FinPod

Meeyeon (00:13)
Hi everyone, and welcome back to another CFI podcast. This is an episode of Careers in Finance, and today I'm joined by Nicole Lee, who I have been so excited to interview for quite some time now, and now we've aligned our calendars. And so welcome, Nicole.

Nicole (00:32)
Thank you. Thanks, Meeyeon for having me. I'm really excited to be here joining from Singapore.

Meeyeon (00:37)
Singapore,

nice and hot. As you can see, we're wearing very different clothing. I'm in Vancouver and naturally it's a little bit rainy and gloomy, but I've been so excited to interview you because I found you through someone that we did a member spotlight with named Dong. And so if you haven't listened to his podcast, you can see it in our member spotlight for everyone that's listening. And he reminded me a lot of myself.

Nicole (00:42)
Exactly.

Meeyeon (01:06)
from many, many, many years ago now, but he's doing his polytechnic at a school in Singapore and he has all of these. He's got so much ambition and so much drive. He doesn't necessarily know, I guess, exactly what he's gonna do, but he wants to do something in finance. And I saw that he was following you and my thought was he was probably...

inspired kind of by your career path and loves to see how people have carved out their career path and what he can learn from them. And I thought that would be something really great to bring to our CFI audience because we have a lot of, we have a diverse range of listeners, but I think it's particularly like, it's close to my heart, like a passion to be able to share my experiences.

for a younger audience, let's say kind of like in their mid-late 20s, because I've been in that kind of, that time doesn't seem that far ago for me. And I love listening and learning from people that are, you know, closer to my age, but it's just a great, I just don't know. I find a lot of value in learning from others.

Nicole (02:20)
100%. I mean, I think it doesn't matter your age actually, but I think being able to open your heart to new experiences and new people, regardless of where you are at in your life is really valuable. And I think that if you do that more often at different stages of your life, it will carry you really far. So well done.

Meeyeon (02:40)
Yeah. And so

I have to ask you, how did you start your career? And I know a lot of people I find either start with like, oh, I knew from like high school, like I wanted to be working in finance or be a lawyer or be a doctor. And then they kind of go to school for it. And then it's kind of one step after the next for them. What was that path like for you? How did you get interested in because you spent more than 10 years, more than a at UBS?

How did you get your interest in finance? Like how did you get started there?

Nicole (03:15)
Yeah, so short answer is none of the above that you had said. I never ever wanted to be in a bank in the first place. So I studied accountancy at the Singapore Management University, which was also not really my choice. It was something that my parents thought was good for me because they were saying like, if you study accountancy, you would definitely get a job because everyone needs auditors. But I didn't, I was never the accounting type.

Meeyeon (03:18)
Hahaha

Nicole (03:45)
or the finance type. And because I felt like everyone around me wanted to go into a bank or they want to be a doctor or a lawyer, I felt like I wanted to be different, to be very honest. But I stuck to it. I did accountancy. But I knew that I didn't want to go into auditing. I did an internship and I was like, that's really not for me.

So I was a little rebellious after graduation. I actually went into events management on the creative side. Yeah, because I thought that was more me. mean, prior to graduation, I went to France, to Bordeaux, you know, the, the, know, I know the famous land. Oh yeah, it was so good. That's where I picked up wine. It was so good. And I think it, just made me realize like, I am creative. I enjoy, you know,

Meeyeon (04:16)
wow.

my gosh. I'm so jealous.

Nicole (04:41)
putting events together and like, you know, making things nice. So I was a bit rebellious. I went into events right after graduation. My parents didn't really agree, but I still went anyway and the pay was so low. But it was because of events that actually led me to UBS because I did an event for them. They had a good impression. And so after I left, they actually asked me to join them on contract. And so...

You know, I went to an industry that I never wanted to be in the first place, but it was such a good place. Very professional. I didn't have a permanent role, but I was like, you know, this is a good place. I'm going to stay no matter what. So I worked hard. I did different roles. And then eventually when the global financial crisis was over, I landed in a permanent role and I did my best, learned so much, climbed up the ranks.

Yeah, that's that's how I landed at UBS. There's more to tell but I'm gonna stop here first.

Meeyeon (05:42)
But

then where did, so did you end up in a role like at events in UBS or did you end up in more of something that was closer to your academic studies?

Nicole (05:51)
good question. I first went into a contract role in marketing at UBS and then did several roles in the bank, but eventually it led me to a permanent role in the Chief Investment Office at UBS Wealth Management, which is the center of the entire wealth management in UBS because it is like the intellectual research center. So it is where analysts, strategists talk about

cross-asset class strategies, asset allocation, know, FX, commodities forecasts. in that team, I was doing several roles from research publication management to projects to strategy to business management to even risk and then towards the end, like communications, investment webinars, investment shows. So yeah, I did multiple roles within that team.

that was more related to finance and to be very honest I think a lot of times you know graduates or undergraduates think that you always have to learn stuff in university for you to be able to be qualified for that role but no it is absolutely not true. I didn't know much about finance I hadn't it was not really something that I was like super passionate about but because I was in that role you know I subscribed to the Bloomberg app I read the Financial Times I read

so many different research reports to equip myself better for the role and I think that for me the best things to learn on the job and to be super interested in what you're doing and to ask questions to people around you so you don't have to your degree doesn't have to relate to what you're going to do after.

Meeyeon (07:37)
And so something that really fascinates me is that, what would you say is your passion today?

And this will lead into my question.

Nicole (07:51)
So I would start by saying that I don't think I would have found my passion if I didn't leave UBS for a fintech startup because when you're in a place that is so good and so professional and so structured for so long you don't actually question who you are because you're being paid well you're doing

Kind of the same thing every day. Of course you try to push the boundaries, but it makes you so comfortable that you don't question yourself. So by leaving the bank for a startup, it just shook up everything. It was extremely, extremely challenging and difficult. But what it does then is make you look inside so that you find out more of who you are. So that's just the context of it. So my passion today is really about inspiring.

inspiring and helping people to find their truths and to be better versions of themselves and to be themselves. And it's such a deep part of me because, and it sounds very like, come on, like, you know, are you sure that's really your purpose, but a passion, but it really is. know, me on, see me right on LinkedIn and I'm, you know, I'm doing a podcast now as well, but it's, is such a deep part of me to.

to help other people to find themselves because only when you truly find yourself deep within can you then live a more fulfilling life. And I'm understanding what it means now. I never understood it before.

Meeyeon (09:29)
And the reason why I always found it so,

So that part of the reason why I wanted to interview like me personally was I really relate to that in like a very significant way. So you were at UBS for 12 years, right? And 13, 13 years. That is a, that in and of itself, I think is extremely impressive because not every, very few people I think can really stay at companies for like 10, 12, 13, 20 plus years.

Nicole (09:46)
Mm-hmm.

13 actually.

Meeyeon (10:04)
because first of all, like a bank, it kind of has high churn, right? Like it's difficult to kind of stay in the role. It's kind of like an upper out kind of atmosphere. And it makes it very difficult for people, especially that are, know, high performing and want to do well and ambitious. It makes it difficult to leave because you get used to like a certain lifestyle. You get very comfortable with the pay and you kind of...

especially in more transactional roles that are capital markets kind of facing. So it's not a deal oriented role where the tasks happen much quicker and not to say it in a negative way, but it's more repetitive. The things that you do day over day are very similar. It makes you very kind of comfortable in that role. But to be able to be continuously promoted or you can go and explore other other teams that you might have more interested in, that takes a lot.

of like, I think, report building and having your peers and seniors recognize and see something in you to allow you to be continuously exploring at a company that is so competitive. I think it takes a certain type of individual to be able to do that so long at a really competitive firm. But it's also not very often that I see those people leave and then go to startups and then go to things that kind of have a higher purpose.

And that's what I see in like your startup today. Between UBS and what you have today, you've had some kind of steps in between. And before I kind of ask you more about your current role, I would love to hear what was that startup like right after UBS? What made you want to leave? What made you specifically go to the startup? And how did you build yourself from like the Nicole that was post UBS?

to where you are now. Those are a lot of big questions.

Nicole (12:02)
Yeah, I've,

yeah, I know I have so many thoughts just racing through my mind because I think that what you mentioned about staying in a company for, you know, more than a decade, is now looking back quite an achievement for me because I am someone who really likes to drive myself and I like to grow. so, staying in that same department for so long,

was the outcome of actually me trying to do different things within that same place as well. it's even though it seems like, you're in the same department for that long, but in fact I was moving roles within that department so that I could grow and being open to learning and doing a role that I had never done before.

So I mean, if you, I, I, I never did risk, but when the opportunity came to be like, okay, do you want to take up risk? Which is a lot of people find boring. I was like, yeah, let's, let's learn. Let's do it. did anybody teach me how? Well, not really. but what I wanted to say was that regardless of where you are at in the organization, if the best circumstance for you is to stay within that organization,

then also try your very best to see what new things you can do. And sometimes a new role can help you to grow, even if you know, you may not be able to leave that company as well. Um, but yeah, what made me leave, um, UBS was for personal growth, mainly because of personal growth. mean, I was there for so long and I mean, there are people who stay for even 20, 25, 30, 35 years in UBS because

Meeyeon (13:55)
Yeah, start there and then retire there.

Nicole (13:59)
Exactly, because it is what they enjoy and the bank looks after them very well and they like their work. It's a very comfortable place. But for me, it wasn't about that anymore. It wasn't just that. I felt very deep within me that I could give so much more. I know it sounds very cliche, but to the world. I knew that

I was so much more. I had so much more potential and I want to do more and give more. But sometimes within an organization, depending on the structure, there are certain, you know, are certain parameters that you have to, that it don't really allow you to do that or, you know, it's not the right timing. And so, yeah, I felt like I needed to move. I didn't know where I was going to move, but I knew I wanted to move and at that time,

someone from the fintech approached me for this new role and you know it wasn't just leaving for the sake of leaving you know what I mean? It was leaving if that alternative provided you with the growth that you needed to have that you felt deeply that you wanted and that you needed to have. So that role was actually a sales role it was a business hit role and I had always wanted to be a little bit more client-facing

Meeyeon (15:05)
Yeah.

Nicole (15:26)
My role was kind of like in the middle and I like to interact with people. I enjoy it and a lot of times in my role I felt like, you know, could interact with people more, I could do more networking. So this role allowed me to do that. was a business hit role, sales role, which I hadn't done before, P &L responsibilities, which it would be many steps before I could get there in a bank.

And yeah, I was in charge of the whole front to back in terms of the digital sales acquisition kind of thing. yeah, private markets, know, alternatives, tokenization. So it takes a lot of the boxes for me and I, yeah, it really drew me to be able to take a pay cut for a role that I felt could open so many more doors after that.

Meeyeon (16:19)
And I think that a lot of our listeners will relate because I think there's very like when I just kind of think about my own network, there is far fewer than there are many people who will start at a bank and retire at a bank. There's far more people who decide to venture out into different avenues. And to find something that you're so passionate about takes a lot of work. But also it takes someone that has like a lot of dedication.

Nicole (16:44)
Yeah.

Meeyeon (16:46)
With your fintech startup, did you find that you were developing kind of like different skills that you didn't think that you had previously too?

Nicole (17:00)
100%. I mean it was such a huge change from one of the top private banks to a startup. I mean I probably underestimated it. I knew that it was going to be different. I knew it was going to be hard and I wanted that because I wanted to grow without pain, without discomfort. You cannot grow like that is the truth. You cannot. And so I wanted that but I didn't know it was going to be that painful.

Meeyeon (17:29)
Haha

Nicole (17:30)
Yeah because I did realize that I took many things for granted when I was in a big corporation and UBS is like one of the top, right? of the top. So you know things like the infrastructure, your desk, your headset, the chairs you know that you have. Things like not having the right types of resources that you would normally get at a big bank or a big corporation.

and all the creature comforts that you have. I think I took all of that for granted. And so when I hit, when I reached the startup, I think a lot of it was running and learning and trying to balance everything and then trying to also be very empathetic to your team members. And it was so hard because you can't control everything. sometimes at a big...

bank you think you can control everything and sort of you're kind of programmed to think that you can control everything but in a startup sometimes you can't and you have to deal with the things that are given to you and therefore I had to learn a lot of empathy. I became much more empathetic and compassionate towards people around me and I learned to realize that sometimes, not sometimes.

all the time, nothing is perfect. And I, I, I realized like, you have to make the best out of what you have and that best may not be what you knew before. And so a lot of assumptions, a lot of things shattered for me in terms of facing reality and that, and that I had to pick up skills like sales. you know,

client relationships, which were all very natural for me. I had to pick up product knowledge, know, like alternative investment, product knowledge. And I also realized that some things you, you, you can pick up on your own. If you work hard, if you're passionate enough about what you do, you can pick things up on your own, but there are some things that you just have to learn the hard way. Yeah.

Meeyeon (19:46)
And so it's like everything that you say, like really reminds me and like makes me reflect of a lot of things. So when I was at, I was at a bank called BMO and I was in their investment banking group in debt capital markets. And it wasn't until I left after like three and a half years that I realized like all these things that I had taken for granted, which was for like, as you said, just like the general.

Nicole (20:11)
Mm-hmm.

Meeyeon (20:13)
infrastructure of the bank. Everything that I was provided, for example, like the investment banking analyst training program, where we have these really expensive instructors come in, they're amazing, teach you everything that you could possibly ask about financial modeling, about Bloomberg, and they kind of let you even just ask the questions that you need to answer for your day-to-day tasks, but it's really one-on-one, it's really custom.

Nicole (20:22)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Yeah.

Meeyeon (20:39)
from the chairs that we got to sit in. The most comfortable chairs, they're like super high end, like a thousand dollars a piece. The desk, the Bloomberg, the turret phones, like all of these things I'd taken for granted. But also like at the end of the three and a half years, what I realized was that I had a lot of empathy for people that I didn't necessarily have when I started at the role because it was so stressful. And...

Nicole (20:41)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Meeyeon (21:07)
A lot of it is self-imposed stress in that, you I want to perform to the best that I can. I want to do the best that I can every day. But also a lot of it is just like the bank is very demanding, but it left me with a lot of more questions than answers of like, you know, what do I want to do with my life? Like, is this my passion? Like I probably wouldn't know about it until I did it for a couple of years. And maybe like I didn't really like it in the beginning because it was so stressful and so challenging.

But guess what? I got to not only grow professionally, but in an extremely significant way, think personally, I got to develop from that experience. And the big thing was that it allowed me to gain a deep, deep sense of empathy for people around me that I just didn't necessarily have before. so the years afterwards, and I still continue to do this today, is to try and figure out

Nicole (21:58)
Yeah.

Meeyeon (22:04)
Like what's my kind of like greater purpose? Like I love what I do today at CFI and I love that I get to give back to what I kind of consider my community of people that have previously been in finance, but people that are in finance today that want to be in capital markets or want to be in investment banking. I feel a great sense of kind of like full circle, like I did this and now I get to give back to people that, you know.

Nicole (22:11)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Meeyeon (22:32)
want resources today, the ones that I wish I had when I was in DCM. So like, I love that today. And I see like so much of everything that you do to be giving back into like the greater kind of community of people that want to be in finance or that are. And so like, what I really want to hear about now is what are you doing today? And like, tell me what it's all about.

and what's this chapter in your career? Because so far it's been finance, finance, and kind of like more finance. But this is a very different chapter.

Nicole (23:10)
Yeah.

Yeah. And I, to be very honest, I don't know where it's going to lead me to. and you know, you never know why life, where life is going to take you and where, what is going to bring you. So, I left the FinTech sometime in the fourth quarter of last year and I was very determined to find another job. but at a certain stage in your career, you also don't just want to find another job.

job just because you also want something that you can resonate with. And so, after, know, a couple of months of heavy networking, I then decided to do, you know what, maybe, maybe it's time for me to lean more into my purpose. And I don't know where it's going to lead me to, but I'm going to try anyway. And so during the time of the FinTech, like you said, like it was a very deep part of me to

help other people. Like I knew that I was meant to go through everything that I went through professionally and personally to actually help people to get through whatever they were getting through. and to also speak my truth and to share the stories of people who have taken more unconventional roads, who have embraced the unknowns, which is why I then started a community that

really wanted to truly support people because sometimes in our professional lives a lot of the networking is a little bit more transactional and I wanted to I wanted to gather a group of people that genuinely wanted to be there for each other professionally and personally to share their stories so I created this community which is now called the YNK Collective but beyond that I had a deep

calling to also start a podcast. So I started a podcast in mid of January called You Never Know and a company with the same name as well. And because really in life, you never know where who's going to come into your life, what decision you're going to make that's going to change the trajectory of your life forever. You know, how leaving a job could actually lead you to your passion. It's really represents a very deep part of me and my past, present and future. So,

You never know, know, podcast has been out now for a couple of months. It has been so meaningful for me. So I'm at a stage now where I am sort of offering coaching, transformation, personal branding, public speaking. I'm doing a podcast starting a community. I'm doing consulting as well and then seeing where it leads me to while also being open to, you know, job opportunities that resonate a lot with me.

So I don't know where this is going, but I'm really living my life as if you never know and being in the present and living more in alignment with my true authentic self. And hopefully I can inspire others to do the same as well.

Meeyeon (26:22)
And I

just feel like all of the experiences that you've had so far have led you to have this degree of polish. This polish and professionalism that coincides with just you being so personable, which is kind of why I think I gravitated to reaching out to have a podcast with you. One of the things that I wanted to touch on was I saw an interaction you had with a younger...

Nicole (26:29)
Yeah.

Meeyeon (26:51)
And I want to say they were like a 23-year-old, so not necessarily a student, I think they were fairly recently out of college. And they had all of these societal expectations set in front of them. And I think as both of us being Asian, that is something that's fairly common. And for our listeners that are of Asian background, I think this is really, really helpful to talk about.

which is you don't necessarily need to do everything because everyone else does it. For me, it's very different because I have the most laid back parents ever. And they're very, you know, like they're very high achieving on their own and whatnot in Korea. But when it comes to my brother and I, they've never been like, oh, like you should go and be a doctor or like.

Nicole (27:28)
Yeah.

Awesome, congratulations.

Meeyeon (27:49)
you need to go and like study all day and be the top of your class. For me, like I'm like naturally like being very competitive. Like I wanted to go and work in fine. I wanted to go and work in investment banking because when I went into my business program, everyone wanted to do it. And I thought, well, geez, like I don't really necessarily know what I want to do, but here's a safe place for me to go. Everyone wants to do it. They must have done their research because well, I'm just going to hop on.

But there's so many people around me where it was like the opposite. They're like, my parents want me to do this and I'm going to do it on my own. then, you know, if you do it for, if like, if you're able to take someone else's motivation and then internalize it and then you chase it and then you kind of do well in it, that ended up itself as an achievement to go after someone else's dream and like live someone else's dream for them because you love them so much and they're your parents.

Nicole (28:15)
Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

Meeyeon (28:42)
But a lot of those people I find like, you know, after a couple of years are kind of burnt out. They can't do it anymore because they need to like live for themselves. And I saw a really encouraging post from you that I think is extremely important to share. And I think a lot of people could relate to. So I was wondering if you could talk about that kind of, that interaction that you had with a young person.

Nicole (28:49)
Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, I interviewed a Gen Z. Actually, he is 21 years old, studying in Singapore. And I always love speaking to younger people. And even though many people have different perceptions about what the new generation is like, by the end we are all people and everybody grew up with different circumstances and backgrounds.

Meeyeon (29:12)
Yeah.

Nicole (29:34)
And so I loved speaking to people like him because it opens my mind to the fact that one, we may not all be so different and two, there is always light in every generation that can teach us to be better people and to be more open-minded. So that's one, but you you talk about societal expectations, parental expectations, which is so real.

It's so real and I think it's especially for people living in Asia or in more conservative Asian families where a lot of times your parents kind of dictate what your life should look like or what they think you should be, what job you should be in, what course you should take, the list goes on, what house you should stay in, what car you should drive. And sometimes even for me, I forget

and can't remember which was me and which was my parents' expectations, you know?

Meeyeon (30:38)
Yeah, sometimes they really just blur into

one.

Nicole (30:42)
they blur because you grew up with it so you get programmed into thinking that, it's, it's, yeah, I should do this or I should go into this job. But actually at some point, is, which is why, and I do ask everyone to do stuff outside of your work and to find out more of who you are. Because if you don't do that, then what ends up is that these cross wires and all the, the expectations, the

the views, the beliefs all get intertwined and you think that everything that you have in your mind is you, but it's not right. So, speaking to the new generation also makes me remember that first of all, a lot of them still face these challenges where, you know, they are tiger moms, expect them to behave in a certain way or if you don't do this, then you're going to fail. You're going to die. If you don't,

If you don't marry this sort of person, then you know, like your life is over. Or if you don't take this certain job, then you're gonna be, you know, looked down by other people in the family. Yeah, exactly. So, but I think that...

Meeyeon (31:48)
Yeah, you're gonna be a loser. Your career's over.

Nicole (31:57)
I mean after going through my own transformation journey and healing journey as well, think they can only tell you or advise you to the best that they can based on what they know and knew. And what that also tells me is that even though they love us, But the knowledge that they may have may not be as relevant to you in this point in time, in this present moment.

And they want what's best for you, but what they want may not also be what's best for you as a person. So I would say that the best thing you can do for yourself is to learn more about who you are so that you can then trust yourself and understand what is the path exactly that you want to go on. And that path may not be banking, that path may not be accounting, that path may not be, you know,

doctor, lawyer, it could be something totally different but that's okay like you make the mistakes that you own and then you own your own success as well.

Meeyeon (33:05)
And

I thought, and I was thinking that this would be such a, I think this is a topic that's so important because generally I find anyone that has worked in finance does have some sort of like internal competition going on at all times. They're generally like very highly motivated, want to please, generally their family, but also like they always want to kind of like meet expectations, right? The expectations of.

Nicole (33:21)
Yeah. Yeah.

Meeyeon (33:30)
like your local, like your community, your family, your society, whatever you want to do, you always generally want to kind of be the best at. And I think it's really important for, especially people that have worked previously in finance or currently do, to take a minute to kind of stop and think about, this like, is this serving you? Is this what you want? And to also kind of just understand that

You know, even if you don't get into, for example, a lot of our listeners might want to break into investment banking. That's always a very popular thing. But it's a very highly competitive space. There's very, very few seats relative to the number of people that want them. But it's important to understand it's not the end of the world, right? Like there are so many other career paths that are just as rewarding.

Nicole (34:25)
Yeah, yeah

Meeyeon (34:30)
like personally, professionally, financially. And you get to see through all of these various different stories, like people that you have had on your podcast, people that I've had on my podcast. And it's really important to just take a minute, like even though this is a careers and finance series, look at the people that have had careers in finance and then learn from them in the sense that they've also had very diverse career paths. They're all successful in their own way.

Nicole (34:34)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Meeyeon (34:57)
but make sure to take a pause in a minute and make sure that it is kind of aligning with what you really want, because you don't want to be down 30 years into your career and realize none of this is what I wanted.

Nicole (35:12)
Well, there's so many things I want to say and can say. I think a couple of things is one, if you really enjoy, you know, investment banking or being in finance. Yeah, if you really do, then that's great. That's really great because, know, it is something that you enjoy and it pays very well and that's perfectly fine. But I think the other few

Meeyeon (35:24)
Who does? No, I'm just kidding.

Nicole (35:38)
There are so many infinite paths that you can take and so many choices that you can make. And a lot of times we grew up thinking that you have to take the job that pays the highest. and money is important, no doubt. Money, you know, buys you a lot of things, but at the same time, money isn't everything. And I think yes, that like me on like what you said, you know, as you grow a little older and then you realize that there are other things in life that are important as well. And

Meeyeon (35:39)
Yeah.

Nicole (36:07)
Money is one of them, but it's also about finding fulfillment where you're at and within you. And that sometimes is not something that your job can fulfill. And, you know, one is to pay the bills. And sometimes your job is probably just that. But other times as well, you need to find what drives you, what excites you, what brings you joy. And not all the time your job can give you that. Of course, the ultimate...

Meeyeon (36:33)
Yeah, and like genuinely.

Nicole (36:37)
Yeah, genuinely, of course the ultimate goal even for me is to find that intersection between your career and your joy and your fulfillment and that would be so beautiful. But not everyone can do that. But I think it's just having the realization that for different people there are different paths and not to get sucked into just thinking that. And I was there too, know, thinking that only this role within this bank or within this place

then you would feel like you're successful because I've been there before and I don't think that it's a race that I would necessarily want to run knowing myself better now because it is your own race that you have.

Meeyeon (37:22)
And honestly, I can't think of anything more uplifting than the message that you've said. so I think with that, I'm not going to say anymore because I can't beat that. And so for those of you listening, I really, really hope that everyone that is subscribed to us listens to this episode because I think it's so important to sit down for a minute. And regardless of where you are in your career, whether you're in academics,

whether you're your first job, your third job, wherever you are, to kind of appreciate where you currently are. Because at one point in your life, you were probably striving to be where you are today. So I think this has been a really amazing reminder for everyone that is so highly competitive in finance that comes to CFI because you want to, you know, accelerate your career. want to transition into different parts of your career to take a minute to really appreciate where you are now. Because, you know, at some point in time,

this is where you want it to be. And to really just kind of ask yourself so that, cause you never know where you're gonna be in a year or time, in a couple of years time. And yeah, just take a minute to really think about, I love how you said it, if your personal life or professional life, like all of these goals, if they could all align, it would be such a beautiful thing. But whatever has brought all of our listeners to CFI today, know that like wherever your next goal is, like it's going to come.

Nicole (38:29)
Exactly!

Yeah. Good one.

Meeyeon (38:50)
And, you know, like CFI is a resource that helps you professionally and hopefully in some way helps personally as well. But I found it really important to be able to take a minute and speak with Nicole so that you can understand that, you know, are so many different paths. Like everyone has their own purpose and unique things that you give back into this world. And whether it's a career in finance or not, just take a minute.

to stop and think, because you never know where you're going to be in like a year's time today. so appreciate where you are today. And I hope that this has been a really uplifting and I think encouraging podcast for all of our listeners today. And well, without a further ado, I have to say that was probably been my most, I think one of my personal favorite podcasts. Thank you for joining me today, Nicole.

Nicole (39:43)
Aww, thank you so much, Myon. It was really a pleasure.

Yeah, thank you for finding me. I always believe in life, nothing is coincidence. you know, whether you're reaching out to me, me during this podcast, or whether, you know, you're someone listening to this podcast as well, or whether you go to CFI, just every step of the way is planned in a certain way, you know, and with a higher purpose. So, really grateful for this opportunity. Thank you so much.

Thank