This is not my first choice career... but this is my 13th year

I have been in the financial services industry all my life, and this is my story of why and how I entered the industry. I hope this post can be helpful for anyone striving to “find” your place or purpose in life.

I’ve enjoyed being a financial consultant. It has helped me achieved my financial goals and dreams. I’ve been financially independent for a long time. And honestly, I can’t see myself doing anything else.

But here’s the thing…

While it is easy to see the rewards I now enjoy, the journey that led me here was not always smooth sailing. 

In fact, I didn’t always know what I wanted to do. I had to trial and error and learn many valuable lessons to get to where I am today.

Perhaps, I was just fortunate to have found my passion way earlier than many of my peers. On some level, I still think it was by accident but I’m eternally thankful that things turned out the way they did.

What did help me get there faster was having a clear goal from the start.

That’s why I’m always telling my team to picture what they want. You may not know the exact path or events that will bring you there… but by staying focus on what your goal is… things DO naturally fit into the picture, and this is what I always termed as “blind faith”.

For me that goal was always to be Financially Independent!

The truth is, like most Singaporeans, I come from a relatively financially stable family. But I never wanted to depend on my parents, I wanted to be sufficient on my own.

Back in my Uni days, my parents had wanted to pay for my tuition fees and my monthly allowance. 

But I was stubborn and didn’t want to depend on them.

So, ever since my JC days, I had been working as a part time wedding banquet server every weekend, just to earn my own keep. Along the way, I was a tutor, an admin staff, a door to door salesman for Starhub cable TV, and many others. 

I enjoyed the freedom to be in total control of my life, to be able to determine how I spend (or save, or invest) my money without being nagged at.

But as I started to review the long hours I put in, I realised they would not bring me any closer to my goal. Back then, a per hour rate of $7-$8 was considered good. Even tuition was paying me at most $15-$20. A simple calculation will set me back that I may never be able to pay off my tuition fees by the time I graduate. But what else could I have done? 

The answer I had in mind was sales, or entrepreneurship. I wanted to earn, yet be in control of time since I had to manage my school work. I did not have the luxury of being able to exchange more time for money, and yet I did not have the experience, or skills required to command a much higher per hour rate. 

With that in mind, I began my search for an ideal role that could afford me the space when I had to study. At the same time, I also didn’t want to give up on my dream of working in the bank, except… I did not know at that time what a banker actually does (also, banks don’t usually offer any long-term part time role anyway). 

Still, I didn’t give up and continued searching… and by chance, I stumbled upon a Financial Consultant job ad.

Back then, I didn’t know what a financial consultant actually was. The job title sounded cool, and so I went for the interview. And then I realised, oh it’s an insurance job…

I didn’t have a very good impression of the industry initially, partly because my dad didn’t particularly like insurance agents, and largely because I was prejudiced against the industry by my friends.

However, I thought that if I could do something here, it would help with my resume building and eventually help me land a job with the banks.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained right?

That was how I decided to give the insurance field a “try”.

I wish I could say that it was all quick and easy and that’s why I’ve lasted and grew so much in this industry…

But the truth is…

The first few months were terrible.

To make things worse, I had given myself an additional stipulation… I decided not to “touch” any of my friends.

That meant I had to go into the harsh and cold prospecting market…

I picked up a clip board and walked the street. I went knocking on doors. I called random strangers on their phone. Road shows. Mail boxes. You name it, I did them all.

And just like any Kung Fu movie where the training was torturously tough… I only came out stronger.

I faced countless rejection. I had been ignored. Laughed at. Chased away. Hanged up on. And so much more.

But for each negative memory… I now have a pleasant one that reminds me why I love this job.

Not to mention that by the time I graduated, I had achieved many of my financial dreams.

I funded my entire university education and overseas exchange trip. I bought my first car by the time I graduated and bought my first private property before I turned 30. 

Today, I have a fantastic team of young and passionate consultants. And my entire career so far has been nothing short of amazing.

Did I always know things would turn out this way?

Well, the answer is clearly, no.

But I dare say that I’ve never regretted my decision. And it’s not just that I achieved my goals of becoming financially independent…

As I started to learn more about this industry, I began to see its importance and the value of the work I do.

In fact, many of my clients started out as strangers and have become close friends over the years.

But most importantly, this has been a career that has helped me to achieve many of my personal goals.

And if you were to ask me… I would happily have done it all over again.