Good morning, happy Monday, and happy Labor Day!
“Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1884-1962)
I hope you are enjoying your holiday weekend.
According to the Department of Labor website Labor Day “is an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers.” So, it’s a day to step back and reflect and celebrate what our work has accomplished. Labor Day first became a national holiday in 1894, so this is the 130th Labor Day celebration we have had in America.
Some of you I have had the privilege to work with for decades, others of you we are earlier in our journey of working together. So, I thought it might be kinda’ fun to take a brief walk through my career on this Labor Day.
I started working at Dairy Queen when I was 15 years old. I loved that job and still have some precious lifetime friends from my time there. When I graduated high school at age 18 I was praying about next career steps and the next week a customer in the DQ drive-thru asked me if I would be interested in working at a bank and invited me to an interview the next week (talk about a quick answer to prayer!).
I worked as a teller at First Union (later Wachovia, now Wells Fargo) from age 18-21 as I was paying my own way through college. By age 21, my senior year in college, I was a licensed Financial Specialist … imagine getting investment advice from a 21-year old! I was still in training when 9/11 came … needless to say that was a baptism by fire type of experience. I’ll share more about that story another time.
By 28 years old I stepped out into the world of straight commission with Northwestern Mutual, where I met many of you. I was scared out of my mind to work without a salary and I worked 60-75 hours a week for many years to build the practice. I treasure my time there and all that I learned through that experience. I had built a book of business up over 700 clients. With such a large client base, my team and I found ourselves struggling to provide the level of service that we wanted for our clients.
That led me to start Intentional Wealth in 2021 with the objective of providing a top-notch, customized financial planning experience for a maximum of roughly 150 households. I have been absolutely blown away with how amazing my clients are and the growth we have experienced in just over 2 years of starting this practice.
I have no plans on retiring at any age as I absolutely love what I do and adore the people I do it for (you!). I get to do meaningful work for amazing clients and I get paid well to do it. It’s a dream come true for me and a blessing far beyond anything I could ever dream of 25 years ago when I started this journey as a bank teller.
My “labor” is taking care of you and doing everything I can to make your financial future as secure and bright as possible. I can think of no other way I would rather make a living! As the saying goes “if you love what you do you never work a day in your life.” Well, on that front I guess I don’t work, because I absolutely love what I do, I love the awesome team I get to do it with, and I love the amazing people I get to do it for.
So, this Labor Day I just want to say a huge THANK YOU! Thank you for entrusting me to be your financial planner, it is a privilege beyond words and I am beyond grateful.
Make it a great week ahead!