You never know where life is going to take you. During undergrad at San Francisco State University, I lived with a cousin who had recently graduated from the same school. One day, she invited me to an alumni dinner and although I was not fully convinced of the importance of going given it was so far outside of my normal activities, I hesitantly agreed.
On our way to the event, my cousin gave me a little bit of insight into the event: the host was David Steele and he would be talking about his time in the Bay Area and his dynamic career and background. I learned that he not only ran a financial planning company but had also founded a successful restaurant company. This alumni event was in fact being held at one of his restaurants. This made me especially curious, because at the time, while in school, I was working at a popular restaurant in San Francisco to help pay my rent. After spending many weekends in and around a professional kitchen, it made me appreciate the creativity and hard work that goes into a great dining experience. Throughout the course of the dinner, David talked about his unconventional journey to success in both starting and building One Wealth Advisors and as a restaurateur. Needless to say, I was inspired by his story. At the end of the dinner, muscled up the courage to talk to David Steele by working my way through the crowd of business alums that were eager to hand David their business cards. My only intention was to thank him for hosting, but we ended up sharing a brief conversation that led to an exchange of emails. This eventually led to an opportunity to intern with One Wealth Advisors and, well, the rest is history. I could not be happier with my professional direction.
When I accepted my cousins’ invitation and decided I should talk to this stranger about his career, I never imagined it would lead me to where I am today. David and Jonathan Steele always stress the power of unintentional networking simply by doing the things we enjoy and captivate us, as you never know how the people you meet will influence your journey.
