Many of us reach a point where we feel stuck—whether it’s debating where to go after retirement or just feeling directionless in our current professional or personal roles. Our guest, Russell Anderson, knows this feeling well. After years of creating wealth strategies as a financial planner in Southern Florida, his life was unexpectedly interrupted by a moment of physical stiffness that sparked a “momentous revolution” in his personal and professional worlds. Discover how Russell went from being fearful of change and feeling his life was “over” to embracing new chapters—including writing a book and redefining his career to prioritize meaningfulness. Learn his secret sauce for moving past fear, making powerful choices, and finally getting unstuck.
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How To Get Unstuck In Life With Russell Anderson
Transform Your Professional & Personal LIfe
How many of us have reached the point in our lives where we want to retire but seem to be stuck with where to go and what to do if we do retire from work? Whether it’s being part of the professional work world or being a full-time mom. Our guest Russell Anderson will talk about how he transformed himself from a full-time financial planner creating wealth strategies for many years in Southern Florida to where he is. His transformation was both personal and professional. He’s very excited to share with us how we got unstuck. Welcome to the show, Russell.
Thank you, Gail.
Could you start out by telling our readers what spark your transformation both professionally and personally that we talked about in the conversation we had?
The Physical Incident That Sparked Transformation
Believe it or not, I was pulling out of a parking spot to go to the under the highway. I had to pull out perpendicularly. I turned my head to look for oncoming traffic. and I could not turn my head. My neck and my head just couldn’t turn. All of a sudden, I started thinking, “I’m old. I can’t move.” That is what sparked a momentous revolution in my life.
Is that called like making lemonade out of a lemon?
It did. It was to tasteful too. To be honest with you, about two weeks later, I was going out of that same spot. I heard in my mind, “Instead of going out perpendicular, go out straight.” I went out straight and I was able to look to the left and see as far as I could see. What that told me was Gail that change is good. I was aware enough to catch it that you can hold on to the past. You can hold on to the things that you used to do all the time the way you did it and/or you can choose to change. That’s what I did.
That’s terrific. I know changes often hard for many of us but it’s often good, as you said. I have another question regarding your transformation. How do you handle the fear that sometimes accompanies people that are facing professional personal changes in their lives? How did you deal with that?
Choosing To Overcome Fear And Embrace Change
I got to a point ask to her after I have a very demanding fourth quarter. After it was over with, I worked for like 7:00 to 7:00 starting in September to December. I thought, “Maybe I would have just retired.” I will tell you the responses that I got in my mind were, “I’m over it. I’m done. My life is over. There’s nothing else to do.” I started thinking, “What is it going to take to change?” All of a sudden, like maybe a lot of us, all the new technologies that are out there, all the new legislations and my industry, all the ways of marketing have changed. I became fearful.
I told myself, “What I need will come to me when I figure out what I want.” I opened myself up to change. That is the main thing that happened because things started coming into my life like you couldn’t believe. It changed my personal life, my social life and my business life dramatically. It was to realize these things can cause fear but I have a choice. Do I get stuck in fear? As I put on it by saying it right off into the sunset and disappear somewhere or do I say, I’m going to move forward. I’m going to be open to things and change. Maybe I have to learn stuff which I have. All in all, it was the choice that I wanted to move forward.
What I need will come to me when I figure out what I want.
What are some of the physical changes you talked to me about? Can you tell our readers a little bit about that?
That’s the thing you see all over the internet. What started happening was, I was having a hard time bending down and touching the ground, to be honest with you. I started to do it at the Stretch Zone. I don’t know if you know the Stretch Zone but you should an hour of stretching. They stretch you out. That was for my stretch and my whatnot. For my depression that I had from working world, I said, “I’m going to start taking care of myself.” I started to do massage therapy.
Any specific type of massage therapy?
Deep tissue massage. I started doing that and luckily, I had a million points on my Visa card. Lo and behold, the spa that I’d like to go to was on there. I would go in and get it all for free. It’s even better. I said, “I looked on my gift card thing that I could buy from my points and they said Pilates.” Gail, what I thought Pilates is, once you go in, you’d lay on a machine and then it exercises you.
I love Pilates. I’m a big supporter of it. I do it myself.
When I got there and found out how rigorous it was, again I had a choice. Am I going to just give up because it’s too much or I’m going to go forward? I chose to move forward, so I go to Pilates twice a week.
Good for you. I do, too. I love it. It’s a great thing to do for yourself.
I Incorporated some other things that I found. I do a workout in the morning with a guy on my phone. It’s a ten-minute warm up. In other words, I need to move. That’s what I got from there on.
Tell our readers a little bit, you mentioned your spiritual changes. I touched on that a little bit.
I was in my office and I was looking on this program that was like LinkedIn, but it was a local one around here. I got something from somebody that said, “Hi. I’m a business coach. I would like to meet you and have a free 30-minute discussion.” The first thing I said was, “I’ve been in business in 40 years. What are they going to teach me?” I said I’m open. I want to see what this is about. We had our 30-minute session and we connected so well. I say that because she pulled out of me a book.
Connecting With A Coach To Write A Book
You had this connection with Bridget. Is that her name?
Yes.
You met with her for half hour and connected, then take me one step forward. After that initial connection, what happened? Did the book come after that?
What happened was I said, “Bridget, I don’t need to know how to sell, how to network or how to close sales. I don’t need any of that. What I need is I need you to help me to organize my business flow.” We started on that and she gave me some things to do and whatnot. After about the third session, she said, “Russell, is there anything else that you have on your mind that that you’d like to do?” I said, “I would love to write a book.”
Is this going to be like non-fiction or based on your business life or just a novel that was in your inner self wanting to come out? What was it?
It’s not fiction and it doesn’t have anything to do with my business. It’s more with, how we can stand firm. By stand firm, I mean with a positive loving attitude in the midst of all this stuff that’s going on all around us. That is what the book is about and how do we remain positive. It’s been phenomenal.
She sparked this interest and brought it to the forefront to something that you’ve been thinking about for a while. Tell our readers what your process was. What happened after this meeting?
There was a famous speaker that got killed months ago on the college campuses. It just sparked something in me that I need to get this message out to the world. How that in the midst of horrible things that we’re seeing every day or every moment sometimes even. How do we stay positive? How do we continue to reach out and help one another? That’s what the book is about.
Is it done? Have you finished it?
It’s done all the way to the point where it went to the editor and they gave me some suggestions that I need to do. I got the suggestions back and I’m fixing it all up.
That’s great. That’s exciting. Let’s switch topics a little bit. What in your lifetime so far have been the biggest changes in society as you know it? in other words, are there any societal changes since you were little throughout your lifetime so far that had made an impression on you?
I was born in Florida at West Palm Beach. I grew up around the water. When you’re not having to support yourself, it’s a lot easier. Growing up as a kid, it was great. One thing that I’m tuning into and it’s lately, is how people are becoming less knowledgeable on how to communicate with one another. Especially the younger people.
Is that because they’re always on the social media? It’s not one-on-one person.
Let me ask you this, Gail. How many times have gone up to a restaurant and seen some young people and all they’re doing is staring at their phone?
All the time. Everywhere.
I have a habit. When I’m going out on an appointment or meeting with somebody for lunch, I don’t even bring my phone in.
That’s great.
You do a lot of things now. That’s one of the biggest changes I’m seeing. They’re all kind of studies on it of how people aren’t connecting. Hopefully, part of my book will answer that.
How long is your book will be, do you think? Will it be like 300 pages?
It’s about 150 few pages.
You mentioned earlier when we were chanting. You might want to touch on the topic of God and we have a little time here. Would you like to talk about your beliefs? How that has affected you?
I have come to believe that God is very desirous to have relationships with us. I’ll do it personally to myself. He is like a father and a good father who wants the best things for me.
Russell, how do we know God is not a woman?
I don’t think God is male or female. I think how He could communicate to us is only in ours so we can understand. He communicates so we can understand. Knowing that He is for me and not against me, loves me, cares for me and anything that comes in my life goes through His hand and He’s there with me. It give me such a confidence to step out, face and do the things that I’m doing. I never thought I could sit here with you and do something like this. Yet it opened up. It’s wonderful.
I’m glad that everything was aligned with us or introduced.
Reframing Thought Patterns About Self-Worth
There’s things you learn about it. You learn about yourself. About a few weeks ago, I was feeling uneven and fearful. My coach said, “Let’s go through this exercise where we could figure out why you are feeling this way and then five things that you’re feeling. We chose one of them. Why this? Why that?” Do you know what it came out to be at the end? I feel like I don’t deserve all this goodness coming to me. It was just another opportunity for me to say, “Am I going to stay in this thought pattern of unworthiness or am I going to reframe it?” That’s what I did. It’s exciting. I’ll tell you. I went from having being like my life is over. Back then, we shared that to where I’m so excited about life and people. It’s unbelievable.
That’s a great story. I have one last question. If you were to tell our readers your secret sauce for leading a good life. What would you say to them?
The secret sauce is, once I started getting a real sense of self of who I am as a person and accepting that and being the best possible person that I could be, including other people in my life. Instead of this success oriented and driven person.
Was retiring or changing your professional life lack of identity from who you were as a strategist for people and their financial wherewithal? When you changed and you decided to change a professional career, was that the big impact on your personal identity?
The big impact that it had on me was that I felt like doing this book and doing this stuff is part of who I am and what I’m doing. My coach said, “Why don’t you look at the people that you encounter everyday as someone that you’re there to help?” It opened up a whole new world because I didn’t leave my job. I didn’t leave my financial job. What I did was I’m focusing it more into the several years of experience. I’ve honed into a segment of people. Let’s say they’re assets of $100,000 million. All the big money managers, the firms, everybody, they don’t want to talk to them. They’re $5 million and above. You have this whole source of people there that have no one to help them. I’m going to be that person.
That’s your niche that you found.
Refocusing Professional Life On Meaningfulness
What happened is this transformation became more important to me to do things that were meaningful instead of financial. I had a client die and his wife had to go into assisted living. The daughter came to me and said, “I don’t know what to do or what’s going on.” We met about four or five times and put it into perspective. If we had more time, I’ll tell you about the three or four deaths in my own family I had with the year period and how I had to cope with that.
That happens. I was talking to somebody that things for some reason always going threes. I had it in my own life with loss. It all come in clumps. I don’t know why the number three and you’re a finance person. Maybe you could tell me but it’s always in threes.
My brother, my sister-in-law and my father. There’s the three.
It’s never easy. That’s for another conversation.
Back to the thing. I am getting so much meaning by helping her and that’s what I want. I want meaningfulness. I’m going to do everything for everybody, but the one that I’m going to do it with I’m going to give it my all and give myself.
I want meaningfulness. I’m going to show up for others, but with the people I choose, I’ll give my whole self and all I have.
That’s great. I’m out of questions. Do you have something else you want to say? I want to thank you so much for coming on and providing some eye-opening conversations about people who get stuck when they’re at a certain point in their life. They’ve done something for 40 years and need to keep going on and they don’t know what to do. You’re a great example of that. For those readers out there who’ve enjoyed this episode, please share it with your family and friends. Also, any reviews on Apple Podcasts or the YouTube channel are appreciated. Remember to stay curious and stay connected. Thank you so much, Russell.
Thank you, Gail.
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