Hey, I’m Tim, I live for random and sporadic displays of love, generosity, and kindness. I’m an author, a financial advisor, triathlete, Iron Man, traveler, wine enthusiast, son, father, brother, husband, grandfather, and I have a tremendous love for life.
I come from a very loving and large Midwest family with Midwest values being number five of six boys. The way I describe my family is upper lower middle class with attitudinal leanings towards upward mobility. Education, discipline, humor, respect, and responsibility were all equally important in the modest Gandy household. Realizing at the tender age of 17 that, while I was blessed with halfway decent brain power, I lacked the self-discipline to go straight from high school to college. So, I enlisted in the navy. After ten years of military service, I decided to try my luck in the private sector as a financial advisor.
Lesson in humility: Within 18 months of me becoming a financial advisor I was homeless and living in my 1989 Dodge Grand Caravan. I needed to make a mental shift.
On the surface none of what I learned in the Navy as an avionics technician applied to being a financial advisor. In the military they teach you to be responsible and dependable. But I still needed to learn that I needed to cease trying to control everything.
Then one day I heard something that changed my outlook. Sales is not something you do TO someone but FOR someone.
I went from homeless to homeowner over the next 18 months.
Along the way I had an “aha” moment. One of my clients leases a property to a charity where he is also an active volunteer. He told me “I can’t believe they pay me for doing this, I feel like I should be paying them.” It is with this spirit that I serve clients. The more I learn about my clients, the more interesting and creative ways I’ve found to help them.
