“If you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right.” – Henry Ford
Many of you know that the book, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, changed my life. I found it during one of the darkest times in my life, and I learned about the idea that “thoughts are things” and that “we get what we focus on.”
It was during that pivotal moment, that I found my inner strength to leave an abusive marriage, to quit college and to go to an employment agency to get a job to support myself. And it’s truly when I had to take that LEAP of faith that I discovered the inner power to transform my life.
The first job I got was as a clerk/typist at an international industrial firm. I had taken typing and shorthand in college and barely passed the test, but I got hired. I also received health insurance, a 401(k), and tuition reimbursement, but I was a terrible secretary! It was sucking the life out of me, and I decided that I could not spend my life in a cubicle…seriously our firm was a wall of cubicles. UGH!
So I left my job to seek out something I loved and could be great at, but what could that be? Then I remembered, I was great at sales! I used to go door-to-door fundraising for our parochial school and collecting holiday dollars for the poor. It was easy for me. I loved leading a cause and making a difference.
I headed back to the employment agency. It’s so interesting how things work out, because during my interview with the employment agency, they suggested two different jobs for me. One was with a financial planning company called IDS — which later became American Express Financial Advisors, and then what it is today, Ameriprise.
For those who know me, you probably assume that I took the job to become a financial planner — but that’s not quite right. The Universe had another plan for me. I wasn’t ready — we need to trust the process.
The other job seemed much more exciting to me. It was with Metro Trading Association, and during that time, we were in a huge recession with record high interest rates and companies were looking for new ways to grow their businesses. This was an idea I could sell. It was the concept of businesses trading services through a credit card. No cash was exchanged, the business traded their inventory and services via a “credit card.” I loved it. I got to meet with business owners in the community and I was super successful.
During that time, I found my first mentor. I also learned about the professional development community and became engrossed in taking courses from Tommy Hopkins, Michael Wicket, Zig Ziglar, and Brian Tracy. The next few years I experienced some very difficult times ,too. These experiences were also teachers. There is always a gift.
Then one day I ended up selling Hondas. This is when I hit six-figures (in today’s dollars). I was just 26, and I was the top-earner in the dealership. I also met my husband, Mark. I sold a car to him, and we’ve been happily married 35 years! This was life-changing, but I still had not found my life purpose.
It was then that I realized that I had learned how to make money and now I wanted to learn how to invest it. Here is the most amazing part! I was introduced to the manager of the local IDS office. It was the same office I had interviewed at four years earlier, but it wasn’t the right time yet. I had more to learn, and most importantly — I needed to meet the right individuals who would become my clients at the financial planning firm one day!
Yes. The Universe took me on a DETOUR. The business owners I met through my time at Metro Trade would one day become my very best clients when I was a seasoned financial planner. In fact, I ended up building a very successful financial planning practice at Ameriprise (formerly IDS). Over the next 20 years, I built a team, and we managed over $100 million in assets for the most amazing clients.
I continued to learn and grow and became a Certified Financial Planner™ professional. I hired a high-level business coach for three years at The Strategic Coach Program to learn how to build and scale a business.
This lead me to my new dream — to create Smart Women’s Coaching where I could teach women how to make smart life AND financial choices.
It was then that I took a full year off to see how my business would run without me while I launched Smart Women’s Coaching®. Because we had a team and systems, it flowed flawlessly, and this allowed me to sell my financial planning business to my partner of 15 years.
At 48, I was able to retire to launch my passion project! It’s now 15 years since my first reinvention, and today I have another dream.
Why am I sharing all of this? Because I want you to know that your beliefs, thoughts, and actions are the ingredients to manifesting your dreams. You CAN truly Think Yourself Rich. I’ve helped hundreds of women transform their lives to manifest their dreams and you can do it, too.
It doesn’t matter how old you are, how much money you have, or what your education is. It all begins with a dream and then taking action. This is why I’ve put my private coaching program into the Smart Women’s Academy. It’s called Unlock Your Financial Power. It’s the exact process I’ve used with hundreds of clients for the last 35 years, and you can access it for free! Please check it out. Schedule time to go through all the exercises. Better yet – find a buddy coach to do it with you!
If you decide you want to explore working with me 1:1, then book a free call with me. I offer 5 free calls per month, and the women leave the call with an action plan.
In addition, this month, I’ve invited two absolutely fabulous business women to Smart Women Talk. Both women started their lives with nothing and have become multi-millionaires — albeit in very different ways. So watch or listen to these interviews — either live or via the podcast. You may not know this, but the shows are now featured on my YouTube so you can watch them at your leisure!
This month, our theme is The Power of Your Mind in Creating Wealth, and our two guests will be sharing both the spiritual and the practical laws of money — which is actually the inner and outer work of money!
First, Wildly Wealthy founder, Sandy Forster, will share her story of poverty to wealth and the important role of manifesting and mindset when dealing with money.
Next, the only woman attorney to own a major personal-injury law firm in the state of Michigan, Joumana Kayrouz, will tell us how to stay strong during adversity and the phenomenal power of mindset in creating wealth.
You won’t want to miss either show!
Katana Abbott, CFP®, is a Midlife Millionaire® Coach, founder of the Smart Women Companies, and the host Smart Women Talk Radio with over a million subscribers. For over 30 years, Katana has shown women how to take charge of their life and finances and believes it’s never too early to plan for expected and unexpected events like retirement, encore careers, moving abroad, or preparing for long-term care. She has written several books, created a financial literacy course, and is a popular speaker. Katana has been honored by NAWBO as one of Detroit’s Top 10 Business Women, receiving the Breakthrough Award. To download her new retirement guide, Three Smart Strategies for a Midlife Millionaire® Lifestyle. visit www.katanaabbott.com