Be Your Own Bank: The GPS for Infinite Banking
- JM Ryerson
- 1 hour ago
- 4 min read
If you want practical lessons on mindset, perseverance, intention, and building systems that actually solve big problems, this episode of the Let’s Go Win Podcast delivers. My guest, Chris Naugle, is a visionary entrepreneur, investor, and financial educator who has built an entire ecosystem around helping people rethink how money works.
In our conversation, Chris breaks down why feedback is gold, how mentors accelerate outcomes, why money loses meaning without purpose, and how his company built The Vault, a software system that helps people “be their own bank.”
The Visionary Mindset: See Big, Then Build the System
Chris says that being a visionary is a blessing until you get stuck inside your own ideas. When you build multiple ventures that seem successful but still sense a bigger picture just out of reach, that is the time to seek feedback.
He tells the story of a blunt VC who told him that his company had no intrinsic IP value. Instead of getting defensive, Chris listened. That feedback led him to stop tinkering and start building the system that builds everything else.
When you step back and admit something can be improved, you open space to integrate across companies, add parallel technologies like AI and blockchain, and design a solution the market actually needs. In Chris’s case, that meant building tools that could one day serve every commercial bank in the U.S.
Feedback and Mentors: Pay for Truth
Chris believes feedback is gold. From his days as a professional snowboarder to his current work as an entrepreneur, he has always paid for mentors. The best ones serve as both cheerleaders and brutal critics. That rhythm never ends. You grow, outgrow, and then seek the next teacher.
He reframes the idea of cost into one of value. A $10,000-a-month mentor who helps you identify a scalable idea is a bargain. The key is to pay for truth, not validation. Hire people who will challenge your thinking, not flatter it.
From Idea to Operating System: The Vault and Private Banking
Chris and his team created The Vault to simplify and modernize the concept of infinite banking, or what he calls “being your own banker.”
The idea is simple: change where your money goes first. That one adjustment can accelerate debt payoff, unlock liquidity, and enable you to redeploy capital more strategically.
Over time, Chris built separate tools for debt payoff and alternative financing. Eventually, he brought them all together inside The Vault, a single software platform that acts as the operating system for infinite banking.
The Vault does three things:
Meets people where they are by mapping out their financial path automatically.
Functions as both sales and servicing software, showing economics and outcomes in real time.
Connects to a broader private banking stack, including mutual life insurance carriers, the Private Money Club (a peer-to-peer lending marketplace), and a registered investment advisory for fiduciary management.
Chris describes it like this: “If infinite banking used to require maps and atlases, The Vault is the GPS.”
Why It Matters
Traditional life insurance and banking models have not evolved with consumer needs. Many advisors skip infinite banking because it reduces early commissions, leaving clients in the dark. By creating software that explains and runs the process, Chris is helping advisors deliver modern, client-first solutions while expanding opportunities for scale and education.
Chris’s Journey: BMX, Snowboarding, Small Business, and Hard Lessons
Chris’s entrepreneurial spirit started early. After watching the movie Rad at eight years old, he was hooked on the idea of betting on himself. From BMX to skateboarding to snowboarding, he practiced relentlessly. When he could not afford resort access, he built ramps in sand traps and practiced until each move was perfect in his mind.
At 17, he launched a clothing line and then Fat Man Board Shops. His mom even put their house up as collateral because no bank would fund a teenager’s dream. That level of belief made failure unacceptable and taught him the discipline that would carry him through recessions, Wall Street, and entrepreneurship.
Sixteen years on Wall Street showed Chris what not to build. It also exposed how the financial industry really works. Those lessons became the foundation for his future in real estate, television, authorship, and ultimately, financial innovation through The Vault.
Failure, Purpose, and Manifestation
For Chris, money eventually lost its thrill. What replaced it was purpose. “Purpose gives money meaning,” he told me. Years ago, he wrote himself a $350 million check, not to cash but to manifest. It still sits in his wallet as a reminder that intention shapes action.
His core belief is simple: the secret to everything you want is solving someone else’s problem. That mindset has guided every business he has built.
Practical Lessons from Chris Naugle
Seek brutal feedback early and often.
Pay for mentors who tell you the truth.
Fail fast and learn from the dark moments.
Find the right specialists and align them with one clear goal.
Understand the basics of infinite banking to change your financial trajectory.
Be fully present with your family because your values matter more than your ventures.
Quick Explanations and Metaphors
The Vault: GPS for infinite banking that simplifies complex flows.
Debt Blaster: Accelerates debt payoff using structured cash flow and early cash value policies.
Private Money Club: A matchmaking marketplace for private lenders and borrowers.
Words to Remember
“The biggest problem in America is not what people don't know. The biggest problem is what people think they know that just ain't so.” — Will Rogers
Chris encourages everyone, from advisors to everyday consumers, to stay curious. The system rewards those who ask questions and seek tools that make complex concepts simple.
Where to Learn More
If you want to explore infinite banking, The Vault, or the private banking model Chris described, start by learning the principles behind them. Seek mentors who challenge you, and focus on solving problems that matter.
Mindset matters. Be intentional with your goals, pay for truth, and build systems that turn ideas into sustainable success.
Watch this full episode of the Let's Go Win podcast on YouTube.
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