My Philosophy

How It All Began

I came of age in the 70s and 80s after Title IX, when doors were opening for women. I had the opportunity to do it all, but the vision differed from the reality. “Taking home the bacon and frying it up in a pan” was easier said than done. I was grinding through it all, and often wondered to what end? 

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My Struggle

Work-life balance was my goal and yet, it constantly eluded me. When I looked around there were all these women who seemingly had it all together. They made achieving work-life balance look like a piece of cake; they were coiffed and well-manicured. On most days I felt like a work-life balance failure; hair out of place, peanut butter and jelly on my dress and could not keep a manicure for more than twenty-four hours.   

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A Turning Point

My mom passed away in 2009 and it had been a long haul trying to be there for her, take care of my kids, work full-time, and make time for my husband. I was mentally and physically exhausted. It got me thinking about work-life balance and how it is an epic fail. Balance requires an even distribution of weight, and I rarely had an even distribution between work and life demands. 

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Embracing Work-life Sway™

After that difficult period, I ditched the notion of work-life balance and developed my own approach of embracing work-life sway. Embracing work-life sway is about accepting the natural ebb and flow between work and life. I no longer strive for balance every day. Instead, I reflect periodically to ensure I have swayed in both directions and if I haven't, I make changes. 

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My Mic Drop Moment

I decided to map out the ups and downs in my life and career over the past thirty years on a chart. It was fascinating to see the sway between my life and career. Ironically, the chart reminded me of the volatility you see in historical stock market trends, so I decided to overlay the stock market on my career and life trajectories. What fascinated me, is that the market, like life, is not balanced. It has sway.

 

Becoming the Portfolio Manager of My Life™

Now, I see my life and career as a series of “bear” and “bull” markets. I utilize asset allocation strategies to help identify my goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance. I decide when to take an active versus passive approach and know sometimes I need to trigger a circuit breaker. Becoming the portfolio manager of my life was a total game changer for me. I became crystal clear that it is not about achieving work-life balance, but rather managing my life and career as a portfolio that embraces the sway.

 

My Legacy: Helping Others Achieve Long-term Growth

Now, I am leveraging my experience as executive, consultant, and global innovator at Fidelity Investments to educate audiences and individual clients on how to become the portfolio managers of their lives by embracing work-life sway. My approach not only helps people achieve long-term personal, professional, and financial growth, but fosters a strategy that aligns with their desired legacy.  

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My Background and Credentials 

I spent 30 years in Financial Services rising from a fund accountant at a mutual fund transfer agent to a Senior Vice President at Fidelity Investments one of the world's largest Asset Managers and Mutual Fund companies. I hold my FINRA General Securities Representative (Series 7), General Securities Principle (Series 24), and Registered Securities Broker (Series 63) licenses.

 

I have been trained in Design Thinking by the Stanford University d.School and have a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Hartwick College as well as a Masters of Science in Education from the University of Bridgeport.

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As a graduate of the Certified Life Coach Institute, which is accredited by International Coaching Federation, I am a Certified Professional Life Coach.

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