It's Five Years Since I Published "Financially Irresponsible"
“Financially Irresponsible” turns 5 this year…
My flagship product is a book I wrote with the assistance of a coach and good friend when the only financial training I had was my lived experience in the banking industry and exposure to books by Grant Cardone, Robert Kiyosaki, and Dave Ramsey. Despite those shortcomings I was able to intuitively create a work — a gift— that continues to influence the lives and works of others and their financial journeys.
Admittedly I wrote the book for a niche audience with the spirit of representation on my mind. I wanted to talk about money in a different way; a spiritual way, a psychological way, a PRACTICAL way.
What most people celebrating me today won’t realize is that in my brainstorming sessions with my book coach I was determined not to write “another” finance book because I felt the market was oversaturated (imagine that).
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Over the last 5 years however, I stayed the course. I started writing for publications like TheGrio and Entrepreneur, so I could end up writing for Forbes.
I decided to get the Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI) designation in 2021 before I decided to quit my job to pursue entrepreneurship around this full time. Today, I’m regarded an expert or authority on the topic of financial trauma, a financial therapist, and Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC®).
At every turn, every accomplishment can be traced to those lengthy conversations the pulled together the content that made up Financially Irresponsible. As the author of 5 books, it remains my proudest work.
As I look back over the last five years I can see how much my message has changed yet stayed the same. How I’ve remained steadfast and consistent (with no breaks) in building my audience and sharing my knowledge and experiences. Some would say that for the length of time I’ve been around my audience should be larger, but none can say that the cumulative efforts I put towards deepening my knowledge and expertise in the field has been without impact.
Sometimes I look back at the book and cringe at what the 29 year old version of me felt, thought, and believed about money. Some of the advice is truly financially irresponsible— but it made sense for me where I was with no financial training and a limited financial vocabulary.
Other times I look back at the book and I’m amazed at how forward thinking and pioneering my content was without that very same financial training or vocabulary.
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I’m not sure exactly how I plan on celebrating the 5 year anniversary of my book, but I do know that it has been such a blessing in my life and a foundation for so much of my success.
In talking to my friend Geo I shared that the keys to my success could be distilled into 3 main points:
Be consistent
Be authentic
Be audacious
Pass this along…