Bergen Brown Jr.’s journey from living in poverty in the inner city and serving in the U.S. Navy to managing the operating expense financial planning for a $100 billion portfolio of 3,000 logistic assets in private equity was a hard-fought battle. And his goal now is to help pave the way for young professionals to achieve freedom from financial adversity. Brown Jr. is a graduate of Temple University and is currently working on his Executive MBA from the Villanova School of Business. In Brown Jr.’s new book, Becoming a Financial Critical Thinker: 5 Step Process for Bulletproof Finances, he breaks down complex ideas into a language that is easy to understand for young adults who want to become financially inclined. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Brown Jr. to learn more about his background.
Bergen Brown Jr.’s Background
Brown Jr. grew up in the Pro Football Hall Of Fame city of Canton, Ohio, in a single-parent household with two of my siblings. Brown Jr. said:
“My father went from taking care of his family the best way he knew to serve a twelve-year federal prison sentence. These circumstances were unfortunate. In hindsight, these were early stages of self-discovery in my development. My purpose at the time was to be a role model for my younger brother and trailblaze a path for him out of our circumstances. My sister earned a full academic ride to Ohio State University. Her humble innocence was our pride and joy. My father returned from prison after I graduated high school.”
“At the time, I was working a dead-end factory job. We would spend the weekends with my father, having movie nights, desperately trying to make up the time we would never get back. My sister came home from school to visit one weekend. We insisted she join us to watch movies, but she had plans to celebrate with her boyfriend. Later that night, I received a call from a strange number. They told me my sister was on the emergency room floor. I drove to the hospital to find my sister traumatized in tears. She witnessed her boyfriend shot and killed by a stray bullet.”
“Following the homegoing ceremony, she learned that she was pregnant. I knew that I would need to be there for my nephew. I also knew I was on the brink of breaking down. After being a victim of six robberies and a laundry list of other unfortunate events, life had run its course on me. In my most vulnerable state, I joined the US Navy.”
“I showed up to Great Lakes for boot camp physically in shape, ready for any and every physical test. The challenge for me was mental. The Navy required us to unlearn and relearn our way of living, which had an impact on every aspect of my life. There was a certain way we had to do everything. Even the way we tied our shoes. Most importantly, I accepted those changes. The number of rapid changes taking place left me in the dark, stripped of my identity. I started journaling to externalize my thoughts to keep my brain unclogged with negative thoughts.”
“Mid-way through my military career, I had an incident that left me in a pool of my own blood. It took me less than a year to recover. I returned to my ship as they were preparing to head down to fleet week New York. It was a life-changing experience. I was able to rub shoulders with individuals with amazing stories that had a tremendous impact on me. At the end of the visit, my ship pulled away from the pier with me in tears.”
“I was disappointed that I’ve overcome struggle, hardship, and death. But I never gave myself the opportunity to find the best version of myself. I was determined to make my way back to New York City to spar with the business titans to reach success. My Senior Chief at the time highlighted that New York was a great place to visit but not the best place to live. He insisted that I try Philadelphia. That was OK with me because I knew whenever I went, I was going to give it everything I had to become successful. So, I was honorably discharged from the service, packed my car, and headed down the highway to Philadelphia. I was officially on my pursuit of happiness.” ”I hit the ground running in Philadelphia. I’ve never been to Philadelphia prior to the move. I knew no one here. I started from scratch and made a name for myself. I found myself managing the operating expenses for a $100 billion real estate portfolio. More importantly, I was able to start my journey as an author, sharing my journey from gaining financial independence to establishing financial stability to building financial wealth over the past ten years.”
Becoming An Author
It sounds like your story has a strong influence on your success. You mentioned that you’re managing the operating expenses budget and forecasting for about a $100 billion portfolio in private equity. That’s inspiring to many people. Please explain how you got on the road to becoming an author. Brown Jr. shared:
“The start of my journey to Becoming a Financial Critical Thinker dates back to grade school. I remember the proficiency test covered if you could read and interpret a book. However, it did not cover if you read and interpret numbers. The lack of interpreting numbers had an impact on everything around me. My mother was living paycheck to paycheck with three kids. Around the neighborhood, people were committing violent crimes for petty cash. I believe most of the solution is learning and applying money management skills. I knew that interpreting numbers was the key that would unlock the ball and shackle to find financial freedom.” ”I made it out of the struggle and shared my journey every step of the way. Everyone applauded me as they watched my transformation. The love and support I received made me feel it was my duty to be a resource to everyone. During COVID, I held dozens of Zoom calls within two weeks, teaching people about money. I had an inbox full of questions. People I knew were introducing me to their network. I didn’t charge anyone a penny. I was paid with referrals, social credibility, and insights into their problems with money. There was something they all had in common. Everyone was asking me the same questions. They wanted to know what they needed to get started managing their money. That’s when I knew I could potentially have a tremendous impact on millions of people if I could conceptualize a very complex topic into simplistic steps. Like any finance nerd would do, I started writing my book in Microsoft Excel.”
“If Beating the Odds Was A Person” Shirt
On Instagram, I noticed that Brown Jr. often wears a shirt that says “If Beating The Odds Was A Person,” so I asked him about it. Brown Jr. reflected:
“Yes, this shirt was created to identify myself as a resource and beacon of hope to all. Similar to the purpose and use of a lighthouse. Lighthouses help ships navigate through inclement weather with reference and guidance to help determine their position and direction. My shirt has been a conversation starter with people sharing their stories of the storms they have faced. It’s relatable to most and gives me the opportunity to build a meaningful relationship with people in the community.”
Main Takeaways
What are the main takeaways that you want readers to understand from the book? Brown Jr. explained:
The book conceptualizes money management in a simplistic five step process to provide readers with a solid framework. The value of Becoming a Financial Critical Thinker is understanding the framework and integrating it into your life. The framework helps you build a solid foundation to establish financial stability. Your foundation should support your goals and influence your everyday decision-making to achieve what success looks like to you.
Book Goals
What are you looking to achieve from this book? Brown Jr. pointed out:
“This is a really great question. I’m always approached by family and friends about sales and similar key performance indicators. Everyone was stunned that the book reached #1 best-seller status on Amazon in five categories (Wealth Management, Personal Finance, Budgeting, Financial Engineering, and Budgeting & Money Management). It was a great win for the entire community. Nearly one hundred people from my community attended the book signing.”
“I am extremely grateful for the love and support. I want everyone to remember that our goal is to get the book into the hands of those who need it most. For every book that was purchased, we’re donating a book. Now, we’re executing on our goal. My team’s current focus is building meaningful relationships with organizations that are connected to our target audiences and bring the book to their fingertips. We’re currently early in the process of deploying books to the Ohio State Prison Institutions. We’ll share more information as we make progress to making a meaningful impact.”
Final Thoughts
Any final thoughts you would like to share? Brown Jr. concluded:
“Thank you for sharing your platform with me to share my journey to becoming an author and financial critical thinker. I hope this interview has a positive impact on at least one person to find the confidence and resilience to keep striving to reach what success looks like to them.
You can connect with me on LinkedIn or go to myfinancialwalk.com.”
Want To Buy Becoming a Financial Critical Thinker: 5 Step Process for Bulletproof Finances? You can find it here:
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