Episode 487: Burnout, Boundaries, and The Risk Worth Taking w/ Teri Ijeoma

2026-07-15

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What if the biggest risk you take is the one that changes everything? In this episode, I chat with Teri Ijeoma, trader, entrepreneur, author, and founder of Trade and Travel, an investment education company that has taught over 40,000 students how to actively invest. Teri left a toxic career as an assistant principal, taught herself to trade stocks while traveling the world, and built one of the top investing courses. Now she's back with her debut book, The Risk Worth Taking, and she's sharing the full picture of what the journey has actually looked...

Teri opens up about everything that's happened since we last spoke from growing her company to a team of 40 and navigating the burnout that came with it, to making the difficult decision to step back, downsize, and move from Puerto Rico back to the U.S. in search of a deeper community. She shares how a health scare became a turning point, why she chose to prioritize herself over expectations and obligations, and what it meant to finally bring a new dream to life by finishing her first book. It's an honest conversation about success, reinvention, and creating a life that aligns with what matters most.

In this episode, Teri Ijeoma shares:

How she scaled back from 40 employees to two and transitioned her course to self-study
Her Smart Risk Framework, the 4 C's, and how it applies beyond investing
What Trump Accounts are, who qualifies, and why she wants every parent to know about them
The story behind her new novel-style investing book and how it teaches trading through fiction + more

What's New in the Paperback Edition of Your Journey to Financial Freedom:

A bonus chapter: When Life Happens: Staying on the Path to Financial Freedom Through Setbacks, Shifts, and Uncertainty
A book club and discussion guide with prompts, exercises, and action steps
Updated corrections from the original hardcover
Exclusive bonuses when you purchase the paperback, including:
- The Fire Starter Course
- The Find Your FIRE Number Worksheet

Other related blog posts/links mentioned in this episode:

Trade and Travel Course: tradeandtravel.com
The Risk Worth Taking (Book): Available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, and Black-owned bookstores
JTL Episode 483 with Dr. Kemi Doll (fibroids and endometriosis): journeytolaunch.com/episode483
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