As I sit at my desk and reflect on the last 6 years there is a lot going through my mind. I am having flashbacks to what happened and what my family went through. I am thinking about what has happened both good and bad since.
A little backstory. When I was 17 and a senior in high school, my family and I lost my dad to a massive heart attack in his sleep. He was 49, he worked out 5 times a week, rode his bike, and was very active doing projects around the house. He had three kids and his wife of 27 years. When he passed away, we were all in shock, heart broken, and lost. This is where the financial advisor part comes into the picture.
My Godfather was my parents financial advisor and he came to the house after my dad had passed. On March 5th it will be 6 years to the day. He sat with my mom, who had just lost the love of her life and he was able to bring her the peace of mind she needed. He showed her how the life insurance that my dad had, would be used. He created a new plan to show projections based on her new life that she never expected. He showed her that she would be able to pay the bills and retire when they had planned to retire, together. In this horrible, nightmare time of her life, my Godfather was able to bring her peace of mind about finances, which allowed her to grieve and not worry about anything else.
When I saw this, I knew this was something I wanted to do someday. I wanted to meet with families and make sure they were taken care of if anything happened. What he did as their advisor was put a plan in place for the worst-case scenario, and when this happened, he knew what to do. This is something I hope I never have to go through with my clients, but if I do, I will have a plan in place, just as he did.
Each day that I am blessed to wake up and serve God through this career, I am thankful. I am thankful that with His help I can make a difference in my clients lives. I am thankful that I have been given an opportunity to make my family and friends proud.
With each client I have the opportunity to meet with, I keep my family’s story in mind. This has not been something I share often, because I do not want it to be about myself. However, today being what it is, I felt moved to share my story and why I do what I do.
So, to answer the question, that is why I am a financial advisor.