The Creative Detour That Led Me Home

Home Coming

After months of chasing goals, I had to admit to a friend

—I didn’t hit my business target.

Not because I wasn’t working, but because I was building my third act.

At first, I thought the next chapter was writing another book.

But that lesson took a while to set in

—I learned I’d need a large social media audience to make it matter. 

I don’t have that (yet).

2025 Spring break brought reflection. Then trade wars hit in April.

My analyst brain kicked back in—positioning portfolios, parsing data, reading market reactions. But somewhere between charts and headlines, I started creating short videos—little lessons my daughter’s friends actually liked.

Maybe that’s where my energy belongs. 

I reminded myself what I wrote about in business school essays

- create an "edutainment" company ;-)

When markets dropped, I saw opportunity

—it was time to buy. Perfect timing.

But then an expert friend gave me hard truth: my content had no strategy.

She was right. I didn’t know what to do with that insight other than stop creating for a while. As volatility faded, so did my drive to create videos.

I learned the secret is knowing your audience—and creating to educate and inspire them.

I haven’t found my winning formula yet.

But I keep exploring. I spoke at Emory financial planning class about discovering your alpha—the market is beta;

Your uniqueness is your alpha. (Alpha shows the value that a portfolio manager adds or subtracts through their investment decisions.) 

The students had tons of questions.

That inspired me again.

Then life shifted. Summer. My daughter came home from college.

Caroline and I went to Nashville for her #AmericanIdol audition

- she got a call back!

Then a week in NYC full of fascinating meetings—including one with a book author who said, “Your book isn’t about Wall Street. It’s about female financial empowerment.

You just happen to work on Wall Street.”

That was gold.

Back in Atlanta, life resumed its usual chaos when school started.

—college apps, football games, everything all at once.

Still, the creative itch lingered. I reached out to a book agent. 

She told me the same thing: You need an audience.

The markets are now running strong—AI-driven growth, Fed cuts, dollar weakness.

My daughter was crowned homecoming queen. Life feels full.

But here’s the truth I keep coming back to: we can’t do it all.

Focus is everything. Stop chasing being creative.

And maybe my biggest achievement this year wasn’t a business goal

—it was personal. 

My daughter read me her college essay prompt:

If you could write a book with anyone, who would it be and what would it be about?

She said she’d write a book with me—to teach financial literacy.

Maybe I didn’t hit my goal. But that moment made me realize something deeper: 

I'm coming home to my truth - 

I’m an economist and investor at heart. That's my alpha.

I appreciate you reading my stories and exploring life lessons here openly.

If you ever need someone to review your portfolio, I'm happy to help!

Thank you for reading!

Tiffany Kent

Your Friendly Wealth Engagement Guide

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