Elliot Kallen is a financial advisor, entrepreneur, and founder of A Brighter Day, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting teens struggling with depression and preventing suicide. After a successful career building Prosperity Financial Group, Elliot turned personal tragedy into action, combining his passion for business, philanthropy, and mental health advocacy.

This week, I talk with Elliot about finding purpose through profound personal loss. After losing his son to suicide, Elliot founded A Brighter Day. We discuss the painful journey from grief to action, the importance of emotional connection, and how loss reshapes both personal and professional life. Elliot shares how helping others has become a central part of his healing, and we explore the critical role empathy and mindful communication play—not just in counseling, but in parenting, advising, and living well.

In this episode:
(00:00) - Intro
(01:05) - Meet Elliot Kallen
(04:11) - Growing up and financial lessons
(06:58) - Wealth vs richness
(08:58) - From accounting to entrepreneurship
(11:01) - Losing a child and founding A Brighter Day
(20:18) - How to effectively communicate with teens
(23:10) - Understanding teen depression
(24:10) - Balancing personal grief and professional life
(27:57) - How loss affects your work
(33:19) - Coping with deep loss
(35:25) - What "not" to say to people who are grieving
(38:14) - Giving yourself permission to grieve
(43:38) - How to connect with Elliot

Get full show notes and links at https://mindful.money.

ABOUT MINDFUL MONEY:
Do you struggle with money? You’re not alone.

Money is a means, not an end. It’s a necessity of life for sure, but more money does not always guarantee a “good life”. Money enables many aspects of modern life, but as a dominant consideration, it becomes destructive.

The paradox is that more time and energy spent on personal finance does NOT create better outcomes. Unlike many other parts of life, we can’t create better outcomes by being smarter, spending more time, or putting in more effort.

Join Mindful Money author and experienced 40-year investor Jonathan DeYoe as he shares stories from artists, authors, entrepreneurs, and other advisors about how they mindfully minimize their need to think about money and get more out of life.

If you aren’t happy with your finances, feel like money takes more time than it should, or want to place your financial decisions into the broader context of your life, this show is for you.

Each episode will draw the line between the “enough” activities that the academics tell us are additive to family outcomes, and those “little bit more” efforts that take time and sap energy but do NOT improve outcomes.

CONNECT WITH ELLIOT:
Website: https://prosperityfinancialgroup.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliotkallen/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProsperityFinancialGroupInc/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prosperityfinancialgroup/

MINDFUL MONEY RESOURCES:
Website: https://mindful.money
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🎙️Podcast Production by Turncast: https://turncast.com.