Make sure you check out my Facebook page for a special LIVE video at 2 PM EST on Friday, June 6th. I’ll be sharing some of the incredible developments you can expect on this blog.
We’re going to talk about the fun free event I have scheduled this month, and you all are invited! It’s going to be a great time, so make sure you join me to get the details. See you all this Friday!
For years, I’ve worked in the world of tax and had incredible experiences. I consulted with a wide variety of clients, mostly international, where I offered feedback on existing systems and proposed policies. I’ve had an amazing time as I mastered my craft, and helped my clients navigate the ever-changing terrain of tax developments.
The work was interesting, meaningful, and satisfying. However, there was something in me that whispered gently, “There is MORE“. The only way to clearly hear that whisper – and all that came with it – was to retreat. I had to give myself space to uncover what my soul longed to create. So, that’s what I did. I posted here only when I was inspired, letting alignment dictate the content I shared. But I spent the rest of the time researching . . . experimenting . . . resting . . . meditating . . . and asking myself what the world needed most from me. And now that the vision is clear, I can finally share it with you all.
Wealth isn’t just about what’s in your account and what’s on your tax return. It’s about how you feel. The way you move, the way you build, how safe you feel within yourself, how safe you feel when money enters the equation: all of these factors are reflections of your wealth. When I got clear on the many ways that wealth shows up, I saw the gaps that exist with current financial advice, and I knew what was needed from me.
The Shift: From Function to Fulfillment
I still love taxes, and financial structures and systems will always have their place. But many of us don’t need any more advice on hustles, side gigs, and job hopping for raises, nor do we need more rules and restrictions to follow. We already know how to work well and follow the rules. What we actually need is more ritual, reverence, and room to receive the lives and outcomes we desire. We are starved for pleasure, deprived of comfort, and in desperate need of replenishment.
So I’m shifting the focus on this space, from mostly tax-specific discussions, to a more intuitive yet still structured approach to wealth building and management. As opposed to some of the rigid advice of the past, this space will explore the ways to incorporate soft structure, daily ritual and connection, and elegant execution into the financial frameworks we navigate. I’ve seen firsthand how blending these concepts creates space for wealth, ease, and peace to flourish in my own life.
The goal of this shift is to create and discuss financial patterns, practices, and systems that soften, heal, nurture and refine us while building our wealth.
What You’ll Find Here Now
You will still find lots of substance, unique perspectives and interesting tax news here. But the energy has shifted to something more comprehensive, and more crucial for this time.
The themes that often pop up when talking about finance – urgency, overwhelm, shame, frustration and pressure – have no space here. We’ll be learning to work with money while incorporating the practices that allow us remain regulated, centered, clear minded, confident and magnetic to the outcomes we prefer. We’ll make the hard things easier than ever, and we’ll do it with grace, style and delight.
On this blog, and in some upcoming special events, we’ll explore:
Who This Is For
If you’re interested in finance but also . . .
. . . Then you’ll love it here.
Welcome To This New Chapter
The framework I’ll be sharing over the upcoming weeks and months is built on a singular belief that has completely changed wealth for me (I hope it does the same for you, too!)
Wealth should feel like home. It should be a sanctuary, where you are welcomed, protected and restored.
I am honored to share this experience and walk the path with you.
We’ll still have lots of the practical gems discussed in this space. But now they’ll be paired with gentle philosophies, invigorating ritual, and restorative practices.
Welcome, or welcome back. I’m happy to have you join me on this journey.
A while ago, I came across an article on LinkedIn that quoted former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who blamed Google’s tertiary placement in the AI race on work from home (WFH) arrangements. He did go back and correct his statements, admitting that he “misspoke about Google and their work hours”. Schmidt had previously stated that “Google decided that work-life balance and going home early and working from home was more important than winning”. It’s interesting that Schmidt has always equated work-life balance with an obstacle to business progress; those earlier comments align with his (eventually amended) critique of WFH.
All of Schmidt’s statements fall in line with his opinion that remote work prevents business innovation and effectiveness, and he’s committed to sharing this opinion in various ways, on multiple occasions. His decision to walk back a “misspoken” statement doesn’t change the fact that he speaks the opinions held by many business leaders. The general consensus from some of the most high-powered, visible CEOs is that work completed outside of the office isn’t conducive to business growth and innovation. They have drifted away from the attacks on productivity, after a number of studies confirmed that many employees completed more work while at home. Businesses and their leadership teams abandoned the criticisms against WFH that could be objectively verified via data, in favor of one that is more nebulous and qualitative. In the case of many CEOs, the chosen argument is that remote work is a hindrance to innovation.
Here’s where I offer a more nuanced take on the real reason why businesses have a distaste for WFH arrangements. I think there is a not-so-subtle underlying reason why so many CEOs have taken an anti-remote work stance, and no, it has nothing to do with the fact that a select minority of workers are doing the bare minimum on the clock, or that the lack of innovation or collaboration are causing the business to lose money and opportunities. It also isn’t as closely tied to the expensive unused office leases as many (including myself) originally thought. I think this may have been hinted at before, but I haven’t yet seen it explained in the way that I will.
The truth is, anti-WFH sentiments are heavily rooted in an anti-family, and a uniquely anti-feminine, ideology. It is based on the belief that valuable work – with a paycheck as an end result – can only happen outside of the home. Work that happens in the home is perceived as intrinsically less important and not worthy of financial compensation. The ability to do office tasks effectively within the home is incongruous with what our society has taught, which is, things that happen in the home don’t deserve pay. It is an unwritten rule that work that happens within the confines of one’s personal residence isn’t “real work” and should not be directly compensated.
It’s important to remember that most businesses were thrust into a WFH culture before they were adequately prepared for it. And, funnily enough, most of them would have NEVER prepared for it, had it not been for COVID intervening. Business, in general, is considered something that doesn’t happen at home. For many years, it was something that could only happen in offices, away from the distractions of domestic life. Even with the advent of the internet and the ability to collaborate with teams across time zones, there was still a hesitance to implement remote work arrangements.
The reason is not as simple as what we’ve been told, particularly, the stories that have been pushed heavily since 2020. Yes, there were some underperforming employees that abused WFH provisions: most of these employees were ineffective and doing the bare minimum when they were showing up into the office daily. And absolutely, the cost of leasing spaces that aren’t being used regularly is tremendous. That being said, it is unwise to look at this push against WFH and not see how it is tied to the belief that “work” done in your home isn’t deserving of direct financial compensation. It’s downright malicious to gaslight workers – who have been happy, productive and effective while working from home – into thinking that they will somehow be better performers if they spend time commuting to and from a building, then sitting in a cubicle for eight hours.
I suspect that, as businesses try to revert to the pre-2020 way of work, there will be many employees who simply walk away from these jobs and never look back. These employees will figure out how to monetize their other talents and will be able to support themselves through their own online businesses. With their newfound location freedom, they’ll be able to move to places that are more affordable and offer a better quality of life. And then we will see businesses finally start to realize that the innovation that comes from their remote workers is far better than having no employees at all.
Hello friends! It’s been a while since my last post, for good reason. I will occasionally withdraw from blogging, so I have time to implement some theories and to get data to share with you all when I return. It’s been my system for a while, mainly because writing a bunch of fluff – just for the appearance of continuity – never appealed to me. I’d rather offer something substantial a few times out of the year, than to share flimsy articles weekly.
So, here’s what I’ve been doing: I created a few more digital products, and I experimented with a few selling platforms. I didn’t want to recommend certain selling strategies without testing them myself. I always do just enough to see what works, and I only go further if I know it’s worth it. Most of them time, it isn’t worth it! But at least I can speak from a point of experience and not just theory. Of course, it takes time to do gather these experiences so that I can report the results back to you all.
Another thing I’ve done is witness the monetization “arc” of several AI websites. Quite a few of the websites I’ve previously recommended are now behind paywalls, and, while I can understand why the developers did that, eliminating limited freebie versions are why many users are turning away. This is always why I think ChatGPT (and other platforms that offer some access at no cost ) will remain dominant: even if the free version isn’t the best, it’s better than no access at all. Besides, with the proliferation of AI capabilities being built into apps and programs we already use regularly, the accessibility of this technology will continue to grow, many times at no direct out-of-pocket cost to the end user.
I joined a business mentorship group, and I found a tribe of entrepreneurs that are regularly structuring and executing 7- and 8- figure projects. It’s been exciting to be in this hub, and I’m thrilled to offer some incredible products, programs and tips to you all in the future, based on the millionaire habits that I’m picking up from my peers.
I’ve taken a LOT of tax training, mainly for the purpose of learning new ways to interact with wealth. It’s fine to learn the basics, but once you’ve mastered those, you have to dive into deeper material. One of the subjects that I’ve spent more time exploring is estate and trust law (and how the tax law applies to these areas). Learning about estates and trusts has been exhilarating, and I’m excited to start practicing some new things with what I’ve learned.
Finally, the past seven months have been focused on synthesizing and integrating what I’ve taken in so far. One of the biggest traps that snare aspiring wealth builders is staying stuck in “learning” mode. Yes, learn as much as you can, but also begin implementing what you’ve learned. The inability to implement what has been learned is often rooted in insecurity: many of us learn what we can then we get afraid of doing something with it. “What will people say about me if they see me doing ABC?” “What happens if I fail at XYZ?” These questions come from feeling uneasy about doing new things and breaking away from the crowd. I’ll explore this idea more in a future post, but please know that, along with learning new stuff, work on your mindset and start integrating what you’re learning, so you can get the results you desire. Affirm your abilities, take a small step every day, and watch your life start changing in no time.
So, that’s what I’ve been doing the past seven months: learning, testing, observing, practicing, and succeeding. But since I’m a woman of my word – I believe in ACTION alongside learning – it’s time for me to share more about what’s happening behind the scenes, as well as what I want to create in my world. I’ll be posting my August – December goals soon, and sharing with you all how I plan to reach them. Please take some time to think about what you can do during the latter part of the year, and what goals you want to achieve. Let’s make this your best year ever, together!
It’s so good to be back! I will be catching you all up on the events I’ve attended in future posts. For today, I just want to share an easy way to get a little business inspiration.
One thing that I’ve heard from aspiring entrepreneurs is that they feel “stuck” when it comes to their businesses. They either are unclear about what kind of business they should start, or they have a fledgling (or sometimes thriving!) business that they are looking to expand but are unsure which direction they should pursue. If this describes your situation, here’s a little tip for you.
Figure out the industry you want to serve (even if you don’t know exactly what you want to do in that industry). Then, find the think tanks that focus on that industry, and attend as many of their virtual events that you can. One think tank that has lots of seminars in a variety of industries is Brookings Institute, so that’s a good place to start. Most of the big think tanks are based in Washington, DC, so you may want to filter your search down to the online events hosted by those organizations. I attended a think tank event years ago, and within 15 minutes, I had several ideas that could have been easily monetized.
Here’s a way to do this: let’s say you aspire to own a business related to finance (like me!). You can start at Brookings Institute, and sign up for all of their banking & finance events, then sign up for the events being hosted by other think tanks that host finance-related discussions, like Cato Institute and Center for American Progress. If there are no upcoming events to watch, then check out the past recorded discussions. Listen carefully for opportunities: they’re always there, no matter what level of business you feel that you’re on. Make a list of the ideas that come to you as you’re listening, then go back and listen again, this time paying more attention to the flow of the conversation and other details you may have missed while taking notes.
If you’ve come up with business ideas from listening to think tank discussions, I’d love to hear more about it! I’m currently working on one idea that I got while listening in at a think tank event, and I’m so excited to share that with you all once it’s completed!
That’s all for today: take care and I’ll talk to you all soon!
Recently, I had a great chat with a few friends, and we were all excited about a number of things, including our finances. One of my friends is transitioning to a new career and has been weighing different compensation scenarios. Her main concern is whether she’ll be able to continue growing her personal wealth once she takes the new position. She fears becoming stagnant in her financial gains, and doesn’t want to lose time or regress during the transition. I assured her that she wouldn’t experience this, because she didn’t have the most common stagnancy factors working against her. I told her some factors off of the top of my head, but as I sat down and thought about it further, I realized there are a few top reasons why someone may experience financial stagnancy. I figured you all may like to know what those reasons are, and some possible solutions for them. So, here you go: financial stagnancy reasons and solutions!
Reason 1 – Your money may be stagnant because you’ve stopped growing your knowledge or skills. I’ve noticed that many people complaining about their income have either stopped learning about money, or they stopped developing their skills related to their earning potential. This is very common with employees that have “comfortable” jobs (adequate salaries, good benefits, pleasant work conditions). The comfort within these jobs can make it easy to get satisfied with “good enough”, and that complacency often translates over to financial decisions that they make.
Solution: Start learning again. You can start by committing to reading one brief financial article daily, or listen to podcasts or YouTube videos about financial matters. Or, decide to learn something else. The fun thing is, you don’t have to limit your learning to financial topics: pick up any new (or abandoned) hobby or activity and start practicing again. Remember, how you do anything is how you do everything. The expansion that comes from developing one area of your life will flow over to other areas.
Reason 2 – Your money may be stagnant because you’re emotionally stuck. Perhaps you feel angry because you’ve been passed over for promotions. Or, you’re sad because you made an investment (emotionally or financially) that didn’t turn out the way you wanted. Maybe you experienced the death of a loved one, a traumatic accident, or some other devastating experience, and now you’ve been moving through life on autopilot. You may have seen someone close to you lose all of their money in a scam, and now you’re afraid to do anything that may result in a loss. Whatever the emotion is, you know that you’re stuck there, and you feel that emotion every time you start to think or talk about money.
Solution: Identify the emotion, then work through it. One of the simplest ways to identify the core emotion is to start with the scenario that created the emotion, and ask ourselves, “How does this make me feel?” Don’t stop asking the question until you get to at least one of three possible culprits: anger, sadness, and/or fear. Generally, every uncomfortable emotion will boil down to one of these three, at the most fundamental level. After identifying the emotions, seek resources to help you with processing it (FYI the professional that can help you most with these feelings is probably a therapist, not a financial advisor). You can start journaling about the emotion, expressing it in a way that gets the energy “moving” (crying, screaming, boxing class: whatever works), or whatever else helps you to process the feeling. Then, when the emotion has decreased, start venturing beyond your comfort zone. Start with small risks, and rack up a few wins before you go bigger and bolder with your financial decisions.
Reason 3 – Your money may be stagnant because you don’t have a clear goal. Money (like people) enjoys direction. If your money goals are vague, you probably won’t see your money growing or accomplishing the things you want it to. You need clarity to guide your financial efforts; without it, you’ll hop from idea to idea, making very little progress along the way. After reflecting on your experiences, you may find that you’ve taken no actions, because you thought you’d be young and healthy forever. Perhaps you didn’t hop through ideas, and maybe you took actions, but the progress is nowhere near what you wanted at this point in your journey. There are many things that can happen when there isn’t a clear goal, and your money generally suffers when this happens. In any case, a lack of goals and a lack of clarity will often mean a compromised financial path and delayed/denied financial growth.
Solution: Get clear goals and take actions that align with them. Instead of getting exasperated and throwing up your hands in frustration, sit down and ask yourself what you really want. There is no dream that is unreasonable or impossible, so remove those limitations and allow yourself to dream about what an ideal life would look like. Then, determine how your money figures into that: do you need a little more, a lot more, or none at all? After you have the dream life envisioned, and you know how money will serve you in that life, start the process of asking yourself how can you get there (if you want to devise a plan for that, I can help you!)
Stagnant money doesn’t have to be a permanent condition: you are one decision away from ushering fresh energy into your finances! So tell me: do you have stagnant money energy? Are you committed to changing that, or have you already taken actions to change it? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
I’ve followed a few articles discussing the future of telework/remote work, and I am not surprised that many businesses no longer want their employees working from the comfort of their homes. Assuming that the tasks for a job are primarily digital, it doesn’t seem like there would be a rush to return employees to the office. However, many that have enjoyed working from home are now being told that their remote work agreements are revoked and they are required to do hybrid or fully in-person work.
This can be frustrating for employees, especially if you have adjusted your lifestyle to a 0 minute commute. It’s also frustrating for employees that saw an increase in productivity and a decrease in their stress levels (shout out to the introverted workforce!) So when a job tells you that you need to start coming back to the office, what should you do?
First, ask yourself if you want this job, or if you’re there because you need it. If you want the job (you love pretty much everything about it except the return to the office), then it may be worthwhile to wait it out and see, at a later date, if you can strike an agreement to restore some of your telework days. Over time, you may be able to increase your telework back to 100% based on exceptional performance. Waiting a while, then trying to slowly integrate remote work back into your routine, could work, especially if you demonstrate upfront that you are willing to follow the new rules (for a time).
But, if you’re only at that job because you need it (i.e., the only reason why you’re there is because they pay the amount you desire, or you’ve stayed there has been because you can do the work from home) it may be time to come up with some alternate plans (I’d actually argue that you should come up with alternate plans even before a job you dislike changes their remote work policies, but I digress). You have less incentive to negotiate with a job that you fundamentally dislike, so there’s no need to prolong the inevitable: plan your exit as soon as you get the “return to office” news.
As soon as your job announces that they may want to start bringing people back to the office, start applying for other jobs. FlexJobs is one of the biggest job posting sites that specializes in remote work. Go ahead and build your profile and start applying to new roles, so you will have options before the company decides what they want to do. AI tools are fantastic for upgrading your resume and quickly creating beautiful cover letters (if the application should require them). Try ChatGPT or Claude to get a rewritten resume that gets results. Set a goal for a certain number of applications per day (I personally aimed for 5 a day back when I was looking for jobs, but if you really need to leave, aim for more).
ExodUS Summit will have a workshop taught by Libryia Jones, a remote work expert and advocate that specializes in getting women into telework roles that allows them to live the lives of their dreams. Check out Libryia’s website, Quit Commuting, for more information on how she can get you a remote job. As someone that has attended the ExodUS Summit in previous years, I can confirm that Libryia gets results for clients, and investing with her is well worth it.
Another name that you should check out is Sheila K. Brown, whose “Find a Dope Remote Job” course was my introduction to the strategies needed for fully remote work. I purchased the course several years ago and found that it was full of valuable information that can help you transition to a full-time telework position. Sheila is a wealth of knowledge, and she has many ideas for helping anyone that wants to make money remotely.
While you apply to jobs or consult with a telework expert, I also advocate that you continue building your alternative streams of income and exploring options beyond the 9 to 5. Work is great for making sure that your immediate needs are covered, and that you have some capital for your bigger dreams. But if you want considerably more freedom, it will require you to release yourself from standard employment and earn your income through other means. If you want to explore some options with this, use the form on my Contact page, and just say “options” in the description box. Also, I encourage you to check out ExodUS Summit this year, as the theme is Location Freedom, Financial Freedom and Time Freedom.
No matter what you decide, please know that your company’s decision to return employees to the office doesn’t mean that your remote work days are over. You can find work that is lucrative and location independent, so long as you know where to look, and seek help from others that can help you with your search.
Do you have any other tips for finding remote work or handling the change from fully remote to hybrid work? I’d love to hear all about it!
I hope you all have had a chance to experiment with the tools in Pt 1, because I’m back, with more tools that can help you uplevel your wealth creation game. I’m hoping that these tools make it easier for you to create the life you desire and deserve. Have fun with them, and let me know what works for you!
GPTea – This incredible database of pre-written ChatGPT prompts can help you with asking the right questions for the answers you seek. I found this tremendously helpful when I wanted information about coding, app development, and some financial topics that I found a bit confusing. What’s really nice about this website is that the platform already has ChatGPT built into it, so you can answer your questions within the website without having to copy and paste prompts into a separate ChatGPT tab. Search for the topic that interests you, and see which questions have already been asked and answered. The best part? No sign up is needed!
Gamma – A brilliant website that creates easy-to-edit presentations, documents, and web pages based on your key words. Just figure out the topic that interests you, and let the app generate your first draft. It saves a ton of time with formatting, idea organization, and visual design. You can pick from a range of templates, and the final product is beautiful, well organized and ready for your personal touches. This is a very helpful tool if you’re making how-to- guides, course outlines, or tools to share with customers and clients. Sign up with your email address and get ready to enhance your presentations!
ProtocolPal – I wasn’t sure if this website would be useful for the average entrepreneur or wealth builder. It has a simple design and serves one main purpose: giving you possible solutions and explanations to your problems. I thought that maybe it would only work for specific subjects or industries, but after testing a few (wildly different) questions, I feel comfortable saying that this website is great for anyone looking for variety of solutions to a single problem or issue they may be experiencing. The more specific the question, the more useful the proposed solutions will be. While you may have been able to get the same solutions on another website, seeing those solutions in a clear, bulleted list can really help you to quickly identify where to improve, and the solutions are hyperlinked to deeper explanations (so you don’t have to hunt around the web for more clarity). This is another great website that doesn’t require a sign up: just click the link, ask your question, and get the answers!
The three sites I’ve mentioned can help you tremendously with completing business and wealth-building tasks, streamline your processes, and give you the answers you need to scale or upgrade your current strategies.
Do you have any AI tools that you’ve used successfully in your business or wealth strategy? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!
To my American friends, I hope you all are enjoying your holiday. Today, for those that aren’t aware, is Labor Day, a national holiday that commemorates the efforts of the American labor force. It’s taken many decades of work, negotiation, and standing up for the rights of workers, but we in America benefit from a body of laws that projects us in many ways. For that, I am thankful.
However, the downside of labor in the US is having to participate in a system that still manages to take more from its labor force than it gives in return. Even the most diligent workers have to deal with unfair treatment in the workplace, a lack of adequate healthcare after leaving the workforce, and very slim chances of achieving comfort in the elder years. It’s a system where the amount of work completed doesn’t usually correlate to rewards: in fact, the current work system usually penalizes the hardest and most efficient workers.
So, what that means for the savviest among us is that we must aim to labor LESS. In the words of the old adage, work smarter, not harder. Part of working smarter means letting our money work for us, instead of us working for money. Our energy can be depleted, and we can experience burn out if we’re trying to leverage the majority of our physical energy to create the lifestyle we desire. We have to learn to utilize our mental energy and strategies to create frameworks that put our money to work on our behalf, so that our initial investment of time, energy and resources can continue replicating itself for many subsequent years.
I’m looking forward to exploring more ways to work less, and sharing those findings with you all. I believe wholeheartedly in working a little upfront, and letting that work continue to pay me for years. I’ve made some great decisions, but I want MORE, and I want you all to experience MORE, too. Look out for more posts about working less in the future!
Hello friends! Several months ago, I shared some information that I got from Altrata (the company that owns Wealth-X) regarding the industries of the super wealthy. Well, I’m back to share some more information from the most recent report published by Altrata, the Billionaire Census 2023. I was interested in all of the information in this most recent report, but I found one of the briefest sections to be particularly interesting.
According to the census, more than 70% of the assets held by billionaires in all ages are public and private holdings. On average, billionaires hold roughly 3% of their assets in the form of real estate and luxury assets. The rest of the figures reveal that most billionaires keep less than a quarter of their assets in cash, increasing from 16% as a younger billionaire to 20%, and maxing out around 25%, as they get older.
So, what does this mean for us? If you plan to build your wealth through real estate, that’s fine, but your asset portfolio will probably look different as you age and your wealth grows. If you want to build wealth, learn about holdings (here is some basic information), and learn how you can start investing in these assets. I believe that patterns are powerful, and watching the trends can give you a great template for recreating the success of others. You may not be able to see the private investment breakdown of a millionaire or billionaire, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t glean some tips from the data that others have collected. Also, never forget that many investments can happen at lower (more affordable) entry points, so you need not be a wealthy heir to begin your abundance journey.
Have you had a chance to check out the most recent Billionaire Census? Please let me know what you found most interesting in this report!