Are you taking advice from people who only sound like they know what they're talking about?

Social media has made everyone look like an expert, but a confident voice, a polished clip, or a big following does not automatically mean someone is qualified to guide your life, business, health, or decisions. The problem is that bad advice often sounds convincing, especially when it comes from someone who knows how to perform authority online.

Real discernment means asking better questions before you listen. Has this person actually done what they are talking about? Did they do it recently enough for the advice to still apply? Are they giving you perspective from experience, or are they selling you a version of success that looks good on camera?

In this episode of Habits and Hustle, I break down why advice has an expiration date, why followers do not equal credibility, and how to be more careful about who you let influence your decisions.

What's Discussed:

(00:34) Why everyone on social media suddenly sounds like an expert.

(01:09) How the rise of online advice has made discernment more important than ever.

(02:40) Why you should only take advice from people who have actually done what they are talking about.

(03:54) Why advice has an expiration date and can become outdated.

(04:10) How business, career, and life advice changes when the world changes.

(06:33) Why calling yourself an "expert" can become part of the problem.

(08:16) Why even good advice may not be right for your life or your path.

(09:57) How social media makes people sound authoritative, even when they are not.

(12:43) Why followers and visibility do not automatically equal credibility.

(15:16) Why health and mental health advice on social media can become dangerous.

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Magic Mind: Head over to magicmind.com/jen and use code JEN at checkout.

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Prolon: Prolon is offering listeners 30% off sitewide plus a $40 bonus gift when you subscribe to their 5-Day Program! Just visit prolonlife.com/JENNIFERCOHEN and use code JENNIFERCOHEN to claim your discount and your bonus gift.

Find more from Jen Cohen:

Website: jennifercohen.com

Instagram: @therealjencohen

Books: jennifercohen.com/books

Speaking: jennifercohen.com/speaking-engagements

Are you actually creating opportunity, or are you waiting for someone to hand it to you?

A lot of people talk about being entrepreneurs, but very few are willing to do the unsexy part: get on the plane, sit in the waiting room, build the relationship, ask the better question, and stay in the deal long enough to find the angle everyone else missed. Richard Baker built his career by doing exactly that. He did not rely on perfect timing, endless capital, or permission from people at the top. He used structure, relationships, leverage, and speed to turn overlooked opportunities into billion-dollar deals.

This matters because the future of work is changing fast. AI is reshaping business, companies are cutting jobs, and more people are going to have to learn how to create value on their own. Richard's philosophy is simple: stop chasing safety, start thinking like an owner, and learn how to manufacture your own luck. The people who win are the ones who know where the ball is going before everyone else starts running after it.

Richard Baker is a real estate entrepreneur, dealmaker, founder of Baker House 1921, and longtime educator through Cornell's Baker Program in Real Estate. He has built one of the largest privately owned shopping center portfolios in the country, developed 50 Walmart-anchored shopping centers, bought iconic retail brands including Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue, Hudson's Bay, and Neiman Marcus, and structured some of the most fascinating retail and real estate deals of the last two decades. In this episode, he breaks down negotiation, risk, AI, entrepreneurship, decision-making, and why the biggest opportunities often come from seeing what everyone else is too busy to notice.

What's Discussed:

(01:27) How Richard Baker built one of the largest privately owned shopping center portfolios in the country.

(07:37) The family philosophy that taught him how to make money with no money.

(11:13) What intellectual leverage means and why he uses brains, relationships, and structure instead of cash.

(12:15) Why real opportunity comes from getting off your ass and showing up in person.

(19:23) How the power of yes helped him buy Lord & Taylor for $1.2 billion.

(23:34) Why big companies miss details and how that creates openings for entrepreneurs.

(29:21) Why speed, risk tolerance, and fast decision-making matter in business.

(39:17) How he turned the Zellers deal into a bidding war between Walmart and Target.

(52:40) The difference between a zoo bear and a jungle bear in entrepreneurship.

(01:02:39) Why luck is something you manufacture through preparation, strategy, and timing.

(01:07:21) How Richard uses AI every morning to think, plan, and increase productivity.

(01:31:38) Why courage, pulling the trigger, and structuring risk are essential for entrepreneurs.

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Magic Mind: Head over to magicmind.com/jen and use code JEN at checkout.

Pique: Go to piquelife.com/jenniferrsd to get 20% off for life plus free gifts

Momentous: Ready to try supplements that actually do what they claim? Head to livemomentous.com and use code JEN for 35% off your first subscription.

Therasage: Visit therasage.com and use code JEN to get 15% off your order. Your skin

Prolon: Prolon is offering listeners 30% off sitewide plus a $40 bonus gift when you subscribe to their 5-Day Program! Just visit prolonlife.com/JENNIFERCOHEN and use code JENNIFERCOHEN to claim your discount and your bonus gift.

Find more from Jen Cohen:

Website: jennifercohen.com

Instagram: @therealjencohen

Books: jennifercohen.com/books

Speaking: jennifercohen.com/speaking-engagements

Find more from Richard Baker & Baker House:

Website: bakerhouse1921.com

Instagram: @baker_house1921