Singing is a joy, a passion for Olivia Mellan. In college she loved being in plays and creating spoof songs. This coed came of age at a time of the Vietnam protests and women’s rights movement just as Ozzie and Harriet had wound down on television.

The world of finance, was “A Man’s World.” Facts and figures dominated. Investments and Wall Street were private affairs. Isolated from women and any discussions beyond the precise tangible numbers, there was no room for a conversation involving feelings.

Enter Olivia Mellan. She is the forbearer of a movement that tied together emotions and money. She realized that no one had touched on money in the therapeutic process. And certainly financial professionals were not talking on the emotional level. There were some people whose only emotional reference around money was greed.

She recognized that Money was the last taboo that therapists were talking about in their emotional exploration with clients. As a result, she instigated groundbreaking conversations in the field in Money Psychology. Money Psychology is the process of acknowledging your emotions interwoven with money in order to change behavior around finances to improve them. She felt that money needed to be part of the therapists’ conversation with their clients.

After the success of an initial workshop, she realized she was on to something. More workshops followed as she incorporated the technique in her practice. Then, five successful books.

She is a pioneer in tying two worlds together in a way that resonated for millions of her readers, listeners at her speeches and consulting clients. She is a professional through and through and built a career out of something new at a time before millennials and the internet. She knew from interactions with people, they were uncomfortable with money and needing a different approach.

This was not on a planned career path, rather she has had a windy journey to this year. No one had heard of money psychology. Previous to 1982, the connection between emotions and money was not discussed or dissected. Olivia Mellan was in a PhD program for French and Linguistics and had not much interest in money.

Yet this woman impacted me, other CFP’s and hundreds of thousands of readers of her books. I have recommended her work and books for years. Now I have had the privilege of knowing her for the past several years.

Before Behavioral Economics became a subject in business schools, Olivia Mellan was there. How big a movement was she leading? She made it on Oprah before she had a book published. Need I say more?

Fast forward to 2018, Olivia Mellan is the groundbreaker of the connection of money psychology. She opened individuals and financial planners worldwide to the concept. She integrated two fields in a way that no other professional had.

Now, she is retiring, leaving behind in her wake a new approach to money for the finance professionals, therapists and individuals around the world. The amazing thing is that she moved in a direction that felt right. Without a business plan or mentor to lead her, she studied, reflected and wrote on a topic that was ripe for research. Olivia was drawn to this because she recognized a space in the therapeutic process, which carried over into other areas of life.

What was that path that lead this theatre performer, creative singer and writer of spoof songs to move to the limelight of a new stage that brought with it bestselling books, Oprah appearance and presentations across the country? She credits two points in her life and two people’s support as the main motivators. And both were unplanned and unrelated to what her dreams and aspirations were.

As Olivia tells it, she had two defining moments in her career. The first as a doctoral student. Half way through her thesis writing, at a meeting with her thesis advisor, he suggested that she become a therapist. She had finished all her course work. She had half her thesis done in French and linguistics.

At age 27, she was willing to redirect herself and consider therapy as a career. That defining moment brought her to the place she needed to be. The decision meant more schooling, studying and starting at the bottom and not finishing her thesis that she had worked so hard on. She embraced it and followed her heart. After opening her practice, she always had a full schedule of clients. She had found her calling after taking a risk and huge leap.

Her second defining moment is the clarifying the concept that there was a need to discuss emotions and money therapeutically. Her friend, Michael Goldberg, said, “Money because money is the last taboo in the therapy office and life in general.” His words, as Olivia tells it, “created a lightbulb moment in my head where I realized in the therapy office there are ghosts of family members sitting all around the room – my ghosts and the clients ghosts.” Money is a part of life and subject important to address in therapy, not deflect. Her mission began knowing that “We as therapists should create a safe place to talk about this topic.”

She listened to her internal urging and her work began. This work was not only with clients but also delving deeper into studying the concepts and emotions around money.

As a good student of developmental psychology, she credits nature and nurture to career choice and windy path there. She says, “I inherited a gene from my Dad – Do what you love and the money will follow. He was a judge and lawyer.” So by getting the gene and learning by her environment she knew what was most important.

Her philosophy, also fitting her career, is “Trust the Process.” If a door closed, another one opened. Her PhD program almost finished, she bravely moved on. “The therapeutic work called out to me.” And the focus on money came soon after her career.

The process was organic and mysterious. That same organic process is at work as she leaves behind a career of 42 years. Some health issues, a move and surrounded by her loving husband, Michael who is retired, she decided it was time.

How is she going out? The guild – her team of psychologists where she shares and grows and learns in DC are having a party for her. At their last meeting together, they suggested the party center on songs and music. Olivia has one request to Sing together some of the good old Leonard Bernstein tunes and oldies but goodies like “When you Wish Upon A Star.”

The words may be changed to reflect the work of the life of a woman who impacted the world in a fine, subtle and yet powerful way. Frank Sinatra’s “I did it My Way” may be the song of the day.

Congratulations Olivia!