August 2024 Spotlight:
Raising The Bar With Stephan Hess
Pole vaulting is all about raising the bar–literally! Here at Hess Financial, we’re showcasing Stephan Hess and his competitive spirit. As the world watched the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, read on to learn more about Stephan’s elevation. His past and present personal and professional pursuits may surprise you.
“There is nothing like the feeling of launching yourself over a bar and gracefully falling through the air onto a soft mat. The euphoric feeling from this accomplishment is short-lived, however, because every pole vaulter that does not achieve a personal PR knows that his or her day is going to end with three consecutive misses and a height that was not achieved. Next week you will just train more and try again.
I did ok as a high school pole vaulter but without any formal coaching I developed some terrible form – I loved it though and decided to become a “walk on” at a division 1 track program with a top-level pole vault coach. In time we fixed my problems. I was rewarded with 3 feet of improved heights and some scholarship money.
The pole vault requires you to suppress your core instinct for self-preservation and take uncomfortable levels of risk. There’s a lot of force and stored energy that you are trying to control, and errors can turn ugly quick. You get good at bailing out safely and then building up the courage to do it again.
If I developed any superpowers from vaulting, they would be discipline and pushing through the tough days. There were a lot of tough days, which is why we all must find our reason to push on. In the movie, “Talladega Nights”, Ricky Bobby is told, “If you ain’t first, you’re last”. My competitive drive comes from a different place. It is more about not giving up on yourself, the fear of regret and not trying, genuine curiosity and discovering what is possible, and most importantly having fun.
Like most people, I lacked confidence in many areas of my life. The discovery that progress and accomplishment were just byproducts of consistent effort and following a process was a gamechanger for me. I applied this formula to many things that I wasn’t good at, or never tried before, including public speaking, German fluency, Earning the CFP®, rental property, raising children, marathons, and Ironman triathlons. If you think about it, there is really no shortage of hard things to do, so long as you have a tolerant spouse.
What I’m most proud of, however, is the creation of Hess Financial. Financial success is also just the byproduct of extra effort and discipline, but the personalized mentoring and thorough planning necessary to help others achieve this was falling way short in my opinion. Something needed to be done so why not fire up another big challenge. Hess Financial went fully independent and set a high bar. After 12 plus years we have assembled a truly extraordinary team of likeminded overachievers and work closely with a great group of clients. One of the key characteristics we look for when hiring is a strong desire for personal challenge and intellectual curiosity. We must be doing something right.
It seems to me that achieving new heights just unlocks new doors that you didn’t even know existed. My coach in high school just needed someone at the last minute to score a single point for the team. Who knew what it would lead to.”
🎉 Congratulations to Sara Kate Garman! 🎉
We would like to give a big round of applause to Sara Kate Garman from our Planning Team for passing the CFP® exam! This is a monumental achievement and a testament to her hard work and dedication. We are incredibly proud of her and excited to see how her new certification will bring even more expertise and excellence to our team.
Please join us in celebrating Sara Kate’s success and wish her continued achievements in her career!
