My lemons include losing a sister to leukemia, two divorces and a corporate career that failed to offer me a fulfilling life.
My sister died when I was just an infant – she was just 3 years old. All my life I felt her presence and in 1996 co-founded a walk to raise money for research and patient aid for adults and children fighting blood cancers. The walk we founded in New Glarus, WI was adopted by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as a signature event and now raises over $40 Million a year across the country.
After my second divorce I was single for 10 years. During that time I realized that I was attracting the same man over and over again and knew that it must be something about me that was causing that to happen. I began a journey of self discovery and growth which led to me finally finding the man of my dreams. We’ve now been married for 10 years.
Service and giving to others played a huge part in my own personal growth. In 1995 I sponsored a child from Brazil. My small gift of $25 a month was a 50% increase in his family income and, years later, I realized that it was that commitment to help someone less fortunate than me that directly impacted my own income. My salary doubled over the next three years and doubled again over the next five years. Giving to someone else does return ten-fold to you.
In my professional life I spent 10 years building financial planning and investment management divisions inside accounting firms. I was very successful. While climbing the corporate ladder I achieved a great deal and traveled all over the country. Part of my job was to help our advisors in various other offices become more successful. While the work was satisfying to some degree, it took me farther and farther away from my true calling which was to help individuals live the life of their dreams. Upon turning 50, I realized that while helping others live the life of their dreams, I wasn’t living the life of mine. My husband and I had built a beautiful home on acreage out in the country yet my job took me away from this wonderful place more and more often.
So, the summer I turned 50 I left my corporate job, started my own business, and I’ve never regretted one moment. I now run three businesses: JATAJ Wealth Management, JATAJ Life Planning, and JATAJ Wealth Advisors Network. All three businesses are virtual which means I have no staff and outsource work I need done to people in other parts of the country. I have achieved my goal of being able to work any time, any place, from anywhere while providing the highest level of service to my clients.
At the heart of each of these businesses is my desire to help people avoid the same mistakes I made and to find fulfillment in their lives. Through my businesses and national speaking engagements, I encourage people to stop doing things they do not enjoy doing. I’m so passionate about this I wrote a book, “Finding Financial Fulfillment, for a Life Filled with Money and Meaning” to help people learn how to start living the life of their dreams today!
If you’d like to learn more about my fee-only financial planning and investment management business, or are interested in financial and/or life coaching, or want to read more about my book, visit my website at www.jataj.com. I’m living proof that my lemons could be turned into lemonade and so can yours!
