Financialoscopy Inc.

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Financialoscopy Inc. Securities offered by Fortune Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered by Interactive Financial Advisors, Inc. are not affiliated

Fortune Financial Services, Inc. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. & Financialoscopy Inc.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐃𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠. Every valuable occupation is an act of service. The person filling ...
10/20/2026

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐃𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠. Every valuable occupation is an act of service. The person filling aluminum cans on a production line is serving. The welder, the plumber, the electrician, the teacher, the advisor—all of them are in the work of serving someone else. When the paycheck is no longer required, the deeper question remains: what will you require of yourself?

I have watched people reach the point where they simply want out. They are done with the demands, the politics, the endless administration of their job. They declare they have earned the right to be finished. What they often mean is they have stopped looking for a reason to get up in the morning that is larger than their own comfort.

My grandfather retired at sixty-seven after years of back-breaking work. He used to say, “I’m retired, and I am tired.” For a while he did very little. Then he found new interests. He kept living. The people who concern me most are those who arrive at that tired place decades earlier and never leave it. They are not “journey people” anymore. They have parked themselves on the side of the road.

We were created to serve. That is not a religious slogan; it is a practical observation about how human beings stay alive inside. When you stop giving whatever gifts you still carry, something essential begins to wither. The community loses. Families lose. People in need lose. And you lose the very thing that once made the hard days’ worth enduring.

The alternative is not endless grinding at a job you hate. The alternative is intentional service that fits the season you are in. It might look like mentoring, volunteering, creating, teaching, or simply showing up consistently for the people who still need your presence. It might look like taking the three-mile walk each morning without headphones so you can hear the birds and the leaves and the quiet questions that only surface when the noise is gone.

Lying on the beach while others serve you can feel like arrival. It can also feel like the beginning of disappearance. The longer you journey forward while still choosing to give, the longer you remain fully alive.

Do not retire from everything. Retire from what no longer fits, then re-enlist in what still matters.

- Mark Bertrang, Founder of The Financialoscopy®

If you would like to watch the complete YouTube video which this blog is based upon on any smart device, click this link: https://youtu.be/4viPWEa-JDI

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10/20/2026

You sang his music, before you sang his hits. Barry Manilow wrote jingles. Who knew?

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𝐀𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬. 🛣️This creative display of street signs in Madison, Wisconsin always makes me pause. “Sh...
10/19/2026

𝐀𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬. 🛣️
This creative display of street signs in Madison, Wisconsin always makes me pause. “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” “Roads Diverge.” “Yellow Wood.” “Change.” “Sidewalk Ends.” Life is full of these intersections. Some decisions feel poetic. Others feel weighty. All of them shape where you end up. At Financialoscopy®, we don’t give generic directions. We help you read the signs clearly, weigh your unique path, and choose routes that align with your values, goals, and vision for the future — so you move forward with confidence instead of second-guessing. What’s a “intersection” you’re facing right now?

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The hard stuff, it's hard. And it's hard on purpose because the easy stuff, we seldom ever learn anything from it. We pr...
10/19/2026

The hard stuff, it's hard. And it's hard on purpose because the easy stuff, we seldom ever learn anything from it. We practically never, ever learn anything of value when it comes easy. But the hard stuff, the hard stuff we remember for the rest of our lives. We oftentimes will tell the stories of when we had roadblocks, when we had to learn a tough lesson. And if we paid attention, it brought us to a new and different opportunity and oftentimes success.

Recently, I had an opportunity to spend extra time in my car that allows me to connect to Spotify. So, I was listening to a wide variety of music, some I had not listened to for years. And because of my age and when music meant a lot to me during my teenage years, I reverted back to the 1970s and I enjoyed, yes, I enjoyed an hour listening to Barry Manilow music.

The interesting thing about Barry Manilow, still alive today at the age of 82. He is estimated to have a net worth of over $500 million. He did quite well. But long before the fame and fortune, Barry was doing the hard work most people never see.

He began making money to get by playing the piano for other singers. But a big part of his early income came from creating jingles. He wrote many jingles for Dodge, a jingle for a toilet bowl company called Boline (titled “Bathroom Bowl Blues”), the iconic Stridex acne medicine ad, the Band-Aid jingle “𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑐𝑘 𝑜𝑛 𝐵𝑎𝑛𝑑-𝐴𝑖𝑑, ’𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝐵𝑎𝑛𝑑-𝐴𝑖𝑑’𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑐𝑘 𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑒,” and yes—even the legendary “𝐿𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑛𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑏𝑜𝑟, 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝐹𝑎𝑟𝑚 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒.” For that last one, he received a flat fee of just $500.

Think about that. A jingle we’ve all heard for 50 years, worth millions in value, and he earned a one-time payment of $500. Yet he kept going.

Those hard years taught him tenacity. They taught him grit. They taught him to just keep on going, no matter how difficult it was, and to keep trying to pay the bills. But they also taught him how to write songs that people would actually buy—songs that would hit the Billboard charts. Because if he could convince people to buy a product through a jingle, how much more could he get them to buy his records?

You and I will never have the money that Barry Manilow has, and we will never be that famous. But in our own worlds, if we can just stay focused, if we can just do the hard stuff, just keep at it, we can be successful in our own world with the job that we’ve decided to do—no matter what that job is. Whether it’s a teacher, an electrician, a plumber, or a financial professional, it’s all about doing the best job that you can possibly do.

Keep your nose to the grindstone, even during those times that it seems like there is not success coming your way. It’s about showing up each and every day, putting on your best, doing your best. And even though we fall short a lot of the times, expect your best.

This is our mindset here at the Financialoscopy® office, and hopefully the mindset that you have as well. Because if you have those same values, we want success for everyone that we work with, and we want success for you.

So, if we are of the same mindset, then perhaps it’s time for you to schedule your Financialoscopy® and maybe we’ll sing that Barry Manilow song together: “𝐿𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑠 𝐿𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑊𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝐼𝑡.”

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10/19/2026

Bring on the “hard” stuff, because “easy” teaches nothing! The hard stuff is what brings success.

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10/18/2026

Use your independence! Eventually, you won’t have a choice anymore.

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𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧? I walked into a local credit union the other day to drop off a certified check. The young man behind th...
10/18/2026

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧? I walked into a local credit union the other day to drop off a certified check. The young man behind the counter handled the transaction quickly and professionally. When he finished, I looked at him and asked a simple question:

“So, what’s the plan?”

He stared at me for a second, clearly thinking I was still talking about the check. I smiled and clarified: “You’re not going to be doing this for the rest of your life. What’s the plan?”

He paused, then mentioned that the credit union has a financial planning arm and that someday he might apply for a role there. I told him he would need to wear a white shirt, a tie, and get a haircut. He laughed and said he already knew that.

Nate Becker of the Financialoscopy® Team and I talked about this conversation a few hours later at the office. There used to be a time when people dressed for the job they aspired to—not the job they currently had. I wore a dress shirt and tie every day when I was on the radio, even though no one could see me. I was practicing the part I wanted to play.

A speaker I heard more than thirty-five years ago put it this way: always dress one step up from the person you are serving. If someone walks in wearing jeans and a T-shirt, wear Dockers and a pullover. If they are in dress clothes, add the tie or the sport coat. It is a quiet way of showing respect.

We still run a no-jeans policy at our office. Even on “Jeans Friday,” when half the town is celebrating casual dress, we do not. If someone is trusting us with their life savings, the least we can do is look like we are taking that responsibility seriously.

But the deeper point is not the clothes. It is the question. “What’s the plan?” is wide open. It does not force someone into a narrow answer about their current job. It invites them to talk about their future, their dreams, or whatever is actually on their mind.

I have learned that the more open-ended the question, the richer the conversation becomes. People are rarely asked questions that leave them room to reveal what truly matters. When they are, something shifts. They feel seen. They feel invited.

That young man may never apply for the financial planning role. Or he might. Either way, for a few minutes he was asked to think beyond the transaction in front of him. That is worth something.

We are all on a journey. Some people just need someone to ask the right question so they can begin to name it.

- Mark Bertrang, The Founder of The Financialoscopy®

If you would like to watch the complete YouTube video which this blog is based upon on any smart device, click this link: https://youtu.be/OVLfN8oAU0Y (out 10/24)

10/18/2026

Leaving doors open means you could have Alzheimer’s… Am I losing my mind?!?

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On YouTube now: https://youtu.be/4viPWEa-JDIAre you living life on a treadmill, or are you actively moving forward as a...
10/17/2026

On YouTube now: https://youtu.be/4viPWEa-JDI

Are you living life on a treadmill, or are you actively moving forward as a "journey person"? In this episode, we explore what it means to keep moving ahead, adapt when life throws unexpected turns, and find purpose through serving others. From hiking along Spain's Costa Brava to re-evaluating career choices and retirement, learn why rigid plans often fall short and why building a strategic, flexible mindset is key to a truly fulfilling life. Stop settling for burnout or letting choices be made for you—start packing for your journey today.

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10/17/2026

Are you living life on a treadmill, or are you actively moving forward as a "journey person"? In this episode, we explore what it means to keep moving ahead, adapt when life throws unexpected turns, and find purpose through serving others. From hiking along Spain's Costa Brava to re-evaluating career choices and retirement. Why do rigid plans often fall short? Why is building a strategic, flexible mindset is key to a truly fulfilling life? Stop settling for burnout. Start packing for your journey today.

Chapters:
0:00 I'm a Traveling Man
0:33 Welcome to Purpose with Mark Bertrang
0:37 Journey People Keep Moving Forward
1:12 Hiking the Costa Brava (and the Van of Shame)
5:17 Life Requires Constant Training
6:16 Don't Settle When You're Tired of the Job
7:37 Subscribe, Like & Share
8:16 "I'm Retired… and I Am Tired"
9:25 Already Exhausted in Your 50s
10:20 Obstacles You Can't See from the Start
11:32 Walking in Silence and Thinking Deeply
12:56 Every Valuable Job Is Serving Others
15:15 Don't Retire from Your Gifts
15:57 Plans Never Go as Planned
17:01 Investments Don't Hug (Book)
17:36 Choose Today Before Choices Are Taken From You
19:51 Planner vs. Advisor vs. Strategist
22:03 Don't Let the Years Behind You Limit the Years Ahead
23:18 The Trip I Never Thought I'd Take
25:14 Are You a Journey Individual? Start Packing
26:01 Next Episode & How to Reach Mark

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Address

1401 Main Street
Onalaska, WI
54650

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 12pm

Telephone

+16087825433

Website

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