K. Catherine Pate

I would say my most notable professional achievement is how proud I felt of having passed on the first try the Series 7 and all required exams to do financial planning. I am a first-generation college student, and like saying I fell in love during my money and banking course. My first and truest love was when I fell in love with the stock market.

In part, this developed as it came from looking at my family – having always been good savers, Nanna and Papaw had amassed about $250,000 through hard work and by putting it in the bank weekly. They made most of that from their CDs compounding in the late 70s and early 80s. I remember Nanna nearly crying when I was little because her 20% CD was maturing. She understood how that compounding had made them money. I thought, boy, if they'd had just a little bit of market expertise, they could have tripled, at least, if not quadrupled, that amount of money over time. That gave me a great desire and drive to help people, and help them understand, and be aware, and know what is out there, and to be a trusted advisor in a relationship like that. I'm most proud of that - I could not be more proud. People are letting you in and entrusting you with their blood, sweat, and tears, for your guidance, for your expertise, for you to lead them.

Another achievement I'm particularly proud of is helping a military soldier who had a covert gambling addiction. His wife didn't know. I finally said to him, as honestly as I could, 'You have got to tell your wife, because we're not going anywhere until you're open.' He had been over 6 months behind in car payments, and his wife didn't know it either. She was floored, but I believe she was able to handle it somewhat because she knew she had me as an ally to help support him, help him understand his triggers, and realize what he could do differently. I'm pretty proud of that, too. I saw first-hand what I had always believed to be true. In that moment by confidently following my instincts, I was able to ethically use trust as a means to the truth.

I must shine a light on three men who were greatly influential in my life: my daddy, Bill Pate, Jack Nickell, and Byard Gosch.

My daddy told me, before it was cool to say this, 'You can be anything, anything you want to be.' He never even brought up the girl thing; he just wanted me to know. He said, 'If you're gonna be a ditch digger, be a ditch digger. If you're gonna be a doctor, be a doctor, but do your best at it always.' That was foundational for me.

I was right out of college and got a gig at American College where I credit Jack Nickell for changing my life on an epic scale. Jack was the director of a business college. He knew I had graduated and knew my long-term aspirations, but he needed a recruiter for admissions and student success. He gave me my first huge confidence builder. Before every class module would begin, he would give his speech, and one day he asked me, 'You think you could do it? You've been watching me for 3-4 months. Do you think you could give my speech about perseverance and dedication; if you work hard and believe, you can do it?' The fact that he let me do that, and then made me a regular giving those speeches at night while he did the morning classes; let's just know he instilled a lot of confidence in me about myself.

Byard Gosch, Regional Manager, hired me. It was my first job in finance, and that's where I got my Series 7 and all my licenses. When I started with Ameriprise in financial planning, one of the key things he told me was, 'You know how you were taught to diversify a client's portfolio, right? You need to diversify your book of business.' That really stuck with me, because at the time I was a little resistant to life insurance out of my own ignorance and some beliefs I had. I didn't understand why it was so critical – he took the time to explain his reasoning, and it clicked. He also explained to me that he saw something in me that had influenced him in his decision to hire me; because of my determination, he knew one day I would make a lot of money for myself, the firm, and clients. I nearly cried at that… again, it solidified the confidence I had in myself. I am forever grateful to and for these early mentors.

If you have that fire, follow that dream. If it's in your belly, your gut, don't be afraid. Don't let naysayers try to detour you.

Depending on how you're starting out in the business, you may be cold calling and trying to get referrals. One of the things I learned is I was a little more sensitive than I needed to be, and I had to learn to have a little bit of a tougher shell - I'm not saying you have to turn into a total grump, but you have to let your shell toughen just a little bit. I remember a quote from my daddy: 'You got to let that water roll off your back, girl. You're paddling like hell underneath. But on the surface, you're gonna look calm, cool, and just let that water roll off.'

I'm very concerned about the rise in gambling abuse and addiction, particularly with all the sports betting we're able to do now. When I was living in Oklahoma, which is a rich environment for gambling addiction and abuse due to the plethora of casinos, I focused a lot of my time studying this. While it's supposed to be about 5% of the American population that has a gambling problem, I found it was more like 35-40% of my clients presenting with that issue. I fear that it's only going to be worse with all the sports betting and easy access.

I'm currently trying to study and possibly join universities’ NIL programs because I feel that's going to make some of these young people much more susceptible to gambling. :Let's say this athlete gets $2,000 from NIL money, they might think, 'Hey, I can start now.' That's why my current affiliation with an NIL-driven organization is so important to me - I want to help these high schoolers, college students, and young professionals being drafted into the pros. I want them to understand how to build a legacy and an estate. This way, they don't have to worry when they eventually leave their sport; be it whether they retire or because of a career-ending injury which could happen to anyone, anytime.

I would say ethics and integrity - be it a work ethic or personal commitment to what you do and to doing it right. You want to try to do it right. That's kind of a daddy thing - he taught me to do it right the first time, but as long as you're doing your best, you don't necessarily have to repeat yourself. I love people, and I love it when other people succeed. So, a big part of who I am is just the actual helping hand.

Also, I've been blessed with a certain level of intellect, and I’ve learned and believe you should reinvest in yourself. Continue your education. Keep learning and grabbing those certificates, or taking those workshops, doing that continuing education that's required - do it with zest, or have zeal about it. Because it is taking you one step closer to the next big success. There will be many successes if you do that. It won't just be the one big client, or the one client I solved this problem for - you get that under your belt, and then guess what? Here comes another.