Nik Aamlid
The wise philosopher Yogi Berra once said: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” People often ask me why I chose a career as a financial advisor. I guess my answer to that is, I took the fork.
I was listening to announcements in church one Sunday and our pastor mentioned a marriage retreat that was coming up. He jokingly challenged all of the husbands to order tickets before their wives could get to it. I, being the ever-romantic type that I am, took the bait.
A few months later, Stacie and I were at the retreat doing this knee-to-knee, stare-into-each-others’-eyes exercise. We were supposed to talk about our goals for the next five years, so I asked my wife to go first. Without missing a beat, she said: “I want four kids (which is one more than we currently had) and I want to stay home with them.”
I don’t even remember what my goals were because at that point they didn’t really matter, they just changed. I’ll be honest, I knew how to take care of one of those goals (remember – three kids already ☺), but the other was a bit of a mystery. That’s when the journey really began.
I had spent the previous eight years working in non-profit development for a number of different organizations from college athletics to ministries. In the months following the retreat three clear desires were placed on my heart that caused me to change course.
Desire #1 – Make it Possible for My Wife to Stay Home with the Kids
This one was easy for me to understand. This is what she wanted, so I wanted to be able to provide it. It’s certainly not for every family, but with Stacie and I both having grown up with stay-at-home moms, we understood the value of it.
Desire #2 – Build Something
This one was not clear to me at all. I enjoy woodworking, so I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to get into the construction industry or what in the world I was supposed to build. As I prayed and processed, it became more and more clear that I was supposed to build some type of business for me and my family.
Desire #3 – Be a Runway
I was running errands one day and as I went to the checkout lines, there was a display full of a new book that my house-flipping hero, Chip Gaines had just released. It was called Capital Gaines: Smart Things I Learned Doing Stupid Stuff and for whatever reason, it just jumped off the shelf at me. So, I bought it.
It’s a great read, but there was one part in-particular that leaped off the pages. Chip challenges the readers to be a runway, to be: “that leveled strip of ground that gives aircraft all the space they need to take off and fly … being a launching pad for others, someone who empowers people and believes in them even when they can’t quite believe in themselves.” I knew this was something I wanted the minute I read it.
Then Came the Fork
The desires were clear, but the path to bringing them all together was not. Then came the fork: God took care of everything in one fell swoop when He opened a door for me to join Pinnacle Wealth.
My antennae were up right away because I didn’t know much about the financial services profession. I expected in my early conversations with the team to hear a lot of words like sell, numbers, insurance, quotas, stocks, bonds, returns, etc. Instead I heard words like relationship, guide, True Wealth, family, faith, trust, planning, etc.
As conversations went on, I realized that joining Pinnacle Wealth and becoming a wealth advisor would give me an opportunity to build trusted relationships, to build a business and to build a career. It allows me the opportunity to keep Stacie at home with our kids where she thrives and feels called to be.
Lastly, a career as a financial advisor allows me to be a runway, to lead and guide and journey with people through the take-off and landing of their lives as they pursue some of their most intimate goals.
In short, joining Pinnacle would check all of the boxes. Fork taken.
Grateful Every Day
I am continually humbled and grateful for the opportunity I have to wake up every day and do something I really enjoy. There’s not a day that I look back in regret. I only look forward to the journey ahead in my career as a financial advisor.
My heart’s desire is to be a trusted advisor in people’s lives. This can mean a lot of things. That makes it fun – no two relationships are the same. As a team, we are passionate about helping, listening, being friends and advisors.
If a trusted financial guide is something you’ve been looking for, give us a shout. We would love to have a conversation!
