After a sabbatical (or mini-retirement as I termed it) of 9 months I have returned to full-time work. I wouldn’t have predicted that I’d land where I currently sit, but I am happy with where I am. I have interesting challenges ahead of me and my new positions force me to face them head-on. Before I tell you what I’m up to, I want to share some of my experiences from my time off.
Highlights of my time-off
- CampFI – This is a Financial Independence (FI) retreat for people who are Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) enthusiasts. It was a 3-day event with presentations on optimizing your finances and lifestyle and retiring earlier than traditional retirement age. There was also a lot of unstructured free-time for getting to know people. It was really inspiring getting to meet so many interesting people doing amazing things and living life on their own terms. I camped in a tent by myself for the first time. You don’t have to camp though, there were motel style rooms available as well! I highly recommend it for people who ascribe to FIRE or are curious about FI and designing their own lifestyle .
- Multiple trips to Maine – My husband and me went to Camden, ME for a week in late March and explored towns up and down the coast of ME. We spent a lot of time outdoors and were surprised to find that the cold wasn’t bad with the sunshine, good jackets and movement as we hiked. We also spent most of July in ME and visited Saco (near Portland), Acadia, and Bath. Maine has quickly become our new favorite place, with the combination of lots of preserved open space, coastline FOR DAYS, and mountains all within close proximity to each other. Yep… its really is that nice!
- Naps! – I got back in touch with good sleep patterns and generally taking it slow. I also simply did less in general. This improves my mood and stress level immensely. As a result of more sleep and less stress I notice my drinking has reduced as well. I’m just as content to have a drink one night of a week and to only have one or two drinks socially (or not drink at all).
- Reading. I read a lot but the books that left the biggest impact on me personally or professionally follow in no particular order:
- “Do Nothing” by Celeste Hadlee
- “King, Warrior Magician Lover” by Robert Moore
- “The Power of Meaning” by Emily Esfahani Smith
- “The Big Leap” by Gay Hendricks
- “The Way of Integrity” by Martha Beck
- “Happy Money” by Ken Honda
- Connecting – I was able to travel to visit a close friend for a week, I joined a mastermind group that I attend every week, said yes to more social events in town, and had more and more in-person hang outs and phone calls to catch-up with friends. I’m still working on forming this as a habit and hope to continue to prioritize connecting as I add more commitments back into my life.
My time off was truly rejuvenating. I initially worried that I’d waste my time and would spend it idly. Looking back, this was an unnecessary concern. I definitely wasn’t productive in the everyday sense in-terms of checking tasks off a to-do list, but I was indeed productive. I gained clarity on who am I and what’s truly important to me. I gained the ability to be more present as I turned down things that aren’t important and engaged more deeply in things that I’m feeling called to. I’m getting better at ignoring the distractions of what everyone else is doing and instead focusing on what feels right to me.
Where I am now
I decided that owning a financial services firm is not for me (or at least not right now). This was a difficult decision. It was a long-term dream to own a financial planning and investment firm. I attached a lot of meaning to the goal of owning this type of business. This position meant a level of success and financial achievement that I sought for a long time. Also, I owned an accounting firm previously so not being an owner in my next endeavor would feel like (and worse for my ego, could be seen as) a step down. As I sorted through feelings and beliefs, it became apparent though that owning a financial planning firm was not calling me right now.
Coaching is calling me right now. The piece that currently and has always called to me is working with people. Hearing people’s stories, getting to know who they are, what’s important to them, supporting them and partnering with them achieve their goals. This is what drew me to a career in finance and has driven each one of my career moves in the past. I decided to take a one-year Coach training program with Accomplishment Coaching, where I’ll receive the training to be a life, executive and business coach. I am so excited to be spending a year dedicating time every week towards learning how to lead people towards their own success. I’ll be cultivating and strengthening what I’ve learned is my “unique ability” or “superpower”.
Financial Advisor is the other role that’s calling me. Partnering with clients to reach success in their financial and broader lives is the part of being a financial professional that I’ve always loved. The tools that help me do that, investments, taxes, income, expenses and lifestyle, the business I own or don’t earn, etc. have been the tools to accomplish that goal. And while I also find the tools interesting, the most important (and most interesting) part is the client, the relationship with the client, and their goals. At the same time I was reaching this realization, Fran Toler of Toler Financial Group offered me an opportunity to focus my time exactly where I wanted in a role with her firm. It took some time, but as I was able to confirm that our visions, style and approach were aligned, and it just made sense.
I am grateful that I made the decision to take time off. It wasn’t an easy decision to make and I was afraid that stepping away would harm my career or wasn’t a financially responsible decision. Neither was right. This experience was me practicing one of the tenets that I preach of aligning your finances with your values. I used my financial resources to buy myself the time to refocus. I then decided to invest in education that will further me both personally and professionally. Building financial freedom is great, but its not freedom if you don’t actually take advantage of that freedom to better your life.
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