While many people have influenced my life, my parents laid the foundation for who I am today.
In a way, my mom and dad were two sides of a coin. My mom was the nurturing presence who helped inspire me to explore my dreams. My dad was the hard-working example who helped motivate me to excel. This put my sights on what my future could be and gave me the tools to make it happen.
Exploring the future
My mom’s personality — kind, welcoming, helpful, and selfless — naturally fosters growth and development. She was committed to supporting me as I learned and explored the world.
She believes academics opens many doors, so she pushed my twin sister and me to concentrate on our studies. Because of my parents, college was always a given in my mind. If it weren’t for them planting that seed early on, I may have thought of that differently.
Being recruited for college athletics strengthened the inevitability of college for me. My parents set the stage for this as well. Wanting my sister and I to be well-rounded, they let us follow our interests. For me, that meant trying many activities growing up, including trombone, choir, scouts, and a range of sports.
My mom’s goal was for us to choose a job, not for a job to choose us. She wanted us to explore our options and decide on a career that satisfied us. I’m grateful that I found that in financial planning, sparked in part by a high school stock market simulation and further fostered through my college studies.
Working hard to excel
As a kid, I saw my Dad’s shared care for my sister and me. I also saw how hard he worked, whether it was putting in long hours on the construction site or thinking nothing of shoveling our driveway after a day at work. While I don’t work a physical job like he did, I feel equally committed to my role and work hard at it, largely thanks to his example.
My dad’s strong work ethic and mental toughness first came through in me while playing sports. I learned that commitment to practice and training, the often less glamorous and fun side of sports, had a strong influence on overall success in actual competition.
In my life today, I try to channel the positive influences of my parents with clients. I enjoy helping them see their possibilities and digging in to create a plan that helps them reach their goals.
No matter what comes next in my life, I know my parents’ support and examples will lead me in the direction I’m meant to go.
