Arial Boulware: Financial Professional

Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with the support you need to finish your book. Best part is, after you finish your book, they take care of the entire publishing and marketing process 100% for you. So if you want to become a successful author, make sure to check out authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.

¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás? ¿Cómo te va? ¿Cómo te va? ¿Cómo te va? ¿Cómo te va?

All right, everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. Today I have Ariel Boulware with us. She is a financial professional with MassMutual and is passionate about fighting the war on poverty by helping people assess the stability of their financial home, and implement a plan for improvement. So welcome to the show.

Thank you so much, Tyler Wagner Wagner.

Of course. Grateful to have you on. The first one I got for you, Ariel, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?

Well, Tyler, you almost hit me with a stumper here. But on reflecting back, I'd have to say it was the time that I spent in Germany. So when I was in college, I was a— I'm a University of Kentucky graduate. And during my career, you know, just as any student, I'm looking for an internship or a job, you know, during the summer or spring break. And just so happened, the woman that I interviewed with— I was only looking for an opportunity in Louisville or Lexington, staying kind of close— she said, well, Ariel, I love you. I'm sure there's a position for you somewhere around here, but I'm recruiting specifically for our Germany office and I'd like you to come with me. So that was— of course, I was immediately excited, but I was also quite shocked because my viewpoint wasn't that wide. I hadn't even considered the possibility or opportunity of me working anywhere else besides Kentucky. And when I went and told my mom and, you know, the people that I respect their opinions about about it, some of them were actually concerned that, uh, that movie Taken had just came out. You remember that?

Yes, I did.

So you can imagine the responses I was getting. This isn't real. They're going to kidnap you. Nobody just asked you to go to Germany. And instead of listening to everybody and their fears and my own, because I would be going by myself, you know, I don't know German. I only know English. I know a little bit of Spanish to get me by. And I decided, you know, I'm going to take a chance and roll the dice. What do I have to lose? I can get over there. I've got some family that I should be able to call that live overseas. So, you know, why not roll the dice? And I tell you, that was one of the best experiences of my life. You know, getting out of my comfort zone, Being able to build that confidence to, you know, know that I can get through almost any situation regardless of the fact knowing on how to speak the language, how to read the language, that I can be successful wherever I go and whatever it is that I choose to do.

And then what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?

I've got to say it's the power of using properly structured life insurance products to save for retirement. You know, there's a lot of tax benefits as far as incorporating that into your retirement plan, especially if you do it early. It could eliminate the amount of taxes you have to pay in the long run. But a lot of people discredit it because it is life insurance, but it's one of the best ways to save.

And then what is your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry specific.

Well, I'd have to say on that one, Tyler, it's to be patient. We are such an immediate society that we want everything right away. And it takes longer than a year. If it takes longer than a year, people typically tend to give up or change their mind or think this isn't, you know, the path for them. One of my mentors told me, it was one of the great pieces of advice, he said we overestimate what we can accomplish in 4 to 6 months, but we underestimate what we can accomplish in the span of 4 years with consistent action.

And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?

I'd have to say it's don't be so hard on yourself, especially with changing habits that took a lifetime to build. You know, give yourself a little bit of space to breathe and just know that it takes time. It's not a rocket ship up.

And a little— going a little bit down a different path. In your opinion, what is the key to happiness?

I say the key to happiness, in my opinion, is going to be discipline, having self-discipline to get, you know, the important, the important tasks done and just to stick to the goals that you have for your life.

And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?

Again, Tyler, you hit me with a number— another stumper on this one. I read so many books. I narrowed it down to that. I have to say that it was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I'm not sure if I'm saying his name right.

Coelho, I believe. Yep.

But the reason that I chose this as one of the number one books that I've read is because through the story of the main character, there were real life truths woven in. A few of them being, you know, trusting your gut and paying attention to the opportunities, or in the book, omens, that life presents you and making sure that you capitalize on them.

And what is your favorite quote and why?

I'd have to say my favorite quote right now is from Inky Johnson. He was a football player and is now a speaker. And this quote is something that his mom told him. It was that, son, whatever you start, make sure that you finish. And the problem with the world today is that people get involved with things, and because they don't like a certain person or a certain aspect, they quit. Quitting becomes a habit that affects you later on in life when you have a family and a business. And I thought that was, you know, really one of the things that we struggle with as far as happiness is sticking to the discipline of what we've committed to. We get tired and quit. And there it goes.

Absolutely. Thank you so much for coming on. The last one I have for you before we let you go is where is the best place for our audience to find and connect with you online?

I'd say the best place to connect with me online is going to be through my LinkedIn, my LinkedIn page, just Ariel Boulware. As far as I know, there's no one else out there spelled like me.

Awesome. Thanks again for coming on.

No problem. Thank you for having me, Tyler. Much appreciated.

The podcast you just heard was made using Anchor. Ever thought about making your own podcast? Anchor makes it really easy for anyone to get started. It's a one-stop shop for recording, hosting, and distributing podcasts. Best of all, it's 100% free. Sign up now at anchor.fm/new. That's anchor.fm/new to get started.