At the ripe, old age of 13 I decided to have a serious chat with my Dad about money. As a young teenager I wanted do more things with my life; to do this, I knew I needed more money. I put it to my dad that my pocket money needed an increase.My dad, being an enterprising man, felt he had a solution. He had a factory floor that needed sweeping and a broom but no-one was available to push it. I worked through from 13 every holiday, earning money, saving some, spending most until I had a full time job.Why am I sharing this with you?Money might provide freedom but it doesn’t come for free. Hard work paid off and earning money was something that I understood however my major pivot point in life about the power of money came at the age of 26. At that stage, I worked with a colleague who had grown up in a family who talked openly about investments and their place in life. He explained, gently, that I wasn’t making great use of my savings and that I could add to my salary by investing some of that spare cash. He took me through what to think about, what to look for. I have no sense of direction and at that time TomTom were launching the very first GPS units. Making the decision to make my first investment, I bought shares in TomTom when they floated; and it was like someone had turned on the lights for me about investing.Working provides an income while you are working, investing provides financial freedom whilst you are busy doing other things.My early lessons in life have empowered me along with my continuous thirst for knowledge. I’m focused on supporting the people I work with; to understand by taking the right steps today that together we can create the financial future they want to achieve. “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”.Success for me is my clients knowing that I care about my relationship with them and helping them to achieve their dreams - I’ve got your back.