Sister of Impact: Meet Financial Strategist and Wealth Coach Marieme Faye

Ms. Marieme Faye, Financial Strategist and Wealth Consciousness Expert

Today, it’s my pleasure to introduce on the blog a lady dear to my heart, and an extraordinary woman I’m thankful to know! Our Sister of Impact this week is Financial Strategist and Wealth Consciousness Expert Marieme Faye, who is speaking to us about her coaching career, how to live an abundant life, and why you may be your biggest road block on your way to success!

1. Dear Marieme, welcome to the blog! Can you tell us a bit about you and what you do?

Thank you for being an inspiring and empowering voice for women! I am honored to be a guest on your blog.

I was born and raised in Sénégal, West Africa. I am my mother’s oldest child; I have six siblings and five half-siblings from my father’s side. I am a loving sister, a daughter and the lucky aunt of five amazing nieces and nephews.

I am the woman who failed a “million” times on my way to self- empowerment, personal success and living my life’s purpose. Failures make a woman wise and experienced; they are stepping-stones to worthy achievements.

I am a Financial Strategist & Wealth Consciousness Expert with Wealthy Women Academy & Richésse Financial who loves speaking, mentoring and coaching others to live up to their true potential, to be happy “now” and create lasting wealth in their life and business.

2. What has led you to a coaching career, and what do you love about this career path?

One word: Life.

A few years ago, my dad sent me to Boston to go to school. I later found out that his underlying reason was to “get rid of me” as his new bride could not stand my presence in their life. I was my family’s advocate and did my best to protect my mother and siblings after my parents’ divorce. My new stepmother didn’t like the fact that I still had a soft place on my father’s heart; she made sure that he sent me far away.

I found myself living in a foreign country where people spoke a language that I had to master in order to integrate myself in my new environment as well as excel in school. I had to learn to live in the midst of strangers, I felt exiled from my loved ones and all the comfort, lifestyle and culture I knew. That was getting way out of my comfort zone!

Life was stressful. I felt lonely, untrained to live in my new environment and completely irresponsible with money (my father allowed me to spend his money but he never got a chance to teach me how to manage it, save it or invest it).

On top of that, I inherited my mom and six siblings as my dad “abandoned” us to our own fate and decided he would no longer send me money or help my mom financially other then giving her a mediocre divorce settlement that was only used to buy food.

My mom depended solely on me to help her start her new life. Our cultural tradition states  the oldest child must take care of the family’s needs when necessary, my siblings were too young to help out, so the burden of providing and taking care of my family fell on my shoulders. I became a head of household. My life was never the same from that point on.

I joined the workforce and worked really hard to take care of my basic needs and send the bulk of my money to my mom so she could raise my siblings decently.

I lost “myself” in the process. I felt like a zombie, waking up every day doing the same thing over and over again. Life lacked purpose and I was heartbroken.

Because of my pain of being away from the people I loved the most, the heavy obligation I felt providing for my family working harder than anyone I knew, adapting to my new environment, waking up every day to go to jobs I hated and blaming my dad for my life’s misery; I was a “human bomb” ready to explode and give up on this life because it didn’t make sense anymore, it didn’t matter, it was useless and so was I…so I thought until I discovered the world of personal development.

A world filled with people who not only took responsibility for their life’s’ creations but were committed to pay the price to create the best version of themselves and be of service to humanity. I felt alive again. I attended events, seminars, retreats, spent time, money and energy in the pursuit of “discovering myself” and “what my purpose in life was”. I hired my first coach and found myself on a new path, a path that was filled with hope, growth, Ahas moments, expansion, LIFE as well a sprinkle of breakdowns and breakthroughs along the way. I was fascinated by all the amazing things I was learning and found joy in helping others positively transform their lives, evolve, grow, discover their true divine self and live up to their true potential.

With a background in Finance, I worked in the financial industry throughout the years. My career although not soul satisfying, awakened a desire in me to serve others on a deeper level. As I was consulting with families and individuals on their finances, I could not bear the thought of people living in poverty, unfulfilled, unhappy and not using their God given gifts and talents. Strategies and advices were easy to come up with but some people struggled with implementation because of whom they were, what they were feeling and how they were living their lives. This was one of the catalysts that led me to be a professional coach and mentor in the realm of money, wealth, personal success and personal fulfillment.

Life is meant to be joyful and fully experienced; we as human beings are meant to grow, shine, prosper and be happy. Children demonstrate this very well; observe them. Their innocence, authenticity and joie de vivre make them very inspiring.

Every event, every experience, every heartache, every pain I felt, every joyful moment, every challenge I overcame and every victory I had led me to my current career and made me who I am today.

I love seeing the light in people’s eyes when they have breakthroughs, I love witnessing their transformation and I am always honored to be of their journey and evolution.

That was a long answer! 🙂

Photo credit: spiritualinspiration.tumblr.com

3. For others aspiring to the same career, what advice do you have?

Go for it! Follow your heart; your desires are your “compass” to your life’s calling and purpose. Spend some time asking yourself soul-stirring questions like:

What do I really want to do for the rest of my life?

What brings me joy?

What fulfills me?

What do I love doing so much that I “could” do it for free all day?

What gets me so excited that I can’t wait for the sun to rise again in the morning so I can do it all over again?

How do I want to serve others?
In what shape and form do I want to do it?
What/ how would that look like, sound like, feel like?

These types of questions will give your “clues” as to what your life’s purpose is. The answer will definitely come from your heart and the good news is that you already know what it is. You might just need to quiet your mind so you can hear the whispers of your soul. Meditation can help, start with five to ten minutes of silence and quiet a day.

I will also have you consider that you are already a coach in some area of your life. I have always been a coach and a mentor to my family and friends for as long as I can remember. I have always been naturally good at solving other people’s problems. I just wasn’t being compensated for it. Now I am getting paid to do what I love, to serve others.

Take some time to think about it, figure out what you are naturally good at, write down the experiences that have changed you, describe the pain that you have been through and how you overcame your life’s challenges, most importantly pay attention to your desires because they will guide you to your life’s purpose. If you want to accelerate your results, hire a coach who resonates with you.

4. As a woman in the coaching business, and especially as a woman of color, what obstacles have you or do you still face to flourish in your field?

The greatest obstacle to my own success and personal growth was “me” and will always be me. I get to play small or big. Only I can choose to allow my fears, doubts, worries, and other people’s opinions to stop me or use them as fuel for success.

There was a time when I thought that I was “limited” and was not given opportunities to flourish because I was a black woman and to top things a black African woman who speaks several languages and had an accent. In the city I live, I was surrounded by brilliant women and in their midst I could not “see” my own worth or even stand in my personal power as the brilliant loving and smart woman I am. I doubted myself a million times, questioned my value a billion times. I gave up on myself and on my dreams several times throughout my career for a moment…the whispers of my soul were always louder than my own limitations and I just knew that my purpose was bigger than me. I knew that I was born to be who I am today and there are specific people that I am here to serve. It became personal, it was like following a divine commandment that I could not say “no” to.

You must learn to know yourself, know who you are, know your worth, know your value so that you can have the Courage to keep going when you feel like you have nothing left in you. That is why I use daily tools and mind
shifting exercises to coach my clients to own their true power, be self- empowered and have the confidence and faith to just do what must be done to reach their goals.

Some people will discourage you, some will prosecute you; the more it happens the more I know that I am on the right path. I have mainly worked in a male dominated industry throughout my career, but I never let it put me down because my job on earth is bigger than any obstacle, challenge, trial and prosecution that I face.

The more I evolve, the stronger I become, the less the challenges, obstacles and critics affect me. Know yourself, know your worth, know your “WHY” and you will overcome your perceived barriers and limitations.

Photo credit: todaybestquotes.com

5. How have you overcome these obstacles/challenges?

I believe that the only real limitations are the ones you “impose” on yourself mostly subconsciously. Yes, there are things that you may never have control over; gladly surrender to them God or to your higher power.

My best advice to overcome challenges is to truly really deeply know yourself, so that you will know how to deal with those challenges when they show up.

By knowing yourself I mean, know who you are, know who you are not, know your values, know your principles, know what you like and dislike, know your boundaries, know what makes you passionate, know your relationship with your creator or higher power, know your habits, know your strengths and your weaknesses, know what you care and don’t care about.

To paraphrase Jack Canfield; Events are always neutral, your reactions and actions to the events will determine their outcome and impact in your life. Thus your reactions and actions towards your challenges will determine their outcome and impact in your life.

Challenges don’t ever completely go away. As you evolve and grow you will have new challenges to overcome. As you work on yourself and stand in your personal power; you will see the challenges as opportunities to strengthen

yourself and reach new levels of growth and greatness in your life. Your response to challenges will be different as you change your perspective and know that you have the ability to use empowering tools and resources. A coach/mentor can help you guide you in this process.