Based in Nashville, Tennessee, and Palo Alto, California, Jessica Jung, CFP®, is the founder of Vast Wealth Advisors, serving high-net-worth individuals, businesses, and families. She specializes in developing and implementing carefully designed strategies that help clients align their resources with their goals. She is a member of the Financial Planning Association, an ambassador for FINSECA, and a board member of Partners Financial. Her charitable involvement includes supporting Autism Speaks, St. Jude’s Hospital, Nashville Rescue Mission, and The Special Olympics. Outside of her professional life, Jessica is an accomplished classical pianist, a pickleball player, fitness & health enthusiast, and a lifelong learner.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
Start with gratitude and intention followed by meditation then matcha latte. Get ready while listening to a podcast or audiobook. Team meeting to set initiatives for the day then intense work with minimal breaks. After an intense work day, I’ll do a HIIT class or play pickleball. Spend 5 to 45 minutes reading or learning a language on Duolingo. Learning Italian, French, and brushing up on my Korean.
How do you bring ideas to life?
The same way I bring financial strategies to life. I map out the entire plan in my head then break it down into bite sized, executable pieces. Then share the action items with my team.
What’s one trend that excites you?
The use of AI and technology to improve technology. AI note takers give me back valuable time every day. The wide adoption of Zoom and Teams reduces my need to travel so I have added hours back to my day.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
Reading constantly. I started reading books at a very young age. By age 10, I was reading adult books like Stephen King. Since I’m reading all the time, I consume and retain information very quickly.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Work on emotional mastery sooner. When you have control your emotions, you have control over your life. When you have the power to choose your reaction to any situation then you can better influence the outcome. I attended my first Tony Robbins conference called Unleash the Power Within 12 years ago which led me down a path of intense personal work. Personal development is not taught in school but it should be. After attending 18 Tony Robbins conferences in 5 years, I started looking at other things to do. Landmark, Keith Cunningham, Alison Armstrong, Dan Sullivan’s Coaching. I also invested in a life coach and business coach. I still meet with my business coach every 2 weeks.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?
An alcohol free life is a better one. I love waking up feeling fresh and energized with no hangover. However, I understand that alcohol is part of our social and business worlds. No judgment. It is just not for me.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
I dedicate time to self love activities. Massage, spa days, self care routine, keeping my environment beautiful and clean, eat healthy, stay hydrated, work out, and buy myself jewelry.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
Breathwork, meditation or prayer, positive self talk and I listen to or read inspiring content. It is important to feed your mind with inspiration, stories of triumph, acts of love. Sometimes we need to reminded of all the beauty and good in this world and the resilience of the human spirit. Watching or reading about someone who has overcome the impossible puts my life in perspective as I’m filled with admiration and awe of that person’s strength and resolve.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
Learning from the best. I shortened my learning curve by always partnering with top professionals who are the best in their field. When I first started my career at Morgan Stanely I was 25 years old and looked 17. In a business where wisdom and age are revered I wanted to look older to have credibility so I wore glasses and put my hair in a bun. However, that was not enough so I built relationships with the top 5 financial advisors who were older and experienced. They were my credibility when I started giving seminars to women business owners. I did all the work and I was given the privilege of putting their name next to mine in the invitation.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
Taking on the wrong client. He was interested in more than a professional relationship and the repeated rejection made him lash out in ways that hurt my career. When I was 25, I believed enduring discomfort was simply part of being a woman in a male-dominated industry. Now I know that professionalism must be mutual and that no role, client, or opportunity is worth compromising personal safety or dignity. The experience taught me the importance of clear boundaries, self-advocacy, and speaking up, not just for myself, but for other women navigating similar environments.
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Get a business coach. All of the most successful professionals I know have a coach. Even Tony Robbins, the coach to billionaires and presidents, has a coach. Just as the most elite athletes all have a coach, if you want to reach the highest levels in business, the right business coach will keep you on point.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
ChatGPT. It provides data analytics that would take hours to complete by hand. ChatGPT gives us back hours in our day by increasing productivity.
What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?
How about best $200? The Whoop. It tracks all of your health metrics such as steps, caloric burn, sleep. I’m already very health conscious but the Whoop has been a gamechanger for me. I initially bought it to track how many calories I was burning when playing pickleball. During the days I play 3 to 5 hours, my energy levels would fall off a cliff and I would feel completely depleted since I had not eaten enough. I eat more nutrient dense, higher calorie foods on the days that I play, and I’m able to match the calories to how much I need. I pay close attention to the quality of sleep I get every night. Being in optimal health is an important factor for success. I am more productive and efficient at work when I’m well rested, hydrated, and energized with healthy, whole foods. There is a direct correlation between my health and performance at work. I have noticed that the healthier I became, the better I performed at work. Strategies that would take me hours, I could create in a matter of minutes. I could attribute some of this to experience but the speed in which I complete things was noticeably faster.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
Favorite book: Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. The concept of your circle of influence or mastermind was reinforced. Since I was a kid, my parents have been telling me to choose my friends wisely. Tony Robbins says you become like the five people you spend the most time with. I have several mastermind groups where I can engage with other like minded professionals. The support and wisdom shared in these groups have fostered so much growth and innovation. A recurring theme in the book is mastery of your emotions and thoughts and the importance of feeding your mind with positive and inspirational content.
Favorite podcast: I’ve been listening to David Ghiyam. His focus is manifestation.
YouTube: I mostly watch pickleball videos of the professional players who are the best in the world.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
Physical Asia. This is a spin off of Physical 100 where the top athletes in South Korea compete and complete challenges that test not only their athleticism but also their mindset. In Physical Asia, the best athletes from multiple countries come together to compete. This series is more about collaboration and the importance of teams.
Key learnings
- When you control your emotions, you control your life.
- There’s a measurable correlation between physical wellbeing and professional output.
- Read constantly, surround yourself with inspiring content, and curate your circle of influence.