30 Lessons & Thoughts in a 30 Year Career SO FAR – Amanda Knapp
2020 has felt like our knees have buckled, yet we are still looking ahead, kneeling, not down and out. If I turn around and glance back at this day 30 years ago, I reflect on all of the change that has occurred over those years. So much for the better.
I was 18, finishing high school. I applied to work at Royal Bank Lagoon City on my victory lap year while I tried to figure out what to do. Sept 2, 1990. It was a cutting edge branch, no tellers. I also took a course in Economics at the same time and had my “a-ha” moment. I wanted a career advising in financial matters; protecting wealth, investments, planning for the future. Decision made. I attended University studying economics while working in the Royal Bank student program. 30 years later, at the same company, I share my personal thoughts. No, I’m not finished. I worked my entire 30 years to get this far, and my summit hasn’t been reached. I am reflecting today with an eye on the future, excited about what is next.
Thank you to clients, colleagues, friends & family for a great start to my career!
Amanda
On WEALTH; Keep it simple “educate, earn, spend less than you earn, give, plan the future you want. Adapt. Wealth starts with your health”
On TEAM; forming a great TEAM takes time and patience! “get on a good team”
On CLIENTS: Who we serve has ALWAYS been at the heart of all I do. “Take Care of your Clients, they take care of you”. Truth.
On RELATIONSHIPS; are so important. The digital world includes relationships. “We are so interconnected”
On BEHAVIOUR; “I don’t accept that” I wish I would have said this more in my early years to a few people
On PATIENCE: in a fast paced world, we expect instantaneous results. “practicing patience can make the journey less emotionally bumpy”
On CHANGE - What 2020 taught us is change can happen quickly. When fighting for change, we no longer need to hear “it takes time”.
On being NICE; you can be nice, humble and succeed in business. I always wanted my work a reflection of me “I am a reflection of all I choose”
On Valuing YOURSELF; Don’t Be All Things to All People; I tried. I was miserable. It pays horribly. “Price ends up being an issue in the absence of value in a relationship”
On FIGHT OR FLIGHT; fight for principle and values, walk away from everything else. “principles are a guiding light”
On PLANNING; designing financial plans to incorporate someone’s dreams, goals, life’s changes and the impact on the world is my passion. Sticking to this discipline has proven a successful endeavor. “Have a process & discipline”
On COACHING; even if you are the best, being coached by someone aligned with you wanting to succeed helps keep you stay focused, and disciplined “get a coach”
On LANGUAGE; Be Kind, words can be mentally debilitating. Once you pour gas on them, it’s hard to put them out “choose words carefully”
On TRAVEL; the best education. It can be physical, virtual or through the eyes of others stories. “travel expands the mind and brings out your creative side in business”
On TRUST: Trust is everything. “Clients trust is a great gift”
On QUESTIONs: I always found answers, “the curious mind without judgement makes for a scenic journey” in business “be curious”
On PROBLEM SOLVING; an important skill set to have. Working on this skill set allowed “me to be more efficient” in my work
On my MOTTO: DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. Don’t like how it’s done, do it differently. Always. “It’s okay to be Different”, no need to fit in when you can stand out right?
On TIME; You can’t BUY it. “we financial forecast so time can immediately be seen as precious – spend it wisely”
On GIVING; GIVE MORE THAN YOU TAKE, Two Hands; help yourself and help others, ALWAYS GIVE BACK more than you take (time, money, love, to your career) “giving feels good”
On GRATITUDE: always say thank you. Don’t expect. If someone buys you a cup of coffee, you always say thank you “gratitude is a teacher”
On QUITTING; I wanted to quit so many times. As I climbed my mountain, faced with so many different weather patterns I felt all the emotions of defeat. I found one person who believed so much in me, she predicted my career perfectly 15 years ago. She saw in me what I didn’t yet see in myself. “Find one person who will always lift you up and ensure you don’t quit”
On OBSTACLES. They are meant to be assessed; go through them, over them, around them, or walk away from them. “It seems when you’re most tired that obstacle presents itself – keep going”
On DRIVE; “RAISE YOUR BAR”; I felt happiest when I was building on what I had done yesterday to reach a goal. We all have different BARs. It feels good to set your own bar
On MISTAKES; my tuition to a higher learning. There were many. I had to (and still do) learn to “not DWELL on them”
On FOCUS; Some advice given to me “Don’t get distracted by the flies around your head, swat them away and Focus”, when you visualize this it’s easy to ignore “noisy behavior” especially on social media.
On IMPACT INVESTING: I love the idea we can use our dollars (and have for decades) to invest while having an “impact in addition to a financial return”
On BECOMING A MOTHER; it’s a marathon not a sprint. A lifelong role. You can do a meeting with 1 hour sleep, I did not know this. So many stories. “and it really does take a village – reach out to Mom’s (and Dads too), how are you?”
On WOW; my favourite word, my favourite charitable endeavor, recognizing those who are extraordinary, who WOW’dtheworld, who paid it forward while donating to charity. The recognition the world needs and “EVERYONE has a story worth hearing. Take the time to listen. Our client’s stories have given me a fuller career and life”
On my FUTURE; it will be different. I am committed to changing, serving, learning, living, giving and being who I decide I was born to be. “to my next 30 years. See note below on why not to retire” :)
On your FUTURE; what is most important to you?
CNBC: Japanese doctor who lived to 105—his spartan diet, retirement views, rare longevity tips
Japanese doctor who lived to 105—his spartan diet, retirement views, rare longevity tips