stores.

Meanwhile, lower-income families are cutting back on basics… food, toiletries, essentials.

This is the K-shaped economy.

But this isn't the first time America has split into economic haves and have-nots. 147 years ago today, one man saw an opportunity in the gap.

Utica, New York. February 22, 1879.

Frank Woolworth opened a small store with a radical idea. Everything costs five cents. No haggling. No intimidation. No asking a clerk for prices while they sized up your clothes.

Just a simple table of goods with a clear price tag.

The idea came from desperation. Woolworth was so awkward with customers that his employer reassigned him to arranging window displays. But he noticed something: when his boss ran a "5-cent table" clearance sale, customers who normally avoided the store lined up to buy.

They weren't just buying cheap goods. They were buying access. For the first time, working-class Americans could shop without fear of judgment or negotiation.

His first store failed within months. But Woolworth kept refining the model. By 1912, he had merged with rival chains to form a 596-store corporation and built the tallest building in the world, the Woolworth Building in Manhattan, paid for entirely in cash.

Here's what most people miss:

Woolworth didn't win by having the cheapest products. He won by removing friction.

Price transparency. Self-service browsing. No gatekeepers. He democratized retail at a time when shopping was intimidating for anyone without money or status.

💼 What this means for your wallet:

The companies that thrive during economic stress aren't always the cheapest. They're the ones that make value accessible without making customers feel small.

Today's dollar stores are seeing exactly this dynamic play out. But so are Costco, Walmart, and even Amazon with its "no-frills" offerings.

When the economy splits, the winners serve both sides without judgment.

Where are you seeing businesses remove friction to win customers right now?

Featured image is an AI-generated historical illustration, not a period photograph.

3 days ago | [YT] | 3

Inspired Money

Your next Amazon package will arrive in hours, not days.

Your streaming service loads in milliseconds.

Your food delivery app shows you exactly where your driver is, down to the second.

We've trained consumers to expect instant everything. And it's reshaping entire industries.

But this isn't new. The "instant gratification economy" had a pivotal moment 79 years ago today.

New York City. February 21, 1947.

A scientist stood before the Optical Society of America and demonstrated the impossible: a camera that developed photos in 60 seconds.

His name was Edwin Land.

The idea had come to him nearly four years earlier, during a family vacation in Santa Fe. His young daughter Jennifer asked a simple question: "Why can't I see the picture now?"

Land became obsessed. He was a Harvard dropout who'd already invented polarized sunglasses. But his daughter's impatience sparked something bigger.

Famous for marathon work sessions, he once wore the same clothes for 18 consecutive days while solving production problems. His team worked in shifts just to bring him food and remind him to eat.

On November 26, 1948, the day after Thanksgiving, the Polaroid Land Camera Model 95 went on sale at Jordan Marsh department store in Boston. Polaroid put 57 cameras on the shelf, expecting them to last through Christmas.

They sold out on day one. Every camera. Every roll of film.

Here's what most people miss:

Land built a company that would eventually reach $3 billion in annual revenue by solving one urgent consumer pain point: waiting.

But Polaroid made a fatal mistake. They fell in love with their solution instead of their customer's problem.

When digital cameras eliminated waiting entirely, Polaroid was still perfecting instant film. They filed for bankruptcy in 2001.

💼 What this means for your wallet:

The companies that win aren't the ones with the best technology. They're the ones that stay obsessed with the customer's problem, not their own product.

Land's daughter didn't care about chemistry or film development. She just wanted to see her picture now.

Every business that forgets this lesson eventually learns it the hard way.

What customer problem is your industry still solving with an outdated "solution"?

Featured image is an AI-generated historical illustration, not a period photograph.

4 days ago | [YT] | 5

Inspired Money

America is in a technology race it cannot afford to lose.

Right now, Chinese AI models are just 3-6 months behind ours. Nvidia is selling chips to Chinese companies. And experts say the gap could close fast.

64 years ago today, America faced a similar moment. One man's courage changed everything.

February 20, 1962. Cape Canaveral, Florida.

John Glenn climbed into a capsule the size of a phone booth. The Soviets had already put a man in orbit. Twice. America was losing the space race, and everyone knew it.

Glenn's mission had been postponed repeatedly. Weather. Fuel leaks. Broken bolts. The Atlas rocket beneath him had a troubled history. Just two years earlier, its success rate was barely 50%. His heat shield warning light flickered during reentry. Engineers didn't know if it would hold.

But Glenn didn't wait for certainty. Neither did America.

The nation had committed $25 billion (over $200 billion in today's dollars) to beat the Soviets to the moon. Not because victory was guaranteed. Because losing was unacceptable.

What many don't realize:

The space race wasn't won by the country with the best technology. It was won by the country willing to take calculated risks and commit resources before the outcome was certain.

Does that resonate?

Today's AI race has the same stakes. The winner won't just dominate a technology. They'll shape the global economy for decades.

💼 What this means for your wallet:

→ Technology races reward early, sustained commitment, not late panic buying
→ The companies (and countries) that win invest through uncertainty, not after it clears
→ Your portfolio should reflect long-term positioning, not short-term headlines

Glenn orbited Earth three times that day. He returned a hero. But the real victory came seven years later when Armstrong stepped onto the moon.

Races aren't won in a single moment. They're won by showing up, taking calculated risks, and staying committed when the outcome is still uncertain.

Are you positioned for where technology is heading, or where it's been?

Featured image is an AI-generated historical illustration, not a period photograph.

5 days ago | [YT] | 7

Inspired Money

Everyone's chasing the next big discovery.

AI stocks. Crypto. Quantum computing. The next "planet" that will change everything.

But what if the biggest opportunity is already hiding in plain sight?

96 years ago today, a 24-year-old farm kid from Kansas proved that patience beats hype every time.

February 18, 1930. Flagstaff, Arizona.

Clyde Tombaugh had no college degree. A hailstorm had wiped out his family's crops and his college savings in 1928. So he taught himself astronomy, built telescopes from spare farm equipment and parts from his father's 1910 Buick, and sent drawings of Jupiter to the Lowell Observatory.

They hired him to find "Planet X."

His job? Photograph the night sky, then spend hours at a blink comparator, flipping between images to spot anything that moved. Each photographic plate contained up to 900,000 tiny specks of light to examine.

No AI. No shortcuts. Just eyes, patience, and persistence.

On that Tuesday afternoon, after months of tedious work, Tombaugh spotted a faint pinprick of light that had shifted position between two January photographs. He spent 45 minutes double-checking before walking to his boss's office.

"I have found your Planet X."

Here's what most people miss:

Tombaugh wasn't the smartest astronomer. He wasn't the most credentialed. Sixteen other people had actually photographed Pluto before him but failed to recognize what they'd captured.

The difference? Tombaugh showed up every day and did the boring work others wouldn't.

Sound familiar?

Right now, investors are abandoning solid companies because they're "boring." They're chasing the next moonshot while ignoring compounding gains hiding in plain sight.

💼 The money lesson:

Tombaugh spent 7,000 hours at that blink comparator during his career. The discovery that made him famous came from consistency, not brilliance.

The investors who build real wealth aren't the ones chasing discoveries. They're the ones who show up, stay disciplined, and recognize opportunities others overlook.

What opportunity might be hiding in plain sight in your portfolio?

Featured image is an AI-generated historical illustration featuring time traveling me, not a period photograph.

1 week ago | [YT] | 5

Inspired Money

AI is destroying industries faster than it's creating new ones.

At least, that's what the headlines say.

89 years ago today, a chemist at DuPont proved the skeptics wrong about another "disruptive" technology.

On February 16, 1937, DuPont received U.S. Patent 2,071,250 for nylon, the first fully synthetic fiber ever created.

Wallace Carothers and his team had spent years in the lab. The textile industry dismissed them. "Silk works fine." "Why would anyone want fake fabric?"

Then nylon stockings hit the market.

When nylon stockings went on sale nationwide on May 15, 1940, they sold 4 million pairs within days. Women lined up around the block. The material that "nobody needed" became so essential that during World War II, the government redirected all nylon production to parachutes and military gear.

Here's what most people miss:

Nylon didn't just replace silk. It created entirely new industries. Toothbrush bristles. Automotive parts. Medical sutures. Carpeting. The applications nobody imagined became bigger than the original use case.

Sound familiar?

Right now, AI fears are hammering stocks across sectors. Charles Schwab dropped 10% last week. CBRE fell 15%. Morgan Stanley's wealth team called it a "bull market in disruption hysteria."

But the pattern is clear. Every transformative technology destroys the old while building something bigger.

💼 The money lesson:

The textile workers who feared nylon weren't wrong about disruption. They were wrong about opportunity. DuPont's years of R&D investment became a multi-billion dollar industry that employed more people than silk ever did.

When you see fear-driven selling in transformative technology, ask yourself: Am I looking at today's disruption or tomorrow's creation?

The investors who bought DuPont in 1937 didn't need to predict nylon stockings. They needed to recognize that innovation compounds.

What industry do you think AI will transform in ways we haven't imagined yet?

Featured image is an AI-generated historical illustration, not a period photograph.

1 week ago | [YT] | 4

Inspired Money

Wall Street gets it wrong more often than you'd think. The crowd predicted recessions that never came. They missed rallies they should have seen.

462 years ago today, a baby was born who would spend his life proving the experts wrong.

February 15, 1564. Pisa, Italy.

Galileo Galilei entered the world. He would grow up to challenge the most powerful institution on Earth: the Catholic Church.

The establishment said the Sun revolved around the Earth. Every authority agreed. Questioning it was heresy.

Galileo looked through his telescope and saw something different. He saw Jupiter's moons. He saw Venus's phases. He saw evidence that contradicted everything the experts believed.

He published his findings anyway.

The Inquisition forced him to recant. He spent his final years under house arrest. But he was right.

Here's what most people miss:

Galileo didn't have better information than the Church. He had the same sky, the same stars, the same data. What he had was the courage to trust his own observations over the consensus.

The investors who built generational wealth share that same trait.

→ Warren Buffett bought American Express when the "experts" said it was finished
→ Peter Lynch bought Chrysler when Wall Street had written it off
→ Michael Burry shorted housing when every analyst said home prices never fall

The crowd isn't always wrong. But the crowd is never rewarded for being right.

💼 The money lesson:

Consensus feels safe. But consensus is already priced in.

The opportunities that change your financial future come from seeing what others refuse to see. Not being contrarian for its own sake. Being willing to trust your own analysis when the evidence contradicts the experts.

Galileo spent his life under house arrest for being right too early.

The question isn't whether you can handle being wrong. It's whether you can handle being right when everyone says you're not.

What's one consensus view you're questioning right now?

Featured image is an AI-generated historical illustration, not a period photograph.

1 week ago | [YT] | 5

Inspired Money

$100 billion paid to creators. 490,000 full-time jobs. One platform changed everything.

21 years ago today, three former PayPal employees activated a domain name on Valentine's Day.

On February 14, 2005, Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim registered YouTube.com. The first video wouldn't upload until April. Google would announce the $1.65 billion acquisition in October 2006.

The skeptics were loud. "Who wants to watch amateur videos online?" "There's no business model." "It's a fad."

Here's what most people miss:

YouTube didn't just create a video platform. It created an entirely new economy.

According to YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, the platform has paid over $100 billion to creators, artists, and media companies since 2021. An Oxford Economics study found YouTube's ecosystem contributed $55 billion to U.S. GDP in 2024 and supported more than 490,000 full-time jobs.

Those "amateur videos" became careers. Those careers became businesses. Those businesses became an economic sector.

Now AI is reshaping the platform again. More than one million channels used YouTube's AI creation tools daily in December 2025. The company is doubling down on AI-powered dubbing, discovery, and content protection.

The skeptics are back. "AI will replace creators." "The content will be worthless."

Sound familiar?

💰 The money lesson:

Every technological shift creates two groups: those who adapt and those who watch from the sidelines. The creators who dismissed YouTube in 2005 missed a $100 billion opportunity. The creators dismissing AI tools today might be making the same mistake.

You don't need to predict which platform wins. You need to position yourself to benefit regardless.

→ Build skills that transfer across platforms
→ Create content that compounds over time
→ Stay curious when others get comfortable

Speaking of positioning: I've been building the Inspired Money YouTube channel for years. We're at 6,391 subscribers. Help me hit 7,000? If you've found value in my content, a subscribe would mean a lot: https://www.youtube.com/@InspiredMoney

Happy Valentine's Day. The best investments are the ones you make in yourself.

What platform or technology do you think people are underestimating right now?

Featured image is an AI-generated historical illustration, not a period photograph.

1 week ago | [YT] | 2

Inspired Money

36 years ago today, Wall Street watched a giant collapse in real time.

On February 13, 1990, Drexel Burnham Lambert filed for bankruptcy.

Most people remember Michael Milken and the junk bond scandal. But here's what they forget: Drexel didn't just sell high-yield bonds. They built the junk bond market from scratch. And they became the hub that connected everyone who touched it.

Banks. Insurers. Pension funds. S&Ls. All linked through one firm's underwriting and market-making.

When regulators finally caught up, the dominoes fell fast. Drexel went from Wall Street powerhouse to bankruptcy in months.

Here's what most people miss:

The warning signs were everywhere. Opacity in valuations. Conflicts of interest. Interconnected risk that nobody fully understood. Regulators were playing catch-up while insiders got rich.

Sound familiar?

Today, the non-bank financial sector has grown to $256 trillion globally, 51% of all financial assets, according to the Financial Stability Board. The DOJ has warned about "sketchy marks" and creative valuations in private credit. Jamie Dimon used the "cockroach" analogy: when you find one problem, more are usually hiding nearby.

Jeffrey Gundlach says private credit could be "the leading candidate to start the next financial crisis."

The instruments have changed. But the underlying dynamics haven't.

💼 The money lesson:

Opacity and concentration have preceded every major financial crisis. Drexel taught us that interconnected risk spreads faster than anyone expects. Today's non-bank lending system is bigger, more complex, and less transparent than anything Milken ever built.

You don't need to predict the next crisis. You need to prepare for it.

→ Know what you own
→ Understand how your investments are connected
→ Don't assume someone else is watching the risk

History doesn't repeat. But it rhymes loudly.

What's your take on private credit risk?

Featured image is an AI-generated historical illustration, not a period photograph.

1 week ago | [YT] | 2