WELCOME ABOARD!

By Hightower St. Louis on March 14, 2024

Cole Christian wore a fireman’s hat daily when he was in those rambunctious 2-4 years and that tells you a lot about his personality right there. He would be wearing firefighter gear today had he not changed directions. Besides wanting to fight fires when he was growing up, Cole also wanted to be in the NFL, and play professional baseball. At 16, he wanted to be a strength coach at the University of Alabama. Just ask him about it sometime – and watch his face.

Fresh out of college in 2013, Cole started in public accounting and didn’t really love it. But he met up with a friend who sparked the idea of Cole being an advisor. When he first heard the friend talk, he thought to himself, “I’m never going to do that!” He might have felt like a late bloomer, however, his path to becoming a Financial Advisor was filled with life lessons along the way.

As life would have it, as he was selling insurance, Cole had an interaction with an Athletic Director who wanted to have some semblance of control over his financial life. Cole realized he had the opportunity and the chance to educate without selling and loved it – the coaching piece has always been part of his DNA. It clicked in that meeting. With this experience he knew that there was more and finally understood a “true” advisor role would have more to do with helping people realize their dreams. It was something he hadn’t thought of before.

Something about being a coach and advisor resonates deeply with Cole. “I really enjoy helping people understand and meet their goals. It’s putting in the work for someone else to succeed. Like a health and wellness trainer, being a financial advisor is a way for me to express this while helping people.”

Cole’s Core Tenets:

What I want to do/When I want to do it/With the people I care about the most. This fits with his retirement dream of doing what he wants surrounded by the people he loves the most.

He brings this idea to every area of his life.

This season of life is overflowing with three kids under the age of 4. “My family is total absolute chaos! We are in combat mode! We are blessed to have great kids…and we are definitely in the “thick of it” We love it. We live in a tornado. “

Giving back to the community is close to home for Cole and his family. “We all have our time, talent, and treasures we can offer. The Bo Huhman Heart Foundation started by my wife and her sister, is in honor of our nephew’s congenital heart defect.” This has become a profound way to support our family while giving back to the larger community and supporting others on a similar path.

His young family also actively supports Go Shout Love which provides services and support for children on rare medical journeys by raising awareness and funds while creating community.

Fun facts:

“I love music and grew up surrounded by music. My parents had 500 vinyls. I dabble on the guitar; I dabble on the drums. If I had a talk show I’d call it Late Night with Cole. I’m genuinely interested in people, and I love hearing about their journeys. Where it started and how they got to where they are now.”

PSST – If you haven’t figured it out yet, Cole is also HIGH energy!

To Cole, the definition of wealth circles back to his Core Tenets:

The ability to do what you want to do, when you want to do it, with the people you care about the most. It’s not a dollar sign.

Wealth is reaching your definition of “enough.” The beauty is it can and will change and be different in various times of our lives.

If we are chasing this…what does this mean?

‘Wealth, to me, is freedom, not a dollar amount. I don’t view life in that lens. My dream is to have the freedom and relax.”

Cole believes living a balanced life brings happiness and the sense of being free. Wealth is a mind-set. What can we do NOW to build this financial dream house? What are the tools, the blueprints to accomplish this? WHEN do you want to do this? He enjoys helping people understand this process asking, “How will this fulfill you?”

And it’s not an end-goal. It’s the journey.

What is good for the soul is being surrounded by people you love and love you.

Ask Cole about being a self-described homebody. Assure him he is indeed not boring. And he still has time to be a firefighter.

W. Cole Christian is a licensed, non-practicing CPA.

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