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If I was still a wealth advisor, I’d consider another career.
In fact, I was a wealth advisor and that’s exactly what I did.
That doesn’t mean you should quit your job, but it’s something to consider.
My experience
Our views are formed by our personal experience. Mine are no exception. Over the past half century, I’ve been a Wall Street lawyer, international counsel for a large conglomerate, founder of a litigation law firm in New York City, a partner in a large law firm, a co-founder of a wealth advisory firm, a wealth advisor with two prominent advisory firms, and an author of nine books. Currently, I’m the founder and president of two consulting firms that provide digital marketing services, coaching and speaking services to evidence-based advisors, TAMPs and fund families that support them.
Each position was a source of intellectual stimulation and immense satisfaction. They also built on each other. I couldn’t have written books on investing and sales without the experience of being a lawyer and a wealth advisor.
I’m asked which of my diverse careers I enjoyed the most. My answer is always the same: “This one.”
Why I switched careers
Each career change came about naturally. New opportunities were presented, and I was excited at the prospect of diving into something challenging.
I enjoyed being a wealth advisor, but found dealing with compliance and administrative issues time-consuming and onerous.
The importance of diverse experiences
Each of my careers was – and is – a source of happiness. In the aggregate, as I reflect, I value all of them.
There’s a sound psychological basis for the contentment I’ve experienced through varied careers. A paper entitled, “A psychologically rich life: Beyond happiness and meaning,” published by the American Psychological Association (APA), provides support for switching careers. The authors discussed the benefits of leading “psychologically rich lives” that are “best characterized by a variety of interesting and perspective-changing experiences.”
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For me, each career change met this test. The most challenging one was becoming an author. When I wrote The Smartest Investment Book You’ll Ever Read in 2006, index investing was not nearly as popular as it is now. I became an advocate for indexing after representing investors who were the victims of misconduct by brokers.
It was considered heresy to extoll the virtues of buying just three index funds from Vanguard without using an advisor. My advice to avoid stock picking, market timing, and trying to select outperforming actively managed mutual funds was very much a minority view.
Smartest Investment was the subject of a featured review in the New York Times. Barnes & Noble placed a huge initial order because, according to its book buyer, it was the only book on investing he’d ever read that he “understood and could implement.” It sold hundreds of thousands of copies.
The APA study found those who are open to varied experiences were more likely to lead psychologically rich lives.
While I never thought of it that way, that description represents my mindset each time I explore a change.
You can have a rich psychological life without changing careers. What about pursuing an online degree or learning a new skill? Or writing a book?
Dan trains executives and employees in the lessons based on the research of his latest book, Ask: How to Relate to Anyone. His online video course, Ask: Increase Your Sales. Deepen Your Relationships, is in production.
