Chris Shamblin, a former middle and high school English teacher who transitioned into financial advising, shares his journey from the classroom to finance, driven by a desire to make a broader impact.
He discusses the transferable skills from teaching, like relationship-building and effective communication, that have been crucial in his new role.
Chris also touches on the challenges and rewards of financial advising, emphasizing the importance of trust and client relationships.
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Episode Transcript:
Elizabeth: Hi everyone and welcome back. I’m particularly excited to share with you our next guest. His name is Chris Shamblin and Chris is a former teacher turned financial advisor. He taught middle school English language arts and later high school English language arts for seven years. He made this switch without going back to school to get a different degree.
Join us as we learn how Chris found this industry and how he learned and up skilled to get where he is now. Hope you enjoy!
welcome everyone back to the teacher career coach podcast today. I’m very excited. We have Chris Shamblin with us today. Welcome, Chris. All right. Thank you for having me. Well, thanks for joining us today. Uh, during your work day. I see your office. You’re in your office set up and we are so excited to get to hear about your new career, but we’d love to hear a little bit about, um, what your experience in teaching was like and what got you into teaching in the first place.
Chris: Yeah, so I again, thank you for having me and I’m really excited to be here and it is I’m still getting used to this change. All right, it’s it’s definitely an ongoing process for sure. But yeah, so seven years total in public school districts. I taught originally. 7th and 8th grade English, and then I finally graduated to high school and they let me teach 10th and 11th grade English there at the high school level.
And I did that for four years, excuse me, for three years, and I did middle school for four years before that. I’m curious to know, um, what were some of the differences between teaching middle school age and high school age? Did you have a preference or a niche? Yeah, you know, there were things that I loved about both.
And so honestly, I preferred high school overall. I think a lot of that was the school that I was at too, um, in particular. With the younger kids you know, they’re a little bit less Set, I guess you could say at that point. So they’re still figuring out who they are. And that was really fun to be able to have those interactions and to help kind of walk alongside them during that process.
And then in high school, you know, they have a little bit better idea of. who they are, maybe a little bit of where they’re going, and to get to kind of watch them transition more fully into young adulthood was definitely a privilege. And to, you know, have those more challenging conversations that you don’t always have at the middle school level.
So there were definitely a lot of positives with both. I enjoyed working with both. I love hearing those experiences and perspectives because I taught elementary school, so third and fourth graders, so I just love kind of hearing as they progress, what’s it like as, as you teach different ages. Yeah, they get bigger.
Elizabeth: And then I definitely see your office is quite different from a classroom. So, it is, although I do still have my whiteboard, maybe see a little bit of it over there. So some habits die hard, I suppose. And tell us a little bit about that point where you decided That you were going to leave teaching. So I had first started to think about leaving education pretty early on in my career, uh, it was actually in year two, which was, uh, due to some things, just not.
Being, how do I put it? That I had originally envisioned them to be, you know, and I went into teaching, like, I think a lot of folks do real bright eye, bushy tail, ready to change the world and then quickly realizing that, Oh, wait, that’s not quite how this works and really after my first year, which had a lot of victories, um, but some challenges too, I started to have the thought that maybe this isn’t quite what I want it to be.
And during my second year of teaching, and one of the reasons that I think I kind of stuck with it a little bit more is I met, uh, who would eventually become my wife and she was just starting getting into education, uh, there as well. And so that was a little part of keeping me, you know, rooted in that world too.
You know, and I had gotten into teaching originally because I wanted to change family generations, right, to change family trees, and to really help my community and to help the folks that I just loved and cared about at a level that was truly lasting, and I thought education was a
learned over my first couple two three years that while yes we have tremendous impact in the classroom for sure it is still limited with what we can do and I had a passion for personal finance and investing and money for a long time years and I really saw that so many families were struggling at a financial level and a lot of these Issues that I was seeing could be traced back to the socioeconomics and I wanted to eventually move into a field where I could really help marry my passion and my profession together and help families at that generational level that would actually carry on into the future.
And financial advising allowed me to do that. It just took me a while to fully realize. That is such an interesting connection. Because That you’re exactly right. And in terms of your early passion for that, tell me a little bit about how you knew and learned about personal finance, because you said you kind of tinkered with it at at an early age.
So, you know, a lot of us, even, you know, now I’m in my 30s and I don’t remember even a class in high school about personal finance. So tell me, like, how did you get that access and ability to gain that knowledge early on? Yeah, so I, you know, growing up, I didn’t have a lot of education in that space. I’m like you, I didn’t remember really having a course in high school about it.
I guess I did, but I slept through it probably. And. It wasn’t something that had stuck with me. My parents set a really positive example for me when it came to just the basics of savings and, uh, the importance of money. They taught me a lot, um, through that positive influence there too. And I also had a, a relative that is, um, A little bit more of a distant relative, one of those folks that you see very rarely at family events, but she gave me some advice regarding the stock market.
And I’m young at this point, I’m just a teenager and most of it was just right over my head, but there were a few little nuggets that stuck with me and over the course of the next number of years, really over a decade, I would keep coming back to some of those little things that she had said. And just thinking, well, maybe there’s something there.
And, uh, I would make reminders to myself to what I think one of them was research the stock market, which is, you know, it’s like the same level of organize your software, I guess. And over, over time I started to do that. And I realized that, oh, wow, this is actually an opportunity for me to People to achieve goals and dreams that I previously didn’t think were really possible.
And so being kind of the weird English teacher who also likes numbers, it worked out well for me. And then when I really started to take life, if you will, more seriously, I really started to buckle down and do my homework, learn and digest as much information about investing in finance as I could. What a cool aunt and family member who kind of instilled that in you early.
And then that’s also interesting because I was, um, before we met, I was going to ask, you know, if you were really into math, if you ever wanted to teach math because you, you’ve taught English and now, but you also have this math background, I would assume for, for the skillset needed to become a financial advisor.
And I’m curious to know because we, we meet a lot of teachers who’ve transitioned and. It’s really cool. They’re in just the gamut of careers and with financial advising, how do you even get into that field coming from a teaching background? Um, what are, were there any tests or certificates that you needed to take?
Yes, there were. And so it’s funny with the math part, uh, to math skills and having numbers is important. Uh, I under no circumstances would have ever been a good math teacher. That would have not worked out well for anybody. But those math skills and having that interest, uh, is, is something that is important, but not as important as you might think.
Really the number one. skill that is most important is what I would argue is the same as teaching. It’s relationship building and being able to listen and to carry on those important deep conversations with folks and to build from there and inspire and grow together and learn and all of those same things that we did in the classroom.
And so when it came time for the actual transition, I wasn’t sure what all was going to be involved with that. So, at the time, I had been and this was during my seventh, my final year of teaching, and it was in the fall semester in particular and I had been completing my EDS degree to looking to going into administration, and I realized over the course of this that that was not going to be the best decision.
Um, and I had gone into it, frankly, not out of a place of really true desire, but out of a place of wanting to provide more for my family because it was gonna be a higher job. And that’s not really a great reason to go into something by itself. At least it’s not. And so as I was finishing up this degree, I knew that this wasn’t something that I was really wanting to use, and I started to look more into, okay, we’re seven years into this thing, what would it look like to really leave the classroom?
My wife was also in that same journey too. She was wanting to leave, and we ultimately wound up leaving the classroom together at the same time into separate fields. But when it came to financial advising, I had done some research on Google and like what’s going to be required. I got kind of some mixed results there.
I have to go back to school for another degree. That was not appealing. Uh, is it something that might be a little bit more certifications? You know, what’s it going to take? And so I decided that where I lived at the time, I was just going to go into a financial advisor’s office and act like a complete dope and just ask, Hey, how do I do what you do?
And I had taken a day off from school because we were at the point now where we’re seeing mental health days. We’re starting to use those days to just, I’ve got to, I’ve got to get some space. And it was on one of those days where I went in. To a local office there and it was an Edward Jones branch, which is the term that I work with now.
And I went into Edward Jones because, well, frankly, there’s about a billion of them. They’re all over the place. And it’s just something, it was one of those things that just kind of had a feeling like, hey, you should maybe go in here a little bit. And so I did. And I went in fully expecting to get laughed out and to, to not get answers.
And I was okay with that. Uh, and instead, uh, the advisor and the, uh, administrator worked with that advisor. They took, I’d say it was probably an hour and a half, two hours out of their day, completely out of the blue to sit with me and explain what it would take for me. Do that job and gave me a very realistic and honest look at what it would be.
And I am so incredibly grateful for that. And they spoke really highly of Edward Jones. And normally I have a little radar for when people are just Kool Aid drinkers, if you will, you know, and they’ve played something up and it’s like, yeah, okay. I’m sure it’s nice, but it’s probably not that great, but there was a sincerity there that really just struck me as truly.
And it made me want to look into Jones in particular. And so I did. And what I found out was that I did not need to go back to school for any additional degrees. I would be, of course, doing a lot of studying. So, for the certifications and there are multiple ones that were required for the training for the preparation and it was a
a very long process, but one that fully prepared me for the role that I’m in today. And when I went through that process, went through the applications, went through hiring, all of this months long deal, uh, you know, next to asking my wife out, it was the best decision I think I’ve ever made. do you work at the branch that you originally went into?
I don’t. I am still, uh, pretty closely associated with that particular advisor here in the area. Um, so she is actually one of my, um, I guess you could say mentors or coaches, like you would have in education, sort of that role. So I am in a separate branch now with another advisor, um, who is fantastic and another mentor and a good friend of mine now too.
I love to hear the action that you took. So you took a mental health day off of school, and you actually went out into the community. You know, we talk a lot about networking, um, on LinkedIn, different platforms, but I think there’s something to it when you, you’re going out into the place that you live in the community and building those relationships.
and, you know, The time that she took to kind of connect with you. I mean, that’s amazing. And you were prepared either way to, you know, go in there and get some time or not. And I think that’s such a great mindset to really use the resources around you and just take that risk. And go out into the community and, and do it.
Like, I just love seeing and hearing that action that you oriented around, you know, trying to figure out what steps are next in this career. Thank you. I figured, you know, as teachers, we get used to being told no all the time. So what’s one more, you know, and, uh, and honestly, I’m so glad that that wasn’t the case.
And I think that had it not been for That little bit of an external shell that we get to build up in the classroom for better or for worse than I don’t know if I would have. I don’t know if I would have done it. You know, I am old fashioned. I’m on LinkedIn. I’m very active on there now. But when I was transitioning out, I wasn’t.
I think I had made it, but it was empty and I didn’t ever use it. And you know, what I knew was just talking to people. And that’s, that’s, that’s what drove that decision. And are you able to talk a little bit about the time frame of, was it months or years in terms of the, you know, the learning, the testing, the certificates?
What was that time frame between getting your new job and starting that learning? So I, let’s see here. Uh, I believe I applied for the job formally in either December or January, uh, and this would have been at the tail end of the pandemic. So I guess this was in 2022 and, um, you know, it was December, January when I applied, then started the interviewing process.
Which lasted up until about March. So it was a solid, you know, three, three or so months before I was formally hired. Uh, because there’s a lot of different steps and interviews that, that go into it. It’s a pretty long process. And mine was actually fairly expedited too, is my understanding of it. Uh, from there, uh, they very kindly let me finish my
my teaching career, so they I had asked and I was clear that I was willing to break the contract if it was going to be a deal breaker with Jones, but they said that no, that was fine and they let me finish and I was able to even get a couple of weeks of a break first and I started in game, which was lovely.
And so from there I started the study process in June and then from June. all the way up through December was that studying and training and learning process. So I was a Jones employee at that point you know, just learning. It’s fully dedicated very intensive training and study phase for those certifications, those licenses, uh, and then, of course, the mechanics of the job itself.
And then in December of 23, it’s when I was able to fully have what we call our can serve date, which is when we are able to begin actively working with clients, and we are full fledged financial advisors at that point. That’s great to hear that you are employed and then during your employment, you’re there providing that training and upskilling like as you are working.
So that’s very helpful. It was, and it was a, you know, coming from education and process that I was used to. And I think that made it easier for sure. Just being used to that study habit and learning those new skills and all that over time. But it was definitely intensive. I mean, it was 55, 60 hour weeks of just pure study and learning, but definitely worth it.
And I feel very confident in my skills and knowledge, uh, thanks to that process, cause they always come in and I came in with some, with some knowledge already about it. Uh, but I was like, oh yeah, this is great. Just a few new things and we’ll be good and it’s like, no, no, no, no, you know, I knew maybe 1%.
It’s definitely humbling for sure. Wow. And can, can you walk us through, um, kind of on a basic level, what does a financial advisor do? Yeah. So, I like to think of financial advisors as being part of somebody’s health team. So just like a doctor deals with your physical health, uh, maybe a therapist helps you with your mental and emotional health.
Folks who are religious, you might have a religious leader who helps with your spiritual health and a financial advisor helps with your financial health and wellbeing because finances are what, you know, for better or worse makes the world go around and allows us to be able to achieve hopes, dreams, uh, you know, goals, those sort of things.
And so, As a financial advisor, I work with people and I help guide them through that process. It looks different for everybody. So the way that I work with person one is probably going to be very different than the way I work with person two because they’re living very different lives. And my job is to help people navigate those financial Uh, paths and journeys in order to achieve whatever it is that they are hoping to achieve, be it an early retirement, being a comfortable retirement, be it just, uh, being able to provide for their families or send their kids off to, to college or whatever goal that it may be.
My job is to help people be able to realize that. And what are some of your favorite parts of this job? That part, actually. Getting to help people see what’s possible. Because A lot of times I think we have in our society a certain taboo when it comes to talking about money. And I know coming from education in particular, there’s almost a shame aspect.
Well, we’re not in it for the money. Well, that’s, that’s true, but we can’t ignore reality. And so realizing, hey, when you’re smart with your money, when you’re investing it wisely, and you’re letting that money work for you in a strategic manner, then what’s possible? Is really pretty astonishing, and so when I get to help people realize that and then take those active steps towards making that into a reality, it’s super rewarding for me.
It was just like in the classroom when you teach a child a concept and that little light bulb would go off. It’s the same thing here when somebody gets to see like, oh, wow, I actually, if I work at it and I do this and I do this, I actually could retire and spend more time with my family and enjoy my life.
And then seeing that light bulb go off, that weight come off somebody’s shoulders, to me, it’s, it’s truly incredible. And so that is what I love the most for sure. There’s so many parallels to teaching and, you know, I wouldn’t have even connected all these dots, but really truly it sounds like relationship building is kind of like at the foundation of this.
Honestly, I would say it’s about 90 percent of it really is relationship building because I mean, I’m working with people on their, not just their goals, but their life savings, right? And everything that they have worked to achieve and to build with them and their families. And so if they don’t trust me, we don’t need to be working together.
Uh, so it is very much relationship at the heart of, of what I do and, and what we do here at Jones. And how can you walk us through how you get clients? Are they people who kind of knock on the door and walk in? Is it do you do outreach? What does that look like? All the above. So we do have some folks that just come in out of the blue.
Now, you know, I think post COVID in particular, a lot of folks are more comfortable with reaching out. You know, long distance and online and that sort of thing. So that’s a huge part of it. LinkedIn. I have a lot of folks that I work with that I’ve met through LinkedIn. And then I do go out in my community and I, you know, go to networking events and I introduce myself, let folks know who I am and what I do and how I can help.
And, uh, I work with families, individuals, individuals. Uh, I also work with a lot of non profit organizations and small businesses. Uh, so it’s not even just individual people, but sometimes it’s groups, organizations, that sort of thing too. And all across the country, you know, I have clients in, uh, off the top of my head, I want to say maybe about 20, 19, 20 states at this point.
Um, you know, so it is not something that’s limited just to a little sphere, but it’s all, you know, countrywide. Oh, wow. Okay. That’s really neat that you’re in your town, your community, but also in other states. So, really, you can span out. And what are some of the challenges associated with this job? So, kind of like, kind of like in education, another parallel, Folks don’t always want to listen, which is something that I would encourage anybody who’s considering working with the financial advisor.
Uh, if you’re going to hire somebody to have that role, then listen to them. Like, do take their advice. That doesn’t mean that you have to only follow what they say, but at least give some consideration. You know? Otherwise, you might find that you could spend your money better elsewhere. And so that is the biggest thing, right, is just when people, are they willing to listen?
The other thing too is that, yes, the vast majority of my conversations are very positive. And, you know, it’s, it’s amazing to get to show somebody like, hey, you can retire here. You are going to be able to hit this goal if you stay the path. Sometimes the conversation does go the other way and it’s having to help somebody face reality that things are maybe not going to quite meet with what their expectations were.
But the beauty in that is that we then get to, you know, kind of sit down, just knee to knee, you know, face to face. All right, this is what is, and this is what we’re going to do about it. And then help navigate a path forward that’s different than what they were maybe expecting or thinking. But that will still help guide them, you know, into the future.
Nonetheless, that is challenging, but it’s also rewarding to you know, it’s a little bit bad. Absolutely. And, and I’m curious to know, you know, you’ve, you’ve done this learning, you’re a financial advisor. What does growth look like? Um, at this company, are there, are there other positions you could, you know, learn more and go towards if you wanted to?
What does that look like? There are, and firms might have different structures. So for anybody listening who is wanting to get into the financial advice field. Will have different opportunities. So I can really only speak to what Jones has. You know, here with Jones, we are not beholden to public shareholders.
We’re a partnership. So advisors are given the opportunity to be able to become partners and we run the company ourselves, essentially, which really means that we get to stick to our values and help people the way that Truly want to help them. Um, and within that then you can definitely become a different type of partner.
And your relationship with Jones, uh, can evolve over time. And there are leadership opportunities that exist there as well, uh, within individual regions and then within the firm as a whole. Um, so for me personally. You know, I am definitely wanting to continue to grow and evolve my relationship with Jones as time goes on, but at the heart of it is continuing to serve my clients and to serve folks that I’m working with now and folks that I haven’t even gotten the chance to to meet or work with yet.
So I want every decision that I make to be with that in mind first. So I want to. Continue to grow and progress so long as it is what’s in the best interest of my relationship with clients. And and you mentioned this a little bit earlier about so you live in a state now you have local clients You also have clients all over the continental us.
So what would happen, you know with teaching I feel like something that’s helpful for teachers is when they go to different states, there will always be a school, um, but there may be a different license. So if you and your family were to move to another state, is, is it something you’d have to get a new license or credential for, or could you just move seamlessly and start working in a new state?
Yeah, that process is fairly straightforward, at least with Jones. We are required to be licensed in any state that we are working with clients in. So whether we’re physically there or not, that process, once you are a full advisor is pretty straightforward and easy to to accomplish. And so If I was wanting to move to another state, so currently I’m in Tennessee my wife and I just got back from a trip in Maine, so I’m going to use Maine as an example so if I wanted to move up to Maine, then I would need to make sure that I’m registered in Maine first, uh, and then talk with the firm, make sure that they have, uh, an office, maybe somebody’s retired, or there’s an opening in existence, Or is there a need they’re looking to expand, uh, so that I could create my own office, my own branch up there.
So that process is actually pretty straightforward and easy. Um, it’s involved, but it’s really not to, you don’t have to jump through a ton of hoops to accomplish it. And the way that Jones works too, is that we are all under our Edward Jones umbrella. We collaborate, we help one another, but we’re technically each our own individual business too.
Um, okay. But there’s not competition there. It is pure collaboration within our culture, which is something that I absolutely love and I want to be part of, of something that’s head in fighting. And so the, since the, since we do have that autonomy, it makes that process a lot easier too. That’s great.
And I, um, I’ve never been to Maine, but I’ve heard it’s beautiful. Was it a beautiful trip? It was a beautiful trip. We decided to drive up there And from East Tennessee to about, you know, Central Maine is, uh, about, well, gosh, what was it about 18 hours or so, 20 hour drive, so, might consider flying next time.
That is quite the road trip. And what do you think are some of the skills, you know, if some teachers are listening and they’re thinking, this sounds interesting, you know, what are some of those foundational skills that you think would, would make a good financial advisor? Yeah, so definitely relationship building number one above everything else.
Um, number two is listening skills. So not just, uh, I’ve heard this before, uh, where a lot of times when we’re in conversations, we will sit, we’ll let somebody talk. That’s great. And then we’ll say what we were going to say anyway, without responding or really processing what they’ve said. And so true listening is responding and hearing and then reacting to what’s being told to us.
That skill is absolutely vital in education and it’s vital here. People want to feel heard, they want to feel seen, and they want to know that you care. And so having those true listening skills is absolutely crucial. Um, the next most important thing, honestly, is compliance, uh, legal compliance organization, the next skill that would, that would immediately translate in education.
We’re used to having a lot of legal. Compliance to go with my wife was a special education teacher before she taught English. So there was even extra levels there. But here we’re in a very highly regulated field. And so there’s a constantly evolving and changing legal landscape that we do have to be, you know, adherent to.
Uh, so that is a skill set that definitely proves to be pretty invaluable when coming over as well as organization, uh, and planning too, you know, um, When it comes to helping people with their financial plan in those meetings, walking through everything, laying it out for them, it gets real complex and you know, really treating it almost like a lesson plan really helps.
Now, you do have to be careful. Some people want to learn. They want. Almost you to be a teacher to them and other people, not so much. They just kind of want you to, to, to listen or to walk them through it. They don’t really want to learn a whole lot about it. But structuring it and organizing it is, is, is something that I think lesson planning skills really helped with.
So I was pretty shocked. To see how much of what I had done previously translated over here. There really wasn’t any major skill that I haven’t been able to use in some way or another. I love how you said, um, the lesson planning part of it was so relevant. I remember a time, that I met with two different financial advisors at separate times in my life.
And the first time I was so confused, I mean, all these graphs, I didn’t understand what was happening. And then the second time I met with someone different and they kind of chunked it out, laid it out and I was able to comprehend it. And I thought, wow, this is so helpful. So, I mean, I think it really, like you said, the delivery of it.
And listening to your clients. Do they, do they want to understand it? Do they want you kind of to take care of it on, on your own? So that is such an important piece. And that thing too, that you just said is so important where some folks want to get into the nerdy, want to get into the nitty gritty. They want, you know, they time to bust out those charts.
Here we go. Uh, and then other folks, it is very much. All right. I kind of want you to just. Do this for me. And you have to be able to work with both kinds. Uh, and so most people don’t want the charts. Most people want the results, you know, or they want really even more than that. They want the reassurance.
And so knowing how to break something down into those easily digestible chunks, that’s not condescending, but it’s still easily understandable is huge. And I know that a lot of people will. Are nervous when it comes to talking about the finances, either because they’re embarrassed or they just don’t know enough about it.
That’s how I feel every time that I go to get my oil changed or something worked on with my car. I know I have a car. I know that it has four wheels and that, you know, if I’m really lucky, it’ll get me where I’m trying to go. But when I have to talk about it in detail. Ooh, it’s embarrassing. I don’t know anything about, and the best mechanics are the ones who don’t make me feel like an idiot.
And that’s what I think is so important when you’re talking with the financial advisor, is that you’re talking to somebody who doesn’t make you feel like an idiot, you know, and, and that does help you with that comfortability and will walk you through to the level that you want to be. Mm hmm. That makes sense.
Um, Ben. I can relate on both on the cars, you know, as well and just, you know, having someone hear you and, and support you in the way that you need to be supported. And then tell us a little bit, you know, now you’ve made this big career change. What does your work life balance look like now? Yeah, so the concept of balance is something I find very interesting.
I for so long really wanted to have like literal balance where it’s maybe, you know, a third of my time here, a third of my time here, a third of my time to sleep and boom, there we go. And, and what I find is that that’s not realistic. And I also don’t even know if that’s super healthy. Um, there are going to be some seasons where, yeah, here in the office is going to require a bit more time.
Uh, and there’s going to be other times where, hey, home is where I needed more. Or, you know, there’s maybe a little slower season so I can spend more time away from the office. And so the first thing to kind of answer the question, I’ve rambled a lot, but the really answer the question is that I, Abandoned my previous view on what balance was, and I recognize that, uh, really balances in the eye of the beholder, and that it’s something that ever changes, and that’s okay, that’s healthy.
My typical days I will come to the office on some days where I’m, I’m working here in office with a lot of folks. Other days I’m having meetings out in the community or, or that sort of thing, or I’m able to work remotely from home. If it’s a lot of zoom meetings, that, that kind of, um, and my, my typical day is I try to follow the market hours with a little bit of a buffer on either side.
So the stock market is typically open from about 930 to 4 p. m. Eastern. Thanks everyone. Eastern Standard Time. And so, I typically will get into the office at about nine or so, and then usually about. Well, 45 or five is when I try to be finishing it up. Unless somebody has a specific need that requires me to stay later, come in earlier than I can work with folks on that.
And this, what I’m going to bring up might be a totally different podcast episode, but I, I love how you shared earlier that you, you, you met your wife in education and you guys transitioned out of education at the same time. So I’m super curious to hear too, you know, about like your family dynamic, if that’s shifted with work life balance and, and what she’s up to now, but, you know, just excited to hear that, that both of you did that at the same time.
Cause what a, what an accomplishment it’s, it’s a lot of work to, to, you know, land in a new career and, and both of you doing it. And she, you know, I, I, she is amazing. I could spend hours just talking about her. And I’d say that a lot of my clients have would probably be like, oh my gosh. Yeah. This guy just talks about his wife a lot.
But she, she did, she transitioned into a non profit role actually. She works with a non profit organization here that helps with the local, uh, unhoused community and she’s fantastic with it too. But yeah, Leaving Together was exhilarating, scary You know, thrilling all of those things at the same time.
But as far as our dynamic goes, it was a huge improvement. You know, we actually have time and energy for one another now, even when we’re busier than we were before. You know, we don’t come home Emotionally and mentally exhausted, you know, and just vegging out on the couch and dreading getting up the next day.
We actually have time to truly be together and enjoy life. And you know, the Sunday scaries aren’t really a thing. If we want to go out Sunday evening and go for a hike or go for a late dinner, whatever, go to a movie, we can. And we don’t dread the next day, so it’s, been truly remarkable and I think leaving at the same time, scary as it was, really made it a much easier process because you didn’t have one person who is fully out living something that’s really amazing but not fully able to share it with the other.
Um, so I think that that definitely helped being, being together on it. Oh, I love to hear that. And we love to kind of wrap these up by asking you about what you’ve learned about yourself during this big transition process. So, uh, definitely have learned a lot more of what I’m capable of, I guess, too.
There’s a huge difference. On one hand, there’s a huge difference. On the other hand, there’s, there’s not much difference at all, uh, between talking with, uh, a middle schooler who is facing a huge crisis, right? Or huge crisis is defined by middle school age, um, versus an adult who is looking at some major impact that’s going to be changing their lives.
On the one hand, it’s. Not really dissimilar at all because it’s a matter of perspective. You know, to this person, this is the biggest deal in their world. And whether we view it as such or not is a little irrelevant. You know, we have to recognize where somebody is. On the other hand, it is very different because Obviously, middle school drama does not compare to the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, or a major life change.
And so, Having the, the realization that I do have the skills and the confidence to be able to sit with hurting people and be able to truly walk them through that sort of a process has been really eye opening to me. And then also to, to help with the happier things that are still really high stress.
When somebody is getting ready to retire, for instance, it’s super nerve wracking because It’s their retirement. They’ve done it one time. And what I realized is like, they’ve had one retirement, but I’ve had now just working with folks. Uh, you know, and obviously that’s a little bit of a joke, but it’s true.
And so realizing that, yes, I do have the skills and the confidence and those, Those, those sort of things to be able to walk people through the good, the bad and the ugly, um, has been huge and realizing that these didn’t like, yes, I’ve refined them in this job, but these didn’t come from this job. They actually came from my past experiences in education.
Um, and here is where they just were able to really come at home. And so I think that with a lot of folks who are transitioning out of classroom into whatever field, whatever job that it might be, I think that’s a common, Trend. Realizing that, oh, this thing that I really discovered or like about myself was there all along.
Uh, now it’s just fully uncovered. That’s such a good call out, because I think, like you said, there’s so many things that teachers do that are second nature, and sometimes we don’t always reflect on them. And when we look back, you know, even in my position now, I think, oh wow, I did that and learned that while I was teaching, and now I apply this every day in my position now.
So, yeah. Um, so just such a good, you know, point about confidence and Chris, I’m so excited for everyone to listen and thank you so much for joining us today. Oh, thank you so much for having me. I really enjoyed it and I appreciate your time.
