My very first podcast episode, where I introduce myself and describe my journey.
In this very first episode of my podcast, Making Change with Money, I talk about the life experiences that ultimately led me to leave my high paying but life draining position on Wall Street to start my financial advisory firm, True Abundance Advisors.
Key Takeaways:
- More achievements and more possessions do not equal more happiness. You CAN live a joyful and contented life with fewer things.
- Make the decision to no longer be a victim of your life, but instead to author your life. You may be surprised by what happens next!
- Put practices in place to build and maintain resilience as you continue to navigate life's inevitable challenges.
Listen to the entire episode to learn more about my journey and why I decided to start this podcast.
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Disclaimer: Please remember that the information shared on this podcast does not constitute accounting, legal, tax, investment or financial advice. It’s for informational purposes only. You should seek appropriate professional advice for your specific information.
[00:00:00] Welcome to episode 0 0 0 of my new podcast. Making change with your Money. This is Laura Rotter owner and founder of True Abundance Advisors, a financial life planning firm, speaking to you from White Plains, New York, just outside of New York City. Today's episode is different from the regular format. I'm going to offer you a quick introduction of who I am and why I am starting this podcast.
I had a successful career on Wall Street. I like to look at my career in thirds. The first 10 years I love what I did. The work was interesting. Fascinating. [00:01:00] I was an investor for institutions and I would research industries and companies learning what made them tick and deciding what I wanted to invest in.
It was really intellectually challenging work and it paid quite well. The middle 10 years I was far and away the primary breadwinner of my family. I had three young children. I was so busy, I didn't have time to think about whether or not I was enjoying my work. It was just what I did. The last 10 years, however, were a slog.
I dreaded going to work in the morning. I just live for the weekends. But I had a story I told myself and the story went like this. I have to earn a lot of [00:02:00] money to support the lifestyle I put in place, the large home, the vacation, home, the expensive vacations, and that, without those things that I was attached to I could never be happy. If I complained to friends or family, the feedback I got was, oh my God, you earn some so much money, how could you possibly be unhappy? Or my husband's famous line, that's why they call it work.
In fall of 2013. I was working with the hedge fund group of Citicorp in Midtown Manhattan. I had also started a yoga teacher training on the weekends. That teacher training incorporated a life coaching program which had each of us students rate 18 [00:03:00] areas of our lives and describe the ideal state, the current state, and why I am not there. About career. I wrote: I find my job saps the energy out of me. I need to wake up by 5:30 AM to get to the office. But I don't get to bed until 11:30 PM because the evening is when my real life takes place. When I see friends. Take classes. And pursue new interests.
My life was a mix of to-do lists, exhaustion, and rituals for coming down. But the spiritual work from the yoga teacher training was beginning to change me.
In November of that year, I wrote in my journal: I feel like I've had a breakthrough. It's [00:04:00] occurred to me that rather than just accept as a given that work is a dreary existence, I can attempt to challenge the status quo, take a risk, make myself vulnerable, become a leader. Something had shifted and I had decided to no longer be a victim of my circumstances, but to actively attempt to change them.
That journal entry I just read was November 21st, 2013. On November 22nd, 2013, my boss called me into his office. He told me that the hedge fund group is laying off many employees and I was among those that would be let go with a generous severance package.
I experienced that layoff as acknowledgement from the universe that I was finally ready for the change that I long for. [00:05:00] Nothing could shift while I continued to be stuck, a passive victim of my circumstances. But once I decided that I would no longer be a passive sufferer, but instead an active author of my life the universe ushered me on to the next leg of my journey. That journey included me founding True Abundance Advisors,. a financial life planning firm that works primarily with women like you women 50 years old or so that are experiencing a big life change that inevitably will impact your financial circumstances.
As the journey has continued. I am now starting this podcast, Making Change with your Money because I know that change can feel lonely as though you're the only one going [00:06:00] through it. This podcast will feature interviews with other women, just like you, who navigated a big life transition and are now thriving on the other side of it.
After each show, I will summarize the key takeaways, sharing actionable ideas from each interview.
In my case, the takeaways I have looking back on this journey is: it is possible to live a joyful contented life with fewer things.
Learning that I could get by with a lot less income than I imagine I needed once I right size my expenses selling my big house. Selling my vacation home. And changing the way that I in general vacation and spend. [00:07:00]
And finally I learned that it's important to put practices in place t o build and maintain resilience as I continue to navigate the inevitable life changes.
I hope you will consider subscribing to this podcast so that you don't miss the next episode and the episodes after that. Thank you so much for listening.