815. Making the Most of Whatever Life Throws Your Way

Robin Gordon

“Most of the jobs are boring if you just think of them as a job. But if you think of what you can do to learn while you’re doing the job, who you can meet, what you can do to advance…. In other words, if you’re merely reacting, then it’s more difficult to be satisfied. But if you take it as a challenge and a step along your way, you can do great things.”

Robin Gordon is a Certified Public Accountant and a Personal Financial Specialist whose passion is educating and empowering her clients in all things financial. She helps people achieve financial goals by working with them to minimize taxes, protect and grow assets, and transfer wealth responsibly. She has an Amazon best seller book: Living the Best Life You Can with the Money You Have: Create a Financial Plan that Works for You. Robin was born in San Francisco and now lives in Richmond VA. She has two adult children and spends her free time doing active traveling including hiking and biking trips.

The Most Impactful Turning Point?

I had a successful career for many years working in various roles for Arthur Anderson and KPMG. I lost all of the hearing in my left ear and needed a cochlear implant—a very expensive procedure. Because KPMG’s insurance program would not cover my procedure, I went to another firm where I was in the process of creating a whole new division to run accounting systems for clients—to flex my entrepreneurial muscles. As it happened, I realized a principal in this new firm was involved in some unethical practices, so I immediately quit. While I had never really thought of working on my own, especially with the hearing loss, this situation forced me to marshal all of my resources, figure out how to make it all work and execute the plan. It was the turning point of my career and made me who I am today—very happy with my life.

The Most Powerful Lessons Learned?

I grew up very poor and learned early on about the power of money in every person’s survival.
Our society does a bad job of teaching us how to manage our money leaving many people feeling powerless over our finances and poorer for it.
My mom and dad each had strong work ethics and taught me to take what life throws at you and turn it to your advantage.
My hearing loss from measles and mumps at 3 years old sharpened my capacity to really listen to people by not merely their words but their facial expressions and body language.
Make your job much more than a job. Make it a challenge—a step-by-step path to understanding who you truly are and what you truly want from your life and career.