From Investment Banker and Advisor to Athlete and Entrepreneur – This Is Tracy’s Sarwa Story

When it doesn’t feel right, it’s time for a change.

Tracy Harmoush believed she landed her dream job when she got an offer from one of the biggest multinational investment banks in the world as soon as she graduated from University. After 10 years in the field, Tracy began to feel her commitment to the industry fade and punching into work daily felt monotonous. She then made a decision. 

Tracy shifted her career path from Investment Banker to Athlete & Entrepreneur, having also amassed over 200 thousand followers on Instagram along the way. Here is Tracy’s story in her own words:

“I remember getting this job and thinking that I’m the luckiest girl on the planet. But that wasn’t it.”

Having such an opportunity at 21 was very rare, especially for a woman on the trading floor. That being said, if the Tracy of today would give advice to anyone looking to launch his or her career, it would be: “Stick to what your gut tells you. Even though I was super excited to have landed such an opportunity, there was always a small voice in my head that said ‘is this really what YOU want?” I was good at what I do, yet slowly it started to dawn on me that no matter how many raises or promotions I got, I didn’t feel a true and genuine sense of fulfillment. 

I would look at people who were doing what I considered at the time a ‘basic job’ – not your traditional 9 to 5 corporate job – a job I would never have imagined would be a career choice of mine – and what struck me was that they may not have been working for a Tier A company, or making big bucks, but they were happy doing that job every day.  I got to thinking: That is what I should strive for, waking up every day, working on something I care about.

It was extremely hard to quit and leave a ‘cushiony’ job behind. How would anyone go from the comfort of a great pay into the unknown? I didn’t know how to tell my parents or my colleagues. Everyone was so proud of me for being in such a prestigious industry, it was difficult for me not to care about their opinion and what their view of success was, because after all, that was my view of success for so many years as well. 

I had a lot of unlearning to do, and with time, I finally was able to make the mental switch.

“One major challenge in shifting my career path was to park my ego aside. I had a lot of unlearning to do with regards to what true success really means.”

Leaving the only industry I was familiar with after 10 years scared me. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to sustain the lifestyle I had. However, a discussion with a friend of mine started to make me realize we don’t need nearly as much as we think we do. 

I was having lunch with a close friend of mine right after I left my job. We started discussing how to cut down on spending. Now that I didn’t have a steady income, one of the first things he told me to do was to let go of my personal trainer. My instant reaction was: no way, my training is not a luxury and I can’t give that up. But the more I thought about it the more I realized that I was spending a crazy amount a month on something that I could easily do myself, it’ll just require a bit more effort. Training may be a necessity but paying someone to walk me through it really isn’t.

When you are used to a certain lifestyle, you start to believe that everything you spend on is a necessity; that isn’t the case. When you are forced to budget, you all of a sudden realize how much you can cut out that you won’t even miss in the long run. Getting rid of my old views of what I want and focusing on what I need allowed me to focus on the real target, working towards an industry I could learn to love and put my heart in. I opted for fitness to start with, and that was my gateway into my current career and new life choices.

“With a little bit of discipline and some good budgeting tools, you can re-look at your financial habits and re-build healthy ones.”

Do I consider myself successful today? Doing something that I enjoy day in and day out is what success is to me. Hard work lead to motivation. And that motivation lead to passion for what I do. They go hand in hand. I would even add one more thing to the mix: the route to success is when your ambitions are so much bigger than you, that it starts to sound ridiculous. When I was back in finance, I never thought of becoming the next CEO. That ambition never occurred to me, and never interested me for that matter. But today, my ambitions are massive – there is no limit to what I believe I can do. 

If I had kids, this is what I would tell them.  

I would also want them to learn the value of money, and the hard work that goes behind it. Money should not be a difficult conversation or a taboo: the earlier you learn about it, the stronger your financial core and future is. I personally wish I was taught the importance of budgeting as a child. Something that I would very much like to do if I have kids of my own is to have them earn their allowance by performing small chores and activities. This would give them an understanding of financial intelligence from an early age since it is an integral part of their future, and something schools don’t teach.

“My Investment Strategy is simple: less risk, more long term. And this is my advice for anyone thinking of change.”

I would stay away from what I consider risky investments if you’re a part-time trader. I was a trader for the first 5 years of my finance career, so I definitely know the repercussions that come with active investing and trading if you’re not properly immersed in the markets or at least have a really good broker or investment advisor. An option could be to invest in something not very volatile, and hold on to it for the long-term. A good example would be a mutual fund or an ETF; They have lower risk than active trading since they are rooted in diversification and would help in generating higher passive income due to the low fees associated with them. With this type of investment, you put a long-term plan and stick to it. 

Beyond investing, as a general rule, my advice to a younger crowd would be: things will come at their own pace. Do not overthink, do not stress, and never tell yourself it is too late. I have 24-year old girls messaging me on Instagram telling me that they’re worried it’s too late for them to change their careers or to start training!

Everything you see on my Instagram, I started building at 31. Please stop telling yourself that you cannot do something: If you keep telling yourself that, eventually you will start to believe it. This is when you feel you are stuck. Whether it is a change in your path or you are starting to plan for your financial future, the best time to start is now. Don’t wait to feel motivated or inspired. The best kind of motivation comes AFTER you start. You’ll motivate yourself.

You are never too old or too young to change your life for the better, so stop overthinking and start doing.