Patti Brennan, CFP®, CFS, is the President and CEO of Key Financial, Inc. While she is now recognized as one of the top advisors in America, her path was unlike anyone else’s. After graduating from Georgetown University with a degree in Nursing, Patti worked in oncology and as an ICU nurse before channeling her compassion for others to work as a financial planner. Her intellectual capacity is as boundless as her energy, and in 1990 Patti founded Key Financial, Inc. while also raising four children.

Over the course of her professional life, Patti Brennan went from being a nurse to being President and CEO of one of America’s leading independent financial companies. “How did I do that?” she asked at the start of her executive seminar. The attendees looked around, baffled. How did she do that?

From the very beginning of her life, Brennan stood out…well, sort of.  She grew up in a diving family, as the fifth out of seven children. Unlike the rest of her family (who competed in the Olympics and for the American National Team), catapulting into somersaults and twists off a 3 meter diving board did not come easily to her. Instead, she captained the lacrosse team at Georgetown, where she majored in nursing.

“It was a game of numbers and since most of my siblings were in the same sport, my parents were busy crossing the nation to expose them to top athletes at diving meets. I didn’t feel bad about that – just happy I didn’t have to put my life at risk! I had to carve my own path, achieving goals had to come from within”. For Brennan, failure was never an option…it’s just feedback. For that reason, when she saw an opportunity to apply for a position at a financial firm, she gave the application her best effort. Despite having no experience in the finance industry, 11 interviews later, she was offered the job.

When Patti asked her boss why he had hired her, he told her he admired her vision and passion. She saw what the industry could become, and understood the impact she could make on other people’s lives. He “took a chance” on her. After a steep learning curve, Patti excelled in her new position and went on to become the Vice President of the firm.

            But when Patti and her husband decided to start a family, things got complicated. She traveled into the center of Philadelphia for work every day, and the one-hour commute coupled with raising four children took a toll on Patti. “There is no such thing as work-life balance. It’s more like ‘work-life choices… with consequences,’” she said, quoting Suzy Welsh.

            So Patti made the choice to leave the firm, and to start a wealth management business of her own. “I started Key Financial in my laundry room,” she chuckled. She moved the washing machine to the basement, installed a desk, and hired one part-time employee. Patti worked hard in those early years of Key Financial, making a “work-life choice” to kick-start her company while her four children were still young. Because of this decision, she now has the ability to set her own hours, spend more time with her family, and work on projects that she cares about, such as her 11-week “missing semester” internship program for college students.

            One of Patti’s key strategies throughout her career has been setting goals and envisioning their outcomes. She gives the example of weight loss: if you set a goal to lose 20 pounds, you create the subconscious image of someone who is 20 pounds overweight. No wonder those New Year’s resolutions are rarely met! Instead, do what Einstein did: ask yourself a question – how can I weigh 120, feel healthy and enjoy the process? Questions are far more powerful than statements; your brain will search for answers even when sleeping.  Keep a scoreboard that updates your progress, and check that scoreboard once a week. This method is part of the reason behind Brennan’s success.

            As she wrapped up her seminar, Brennan told us that the most important thing she took from her nursing background was empathy. Empathy has allowed clients to trust her, and when clients trust her, she is able to do her best work. “I sit down with a client and I tell them, ‘I understand how you feel…others have felt that way too. I’ve been doing this a long time, and believe there is always a solution.”