Connie Chen has never been afraid to learn something new. She’s a self-proclaimed lifelong student, first earning her bachelor's degree, then serving as an assistant professor in China before pursuing a doctorate at the University of Hamburg in Germany. After moving to California with her husband, Connie found herself a student of the English language.

Connie already spoke Chinese, Japanese and German. But English was the language she now needed most. Determined to learn, she enrolled in a financial services class taught entirely in English. Sitting in the front row with an electronic dictionary beside her, she translated each lesson word by word, sentence by sentence, until the language began to click.

"I wanted a class where I could learn some financial knowledge, since I was new in this country, and learn English at the same time," Connie says. 

What she didn’t expect was for it to become something much bigger. Inspired by WFG’s mission, no family left behind, Connie decided this was the work she wanted to build her career around. While Connie prepared to become a licensed life insurance agent, she translated every page of the exam material before studying it again in English. In January 2001, she received her license and was ready to start her business. Twenty-five years later, Connie leads a successful career guiding families toward financial confidence, and the building a team who is ensures no family is left behind.

Teaching Without a Classroom 

Connie still describes herself as an academic at heart. 

“I’m a true product of the WFG opportunity,” she says. “This company taught me from A to Z, from zero to grow.” Asked what she’s proudest of, Connie names the growth itself and the families reached.

A client once told Connie that the need for long term care was confusing. Connie began to educate the client on options, showing them various protection scenarios; one where the client lived a long life, and another where they had failing health. A few months later, the client

suffered an injury that resulted in the need for long-term care. Because the plan was already in place, the client began receiving monthly payments from the claim to cover care. “With this,” the client told Connie, “I can peacefully take care of my family.”

Helping Others Grow to Their Full Potential

Beyond the rewarding feeling she gets from helping families, Connie thrives on developing new agents. Connie believes confidence is built beyond the classroom. She trains new agents the way she was trained: by teaching them how to present the business opportunity, giving families the financial confidence they need and supporting her agents in real time during live calls with potential clients. “Field training is very important. It builds confidence. It builds belief. It builds passion,” she explains.  

“As a professor or researcher before, I had a very linear career,” Connie says. “But here through WFG, they’ve empowered me to believe human beings’ potential is unlimited.”

Twenty-five years after she first sat in that classroom, Connie still takes the front row when there’s something new to learn. Outside of work, she tends a garden of more than 100 rose bushes and 30 fruit trees in San Jose, California. She talks about growing her team the way she talks about growing roses, starting with small seeds, then giving them the patience and care it takes to bloom. She’s still proudly watching both grow.

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