Big Ideas are short, powerful talks given by FinCon Community Influencers. This Big Idea Talk from Tanja Hester was presented live on the main stage at #FinCon19 on Thursday, September 5, 2019.

Tanja Hester retired at the age of 38 from a career as a political consultant and journalist. The author of WORK OPTIONAL: Retire Early the Non-Penny-Pinching Way, Hester bridges the gap that so often exists between life and money, shifting the conversation to life purpose, fulfillment and happiness, rather than wealth for its own sake. Hester writes the 2018 Plutus Awards blog of the year Our Next Life and co-hosts the podcast The Fairer Cents, in addition to traveling the world and enjoying the outdoor life around her home in Lake Tahoe, California.

Hester was the first FIRE blogger to get a regular column on MarketWatch, she’s spoken at Google, FinCon, CampFI at conferences around the world, and she has been featured in New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time, Money, CNBC, PBS, Vice, Yahoo! Finance, Forbes, Refinery29, Bustle, WGN and global media outlets.