Melbourne to Manhattan: A Podcast Pause for a City Change

This week, I’m recording an emotional episode. I have decided to stop producing the Financial Autonomy Podcast after six and 1/2 years and 342 episodes. At this point, I’m not sure if it is the end or a pause. I may be back in a couple of months. Maybe we’ll change the format, and Financial Autonomy will become something else. I don’t really know what to say right now.

In 2017, I began this podcast with the hope that by putting out this message, I would attract clients who share my worldview. I was very happy to see that it worked.

Why am I taking this break? There are a couple of reasons. My wife and I will be spending the next two months in New York. Will be working remotely in the Big Apple. As someone who has spent all of their working life in the finance and money sector, I have long wished to work in the financial hub of the world. There will be mandatory photos taken in front of the Wall Street sign and the bull statue.

I spend a lot of time interpreting the financial markets in order to guide our clients. New York is usually the driving force behind market sentiment. It will be very valuable to be there, even for just a few weeks, and get a feel for the people’s thoughts and motivations. It’s also a good thing that the election is in the same year.

My wife and I have been working towards financial independence for a very long time. We are not aiming for early retirement. We want to take our time and enjoy the journey. It’s been a year since our youngest son graduated high school, and it’s now time to go on an adventure. We hope to do this every year in a new place until we are sick of it. COVID has done us a favor by showing how possible it is to work from a distance. It doesn’t matter if I am in the Melbourne office or a Manhattan serviced office. Teams are how I conduct most of my business meetings.

We will be working during the entire trip, but we want to ensure that we can fully enjoy the city. This includes visiting museums, parks, and restaurants. It makes perfect sense to buy myself two hours per week by pausing the podcast.

The podcast has been paused for a few reasons, but the New York trip was not the only one. Last year, as many of you know, I was lucky enough to be hired by Fairfax newspapers to write the Ask an Expert Sunday column. This new challenge is exciting but takes some time.

Our business has grown strongly over the last few years, and we have added many new clients. I must make sure that clients who entrust us with their money receive the attention and focus they deserve.

To some extent, taking a break from my podcast is me prioritizing how I use my time. If you have worked with me or read my book, you will know that I place a great deal of importance on prioritizing goals. It is only fair that I apply this to my life.

We are grateful for your support in making the Financial Autonomy Podcast a huge success. The Financial Autonomy podcast has had over a million downloads. I’m sure we have more, but the statistics reset at some point. It’s amazing, and I never imagined it would be possible when we started.

I have had the privilege of working with many of you. It has been an honor to learn about so many lives and their challenges and to work with them to help them gain financial security and more choices. I hope to continue this for many years to come.

It takes a lot of time to complete a project that is due every week. What I have learned is there is value in putting yourself on the line and sharing what is important to you. In the time I have been producing this podcast, I can count on one hand how many negative comments I have received. My natural tendency, indeed, is to focus on the negatives more than the positives. But with some distance, I can see that the relationships that I have built are well worth overcoming any fear of criticism.

I’ve learned that podcasting requires patience. About a year passed before we got our first client. The audience growth was also slow, but there were little spurts of development, either because I was a guest on another show or had someone as a special guest with a strong presence on social media.

I also learned to iterate and try again rather than wait for perfection.

The way I produce podcasts has changed over time. There was always some writing involved, at least in the episodes with a single voice. It’s not surprising that the more you write, the better you become. The podcasts gave me the chance to write a novel that I would never have imagined. The positive feedback I received prompted me to write a sci-fi book that was great fun. The 20 or so readers told me that they enjoyed it.

I began writing for Fairfax newspapers, and eventually, a weekly newspaper column was created. This was definitely not in my plans when I recorded the podcast’s first episodes. But I am so grateful and happy that it has worked out that way.

While the podcast is on hold, I will continue to send the gainingCHOICE e-mail every week. Although I don’t know how to make it sustainable in the long run, the original purpose of this e-mail was to promote my podcast. I still enjoy sending out the weekly e-mail, which I will continue to do.

Last but not least, I would like to thank my son Ethan for editing almost every episode. It was a real two-person project, and we both learned as we went. I couldn’t do it without Ethan. It’s a testament to Ethan’s maturity and hard work that we haven’t missed a single week in six and a half years. I am a proud and fortunate dad and want to acknowledge the important role he has played in the success and growth of this podcast.