My "Jerry Maguire Moment"

Why I Quit My Job to Change the World - a six minute read

In a time when Alberta’s unemployment rate is the highest it has been in my lifetime, I quit my job. I walked away from an office on the 22nd floor with a view of the Eau Claire river valley to try and “change the world.” I have a six-month-old daughter at home with my incredibly talented, hard-working and sole-proprietor wife.

I honestly do not think there could have been a worse time to have a “Jerry Maguire Moment” and leave a secure paying job. But for those that have been through one, you will empathize with me – I just had to.

For the record, a “Jerry Maguire Moment” is loosely considered by pop culture to be one’s moment of sudden career clarity; that precise moment in time where you say, “I’m out!” and leave your safe, secure, high profile job to pursue something more meaningful to you.

Although far less dramatic than Tom Cruise’s rendition in the late 90’s, my moment happened mere weeks ago. I was gainfully employed at “Canada’s number one independent, high net worth investment advisory,” and things looked great from the outside. I had an awesome boss – the kind of manager that you trust will always have your back, a handful of great mentors and a plethora of friends in the branch. Senior management had even taken notice of my performance. Although I was one of the smaller investment advisors in a $28 billion company, I sure did not feel like it.

It was a good gig.

However, although things appeared to be good on the surface, I could not avoid the nagging thought that I was settling; I did not feel like I was going to “change the world,” and that was a problem. Perhaps, foolishly, the idea of doing something revolutionary had crept into my brain.

I loved my job. That was not the issue. In a sentence, what I did as an investment advisor was to, advise people on how to invest their money to help meet their needs later in life in as tax efficient manner as possible (wow, that sounds really boring having just typed it out).

A former mentor of mine used to say, “Other than your lawyer and your doctor, what relationship is as personal as dealing with your money?” He was right. There are not a whole lot of relationships out there that require more trust, more openness, and – when done right – more in-this-togetherness than personal wealth management. It was a very meaningful career; that was not the problem.

The problem lay within the context of my environment. I worked for a firm that prided itself on working with high net worth individuals (read: millionaires). Every decision the company made, from the systems, to the fees, to the research – the high net worth investor was always in mind.

And that is totally fine. It is a very smart and profitable business model, but it just wasn’t me.

I saw, and continue to see, an industry that is in for BIG change. Investors expect more; they want clarity on fees, they do not want to settle with the “that’s how we’ve always done it” approach and they want to deal with someone who they can trust.

Someone who is freakishly transparent and on their side.

So, on a reasonably pleasant Thursday morning, I walked into my manager’s office and gave him my notice. I decided to leave the bright lights of the big firm and breakout on my own. The goal would stay the same as at my last job, which was to help good people achieve their financial objectives, but the tools of the trade would change; from any perspective, it was a big change.

I did a plus/minus analysis with my wife and those closest to me, and it became apparent that the positives heavily outweighed the negatives. The most notable positives were:

I continued to use the same mutual funds that I had become passionate about as an investment advisor – my investment advice would stay the same, I am not selling the latest and greatest get-rich scheme out there.

I maintained a key relationship with my teammate, a rockstar planner and insurance expert.

I gained free rein over the size of the accounts that I could work with; no longer was I ”encouraged” to only pursue the millionaire accounts. And, finally,

I controlled my own brand. A brand I knew was authentic, real and totally me. Full disclosure – I typed and deleted this post three times because I have not yet shaken the idea that “someone in Toronto” must approve this message first.

What might seem like a small change, in what I see to be an industry ripe for change, taking control of my own message was key. It was the tipping point that finally caused me to turn in my suit, tie and expense-account lunches at such an odd time.

Call me cocky. Call me confident. Call me stupid. Maybe I’m all three, but I already feel better.

My new life is good. My new life is scary. I awaken every day with a renewed purpose and a great deal of fear. At age 35, hitting the reset button is probably a bigger risk than skeptics think I should be taking, but I just could not resist my shot to take a bite out of the universe.

I have a small office in Inglewood now. Instead of rubbing shoulders with fancy blue suits on the 47th floor, I interact daily with marketing execs working on campaigns for some of the world’s coolest companies. For someone looking to change the world, it has been refreshing and insightful to remove myself from the laser-focus of one industry.

Although my approach to the investment selection process remains similar, my approach to earning the opportunity to do business with customers and create meaningful relationships is not. I have regressed to a wardrobe that would challenge even the most liberal definitions of Casual Friday downtown. I am almost never at my desk by 7:00 a.m. anymore. Instead, I have breakfast with my family and am woken by my daughter talking to herself in her crib – my favourite moment on earth.

Again, paraphrasing from another mentor, I have taken the mindset of wanting people to buy-in to who I am, not just buy. I am going to change the way people get their financial advice, and I realize that will not be for everybody, but that is okay.

With my supportive wife at my side, armed with a business model that I know is better for a lot of people out there, success is not optional – it is just a matter of time.

Please feel free to email me at [email protected] to give me moral support (or tell me that I am crazy!). For occasional posts and updates, you can subscribe to my blog here.

Editor’s note: It worked for Tom Cruise in the movie, he made millions AND landed the girl!