[dropcap]L[/dropcap]aya Gavin impressed me the moment I met her. First, she wrote a book and communicated her knowledge and experience so well that I was intrigued enough to ask her to present at my Online Business Success Summit this past January. Then, she did something that showcased to me that she truly lived her faith. Because people can say anything, but it’s their actions that count. When she appeared onstage, she brought her lap cloth (a covering used by women who want to preserve their dignity as a Christian). It wasn’t the fact that she used the lap cloth covering that impressed me. It was how she did it, discreetly and matter of fact. When you can showcase your authenticity and your beliefs and your faith, with power in one momentous move, I’m all in and a fan forever.
Your Financial History Does Not Dictate Your Financial Destiny
This 2 story house with the white column front porch the big front yard was home for me. I was the youngest of 4 kids living in the midwest and enjoying a carefree life of after school activities, family cookouts, vacations every Summer and holiday gatherings that filled memory books with all of the great things in life. My parents both worked and had “good jobs.” Being a kid in my family home was great, until it wasn’t so great anymore.
By the time I was 11 years old my parents had separated and divorced and I felt the distinct emotional and financial change of what that means to a kid. My Mom’s struggle as a newly single parent showed as she tried to maintain her sanity, her anger, her hurt, our household and create a new set of normal for us. So while everything changed for her, everything changed for us as well.
We moved from the big pretty house with all of the fun memories into a dinky mobile home trailer (like the one in the picture). The memories of this place for me are about scarcity, lack, and not enough. Not enough food in the cabinets. Not enough blankets on the bed to compete with the winter winds. Not enough room to turn around in without bumping into each other. Not enough money to always keep the lights, water and phone on at the same time. This was the place of starting over. My mom was blindsided when her marriage broke up and financially devastated having to rebuild her life. It took years to regain any sort of financial stability.
By the time I reached my junior year in high school, I had come to several conclusions.
- I did not know what career field I would enter into, but I knew that I would earn my own money in life (and a LOT of it!)
- I knew that it was important for me to understand how money works so that I could be a good steward of it myself, rather than passing on that responsibility to others who may not always have my best interest in mind.
- I knew that I would learn to earn money for myself and my family, and the loss of a spouse or partner would not paralyze or cripple me financially
I enrolled in the School of Business at college and naturally gravitated towards money and finance. I wanted to see if the textbooks or my college professors had the answer to the questions that could have saved my mom from her years of struggle. I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance.
After graduation, I began working with some of the world’s largest investment and insurance companies talking with their clients about money, building portfolios, developing plans, managing assets and evaluating strategies. I learned their tools, systems, language and processes because I wanted to know what Wall Street insiders talked about. I remained a student seeking the answers and earned my MBA in Finance.
In talking with people about money daily for my job over the last 15 plus years I began to see a distinctive pattern. First of all, I could see that there were plenty of women out in the world like my mom, who got blindsided by a change that she was not prepared for. She got hit by one of the 4D’s ™. The 4D’s ™ are Death, Divorce, Downsizing and Disability. Any of these things can cut your financial feet right out from under you if you are not prepared. My mom was not alone, she was actually one of many.
In my years of working within the industry for corporate firms, what I found to be the critical missing piece has been the ability to build the connection between faith and finances. Within my personal consulting and training programs, I am able to blend the spiritual lessons of biblical financial stewardship with the practical lessons of handling money in today’s complicated economic environment.
WELCOME TO THE PLACE WHERE YOUR MONEY MEETS YOUR VALUES!
Here is where I will walk you through the application of stewardship, wealth building and legacy thinking.
Let’s change the world!
Learn more about Laya at wwwMoneyWisdomandFaith.com
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Women’s History Trivia
I am the mother who led a 125 mile march of children workers from the mills of Pennsylvania to the vacation home of President Theodore Roosevelt on Long Island.
answer at the bottom of the post
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Become an UN-Marketing Super Star!
I’m opening up a couple pages at the end of my forthcoming book, UN-Market Your Business: 10 Ways for Savvy Entrepreneurs to Stand Out, Stop Struggling, and Start Profiting, due out in April, for you to showcase your business and become one of my UN-Marketing Super Stars. There are only 25 18 spots available.
Grab YOUR Spot Now!
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Thank you for nominating women who have been inspirational in your life. Below are the names that have been submitted for today: (we will include the pictures where we can)
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Wendy Hayes always a joy to be around. She welcomes you with a smile and a great attitude. I’ve enjoyed working alongside Wendy at ProWIN and am looking forward to doing great things this year together on the ProWIN Board. |
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Women’s History Trivia Answer: Mary Harris “Mother Jones”: Check out HERstory
If you have a woman you would like to nominate, do so in the comments below and let her know!
