I Had It All, But I Was Miserable: Why I Quit Being a Financial Advisor

Corporate greed and sales plans have corrupted every aspect of our live. Thank you for saying this out loud!

"stripped of all feeling for just long enough...." good way to put it

Wow - that was really inspiring! I really related to your story. I have a degree in finance and worked in the industry for 10 years but for me the lifestyle and method of making contacts and connections always felt ‘fake’. I quit my white collar job and started a blue collar business and now make 10x as much money but more importantly my conscience feels great now. I’ve been out of the finance industry 10 years and have never looked back yet prior to quitting my job, it felt like such a big leap of faith.

My husband and I went to a financial advisor and the only product the advisor wanted to discuss was life insurance even after we said we already had life insurance. That’s when we realized that we are on our own and we had to research and figure out our own financial path. Thank you for the video.

I left my job as an attorney last year. I'm still stuck on what to do. If there were something i loved doing, I'd do it, like, 35 years ago. I've always been clueless.

Great post Leisa. Similar journey here. Left a lucrative position in mortgage banking a few years ago without a clear path forward, but knew it was the right choice. My journey towards understanding the inner workings of banking and finance (not taught in universities), especially after the GFC, opened my eyes to things I couldn't unsee. If the average person knew just how corrupt things have become in this space, as Henry Ford once said, there would be revolution overnight. Your assessment of the average asset gatherer is spot on.

My experiences with Financial Advisors has been dreadful. So I do it myself and keep it simple. I have been in sales my whole career and take great pride in how I have helped my customers to make a good buying decision, backed with an implementation plan. I took money out of most deals which impacted my commission but enabled my customers to have the appropriate level of post sales guidance. I always find it interesting when people create these podcasts because they want to help everyone….and the next sentence is I have a book or I have a class…. There is nothing wrong with selling, most jobs require some form of it, but you can do it well and help your customers at the same time. Case in point the car salesman who sold me my car 3 years ago, sends me an email to remind me of recalls, service specials, offers to pick my car up for service and return it. Has my car washed before returning. This is for an average car. He does this because he’s building customers for life.

Thanks for sharing. Sometimes I go back and forth in my own head about my own decision to walk away, so it was nice to hear your story. I just stepped away from a high-paying, high-level career in medicine to focus on my passion for helping people with prevention and taking charge of their health instead of waiting to see them after they are ill. It was an easy decision for me, but many of my colleagues still think I made a big mistake. I realize they would probably walk away too but they just don't see how they could, so they judge me based on their own limited view.

This is so helpful. You’re honest. You could project confidence when you actually did know what you were doing, and not before. You have integrity. I’ve been in the corporate world for the last 17 years and it is so wrong for me. My mother died last year and she was a beautiful wildflower who encouraged all of us to live fully and not to chase money. I did this job because i was recently separated and needed security but I have enough of that now and am preparing to leave in 6 more months. Thank yo for sharing your story.

I so relate to your story. Having a professional license that requires an oath of ethics. I am grateful I came to the realization that I cannot be of financial success without managing my own finances. I will work for a boss, but not at the sacrifice of my morals and professional ethics.

THIS IS LOVELY OF YOU TO DO. MUCH APPRECIATED.

I was advised to get a financial advisor BY a family member when my husband passed away. Too bad I know a lot about investing and the person who told me to get an advisor lost so much money. Now I'm retired and she's still working. NOBODY KNOWS BETTER HOW TO HANDLE YOUR MONEY BETTER THAN YOU!

I’ve been in your industry for 22 years. This is 1000% true.

Thanks for your honesty and transparency. Personally I am on the path to get more clarity about money, the why, how much etc. So your book is next. Blessings from Switzerland. May He keep and bless you 🙏

Thank you Leisa, this is very kind of you to get this out. Gaining a view of my fears and learning how to place them in a true perspective is important to me these days; and the role of money and security as it relates to how I live and enjoy my family is to gain freedom, and help them enjoy their lives more. "I am more than my fears", I will think about that.

As an 85 year old retired aerospace engineer, I've experienced life's up's and down's. As have we all. That is to say, in the midst of our success stories, we also have experienced failure; sometimes heartbreaking failure -- the pain of it staying with us forever, the healing of time notwithstanding. Back in the Sixties, I joined the Army. (Actually, I was drafted, and Vietnam was my war.) We lost over 58,000 American Combat Soldiers and Marines, and another 300,000 American Combat Soldiers and Marines were wounded in our disastrous military adventure in the name of our National Security. Plus its been estimated that over a million Vietnamese men, women, and children were killed. I can't say that most of these folks had a fulfilling career. And if you've ever been subjected to heavy weapons fire, napalm, the blast, the shock, the sight of torn bodies, then you will know that your life will never be the same. Nor should it be. It seems to me if we're so damned smart, that we should recognize that we, each of us, has an Obligation to apply our intelligence, our insights, to be part of the solution to a world that is in the midst of Earth's 6th Mass Extinction. Google it and inform yourself. After all, if you believe that knowledge/information is power, then know that power begets control.

Deep stuff Leisa….thanks for opening up. A lot to think about.

Yep, sometimes the “hardest” thing to do is the “right” thing to do… follow after peace😇

Thank you so much for sharing your story, so helpful and inspiring xxx

Well done! The greatest tragedy in the financial services business was when CFP’ started selling financial products ‘