Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Viettry.
Anna, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
When I was younger, I didn’t really envision my future much nor make many big decisions, but when it was up to me, that’s when analysis by paralysis happened- it had to be perfect. Soon enough, I made a decision to transfer high schools for my future and I became a first-generation college student that received a basketball scholarship to Point Loma Nazarene University.
I started my undergrad wanting to become a Physician’s Assistant and after volunteering for a summer in that setting, I realized that the environment and structure was not congruent to how I wanted to serve others with my own personal message and mission that I didn’t even have written down or couldn’t communicate at the time. I ended up graduating with a Kinesiology degree with a business minor and took multiple psychology classes. I was originally fascinated with facts and figures, but now I was more intrigued with people: how we think, act, and behave.
All I knew at the point of graduating is that I wanted to make a big impact in people’s lives and relieve the burdens that they carry so I went and got my master’s in integrative wellness (the study of holistic health and behavior change) and a job that would make me an expert in an area of wellness that isn’t talked about regularly and that tends to control and stress people’s lives (financial advising). I just recently added a few master certifications in how to communicate and empower people better to live the life they want and their financial plan is aligned with that rather than the other way around.
I say yes to a lot of opportunities and people call me crazy! But every experience either equipped me with skills or improved my quality of life. Any opportunity I chose either had some or all aspects of gaining more knowledge, serving in the community and others, and/or an adventure. Living out what my quality of life is, faith, and trust are what got me where I am today.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I was and am fortunate to have a family, good friends, and performed well in school and sports, and yet I still questioned why I wasn’t grateful and what my own purpose of existence was if I had one (there are seven billion people in the world). There was a looming amount of guilt I held for not appreciating what I had and so I didn’t truly share that burden with others. It’s as if wearing this mask was the right thing to do.
What helped me was when I realized that each thing I had and was good at was a purposeful gift from God and he put me in this world to just love me as his own daughter and share that love with others in whatever I do. Whatever you believe in, if you feel like you get a gift that’s more than you feel like you deserve, enjoy it, it’s a gift. I had to really be honest with myself about my feelings and find a solid community to bring into it because nothing is more special than feeling known and seen as your authentic self than if you were to wear a mask your whole life.
I grew up soft-spoken, a rule follower, and overall a good player and person, not a standout. Then I was asked to take on leadership roles which started out uncomfortable but eventually, I started to stand in it, being a leader in different committees, boards, and teams. Metaphorically speaking, it felt like I started with being put in one sandbox that grew to the size of a beach- playing and shaping more and more sand to what I could come up with.
These opportunities developed the strength of my presence, creativity, and problem-solving. A good quote that explains it is “if you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said it’d be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.” Life is for you, not against you. It will grow you, not destroy you. You just have to see the opportunity that presents itself in it. There will be moments that come into your life to remind you to shine!
I underperformed during my first few years of financial advising. I knew it was going to be hard, but I thought I’d get out of the hole much sooner. There is so much choice in this life and once you make a decision, it feels like you cut off so many different paths to take and I used to ask myself, “what if I took the wrong one?!”. The ease and success of doing something isn’t always an indicator that this is it for you or not. It’s put me in true reality of the ups and downs.
It’s whether you are going to hold onto the vision or just the performance at the beginning of the journey. I want to be certain of every step of the path mapped out beforehand and know the end result before I jump all in, but I’ve recently learned that I can’t focus on the how because no matter what I planned, God was and is always the better planner who presented a better, more efficient way to get to this unknown mystery destination. We normally just are called to take one step at a time and whatever you believe in, you just got to walk in faith, do your best, and trust that your GPS will redirect you as needed.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Whether someone was swimming in debt or could feed a country with their wealth, my personal case studies showed wellness wasn’t entirely achieved. More often than not, it was not the amount they had, it came down to whether they felt like they had an idea of where their money was going and it was spent on things that gave them peace of mind, made sure they had it when they needed it the most, increased opportunity, left a legacy, aligned with their values, and brought them quality of life.
With that said, I specialize in helping people who want to be educated and advised on those things and give them the financial tools and options that help them get there, creating a personalized plan that is suited for their goals and the person they are because everyone is unique in their preferences, values, and behaviors. I want to replace past shame and embarrassment around the topic and replace it with grace and empowerment. I want to empower people, not just fix their problems!
There’s a wealth of academic research that suggests that lack of mentors and networking opportunities for women has materially affected the number of women in leadership roles. Smart organizations and industry leaders are working to change this, but in the meantime, do you have any advice for finding a mentor and building a network?
A mentor is someone who has done successfully specifically what you are wanting to do and you should decipher what is and what is not critical strategy. So if you think you know or know what you want to do find someone who has done it successfully and is willing to teach you. I could definitely improve in this area.
What I would recommend personally, though, was finding someone who can coach me, who is more focused on drawing out who I am, not necessarily a specific field and or tangible goal. Someone who will ask you questions to get you to answer your own questions and empower you in the decision-making process. There’s a time and a place for both, but sometimes the heart work is more important and to take an honest look at who we are than just what we do and how to get there.
In networking, you never know who will be your biggest advocate so build relationships. People do business with people they know, like and trust, and yes, that takes time, but it’s worth it. Also, I learned in the hard way, there are people out there that do need you and want what you are providing (service or product) and you can’t focus on the people who aren’t ready and it’s not in your control to make decisions for others as much as you care for them.
I joined a TEAM referral networking group because I don’t have a marketing or sales team, but I can coach these professionals who have become some good friends of mine to be advocates, looking out and hearing for certain people they know and come across that I could serve with love.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://reps.modernwoodmen.org/aviettry/
- Phone: 619-718-0662
- Email: anna.viettry@mwarep.org
- Facebook: https://reps.modernwoodmen.org/aviettry/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaviettrymwa/
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