What I didn’t expect when I walked away from finance

After almost two decades in finance, I reached a point where I had simply had enough.

I was tired of thinking about money all the time. Investments, markets, products, performance, strategy. The constant focus on how to grow, optimise, leverage and sell.

I wanted distance from it.

At that point, I felt drawn to something very different. Through meditation, yoga and retreats, I started exploring a deeper side of life. Something quieter, more meaningful and more connected.

I began spending my time differently. Going to yoga, hiking in the Swiss mountains, enjoying art and culture, slowing things down. It felt like a different world.

I even trained as an energy coach, partly for myself. To reconnect, to understand my intuition better and also to support others on a deeper level.

For a while, it felt like I had moved beyond the material. Like I was stepping into something higher and more aligned.

But then I started working with clients.

And something interesting happened.

Almost everyone, in one way or another, wanted to talk about money.

Not always directly, but it was there.

Some were looking for a job, simply to feel stable and able to support themselves. Others had jobs but felt stuck, staying for the paycheck while quietly wanting something else.

Some did not even know what they wanted. They just knew they were not happy where they were.

Others were earning well but had no real structure around their finances. On paper everything looked fine, but internally there was no real sense of calm, control or security.

Some felt trapped in the cycle of working more, earning more, spending more, just to keep up.

And then there were those on the other end. Deeply spiritual, following their passion, living a life aligned with their values, but constantly under financial pressure, overwhelmed and stretched.

Different situations. Same underlying theme. And that is when something became very clear to me. You cannot really separate the two.

We live in a material world, whether we like it or not. And at the same time, we naturally look for meaning, purpose and something deeper. One without the other rarely works.

Because true calm and confidence do not come only from following your purpose. And they do not come only from having money either.

They come from having both. A sense of inner alignment and direction, and a feeling of stability and clarity in your external, financial reality.

When those two start working together, things begin to feel different. More grounded, more calm, more real.

And from there, you can actually move forward. Not pulled by pressure, but guided by something that makes sense for you.

If you recognise yourself in any part of this and feel like things are not fully aligned, you are not alone.

If you would like to explore where you are, talk things through or bring a bit more clarity to your situation, I would be very happy to connect.

Warm regards,
Yana Gusakova