Niti Nadarajah, Coach, DEI Expert and Freelance General Counsel at Coaching by Niti

“Your horoscope says you’ll do really well in your career and earn lots of money.” I recall vividly my dad’s words as he explained what my horoscope foretold. I was a teenager at the time and therefore money and career meant little to me, but the joy and pride I saw reflected in my dad’s face as he spoke became a guiding light for me as I ventured into the world of corporate law.

I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up, so the quest for validation from my parents – enjoying a successful, lucrative career – guided many of my career decisions. As I climbed the corporate ladder, I earnt more money, gained more titles and from an outward perspective was the picture of success. Truthfully, I didn’t really have to think about money as I earnt enough to live very comfortably and yet also save.

It wasn’t until the pandemic that I started to question whether the life I had built was one of “success”. I was deeply unhappy in my role, frustrated by the lack of social impact in my career and craving soul-nourishing fulfilment. However, the idea of starting something new; of risking my financial freedom; of perhaps struggling to make ends meet, was equally as daunting and held me back from taking a step forward.

That inertia only stopped when I began to question whether passion and financial security needed to exist on two opposite ends of a spectrum and realised that perhaps I could enjoy both.

What I have come to now appreciate is that my business is really no different from a financial portfolio. Diversifying my risk by building multiple revenue streams has helped me to ensure long-term viability and reduce the financial stress I might have otherwise felt, venturing into the unknown world of coaching and facilitation.

Equally as important has been the realisation that earning money is like a plateau curve. For a while, an incremental increase in earnings can result in a corresponding increase in one’s happiness as it leads to greater creature comforts and choice, but at a point, unless the increment is accompanied by a sense of happiness in one’s chosen career path, the increase can become meaningless. This realisation helped me to view the short-term financial “shortfall” created by my career move less as a financial loss and more as an investment in my happiness.

That combination of financial security and fulfilment, driven by the impact I now create, leaning into my personal values and living my life intentionally, is now how I define “true wealth”.