Scott Danner is the CEO of Freedom Street Partners, a practice that supports financial advisors in their next career step and helps them explore all available paths to secure a fulfilling future. After 15 years practicing on an employee platform, Scott founded Freedom Street and took it from zero to 2 billion in assets under management in just five years. He is also the co-founder of the Chesapeake Virginia Wine Festival. 

After a traumatic event as a child, Scott became obsessed with security, safety, and justice. He wanted to work for the FBI from a young age, but he found a better outlet for that energy. In hindsight, he learned to see how his current profession ties back into that original goal.

He’s another great example in a long line of Gravity guests that’s used a pain point, a traumatic experience, or extreme challenge to inspire and influence the rest of his life in a positive way. It’s no easy feat, to be sure, but seeing and hearing stories like this are what helps other people going through these periods know that it’s possible to come out on top.

In a very conversational episode, we talk about how events from your childhood can shape your future life in unexpected ways, his career path as it relates to his passions, and self-belief through it all.

What Brett asks:

• [00:56] Tell me about who you were as a kid.
• [15:36] What was it like growing up with a parent who was a strict disciplinarian?
• [19:57] How did your mindset take shape as a young adult?
• [27:55] What is your current view of business like?
• [39:13] Where do you see it going?

Lesson for intentional living:  1-2 important lessons from Brett’s POV

• We can only judge our circumstances based on what we know. Scott’s life growing up was his father’s American Dream, but for Scott, it was just daily life – and, compared to what he saw around him, it wasn’t a whole lot. At the same time, that baseline is what gave him the capacity to dream bigger. Perspective, taking time to put yourself in the mindset, even the timeline, of other people, is so valuable.
• You can have a passion for something without making it a career. Scott was passionate about justice from a young age and wanted to work for the FBI, but when a career opportunity came up elsewhere and he met his future wife, he knew he could channel that passion in other ways that would still fulfill him.

Resources:

• [00:56] Tell me about who you were as a kid.
• [15:36] What was it like growing up with a parent who was a strict disciplinarian?
• [19:57] How did your mindset take shape as a young adult?
• [27:55] What is your current view of business like?
• [39:13] Where do you see it going?