About Felicia Gopaul
On the outside, looking in —wishing for what they had
Fresh out of college, with a degree in criminal justice - of all things, I joined an estate planning team preparing estate tax returns for millionaire clients. Fortunately, I had followed my dad’s advice and minored in business.
It was an eye-opener. What I was reporting to the IRS was very different from what I had seen growing up in a military family. Those millionaire clients were doing something profoundly different from my parents.
It wasn’t just the dollars and scale that were different, but they weren’t following the American Dream script I had been raised to believe in. You know the one that started (and ended) with “graduate from college, get a good job, work hard, and then retire.”
The ease, of being to make their own choices; the freedom, of not being tied to an employer’s dictates; and the peace of mind available when your money was working for you, made a deep and lasting impression on me.
My experience at that law firm was pivotal. It was the key to a change from what was predictable for my life. It became the springboard to personal finance, money, and the pursuit of financial freedom.
From accounting to personal finance
The jump from accounting to personal finance may seem natural to an outsider but was a chasm when you take into account the shift in mindset necessary to make the leap. No longer was I working just for a paycheck, but instead those millionaires showed me what was possible when your money worked for you.
Having your money work for you, was so different from what my parents had taught me.
Dad worked hard, Mom worked hard, and I was shaping up to be a hard worker too!
Hard work was a family thing. If you looked at my family tree you would find a tree full of hard workers.
But as I saw with my family, hard work didn’t necessarily lead to financial freedom. And I wanted the ease, freedom, and peace of mind that financial freedom provided.
It seemed like those millionaires had an insider secret. But it turns out, the secret wasn’t really a secret.
So I set about learning more about money. and the answer to “How can I get my money to work for me?” As a good student, I read books, took courses, obtained the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER designation. I saved, invested, paid off debt, and I still wasn’t financially free.
It wasn’t until a friend shared with me that I needed to create an income stream to replace my hard work that a light bulb went off for me.
Financial freedom wasn’t tied to my labor. It was tied to shifting my mindset from working hard to creating money generating income.
Easier said than lived. I get that. But what an exciting journey it will be.
Nowadays, I am building a community of women who are confidently independent with their money (with or without a partner). Together we are traveling the world, living our true purpose while raising the next generation to thrive as our legacy.