The Audacity to Dream

Part 3 of A Letter from my Father (Series)

In February of 2023 I sat and stared at my work computer screen. I looked at the tasks set for the day and just stared at them. The ability to do anything with those tasks was something I had trouble with. I had gotten in to this daily routine of daydreaming about what I would rather be doing for hours on end followed by hyper speed production time, getting 8 hours of work done in 1-2 hours. But now, I was having trouble even doing that. I knew I would fall behind. There was something inside me though that didn’t care.

In 2012 I had no degree but loads of customer service and sales experience. The financial industry was beginning to really recover from the crisis of 2008. I was searching for a stable income after selling insurance and working a commission only job. I needed health insurance and a guaranteed paycheck. A friend referred me to the brokerage firm he worked for. It would be working in service and trading securities. He assured me that the company would teach me everything I needed to know so to not worry about my lack of knowledge and experience in finance.

When I was trying to figure out what career to go in to in my early twenties there were two things I knew for sure I never wanted to be: an astronaut because the idea of being shot up in a rocket and in to space was terrifying, and anything to do with finance. The idea of impacting other people’s money and possibly giving bad advice resulting in financial loss was a big fear. I’d grown up in a household where we didn’t have extra, ever. From the age of 15 any job I ever worked was to contribute to family household expenses. I didn’t get to keep a full paycheck for myself until I was in my 20s.

In spite of the fear of making a mistake causing financial loss, I applied for the position. In the meantime, I started a job selling alarm systems over the phone. I did pretty well, and a few months in to that job a recruiter from the brokerage firm gave me a call. She asked if I was still interested in an interview. At the time I thought I was happy at the alarm system company. I told her I was no longer interested. The moment I hung up the phone I had this intense feeling of heat flash across my back. I knew that heat. That heat was the “that was the wrong decision better fix it” prompt from the universe or whatever force was guiding my life. As soon as I had that feeling I knew I’d given the wrong answer and I’d have to call back and ask if I could have an interview.

Luckily, when I called the recruiter back a few hours later, she scheduled me for an interview. I went through a few rounds of interviews and was eventually offered a position. Little did I know at the time, that job opportunity would change my life and be the career opportunity I needed to securely provide for not just myself, but my future family. It would provide a security that would be so important to us. That moment of intense heat that pushed me to call the recruiter back was clearly divine intervention.

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