Transcription:
Transcripts are generated using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and may contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio for the authoritative record.
Justin L. Mack (00:04):
Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening. Welcome to the Financial Planning Podcast. I'm your host, Justin L. Mack, and that is the last time I'm going to get to do that intro, at least for the foreseeable future. If you're listening to this podcast, it means that my time as a member of the financial planning editorial team has come to an end. And don't worry, nothing bad happened to me or anything like that. There's no hard feelings. There weren't any newsroom fistfights or anything like that, which would be difficult to do considering I work remotely. It's just that I'm very much a journalist and reporter by heart and by nature, along with doing it for work. And there's a new big story bubbling up in my own personal life that I need to go chase and put a byline on, a new opportunity that I need to go make the most of.
(00:52)
And unfortunately, there's only one of me and I can't do everything as much as I try, and I can't be everywhere as much as I would like to. So it means that I've got to move on. I've got to pass the mic of the FP pod to someone else. So what's this episode going to be about? Well, it's going to be short, and I want to talk about where we've been, where we are and where we're going. The most important part to me is that we're still going places. The FP pod isn't ending. I'm just stepping out so someone else can step in and take it to even higher heights. More on that later. But first, where we've been. Well, without realizing it, I looked up and saw that it's been nearly two years since I took over as host and lead editorial producer of the Financial Planning Podcast, making my debut on the mic as host in March, 2022.
(01:39)
And throughout that time, we've done exactly 50 episodes on the head, a nice round number. I didn't do that by intention, but I really love how nice and neat that came together just on its own 50 episodes, actually, 51, if we count my very first appearance on the show, which was as a guest when FP Chief Correspondent Tobias Salinger was the host of a podcast, and he was having me on to introduce me to the audience that I would spend a lot of time with talking to and learning from and getting to know over the next two years or so. So yeah, 50 episodes. It's crazy. And we've talked to advisors and WealthTech solutions providers and behavioral finance experts and pro athletes and all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds that have touched this industry in different ways. And it's been so much fun.
(02:33)
I felt bad calling doing this podcast work every time that I signed on and signed off because all I really did was find interesting people, talk to 'em, learn cool stuff about 'em, and then share that conversation with all of you. It's been a blast, and I'm going to miss doing that a whole lot, but you're going to get more of that in the future. I'm going to put a pause on it as far as worth where we are. Part of the show, it's going to be a hiatus while the Financial Planning editorial team remixes the podcast with a new host, a new focus, a new energy. And I know it's going to be awesome. I'm still going to be a listener. Still subscribe to the podcast wherever you get your podcast, Spotify, Apple Play on the good old Financial Planning website. Just keep tuning in the conversations with the leaders that you care about most.
(03:20)
That same energy, that same passion, that same heart. It isn't going anywhere. It'll be a lot more good times and a lot more good vibes. And with that, I actually want to transition to something that has become customary here on the Financial Planning Podcast. And it sure as heck isn't going to stop just because this is my last episode, which is ending with some good vibes. And every episode that I've had, I've really enjoyed just the genuine connection I've had with people. And then after a few episodes, I started this tradition where the final question I would ask everyone I have on is, what do you love most about this job? What do you love most about what you do? What keeps you coming back day after day, year after year, decade after decade, in the cases of some of the extremely experienced people I've had on the show, and my goal was just to end on a high note of positivity.
(04:09)
So I ask myself, what do you love most about what you do? What do you love most about what you've done as host of the FP Pod. And really, it's just talking to strangers and connecting with the people that populate this Earth. It's what I love most about this business, and I want to thank everyone who's come on the show, everyone who's listened. Also want to thank all the people who've helped power this show over the years. Shout out to Kellie and Wen and Kevin, you guys probably don't want shout outs and give 'em to you anyway. You can't stop me. What are you going to do? Fire me? I kid, I'll miss you all. Thank you so much for making this so much fun that it didn't feel right to call it work. And listeners keep supporting the Financial Planning editorial team. Keep checking out the work they're doing because they have so much great stuff in store for 2024. Like I said, it's a lot of bittersweet taste in my mouth. I'm going to miss out on all of it, but I know the next chapter of the podcast is going to be even better. I just hope that I did a decent job of looking after it and taking care of it for the past two years or so. So with that, I'll keep it short, which is new for me, for those who know me and simply say, for Financial Planning, I'm Justin Mack. Be excellent to each other and I'll see you down the road.