Quotes by Joseph C. Kunz, Jr.

This page features some of the most popular and hard-hitting quotes from Money’s Dirty Little Secrets—a no-nonsense guide to building real wealth by breaking free from bad advice, lazy thinking, and a rigged system.

I wrote this book because most people are drowning in lies about money—taught to play by rules that were never meant to help them win. These quotes aren’t fluff. They’re the sharp truths I wish someone told me when I was 25.

If you’re looking for quotes that challenge the status quo and push you to think, act, and build like a true independent—you're in the right place.

1. “The system isn’t broken. It was built to keep you broke. Learn the rules—or keep losing by default.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

2. “You can’t win the game if you never learn the rules. And the people who profit most from your confusion are counting on that.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

3. “They want you confused, compliant, and consuming. But wealth is built by people who think, plan, and act with conviction.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

4. “Money is not the goal. It’s the fuel. What matters is what you’re driving toward.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

5. “You’re not stuck. You’re just stuck believing the lies about money that were designed to keep you that way.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

6. “Being broke isn’t always your fault. Staying broke usually is.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

7. “Money doesn’t change you. It exposes you.” 

—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secret

8. “Most people aren’t broke because of income—they’re broke because of ignorance.”

—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secret

1. “You don’t need a perfect plan. You need a paycheck, a purpose, and the guts to take the first step.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

2. “Success isn’t complicated. It’s just not convenient.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

3. “The path to wealth isn’t paved with luck—it’s built with discipline, clarity, and a refusal to play the victim.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

4. “The rules are simple. The courage to follow them? That’s the hard part.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

5. “You don’t need permission to succeed. But you do need discipline.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

1. “Most people don’t fail because they aim too high. They fail because they aim too low and hit the target.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

2. “The world rewards action—not intention. Work your plan or stay broke.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

3. “Do what you love. Do it with passion. Work hard. Don’t quit. That’s how money and happiness will find you.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

4. “True wealth, success, and happiness can only be achieved by balancing our business life with the duty we have to our self and to our family.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

5. “We don’t need more gurus—we need more teachers. Gurus chase success for themselves. Teachers build success in others.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

1. “If you want respect, don’t demand it—model it.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

2. “Leadership isn’t about titles. It’s about who steps up when things fall apart.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

3. “A real leader builds more leaders—not more followers.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

4. “If you can’t handle criticism, you’re not ready to lead.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

5. “Influence isn’t loud. It’s consistent.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

1. “When you promote and market yourself, your service, your product—it cannot be from a script or textbook. It must be from the heart.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

2. “Successful entrepreneurship begins and ends with customer wants and needs, not what you want and need.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

3. “If you don’t define what success means for you, someone else will—and they’ll sell it back to you for a price.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

4. “Most people don’t have a money problem—they have a decision-making problem.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

5. “You can’t outsource strategy. If you don’t think for yourself, someone else will do it—and charge you for it.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

6. “Being busy doesn’t mean you’re being strategic. Confusion loves company, but it doesn’t pay well.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

7. “Comfort will keep you broke. Discomfort is where the money’s made.”

—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

8. “What you want doesn’t matter. Great businesses are built on what the customer wants and needs.”

—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

1. “You’ll never out-earn bad habits. Fix those first.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

2. “Every successful person you admire got there by doing the boring stuff daily.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

3. “Dreams are built on discipline, not dopamine.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

4. “Excuses are easy. Habits are hard. Choose hard.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

5. “Your habits today are writing the story you’ll tell tomorrow.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

1. “If you follow the herd, don’t be surprised when you step in what they leave behind.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

2. “The people telling you to play it safe already gave up on their dreams.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

3. “Disruption isn’t rude—it’s necessary.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

4. “Play it safe long enough, and you’ll start calling fear ‘wisdom.’”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

5. “You’ll never build anything great by asking for permission.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

6. “If you want freedom, stop waiting for permission and start printing your own ticket.”

—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

1. “Don’t build a business so big it crowds out the people you built it for.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

2. “Your family isn’t a distraction from your goals. They’re the reason for them.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

3. “Legacy is built in ordinary moments—breakfasts, good nights, showing up.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

4. “If you lose your values chasing wealth, you’ll eventually lose both.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

5. “The real flex? A business that wins—and a family that knows you love them.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

6. “Lasting wealth, real success, and genuine happiness only come when we balance business with our duty to self and family.”

—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

1. “You’re not tired—you’re uninspired. Get clear on what matters, and your energy will follow.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

2. “You don’t need another course. You need to make a decision and start moving.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

3. “Waiting for the right moment is the slowest way to go broke.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

4. “You won’t always be motivated. Train yourself to move anyway.”
Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

5. “Comfort is expensive. And the cost is your potential.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

6. “Balance never creates excellence. Conviction does.”

—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

1. “A real business doesn’t start with passion—it starts with solving a real problem for real people.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

2. “You don’t need a business plan. You need a customer, a product, and a reason to keep showing up.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

3. “In business, success is not about doing more—it’s about doing what works, again and again.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

4. “Entrepreneurship is risk with responsibility. If you’re not ready to be blamed, you’re not ready to lead.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

5. “Your business will never outgrow your mindset. Fix your thinking before you scale your revenue.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

1. “The game is rigged—but not for the reasons you think. It’s rigged to reward those who don’t play by the script.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

2. “The people telling you to follow the rules are the same people who profit when you don’t question them.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

3. “Sometimes the only way to win is to step outside the system—and build your own.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

4. “Playing it safe is how most people lose slowly.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

5. “The rules you’ve been taught about success weren’t designed for your success. They were designed for your compliance.”
—Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets

Read the full story behind these quotes in Money’s Dirty Little Secrets — available now on Amazon.
It’s not fluff. It’s the book I wish someone handed me at 25.

You’re welcome to quote and share—just credit:
Joseph C. Kunz Jr., Money’s Dirty Little Secrets