Music Mondays - Fight Song
Fight Song
This amazing song written and performed by Rachel Platten has been at the top of many charts for a few months; however, I listened to it a while ago for the first time after I received this text from my oldest and best friend, Susan.
“Listen to this song when you’re feeling like crap. I heard it and thought of all you’re doing and how inspirational you are to so many others and me. Keep rockin. You’re doing awesome!”
I immediately stopped what I was doing, found the song, played it and cried my eyes out because I know the emotions and experiences Rachel drew from when she wrote this song. Two years ago, I left a large wealth management firm to make a change in the world of financial services. I felt like a small boat on the ocean, and most days I felt like the ocean would overtake me.
I honestly never thought about the fact that maybe I was a small boat, but I could still make waves, and Susan’s text woke me up to that. She had no way of knowing, but literally the day that she sent the text and introduced me to the song, I was struggling with my path and the direction my business would take.
Fighting to Make a Dream a Reality
For almost three years now, I have had the dream of creating The Financial Gym, a physical location where people could go to get and stay financially fit. It was an idea that came to me so strongly that I not only lost sleep thinking about it, but I almost lost my marriage over it.You see, for two years before this idea came to me, I had been struggling with my life purpose. Right after my 30th birthday, I found myself in a big funk, and through my life coach and friend, I realized that I wanted my life purpose to revolve around helping others. I didn’t know exactly how I was meant to help others, but I knew it was my life purpose.
When The Financial Gym came to me, it truly felt like a sign from God and the answer to my two-year search for my life’s purpose. I immediately began telling friends and family about my vision and my passion; however, I didn’t get much positive support for my dream, including my hubby.
And I don’t really care if no one else believes,
‘cause I still got a lot of fight left in me.
It’s not that my hubby, family and friends didn’t love me and weren’t supportive of me, but I really do think they believed that I was crazy. Common follow up questions to my news included: “How are you going to make money?” “Why would you help people with no money?” “What about your family?”These were valid questions, but all I could think was “What about all of the people who need financial help and can’t get it?” These were the people who were haunting my dreams and keeping me awake at night; and I knew without a shadow of doubt that I was supposed to help them.
My One Match
I spent a solid two years building my business and proving that the model for helping others could work, and at the end of last year, I decided that I would start to look for investor money to take my business to the next level and bring financial planning to the masses.I realized quickly that NO ONE wants to be the first investor in a start up company. No matter how great your idea there is a real fear of being the first one in. There were some people who expressed interest, but they quickly dropped off the radar; and I wondered if I was as crazy as people thought I was.To say that I hit some low points in that time is an understatement. I began to question the last two years of my life and wonder if I should just throw in the towel and go back to corporate America, to the security of a paycheck and a set schedule. Whenever I got in a funk, though, I thought about my clients and potential future clients. Who would help them? Who would be there for them?
Been two years, I miss my home, but there’s a fire burning in my bones.
I still believe. I still believe.
Within a few days of hearing this song, I received my first investor money from a longtime mentor and friend who said that he was investing in me because he believed in my vision and me. The certified check came in an envelope and on the outside of the envelope it said, “Knock ‘em dead!”
I might only have one match, but I can’t make an explosion.
That check was definitely my one match, and I am now ready to make an explosion. The Financial Gym website is officially going live today and classes will be available at our first location in New York City this September. I’m still in the process of raising more money to open more gyms and looking for people who want to franchise and build a financial gym near you.I have a long way to go to bring financial planning to the masses, but I'm thankful for songs like this that inspire me to keep fighting along the way, to never give up on myself or my dreams and to believe that I can achieve something great. I hope that you will support me along the way and like The Financial Gym on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.