#11 | What Is Second Order Thinking? The Hidden Mental Model Billionaires USE To See Into The FUTURE Make GREAT Decisions TODAY & How You Can Do The Same

How Billionaires Think: Mental Models, Decision Frameworks & Psychology Principles For Building Wealth

What if most of your decisions are being made too shallowly, solving the wrong problems because you never asked “and then what”? What if the difference between middling success and legendary impact is thinking in consequence chains, not just one step ahead?

In this episode, you'll discover how entrepreneurs nearly always fail not due to lack of effort, but because they miss the invisible ripple effects of their choices. Whether you're pricing, hiring, launching, or simply making everyday business decisions, there’s an unseen game being played in the background. Billionaires don’t just see what’s in front of them—they see what trails behind every decision.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• The story of Ray Kroc & McDonald’s, how he didn’t just aim to make better burgers, but built a system that made real estate, consistency, and scale inevitable
• Why first‑order thinking (doing what’s obvious today) usually kills long‑term growth, while second‑order thinking (anticipating ripple effects) builds enduring value
• Concrete tools you can use immediately: questions like “And then what?” asked five layers deep, and the “anti‑optimization” mindset that shows what you lose when you optimize for one metric

Press play now to start seeing the business world in layers, not snapshots—so you can start making decisions that compound advantages instead of chasing immediate wins.

Discover how to build wealth, unlock the habits of millionaires, and master how billionaires think using mental models, decision-making psychology, and elite performance psychology as we explore the wealth mindset, money mindset, and millionaire mindset that fuel generational wealth, financial freedom, and discipline and success—this is the financial freedom podcast where thinking like the rich, learning brain hacks for success, understanding cognitive biases, and applying thought frameworks, decision frameworks, productivity mindset, and success strategies all come together with behavioral economics, psychological hacks, and the psychology of success to help you think like a CEO through the lens of critical thinking podcast insights and mental models podcast breakdowns.