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My Path to Uncommon - Phillip Ramsey
46 Plays4 days ago
In this deeply personal solo episode, Uncommon Wealth Podcast host Phillip Ramsey walks us through his winding, inspiring, and God-orchestrated career journey—from uncertain college grad to founding Uncommon Wealth Partners. With characteristic vulnerability and humor, Phillip reflects on his early setbacks, unlikely breakthroughs, and the faithful mentors who helped guide his path.
He shares how being nearly fired from his first job ignited a transformation in how he served others, why his time in customer service turned out to be pivotal, and how chance encounters (including on a plane!) led to unexpected opportunities in leadership, retail, and pharmaceuticals. Along the way, Phillip reveals the moments that taught him how to lead with humility, sell with integrity, and trust that setbacks are often setups for something greater.
This episode is a reminder that your story—peaks, valleys, detours, and all—matters. Phillip challenges listeners to reflect on their own path and trust that purpose can be found in even the most uncertain seasons.
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Transcript
Introduction to Uncommon Wealth Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Everyone dreams of living an uncommon life and the best asset you have to achieve your dreams is you. Welcome to the Uncommon Wealth Podcast.
00:00:12
Speaker
We're going to introduce you to people who are living uncommonly. We're also going to give you some tools and strategies for building wealth and for pursuing an uncommon path that is uniquely right for you.
Philip Ramsey's Career Journey
00:00:27
Speaker
Hello and welcome everybody to another episode of the Uncommon Wealth Podcast where I'm your host, Philip Ramsey. Today, i am making good on my promise to talk about my whole career path. How did we get to here?
00:00:40
Speaker
Here's why it's important. In the old uncommon space, uncommon wealth space. It's because I feel like we all have experiences that sometimes we glance over or we don't think they're as important as others, but we're all have a story. We all have a position where we're at today.
00:00:56
Speaker
And I feel like, and this is me, I feel like God has orchestrated this whole thing. And so for me, it's really important for for me to go back and kind of talk about my story and just kind of for me to see all the ways that God has blessed me to the path where I'm at now.
Reflecting on Life's Highs and Lows
00:01:11
Speaker
Now that might not be your reason to do it, but I do think that you can get a lot of insight from doing this exercise.
00:01:18
Speaker
I challenged in the simple step before this, I challenged that you would go back and you would, you would write this out. What are your peaks? What are your valleys in your life? And does that help you get some direction moving forward? So let's talk through this. I will start quickly.
00:01:32
Speaker
And then I will go through, you know, I don't know. I might not go quickly. I might take it a little bit longer just because there's some stories here that I think are super important. So Let me um start but
00:01:46
Speaker
start back in college for me. Now, I could gone way further back, and I think I even challenged everyone to do that in the simple step. But for me, I'm just going to start right out of college. So 2004, graduated from University of Northern Iowa.
00:02:02
Speaker
I was a Panther. um And I had no idea what I wanted to do. In fact, I had no idea what I wanted my my major to be until the sophomore year. They're like, you have to declare a major. And I was like, okay, what major gets me out of here quicker, like the quickest?
00:02:18
Speaker
And found out general studies was going to be what I was going to do, which you had to take three of the colleges, like micro colleges, and then you have to kind of get like three minors almost to get a general studies major.
Networking and Career Opportunities
00:02:29
Speaker
These are my three minors, or three like expertise of study. It was sports, um education, education,
00:02:38
Speaker
And what was the third? Oh, business. Those were the three. And then I had a minor in leadership, which I loved candidly. If there was a major of leadership, I would have done it, but that was my minor. And then my three areas of emphasis in my, my general studies were business education and sports, sports directing. I think it was.
00:02:57
Speaker
Anyway, so there it was, I get out of college, um and got out in four years, which dicey, but I had to do an internship, an internship for my leadership minor. So I went to my old principal in in high school and I graduated from Dowling Catholic. I'm not Catholic, but I graduated from Dowling.
00:03:17
Speaker
So I went back to the principal and I was like, listen, you have three of the areas that I just studied for the last four years. You have a education, ah component, you have a business, right?
00:03:29
Speaker
Because it's a private school. You also have sports. and And so all these things kind of like correlate to what i was I was working on. So I was like, is there a way that I can do my internship with you? And he was like, Philip, that sounds great.
00:03:44
Speaker
Let's figure out an internship for you. We don't really have one, but let's go ahead and start that out. So we started and all my internship was, was sitting in an office, observing leadership, observing meetings, maybe doing some Excel spreadsheets, like whatever they wanted me to do, maybe notes from a meeting, but I got to observe.
00:04:01
Speaker
I loved it. I loved it. The guy that I did my internship with, the principal at the time was called Jim Doddle, Dr. Jim Doddle. He's um still super close friend of mine. It was awesome.
00:04:13
Speaker
And throughout that whole time, ah got a good relationship with him. he i helped him through some like bigger projects, just like basically just kind of like laughing about things and like helping him out when I could, but a lot of times just observing.
00:04:24
Speaker
Anyway, so at the end of that, something really cool happened. So he brought me into his office. He was like, Philip, He's like, now you're you're almost done with this internship. It went really well. ah But what I want to do is gift you something called networking. And he didn't say this, but he's like, I want to do a better job of like helping you kind of launch out into the real world.
00:04:45
Speaker
So he's like, what we're going to do is he's like, I'm going to pull all the students and what their parents do. And then what we're going to do is we're going to go talk to some people that you really feel like could be a good fit for you and your career.
00:04:57
Speaker
Sweet. So when the principal of your of your private school calls you, I'm sure as a parent, you'd be like, yeah, what can I do to help? So Jim Doddle called a couple of these people. Here was the three people that he called for me.
00:05:09
Speaker
ah it was It was pharmaceuticals. So pharmaceutical sales, which was Deanne Howard. Uh, there was a company, uh, V Voya at the time or ING. I can't remember which one it was, uh, but so finance.
00:05:22
Speaker
So there's that, uh, then, then there was, ITA group. which they were kind of into business travel incentive things. And then there was a Meredith corporation. So if you know Meredith corporation, better homes and gardens, magazines, things like that.
00:05:39
Speaker
So those were the four people that we went out and we like physically sat down in front of them. They told us about the company. Then Jim kind of talked to them about me. It was awesome. You guys are the best thing that I could have thought of.
00:05:52
Speaker
when I'm thinking about going to get a new career is have your basically employer tell him like, this is what he's good at. He's awesome. And he also has some emphasis in your students or your your child's life. So you just like listen, so we we venture out into the real world. Let's start with i think we start with Voya. So I N G might have been at the time.
00:06:12
Speaker
And i remember sitting there like, i there's no way I'm doing finances. Like, I never studied this. This is all foreign language to me. We're not doing that. So that was pretty much quickly dismissed.
00:06:25
Speaker
ah It's so funny to look back. The next one we went is D.N. Howard at Abbott Laboratories. And I loved it. I was like, listen, get me a job here. I'll do it. And she was like, yeah, you have no experience. That isn't going to happen. So there it went.
00:06:38
Speaker
Then we went to... um ah Meredith Corporation. And we talked to like the vice president or the president at the time. So pretty big up in the company. And he he was talking and it was like Charlie Brown's parents talking or like the teacher talking like, harder heart harder her her he talking about picturing like or taking pictures of of food and things that I'm like, that is not me. Or writing about food, like it's not me.
00:07:05
Speaker
Or gardens, like that's just. So I dismissed that pretty quick. And then we went to ITA group and we talked to a guy named Tom Mahoney. And he had a student at Dowling.
00:07:16
Speaker
And so went there, hung out. and And I remember like just being enamored with this guy. He was cool. He was dressed nice. He was a nice company.
Customer Service Challenges and Successes
00:07:24
Speaker
And he was like, listen, we are in the business of knowing people.
00:07:28
Speaker
We know how to incentivize them. We know how to get them motivated. We just know people. And I'm like, I like people. This is a great fit. So after our talk, I told Tom, I was like, give me the worst job here.
00:07:39
Speaker
And he's like, I'm sorry, what? I was like, I want the worst job here. So when I am sitting where you're sitting someday, I can tell that person that just got hired. I've done that job and it's important. So if it's janitor, give me the janitor job.
00:07:52
Speaker
If it's customer service, give me the customer service job. Okay. So he gets me a customer service job. That's the one I kind of launch into right out of college after my internship, customer service.
00:08:04
Speaker
guys and he was like listen you just have to stay there a year then you can be promoted out of that department and you can go into a different kind of field and then you can kind of work your way up to then management and then at some point maybe where I'm sitting right it's a pretty long career path but here we go so I launch into customer service I remember Uh, one of my directors or like supervisor, I think his name, yeah, his name is Tom.
00:08:30
Speaker
And I think I had a supervisor at that point named Tammy and he was kind of the Tammy's boss. I don't know. It's all, ah it's all a whirlwind, but here's what I remember. about maybe two months after I was working. And I remember like, i I even had like a chain of paper that would get me out to my year so then I could go to the next job. Okay. So I like had the next thing on my mind very clearly because I'll never forget it. So Tom calls me in his office like, hey man, what's going on? and And I'm doing the customer service thing. I'm talking to people. That's great.
00:09:02
Speaker
But my eyes are not focused on the job. I'm thinking about something else. And he said, never forget it. Philip, we're going to let you go. And I'm like, I'm sorry, what? Like, no, no, you don't understand. my My career path is actually to be the president CEO someday.
00:09:16
Speaker
ah And so he's like, nope, it's not going to work out because he's like, you're so focused on the next phase that you're completely discrediting this job. And, you know, like you're not even being present here.
00:09:28
Speaker
And I was like, just rock to my core. Like my first job out of college, like basically going to get fired from. And I was like, listen, man, like totally get it. Thanks for the feedback. I can do better. Like, so give me another opportunity. So I think he's like, listen, let's just see how it goes for the next two weeks. I don't know, but not looking great.
00:09:46
Speaker
I remember going home that day and like, I had a choice, right? We all have choices. And I thought I can either, i can either just bag it up, walk out, no problem.
00:09:57
Speaker
Or I can lean into this. Like, this is not the person I am. This is not leadership at all. And I've completely squandered the opportunity that ITA group and Tom Mahoney has given to me. Like that's not going to happen. So I went home and every person in my department, I listened to, I not friends with them because I was going to move on. Right.
00:10:16
Speaker
But I knew them and I've heard them. I listened to them, but I, I, I knew more than I thought. I i said, I wouldn't, I know more than i let on and that they understood that I knew of them.
00:10:29
Speaker
So when people looked at Phillip, they were like, oh yeah, young guy, he doesn't know me. I'm sure he's a fine guy, but he's looking to be promoted and he's discrediting my job. And I wasn't really saying that, but my actions were saying that. So I went home and then I started writing down everything I knew about each person. Okay.
00:10:47
Speaker
And then I had, um, before this whole college thing, I was a manager at a skating rink or assistant manager to a skating rink. One of my favorite jobs, loved it. Uh, but you know how you had vending machines and they had all these things. There was things back then called homies.
00:11:02
Speaker
They were just little dolls and they just had like, they were cool. I still had those and I don't know why I had them. or I don't know why I kept them, but i I remembered those homies when I was writing these like encouraging notes of things that i know about my customer service team around me.
00:11:18
Speaker
And I remember getting those homies out and each one of them correlated with like a person. So one person was very faith filled and there was a homie that it was like, kind of like kneeling down by a cross. So I wrote about that. That was her homie. She got that. Her name was Mona. Not, I'll never forget it.
00:11:34
Speaker
Uh, then we had another person who was a huge cheerleader. Okay. Her name was Denise. Like she was always encouraging people. So she got the homie that had cheerleading, you know, you get it, you get the point.
00:11:46
Speaker
Anyway, so I had a probably six or seven or eight um people on my team that all got homies. And the next morning I i went in early and i I gave each one of their homies and a little card, you know, handwritten card about what I see in them, the gifts I see and, you know, the value that they bring.
00:12:05
Speaker
And that's what everyone got. So I come back my next day after the day that Tom was like, Hey, we're going let you go. um And a totally different vibe, totally different vibe for me too. Like I was like locked in, like I've got to be a good steward of the, of the circumstance and the opportunity that i have that Tom Mahoney believed in me. Right.
00:12:24
Speaker
So it was going great. I'm telling you what, I was the best customer service. Like it was a whole nother fill up. all because Tom was brave enough to be like, Hey man, this isn't going to work and gave me another shot. So I totally value that.
00:12:37
Speaker
If that wouldn't happen, I never would have probably be who I am today. So everybody I think was engaged at that point. Cause I believe the customer service rep and I still do is such a valuable role because it's your first line of defense that people have with your company. Okay.
00:12:53
Speaker
So things started looking a little bit different for me. Like my perspective started changing about customer service role and I was ready to rock. So about two months of that go by.
00:13:05
Speaker
And, and I remember this is so, but I didn't get fired for the record. Okay. Tom was like, okay, this is a whole different deal. I'm having, I'm engaging with my team. and And then I'm looking at like, what opportunities can i take on? Right?
00:13:18
Speaker
So I'll never forget this. So the next day I come, or I should say two months later, i come into office and there is something wrong. Like you can just tell people are like big eyes talking about things, you know, not loudly, but, and Tom is like not running around, but he's frantic, I would say.
00:13:37
Speaker
And I'm like, what's going on? and and And Tom's like, hey, we're going team meeting at nine. ah We need everyone there. So come to find out one of our clients was a big sales client. It was Mitsubishi. Mitsubishi, like not the cars, but they were selling TVs at the time.
00:13:56
Speaker
Well, their incentive website was Fritzed out and they were selling big screen TVs for a dollar and like all these other things instead of little trickets that you could get, but nice stuff.
00:14:08
Speaker
But they were selling it like the website crashed out and people got on there and then started telling people about it in the middle of the night about how you can get big screen TV for $6. And they bought a whole bunch of stuff. Obviously, that's not what happened. like That's not what we wanted to have happen, but it just happened.
00:14:24
Speaker
Okay. So Tom is telling us all about how this kind of website fritzed out and all these salesmen went on there and started because it's a business incentive company, right? ITA group. And they do a lot of business travel. So if you do like amazing, it's your job, sales job, they might send you out to Hawaii.
00:14:40
Speaker
and They travel all that or they they do all the travel. They organize all that stuff. They make sure that you're there safe. make sure you have a good time and fly you back. That's what their job is. Well, obviously some part of it is like, hey, you're a good salesman. You can get some bucks to go on these websites and then and spend money.
00:14:58
Speaker
Like i said, it fritzed out. So Tom, next voice says, we're going to need somebody to call these people and like tell them, you know, like what's going on and basically tell them that what they just bought, you can't buy it for.
00:15:11
Speaker
And immediately I was like, that's me. Like I'll, I'll call. And he was like, you're joking. Right. And I was like, no, like this is, I love, I'd love to like, and there's something about me in conflict that I just, let let's just talk through it and see if we can get through it. If not, let's figure it out.
00:15:25
Speaker
So at the end of that, Tom's like, okay, you got the job, buddy. Like, good luck. Uh, here's the numbers. I think there was probably 50 or 60. And he's like, the only thing we can give you is like a $50 gift card. If they're like upset, you can be like, Hey, we're going to send you a $50 gift card to say, sorry, but you're not going to get those six TVs, big screen TVs for $17, you know, that stuff. So there i go. I start calling people guys. That was one of my favorite times in in my career was calling these people. And some of them were like totally understanding, Hey, that happens. No problem.
00:15:58
Speaker
I was so happy to give those people $50. the other side of the spectrum was like, oh no, you can't do this to me. Like I'm going to sue you all this things. And like, I remember saying like, man, have you never made any mistakes? Like truly like when's the last time you made a mistake?
00:16:15
Speaker
And then somebody is trying to capitalize on that mistake. Like not only throwing, you know, salt in your wound, but like it just exact, like it's just exasperating. So I just told him listen, you're not getting anything, man. Like you can do whatever you want, but at the end of the day, like people mess up websites go down. This stuff happens.
00:16:32
Speaker
I was way more reluctant to give them the $50 gift card. I'll just tell you that. So I get through my 50 or 60 calls, um, within like two or three days. Like it wasn't just a whole one day deal.
00:16:44
Speaker
um because they these calls could last, you know, five, 10 minutes each. um And so it was a long couple days, but I get through it. And after that, I think Tom was then kind of like a believer, like, okay, you can write cards all you want, but really have you changed? And I think the whole, even my attitude was like, hey, how can I lead in this season?
00:17:04
Speaker
Well, okay. So I'll try to make this faster, but I think they're all kind of interrelated. So, We had a big company at ITA Group come and there was ah a choice that he had to make between us and our competitor.
00:17:21
Speaker
It was a big company. It a big account. And so ITA Group, I think very wisely said, hey, let's try to impress this guy, this exec that's coming in to try to win the business. Sounds great.
00:17:33
Speaker
So what we're going to do is we're going to try to get... each department to get a representation of the department by, by bringing some person. So every person has ah person that I guess represents their department and all of them are going to go talk to this exec.
00:17:51
Speaker
And Tom came to me and it's like, Hey, would you like to be our representative for customer service to go to this, you know, this meeting with this big exec from this big company that's going to either choose us or the other company.
00:18:03
Speaker
And I was like, I'd be honored. Let me do this. he's like, here's the deal. You don't have to talk. In fact, we don't want you to talk. You just smile and you just, you know, you just shake hands if you need to and just smile and just represent our company and our department. Well, okay. Sounds good.
00:18:18
Speaker
So I go up there. I get my, you know, oversized suit on, you know, three days later whatever, go up to the boardroom. I'll never forget it. It's Tom Mahoney. Remember, hit we know him, ah a guy that was running the company. His name was Steve Chapman.
00:18:32
Speaker
Still love Steve Chapman to this day. Still love Tom Mahoney. um And all these other department heads that were kind of representing their department. Great. And then Philip, little me, and then this exec from this other company.
00:18:45
Speaker
And I remember being just kind of like, I can't believe I'm in this room, you know, straight out of college, maybe six months out of college and in this room and and just kind of looking around and and this guy's talking about his company and and their values and and what's important to them. And at the end of the spiel, probably 25 minutes, he goes, does anybody have any questions?
00:19:07
Speaker
And nobody said anything. You know, three seconds go by. Nobody says anything. You guys know where this is going, right?
Navigating Corporate Culture and Leadership
00:19:15
Speaker
And so sure enough, I raised my hand like I got a question. And oh you guys, Tom, my supervisor was in that movie in that meeting, not Tom Mahoney, but Tom, my supervisor.
00:19:26
Speaker
And I remember him looking at me like you had one job, one stinking job, Philip, and you can't even do that. And so I just, this is my question. I asked him, was like, Hey, what do you like about our company that we do better than the other company? Like, that's what I want to know.
00:19:42
Speaker
Because if he said, well, you make really good coffee, then like get this guy more coffee. Like let's close this deal and let's go. Okay. So he answers a question and then then the meeting's over. Cause like no one really ought to do more questions. so So I go back downstairs and my supervisor and then supervisor,
00:20:00
Speaker
My supervisor and then the manager, Tom, all go in the room and I was like, well, there we go. Like there's strike two Phillips out, you know? So next day I i get back to the office and I have a voicemail on my voicemail, my phone.
00:20:14
Speaker
You know how they had like a little light up so you know that you have a voicemail? Yeah. So I click it and it's Steve Chapman, the the CEO of the company. And he said, hey, Philip, I just want to leave you quick message. Like when you have time today, can you come up to my office?
00:20:28
Speaker
And so I was like, yeah, I can do that. So I walk into my supervisor's office or manager's office, Tom. It's like, hey, Steve just called me. He wants me to go upstairs. he was like, hey, I i think you should call him. And i was like, hey, when the CEO tells you to come to his office, you go to his office. There's...
00:20:44
Speaker
No around that. So I go up to his office and Steve Chapman's like, Hey, come in, go ahead and shut the door. And he's like, Hey, I wanted to tell you some good news. was, he's like, we got the business. We got the business of this guy. He's like, we took him out to eat last night and we got the business. I was like, well, congratulations. And he's like, do you want to know why we got the business? And I was like, sure.
00:21:03
Speaker
What happened? He's like, cause a customer service rep cared enough to ask why. And I was like, huh? Really? He's like, yeah. He's like, I just wanted to thank you. And like, you really represented our company well, and I just wanted to thank you.
00:21:18
Speaker
So moving forward, Tom and I were buddies, like we were friends and i think Tom, my supervisor, um he was fine, but yeah, Steve Chapman and I were best friends. Like I would see him in the hall. we would talk,
00:21:31
Speaker
Now I'm going to say this because it sounds great. Steve Chapman was best friends with everybody in that company. He knew your name. He knew your family. Like he was one of the best leaders I've ever been under.
00:21:41
Speaker
But he and I were were friends at that point. So come about a year, you know, six months more, i get promoted. I get promoted upstairs. And um now i'm I'm a little bit more on the hands-on incentive. How do you incentivize these companies?
00:21:58
Speaker
And how do you take them out on a trip? How do you make sure things go well? um I was like an assistant manager, if you will. And my first opportunity came when ah GSK, or it was a pharmaceutical company, came out with a new pharmaceutical drug.
00:22:13
Speaker
And he flied, they flew all the reps out to California and they, they wind and dine They got to show them about and the new drug and like, you know, rah, rah, rah, and do the deal.
00:22:25
Speaker
There was a lot of breakouts because they were talking about and sales strategies that they were going to do in their little team. It was pretty sweet. um But I got the opportunity to go. And when you do that, because it's such a big company and there's so many ah attendees attending, there's a lot of people called travel directors that also go to that that location and they help make sure everything runs smoothly.
00:22:49
Speaker
um I was not a travel director. I was more of like the home director. home base, the homequarters coming or headquarters coming out to the location and making sure it was smooth. And I wasn't even in charge. Actually, the person that was in charge, the program manager was in charge. i was kind of like her right-hand man.
00:23:05
Speaker
And if I'm being honest, like I loved it. All I did was I think one time I took, I was like a pedometer back then it was 13 miles. i I walked around this hotel. I never really saw California I was just walking around the hotel and there was a couple of situations. It just, it it felt like this is what the leadership that I wanted to be. And it was just servant hearted leadership. How do I be more of a servant here?
00:23:28
Speaker
ah to all the people um that are here? you know Do you need more water? And how can I be a servant to the travel directors? What do they need? Hey, you sit there, I'll go get it. like You just keep doing your deal. You need water, I'm there.
00:23:42
Speaker
And so I really had a good experience. So on the way back to, i think it Chicago, so LAX to Chicago and then Chicago to Des Moines. On my way back to Chicago, I sat next to a guy that had a really big fluffy target like Target from the department store, retail store bag. And he's like, Hey, don't make fun of me, man. I just came from the national sales conference for Target.
00:24:05
Speaker
He's like, it was great. And he's like, what are you do? And so I was pretty hyped up at the time. ah By that time I was probably 22, 23, maybe. two twenty three maybe And he was telling me all the leadership kind of opportunities that Target has.
00:24:19
Speaker
And I was telling about the things I was learning. And at the by the time we've touched down at ah O'Hare, he said, what does it take for you to work for for me and Target? And I'm like, nothing.
00:24:29
Speaker
Like, I love my company. I love where it's going. I'm going to be the president CEO at some point. You know, Phillips aspirations. And he's like, no no, no, no, no. But like, what would it take? Like financially, what would it take?
00:24:40
Speaker
And I put out a number that was like astronomical to me, but turned out to be not to him. ah The amount was $40,000. If you want to know, I was like $40,000 should make me, you know, change, which looking back, times were different.
00:24:59
Speaker
And he said, I'll have somebody call you Monday. So sure enough, my phone rings on Monday and there's this recruiter from Target who wants me to come as being exec on the Target team.
00:25:11
Speaker
um And I didn't know what to do. So I did the only thing I knew what to do is just go ask and ask for help. So I went to Steve Chapman's office and I asked him, I was like, hey, here's what happened.
00:25:23
Speaker
ah heres I wasn't looking for an opportunity. It just kind of landed on my lap. And what do you think I should do? And Steve Chapman said, I think you should take it, Philip.
00:25:34
Speaker
And I was like, really? Didn't think that was gonna come out of your mouth. And he's like, you know what? He's like, there's a lot of people here in this company. He's just a smaller company that is intimidated by people who have really good leadership and big aspirations to help and and lead.
00:25:47
Speaker
So he's like, it's gonna take a long time for you to get to this place where you i i know you can be and you wanna be. And so the best way to do this is probably move out of the company, get your experience and then move back into the company.
00:26:00
Speaker
And I thought that was so wise and also shocking if if if I'm being honest. So I called him back and I said, okay, I'm in. And so for the next two years, I was a target exec, they call him, and I was doing the deal. My my store was up in Ames, Iowa.
00:26:20
Speaker
And then they have different departments of that store. But immediately I had a just a weird feeling about the whole company, but I got hired to replace somebody else in hard land, hard lines, I think it was called. So basically everything except for clothes.
00:26:38
Speaker
And I was coming in to replace him and they were going to try to fire him, but then he had to, he had to train me in order to do it. And so it was like, this is weird. Also how long you've been doing this and you've been doing it for like six years or something. So pretty long.
00:26:53
Speaker
And then there was a people underneath him that had been there for over 15 years, like a long time. And they weren't managers yet. And the reason why they weren't managers is because they didn't have their college degree.
00:27:05
Speaker
So I was like, this is weird. Like the people who have experience aren't really in charge and I'm supposed to be in charge of somebody that's like I'm replacing. Like there was just a, it's a weird feel.
00:27:18
Speaker
Got through that. It was about, um oh, I forgot a huge component to this. Before I left ITA group, I called Deanne Howard, which was my Abbott Laboratories contact that i I met with, with Jim Doddle at Dowling.
00:27:32
Speaker
And I said, hey, I'm about ready to make a career change. Is there any openings in pharmaceuticals? And she goes, Philip, I remember you. Thanks for reaching out, but we don't have any yet. Okay, great. So that's when I decided to go to Target.
00:27:44
Speaker
Okay. So the next two and a half years I was a target. In fact, and I'm glad I have that experience, but looking back, like I really do call man, like managing others is like babysitting. That's just not my deal. Like managing and leading are two different things.
00:28:00
Speaker
Um, you know, just because your manager is not, it does not make you a leader and, um, a good leader doesn't always have to manage. Like that's the part where I have to probably do better at, but I just don't like to manage people and babysit.
Pharmaceuticals and Mentoring Experiences
00:28:12
Speaker
Like either you're going to be here or you're not.
00:28:14
Speaker
Um, I got promoted a little bit in, in, in target. And then I got to do some more like reviews, you know, at the end of the year reviews, which I hate annual reviews.
00:28:26
Speaker
Still this day, I hate them because everyone hates them. Even the people that are getting the reviews are hating them. So I try to do a good job of like encouraging people and like, Hey, this is the skills I think that you have, or this what I see this, how you can empower or empower you to be make target better.
00:28:40
Speaker
And I get a call back for the HR is like, you can't give these, you can't give this to people. Like it's too encouraging. And you can, like, you got to, like knock them down and like not give them as much of a raise. Like if you give them this, you have to give them like this much raise. You can only give them that much raise. so you can't have that. and like, I was like, this is a mess. So what I ended up doing was giving them the write up that they, they wanted me to get. And then I would give them the actual write up that I did like, Hey, this is what I have to give you, but this is what I actually see.
00:29:08
Speaker
Anyway, so two and a half years later, um I get a new, I should say two ah to and a quarter. So two years and a couple, like three months, I get a new boss.
00:29:20
Speaker
So now a new store manager and ah he wasn't from Target, but he ended up calling me in his office. He's like, Hey, Philip, he's like, you're working too hard out there. And I was like, okay, thanks. Like, I don't, i don't know what to say here.
00:29:33
Speaker
He's like, yeah, yeah, you you don't have to do that. He's like, you just work while people are watching. And then when they're not watching, you just kind of like, you can relax. And I was like, we're to a problem here, aren't we, Ian? And that didn't go well. So I called Deanne Howard after that meeting that I had with Ian. And I was like, it's time. Like, I'm coming over. I'm to be a pharmaceutical rep.
00:29:55
Speaker
And you know what she said? All right. Sounds good. That's what I needed to hear. Like she was just waiting for me to be like, no, this is the job. I can do this. And she was so good, you guys. She would tell me like, hey, here's the truth. She's like, pharmaceutical reps, really nobody likes you. You're at the bottom of the totem pole. It's lonely.
00:30:13
Speaker
You drive all the time for two minute conversations. he She was like, it's a tough job. And i was like, yeah, yeah, I want that. let Give me that. And this was before I was married. So I should say I was at Target before I was married.
00:30:26
Speaker
Erin and I started dating. That's nother story, a whole nother podcast. But we started dating. She lived in Florida at the time. And so I started going down this path of being a pharmaceutical rep at Abbott Laboratories.
00:30:40
Speaker
And so before she said yes, she was like, Philip, you got to go interview because I can't interview you. Like, I'm the reason why you're going to, you know, like you you knew about the job, like for HR purposes, you got to interview with somebody else.
00:30:51
Speaker
So she's like, you're going to work with Mark. That was actually his name, Mark Johnson. Actually, he's actually passed away. Great guy um of cancer, lived in Omaha, but he came in and she said, this is a sales job, Phillip, so you have to close him.
00:31:07
Speaker
And I'm like, okay, how do I do that? And she goes, yeah, I can tell you how I close, But that's not how you close. You need to close like you close. You got to figure that out and you have to do it before the interview. So, all right. So I really want this job.
00:31:22
Speaker
so Target is not great at this point. Like I'm like, I'm sure they're going to hire somebody to replace me. Just how it works. And so I sure enough, I go into this interview with Mark um and it was in a hotel.
00:31:36
Speaker
It's in a hotel. I think it was in Iowa city area. And I go in and I shake his hand and immediately like, I could just tell like, this guy's cool. We hit it off. He has all these questions. I have um all these answers cause it's me.
00:31:48
Speaker
And but we get to the end and I'm like, Oh, here we go. I got to do it. I got to close. And so he goes, all right, Tell me like, I was like, well what's the next steps here? And he's like, well, the, you know, top two go to the next round. And then that's, you know, you get to meet, you know, we're going to go to the next round.
00:32:10
Speaker
And I was like, well, how many people are you interviewing? And he was like, well, we we have 30 people that we've we've initially reached out to of those 30 people. 22, think, came to do the in-person interview.
00:32:22
Speaker
And I was like, yeah, yeah, that's good. That's good. How do I rank up like stack rank me here and like give me some feedback like I want to be the best. You got to give me the feedback. bat Like, what could I do better?
00:32:33
Speaker
He's like, you really couldn't do any better. Like, he's like, you really did good. And I was like, okay, am I going to the next round? He's like, well, I can't really tell you that. And I was like, no, no, no, Mark. Like I, if I'd done good, like, it sounds like I should just go to the next round. Like, and this is where my competitive nature and like my sales, I guess kind of combined because I wasn't trying to sell and I wasn't trying to close, but by golly, I wanted to know if I'm not the best, why am I not the best?
00:32:57
Speaker
so then I could be the best later. And at the end, like probably I asked him like twice or three times. He's like, man, he's like, you got, you got the one of the two, like you're going to the next round, man. And I was like, thank you. Like that's sweet. You know?
00:33:09
Speaker
So sure enough, he hired me and, I was a pharmaceutical rep for three years. It was awesome. And also the exact same thing that Deanne told me about, it was those things too.
00:33:21
Speaker
But she was just so upfront that I kind of knew what I was getting into. um So it wasn't as lonely as she said it was. The doctors, she was right, didn't really want to talk to me. But but I should say this, because in pharmaceuticals, and I don't know how it is now, but back with then, that was probably 18 years ago,
00:33:40
Speaker
you had to do this thing called an at-home study. And that at-home study was two weeks. That two weeks you had to study for a test. And then at the end of that two weeks, you'd take a test. You had to get 90% or better.
00:33:53
Speaker
If you guys know me, you know that like 90% or better is like unbelievable. Like I haven't really got a lot of nineties ever in my life, but then to try to think like I need this for my job to keep it like that's a whole nother level of stress on top of that.
00:34:09
Speaker
two weeks, remember at home study, after one week, Aaron and I get married. So the pre-week, right, before you get married, I was supposed to be studying. There's a lot going on.
00:34:20
Speaker
You know, you're gonna get married. And then after we get married, I have another week to study. We go on our honeymoon. the week after we get married. So for the two weeks of at home study, I'm prepping for a wedding, having getting married and then traveling to my honeymoon to this day. Like I always say like, I owe Aaron another honeymoon because that first one was like, I was so disconnected. I was stressed about this test that I had to get 90% or better, all the things like I was nervous.
00:34:50
Speaker
And so I was studying as much as I could, but also like, okay, let's go to the pool. But like, I got to read this and like, I'm not very confident in my test taking abilities anyway, but she was so gracious. Let me do it.
00:35:02
Speaker
I get home, take this test and I pass this test. I think I got like 91 barely, but by golly, I have a job. And then you have to cart yourself off to Chicago because that's where Abbott Laboratories is headquartered at at the time.
00:35:16
Speaker
And for like a three months in intensive, like we're going to teach you the disease state. We're going to teach you the drugs. We're going to all but three months. So, you know, like when you go around in a new thing of a new sales thing, everyone's trying to get to know each other and like, okay, tell us a little bit about yourself.
00:35:31
Speaker
Mine was, I just got married a week ago and I just got back from my honeymoon and now I'm here with you guys for the next three months. Wild, wild. And yet Erin was still faithful. She still loved me. She was so gracious, super supportive.
00:35:47
Speaker
um And we just had a great time still to this day, have friends. Mark Johnson still was friends with him. um ah Dean Howard was still touching base. Just how are you doing?
00:36:00
Speaker
And then all the people that I met, was great. Stayed there for three years. And over those three years, there was a lot happening with insurance. Insurance and generics, that was all happening. Like we couldn't give a piece of paper out or a pen but they could incentivize doctors to to sell the $4 drugs.
00:36:19
Speaker
It was a tough environment. And if I'm being honest, it was another way that I got to refine my sales tactic and how I sold. Because after that three months intensive study or like training,
00:36:33
Speaker
I remember showing up the first day out of my you know training and I go talk to my first doctor and I'll never forget this. I go up, I i say show up and throw up. I threw up all the stuff that I was learning, all the things that he needed to know.
00:36:49
Speaker
And it was probably 45 seconds of just me talking. At the end of that, he goes, huh, that's what they're teaching you. All right, where do you need me to sign?
00:37:00
Speaker
Like he didn't listen to much I was saying. And I remember like, wait, that's what they're teaching me. Like that didn't go well. I thought there was gonna be a little bit more dialogue here. There wasn't. So the next doctor I go to, this is the second doctor I go to.
00:37:15
Speaker
This is my, this was kind of what I said. I was like, hey, this is what they're teaching me. what are you seeing? He talked for 15 minutes, like, Hey, this is what I'm seeing. This is the disease state. This is how you can help. This is how, and it completely changed my selling closing because now I just need to serve people.
00:37:34
Speaker
I need to understand from your perspective and then understand that Abbott laboratories is a for-profit company. Believe that, believe that don't
Adapting to Industry Changes and Job Loss
00:37:44
Speaker
you? And so they want to sell me, they want to teach me things in order for the profit of the company.
00:37:51
Speaker
Now they're not, that's not shady by any but means, but the doctors are seeing a different perspective. So, I remember like just really vividly remembering like, okay, there's two sides here. There's two perspectives. There's a for-profit company.
00:38:07
Speaker
And then there's the doctor side of things who are seeing things that could be somewhat similar, but they have their own perspective. And so all my doctors, I would just be like, this is what they're teaching me. This is what the last doctor said. Like, is that what your perspective is? And then I would get a good dialogue and good relationships. And then ah the nurses were nice.
00:38:25
Speaker
So my pharmaceutical days were going really well. And it was the golden handcuffs. It was the things like, no one's going to leave. You're going to get a company car. You're going to drive around.
00:38:36
Speaker
i think I drove like my territory was south of Iowa. So it was Des Moines. That was kind of like the tip of my triangle. Then it goes down to Red Oak or Shenandoah area. So South Iowa, and then all the way over to Fairfield. So the other end of the, like, so that's kind of like a triangle. If you know Iowa, you know.
00:38:55
Speaker
and Maharishi's and everything in between. So I never really spent the night, which was such a blessing, but there was times where I like drove through, you know, two and a half hours out and two and a half hours back for maybe like 20 minutes that I'd be interacting with people. It was, it was like, like Zan said, kind of lonely, lot of windshield time.
00:39:17
Speaker
So, Uh, in the course of the three years that I worked there, I had to stay on the phone three times to see if I had a job the next day because a reorganization, because of generic drugs, all this different stuff. Like Abbott was just trying to figure out, like, do we need the people in Iowa?
00:39:33
Speaker
And if you know, Iowa, you know, we're like the insurance capital of the world. So it's a little different. here and I'm sure it was everywhere, but we had to sit down on our phone, like sit down on our desk. We had to come home from, from talking to the doctors and we had to sit down and just see like, do we have a job the next day? Do we not? Is there a reorg happening?
00:39:53
Speaker
Culture wasn't great. But again, it was a kind of a lonely job because like my peers, I didn't see them much, but I saw other pharmaceutical reps from other companies far more than I saw my my own team.
00:40:04
Speaker
um But I made it through the first two and the last time our whole team got shellacked. So ah I got cut, my whole team got cut, or I shouldn't say ah all, but most of them except for like two got cut. There was, I think seven at the time got cut.
00:40:20
Speaker
And then my boss got cut, his boss got cut. It was a shellacking. Stink. Now I'm without a job. Not great. I have a new family.
00:40:31
Speaker
i have two kids at that time. And I'm like, what do I do? So do what I know best. I called Steve Chapman again. was like, Steve, let me take you out to lunch.
00:40:43
Speaker
Took him out to lunch and I said, hey Steve, this is what I'm good at. This is what I'm not good at. I know myself now, little bit different. He's like, I've always loved working with you. Like I got see so much potential in you.
00:40:54
Speaker
At that time he moved on, he retired from ITA group and he moved to Rouen transportation actually of all places. And he said, you're not a logistic guy or else I would see if there's a place on our team for you, but you're not that guy.
00:41:08
Speaker
And he's like, you know what you should do is you go talk to Greg Shireman at Delta at Wellmark. He's like, you got, you got a health background. Now I'm like, okay, that's interesting. I was selling against Wellmark and the generic drugs. Now I've like, could be working for them weird, but all right, that's what I got. So I go talk to Joe Garcia.
00:41:29
Speaker
I love this guy. Like it was just awesome. So, so Steve Chapman introduced me to Joe Garcia through via email. We go out. All right, go hang out with him at Wellmark downtown, beautiful building.
00:41:41
Speaker
And Joe Garcia just got hired ah recently. And he was like, listen, I got a spot for you, man. Like we can rock. He's like, you can drop a bomb in the sales department. at three o'clock on Friday and no one would get hurt because they're all gone. Like the work ethic is just not what we need. He's like, this is exactly what i need yet.
00:42:00
Speaker
This is a big ship that's not easily turning. So he's like, give me a couple months. And in the meantime, you should go talk to Greg Shireman at Delta Dental. because I don't want to lose you, but I also know that you need a job. And he's like, I want to help. And he's like, I love your attitude. You're not depressed.
00:42:16
Speaker
You're just kind of like, you're honest and you're enthusiastic. That sounds about right. And so he's like, you should go talk to Greg Shireman. Okay, great. So before I go to see Greg Shireman, Joe Garcia, I put an email together like, hey, I think Joe Garcia reached out to Greg Shireman.
00:42:34
Speaker
I think via text, that's how close they were, or maybe an email and attach me. We figure out a time. But I remember writing email to to Steve Chapman and Joe Garcia just saying like, hey, thanks for your time. i'm super excited to meet Greg.
00:42:48
Speaker
um So I go see Greg. We have a great conversation. We talked about depths of like things that like you don't normally talk about. So like kindred spirits, this guy's awesome. um At the end of that, he goes, hey, I don't want to lose you. But have you talked to the guy over at ITA group?
00:43:03
Speaker
His name's Tom Mahoney. He's like, you seem like a good fit there. And I was like, huh, interesting you say that. I might as well go talk to Tom. So then I would write an email to Steve Chapman, Joe Garcia, Greg Shireman, and Tom Mahoney.
00:43:19
Speaker
So I get to go hang out with Tom Mahoney again, which is kind of like full circle. Now he's the president CEO of ITA group. but um So fun to talk to him. And I knew that probably wasn't going to fit, be honest. Like I just, I left that company and now I'm kind of off to who knows what I'm doing, but I just knew I didn't really want to go back to there and didn't want to travel much.
00:43:39
Speaker
That's all they do really. And so had a great conversation with him. and really just kind of kept like going through this like Rolodex of amazing people. And I, at the end of it, I would write emails. I'd write emails back to the whole team.
00:43:53
Speaker
And then if I wanted to go talk to somebody else, like I would attach everybody on the team and just say, here's the next person I'm talking to. So they were, they had incentivized to, they were just motivated to watch me succeed. Like they were, they were in it with me, which was really cool.
00:44:08
Speaker
So I think at the end of that, they weren't meeting with Philip. They were like, who is this guy? And how does he know these people? Because they were awesome people. And still this day, I talked to him. but So, but I didn't, not once in my, so I was 11 months without a job. So you need to know that 11 months without a job, not once did I apply for anything.
00:44:30
Speaker
And I never filled out a like, I think I had a resume, but I never filled out application. never sent it into someplace. I didn't know. I was just talking to people and seeing if there was a good fit for me.
00:44:41
Speaker
Um, cause I really did want a career. Okay. So this is where God comes in because I was, there was a couple days and I would say out of 11 months, a couple days is a really good thing that I was like, this isn't working and I got to provide for my family.
00:44:56
Speaker
It was dark, but okay, this is getting longer. So I'll try to speed this thing up. So I ended up just praying like, Lord, i don't need three different doors open. I just need one door. So just slam every other door. I'm not that smart. i can't figure it out. Which one you want me to go to? I just need one door.
00:45:13
Speaker
So, In his wisdom and how much he loves me, I ended up getting a pharmaceutical job. And one thing that I would say, I didn't say this already, but I didn't want to go back into pharmaceuticals because as much and how good of a job that was, it was the golden handcuffs, something you'll never leave.
00:45:30
Speaker
It's there. Right. And it's like, it was just safe. And I just didn't want to go back to that because I was a number. I wasn't like a person. Like it wasn't like, okay, this is the reason why we want to keep you.
00:45:41
Speaker
No, it was like the whole team in the Des Moines area. We just need to cut them. And they didn't know who they were cutting. That didn't feel great to me. And I didn't want to go back to that.
Exploring Financial Services
00:45:50
Speaker
But after 11 months, you do what you got to do.
00:45:52
Speaker
And I had a company, pharmaceutical company, reach out to me and say, hey, like, you know, i we've heard that you're really good. We'd love you on the team.
00:46:04
Speaker
I would say, just so everybody, like I did talk to a headhunter. The headhunter said, well, we don't really work with pharma pharmaceutical reps. And I'm like, well, that's weird. Why? He's like, well, because all they do is really cater food. And I was like, huh, that's interesting.
00:46:20
Speaker
So I did kind of reprimand the guy. I was like, listen, don't tell me what I am or what I'm not like. That might be your experience, but that doesn't mean all of them are like that. But anyway, ah just moved on from him.
00:46:33
Speaker
and get ah get a call from this, it was Forest Pharmaceuticals, and wanted me to fly out to Chicago or do like a some kind of interview here. And then I flew out to Chicago. um Turned out that there was another person also that was the competitor of Forest, and he was also applying for the job.
00:46:52
Speaker
So my only closing thing, the only thing I had was like, listen, if you're looking for like credibility, I have that. Like, I don't have disease state knowledge. I don't know what, but I can learn. ah but I am pretty good at like credibility. So if I were a doctor and there was a pharmaceutical rep that was selling my competitor one day and came to me the next day and said, Hey, no, I'm actually working for this company now.
00:47:14
Speaker
Like, ah like, I don't know if I would really listen to him. If I was a doctor, was like, but if you're looking for disease state knowledge, like that's your guy. And he's like, well, that's kind of what we're looking for. i was like, okay, then let's, let's just fly me back to Des Moines now.
00:47:29
Speaker
We had a good conversation. We laughed a lot, but, uh, turned out they chose the other guy. So I was depressed. Let's be honest. That was one of those days. I'm, drew I'm flying back from Des Moines or from Chicago to Des Moines thinking like, what am I going to do to provide for my family?
00:47:43
Speaker
I touched down, there's a message on my answer machine and it's from a guy, ah Mike Niedert was his name from Principal Financial Group. And he said, hey, he's like, heard about your resume, would love to have you come and and interview.
00:48:00
Speaker
Okay, here's something about principal financial group that you might want not want to hear. They'll take anybody who can fog a mirror. like they'd So I went through the whole interview process. Oh, I got hired. Oh, man.
00:48:13
Speaker
There's a stipend for three months, which was actually helpful at the time, candidly. Um, and I remember like the reason why I said yes, one, I didn't know about finances at the time, but I did think to myself, man, like I've never really talked to a financial services guy that I liked or woman. Like I just never talked to those people.
00:48:32
Speaker
So I wonder what this will be like. and And they said, we have the best training program to get you from zero to 60. Um, the quickest. i was like, well, I need that. So this will be a good fit.
00:48:44
Speaker
All right. So go into intensive, um, like one studying for another test and then do is extensive training. And I remember very quickly, they asked me to to write down 200 family and friends names. This is how they do that in the industry or they used to.
00:49:00
Speaker
And then after you do that, that's the people that you have to call on to try to sell them new products that you know about. And, and they train you, right? They're training. This is what I got out of it. This is probably not all of it. This is not doing it justice, but here's what I got out of it.
00:49:15
Speaker
Go call your family and friends. See how much they're saving every month. kill one of them off. Like they don't come back from work, sell them life insurance with the savings that they have in their pocket. Like I was like, Oh my gosh, like I didn't want to talk to myself, let alone my family and friends.
00:49:32
Speaker
But that was the deal to get the stipend. You had to go call your family friends. You had to have meetings. I'm telling you friends, I had the most meetings set, I think ever in the history of their training, whatever training module.
00:49:46
Speaker
And I didn't sell one thing. And they were like, what are you doing wrong, Philip? Like, are you getting them to cry? Are you getting them, you know, all this stuff. And I was like, yeah, I mean, I'm trying. That's not true.
00:49:59
Speaker
I remember sitting down with my family and friends and was like, don't buy anything from anybody. This industry is shady, shady business. And like the things that I'm seeing and I'm learning, like it makes it even more convoluted and more hazy and scary and dumb. Like don't buy anything from anybody.
00:50:16
Speaker
And I remember a lot of them were like, are you sure that's what you're supposed to be saying? I'm like, no, but I haven't figured it out yet. And I don't feel good about just selling you something because they tell me to sell something like principal financial group is a for-profit company.
00:50:30
Speaker
They train me in order to go out to you to sell you something like you are my doctor and Abbott laboratories is principal financial group. It all just started clicking for me.
00:50:42
Speaker
And what I need to do is just educate you on your options. If you need options, if not, Have a great day. what I found was a lot of people in my credibility went way through the roof. Like, okay, he's not going to just try to sell us stuff.
00:50:55
Speaker
But if I'm being honest, I do have questions about my finances. I have questions about where we're going. Like, are we going to get there on time? Like all these things that I think financial sort like advisor can help you with, but I didn't even ask him for that. I was just like, don't buy anything from anybody. Like just hunker down here.
00:51:13
Speaker
And that was when, I met Brian Dewhurst. So Brian Dewhurst and I were in part of an investment club up in Ames, Iowa. There was a couple, I think five or six, and they were looking for investments to purchase in order for the whole group to kind of like succeed.
00:51:29
Speaker
And there was a property and casualty person in this group, still friends with him, um and then a realtor. And then there was a banker.
00:51:41
Speaker
um And then there was Brian, and then there was Philip. And so one of the, I think the realtors came with an an investment idea and was like, Hey, I just have this 20 plex, you know, like this is great. It'll cashflow in five years.
00:51:55
Speaker
And I I'll never forget. Brian was like, okay, like I get how this is good for you. Cause you get a commission on this huge beat of profit or this real estate property.
00:52:09
Speaker
He's like, I see how you get paid. And he, oh, there was also an accountant, sorry, in their group. He's like, I see how you get paid accountant because you're going to do the books for them every year. and Okay. He's like, I see how you get paid to the insurance guy. Cause you're going to write the property and casualty with it.
00:52:23
Speaker
And then there was another person. i can't remember who, but I know how you get paid because of this and whatever. and And then he looked at me, he's like, I don't see how he gets paid. And I don't see how I get paid for five years.
00:52:37
Speaker
And I was like, huh, that's actually brilliant. And so I'm like, what does he do? And he's like, well, he's in financial services. I said, well, I'm kind of in that too. So he, Brian and I met, uh, and he was basically like, I'm, it's not working for me. Like I, I know all this knowledge. I just don't know how to sell it.
00:52:55
Speaker
And I'm like, I don't know the knowledge, but I know how to sell. So let's combined, let's, let's work together and then let's, let's go help people.
Founding Uncommon Wealth Partners
00:53:03
Speaker
And I have the relationships. So that's what we did.
00:53:06
Speaker
And we did that and for man, a long time I think 10 years. I'm going to say 10 years. i don't know if it was, but it was close. ah We started on Commonwealth partners and man, it was so great to have a partner.
00:53:19
Speaker
and And then, you know, like as a lot of partnerships do, I felt like we were just kind of going in two different directions. And so, Out of the two, I thought for sure Brian would be buying Philip out of Uncommon Wealth Partners, but that's not what God had, right? God had Philip running this bad boy. So ah this is where we're at today. I get to hang out with some of my closest friends, some people I never knew before, and I get to...
00:53:44
Speaker
help give them wisdom and guidance, look at their perspective a little uncommonly and help them like help them figure out what they want to do with their life, help them use money as a tool in order for them to live a fulfilling life, help them to rely on other people and to,
00:54:02
Speaker
to serve other people and impact other people, it's pretty sweet. um And so, that's exactly how I got here today. Long story, but I feel like you can see the peaks, the valleys.
00:54:13
Speaker
You can see how God's used all my good and bad experiences to kind of form formulate who I am today, help shape and mold me. And I know that He's doing that for you. And that's one of the reasons why I love my job so much. It's because I get to see all the different ways that God provides for us in unique ways and gifts us in unique ways that we can glorify him or we can glorify each other. I don't know how we want to do it We can serve other people, but man, that's where, where I'm at. And, uh, that was my story.
00:54:41
Speaker
So I hope that you do the due diligence to either talk about your story from somebody to somebody. you podcast it or you write it down because it's just encouraging. It's encouraging for me.
00:54:53
Speaker
it's It's helped motivate me to just continue on this path. This is where I think God has me at this stage and I couldn't
Conclusion and Embracing Unique Paths
00:55:00
Speaker
be happier. So that's my whole story. This was a long podcast. I'm sorry. So you've been listening to Uncommon Wealth Podcast. Until next time, have a good day.
00:55:10
Speaker
That's all for this episode brought to you by Uncommon Wealth Partners. Be sure to visit UncommonWealth.com to learn more about our services. Don't miss an episode as we introduce you to inspiring people who are actively pursuing an uncommon life.