The Unlived Life: How to Build a Financial Practice You’ll Never Want to Retire From
What if the business you’re building isn’t just about assets under management or client retention, but about creating a life you’re actually excited to live?
That’s the concept at the heart of what Wes Young calls “the unlived life”, the version of you that’s waiting to emerge once you stop living by default and start designing with intention. For financial advisors, this isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity.
If you’ve ever felt stuck in “maintenance mode” or like your growth has stalled despite your success, this blog is for you.
What Is the “Unlived Life”?
Coined from a quote in The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, the “unlived life” is everything that lies just beyond the status quo, the goals, visions, and ideas you’ve put off because they seemed too uncertain or too different from what you're doing now.
For advisors, that might look like:
- Transitioning from a product-driven model to a planning-first practice
- Restructuring your team so you can focus on relationships, not logistics
- Letting go of low-fit clients to make space for deeper work
- Finally writing that book, launching that podcast, or offering the workshop you've been thinking about for years
The gap between where you are and where you want to be never truly goes away. But that’s not a problem, it’s the fuel.
3 Pillars for Designing a Practice You Love
Whether you’re just getting started or reevaluating your business at mid-career, here are three principles that can help you shift from being “busy” to being deeply fulfilled.
1. Start by Defining Your Rich Life
Too often, advisors help clients plan for a rich life, but don’t take the time to define one for themselves.
Take an hour to do this exercise:
- Picture your ideal day, three years from now.
- What are you doing?
- Who are you helping?
- How are you spending your time, energy, and attention?
This isn’t fluff. It’s strategic clarity. Once you know what you’re working toward, it becomes easier to reverse-engineer the business model that supports it.
2. Balance “Normal” and “New”
Transformation doesn’t mean burning it all down. It means holding tension between what’s working and what could be better.
Start small:
- Test a new onboarding experience
- Reframe client reviews around life goals, not just performance
- Adjust your calendar to protect creative thinking time
Growth happens when we get uncomfortable in the right ways. If something feels just a little too big or too bold, that’s usually the sign you’re on the right track.
3. Use Gratitude as Fuel, Not a Finish Line
There’s a difference between contentment and complacency.
When you reflect on what you've built, it gives you confidence to keep going. Use that gratitude as a grounding force and let it energize your next level of ambition.
This is how you stay in the game, not because you have to, but because you want to.
Questions to Ask Yourself ✍️
- What’s one part of my business that no longer aligns with the life I want?
- What would I change if I wasn’t afraid of getting it wrong?
- Where am I defaulting to “busy” instead of being intentional?
Final Thought
You don’t have to wait until you burn out or hit a wall to make changes. You can start now. Redesign. Realign. Reclaim the energy you had when you first stepped into this profession.
Because the real goal isn’t just to build a business worth selling, it’s to build a life worth living through that business.
Want More?
In future episodes of From Busy To Rich, Wes and Justin Lakin will dive deeper into the frameworks, strategies, and mindset shifts that have helped them, and countless other advisors, build thriving businesses and meaningful lives.
Ready to take the next step in your journey?
Connect with Wes Young and Justin Lakin:
