We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jeanie Alessandrini a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jeanie, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I can tell you clearly where it doesn’t come from. It did not come from my upbringing, my family, and I did not see it modeled for me as a child. I believe I was born with it. I say this because at 5 years old I had to be resilient when my father passed away and my entire world was turned upside down physically, emotionally, and financially. Although I lost my dad physically, I was told by my Aunty that he was in heaven watching over me. I didn’t understand what that meant, but it still gave me comfort knowing he was always there, and I wanted to make him proud. At home all hell broke loose literally. My brothers were hippie musicians, my mom too was a musician and lounge singer. They had parties with drinking and drugs and were constantly bringing home different “overnight guests”. It was obvious there was something really wrong and my family was nothing like anyone else’s family. They slept till noon and a hot breakfast was coffee and cigarettes. Not a household of good role models, and with little to no resiliency at all.
There was little to no concern for my well being, safety, or future. I lost track of the times that I woke up in the middle of the night and there was nobody home. My mom was singing in a night club for work, and my brothers would get so drunk and stoned and forget that I was even home. I would look around the house and would find nobody home. Being afraid I would phone a neighbor who would come get me and bring me to their home and leave a note on the door. Nobody would even come to get me the next morning! I would come home and nobody would even ask where I was and never saw the note!
My mother was not a believer at all, nor was her immediate family, and they preyed upon my mom and took advantage of her situation. She turned to a male cousin of hers who swindled my father’s legacy away from our family. We went from owning a beautiful home with marble floors, heart shaped swimming pool, 5 bedrooms, and new cars to a low – class lifestyle. I had to attend a new school in kindergarten and the kids at the new school were brutal. From there my mom moved us 6 more times. That meant 6 schools to be teased for being the new kid, being the poor kid, and the only white kid. By the 6th grade I was so tired of the bullying and the fact that the instructors, and school leaders were doing nothing about it; that I took matter into my own hands. I became violent and made alliances with Hispanic gangs in the schools for protection. All the while the schools, other kid’s families, and my own family stood by doing nothing. I believe that God gave me that grit and spirit to fight for self- preservation, and to be able to negotiate with “the enemy” and win them over to create partnerships.
There is no reason from my upbringing and background as to why I am resilient, happy, and successful. My only answer is that God had his plan for me and separated me from the rest of my family. Psalm 139:16-18 You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book! 17-18 How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly!
I was blessed to have met the love of my life Dennis Naples when I was in my early 30s. He has been a great source of inspiration and encouragement. When I am going down the wrong path he instructs and guides me. If I am in a downward spiral he recognizes it immediately and prays with me and for me. With his love and wisdom, I have become even more resilient and fearless in so many areas of my life. I am truly blessed to be a child of the living God.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I love what I do daily and find it difficult to call it work. It is my calling. I am now able to ensure that what happened to my family after my father’s passing will not happen to other vulnerable widows. Therefore, I am drastically changing lives and partnering with people to keep them from making huge mistakes by relying on their emotions to make decisions. My work is multigenerational. It effects not just the client in front of me today, but potentially several generations to come if they are good stewards of God’s provisions. You see I believe that the entire world and everything in it belongs to God. (Psalm 50:12b)…for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
I have coined a term “preventative financial care”, which means just what it does in health care. If we can ensure our financial health and stewardship, we can avoid becoming financially ill, or bad off. Planning is at the heart of it and begins on what is the most important thing to the client and is founded on their values. If fail to plan, you plan to fail is a motto that I live by. Luke 14:28 But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? 29 Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. 30 They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’
What’s got me so on fire currently is that I’m going to be testing for a new designation, (these are the letters that go behind my title of Financial Advisor), It is the Certified Kingdom Advisor. A Certified Kingdom advisor, (CKA®) , is a special financial advisor equipped to intergrade biblical and financially counsel through intense professional training. As a CKA® I balance the spiritual with the strategic to create the best possible financial plan for individuals, their businesses and families.
Where you put your money reflects what you value. As a Christian, I believe that everything we have is a gift from God, and we are commanded to be good stewards. We want our resources to display the goodness of God through values such as generosity, honesty, and justice. However, it can be difficult to be confident that our finances are aligned with our morals. Unfortunately, Wall Street often struggles with corruption, and many companies have less than ethical practices. So how do you know if your money is being handled well? With this additional training I pray to now be able to be viewed as a trusted partner for Christian as well as all clients to ensure that they steward their resources with integrity. Proverbs 15:22 Without counsel, plans fail; but with many advisors they succeed.
I am also an advocate for The Walk To End Alzheimer’s. I don’t have anyone close to me who has ever had the disease. However, my firm, Edward Jones, signed on as National Sponsor and has committed to $50 million dollars in 10 years. We are in the 8th year and have raised over $46 million so far. I became interested myself to get more involved after seeing the numbers. They are breathtaking. I have a walk team, Team Hermosa, and rally people together to join me in fundraising and raising awareness to fight the disease and find a cure. It kills more people than breast and prostrate cancer combined. In California alone, 1 in 3 people will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or other dementia. Currently the disease is costing $360 billion dollars to treat. By 2050 the costs could reach over $1 Trillion dollars. It destroys relationships and financial futures. The two things that we work so hard to build. Nobody has ever survived it, and I want to be part of finding that cure and seeing that first survivor!
If you would like to be part of Team Hermosa and help us in this fight, or just want more information and resources please visit http://act.alz.org/goto/TeamHermosaPier. My team is hosting a fundraiser at Rock & brews in Redondo Beach on October 9th at 6pm. We will hold a silent auction, 20% of all food and beverages will be donated by the venue, and we will also have the opportunity to paint your favorite rock start on canvas. You can leave with a great fun painting and the large majority of those proceeds will go towards finding a cure.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Spite, Grit, and Faith. These were the words that came to mind after getting this question. My mom always told me that I could do anything that I wanted. But when I did start down a path, she would say, “what are you thinking”, or “why did you think you would do that?” Or ,” you can’t do that, or that will never work. ” I would get so angry for the contradiction, but it fueled me to say, “I’ll show you!” That was my, “I’ll succeed in spite of the banana peels uphill in the snow”, way of being resilient as a child. In school instructors would be much more encouraging and tell me things like, “just because it has never been heard of or done, doesn’t mean it can’t be accomplished.” However we moved so often I never had much of a relationship or any memories of any particular instructor that encouraged me. But I still accomplished what I set out to do as a child through my own grit.
I put faith to the test last year when I battled and beat breast cancer naturally. I refused all hospital and medical treatments. My husband Dennis and I prayed for a natural remedy. A lot of weird things showed up, and I did them all. After relenting and having the lumpectomy the pathology showed, NO CANCER PRESENT! But you see I had my focus on God who created all things and gave us everything that we need to prosper. Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision of God, the people perish. He answered our prayers and delivered me. All glory to God in the highest!
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
The book that has had the most impact in my development is the Bible. It is believed to have been in existence for over 3000 years. What makes it so impactful is that the word of God is living. Hebrews 4:12-13 states, For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. While I was first reading and studying it, my life and worldview began to change without me attempting to change it. My world view changed drastically after studying more deeply into verses like Proverbs 2-:18, Where there is no vision, the people perish. Meaning that with no vision of God before you, you may cast of restraint. This phrase is often used to emphasize the importance of having a clear vision or goal in life.
One of my favorite books in the Bible are Proverbs, from the Old Testament, which is a book of ancient wisdom, and Romans in the New Testament. The book of Romans is a powerful theological discourse that teaches the following:
The need for human rescue
Jesus is our only salvation
We experience God in our suffering
There is no rejection, no condemnation and no separation for those in Christ Jesus
God is sovereign in salvation and we must share the gospel
Believers are called to love our neighbors and help the weak
God will not give up on his covenant people
Love heals and unifies Jesus’ family
I didn’t believe any of this for the first 30 years of my life, but God intervened right when things became the darkest in my life, and in a very unique way. I was lead to Christ through booking heavy metal bands to play in clubs. One of which was a Christian band named Precious Death. The lead singer and his wife discipled me, prayed for me and guided me in the right direction. It saved my life and my soul. For this I am eternally grateful to God for sparing me and separating me as his elect.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.edwardjones.com/jeanie.alessandrini
- Facebook: The book of Romans is a powerful theological discourse that teaches the following12345: The need for human rescue Jesus is our only salvation We experience God in our suffering There is no rejection, no condemnation and no separation for those in Christ Jesus God is sovereign in salvation and we must share the gospel Believers are called to love our neighbors and help the weak God will not give up on his covenant people Love heals and unifies Jesus’ family
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanie-alessandrini-crpc%E2%84%A2-financial-advisor-b6459423/
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