Welcome to another episode of the Conversations for Financial Professionals podcast where we are shaping the next generation of financial advice.   Today I talk with Michael G. Thomas Jr., Ph.D., who is an Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC®) and a lecturer at the University of Georgia. His research focuses on financial empathy and self-compassion, data visualization's effects on financial behavior, and the connection between brain function and money. Dr. Thomas's philosophy on how to effectively interact with money can be summed up in his Ted Talk: Financial Empathy: Understanding the Story Beneath the Numbers. Utilizing financial empathy as a process for active listening and the creation of client-focused financial recommendations are reflected in two financial literacy and capability programs he helped create: Money Dawgs and Discovering Money Solutions. Dr. Thomas is also the founder of Modom Solutions - a virtual financial coaching service he has been providing since 2015. He is also soon to be an author as he expects to release his forthcoming book, Black Financial Culture: Building Wealth from the Inside Out, in the fourth quarter of 2022.       In this episode, you'll discover: 🎙️Michael's story and how he discovered the financial planning profession 🎙️Why career changers make good candidates for the planning profession 🎙️What mental barriers new entrants face 🎙️How to leverage existing skills to flatten the learning curve 🎙️Using EQ over IQ 🎙️In your own words, what does the phrase "empathetic financial planning" mean to you?   Resources: Are you a current or aspiring financial professional?  Click here to join the Jumpstart community!Listen to previous podcast episodes, clicking here. Join our weekly newsletter, click here. Don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic episode updates for our "Conversations for Financial Professionals!" by clicking here. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your friends by using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. And, finally, please take a minute to leave us an honest review and rating on iTunes. They really help us out when it comes to the ranking of the show and I make it a point to read every single one of the reviews we get. Please leave a review right now, click here. Thanks again for listening, reading, and watching! If you enjoyed this podcast, I would love to hear your thoughts (CLICK HERE).