Anyone that achieves a high level of professional success will inevitably have to answer one question: “how did you do it?” The methodology that leads to professional success, the secret to productivity, is always a topic of interest—especially to those who are seeking their own breakout career success. However, much to the chagrin of many younger professionals, the secret almost always winds up being deceptively simple.
When looking back on his 30 years of success as a financial expert and investment strategist, Augurey Ventures co-founder Frank Cardia can identify a number of factors that influenced his growth. From his education, to his family, to mentorships, he had many opportunities to learn and be guided by others. But above all else, he knows his success comes from two things: his perseverance, and his professional discipline.
“Success to me has nothing to do with money,” Cardia explains. “Success to me is—every day—doing what you said you were going to do. I believe it is the little daily victories that will lead to ultimate success in anything you do.”
With 30 years of experience in the financial service industry, the business he co-founded, and a multimillion-dollar book of clients all under his belt, it’s clear that Frank Cardia understands what it takes to succeed. His career of professional growth and adaptability is a model example to younger entrepreneurs and professionals who are eager to learn. From his consistent daily routine to his honest assessments of his own abilities, Frank Cardia’s secret to success is available to any who care to listen.
A Case Study Of Success
Frank Cardia’s career started in 1996 as a Registered Representative, from which he built his multimillion-dollar book of clients after becoming an expert in the equities market. However, it wouldn’t be long before he predicted a shift in the financial markets and changed his business model, adapting his business and investment philosophy toward long-term asset management. In this time he grew his expertise to include broad knowledge of stocks, bonds, options, fixed income investments, and private equity.
Over his 30-year career, Cardia has assisted in over $1 billion worth of venture capital transactions, managed multiple private equity funds, and managed his own retail business catering to high-net-worth clients in the United States and beyond. All of this success came before co-founding Augurey Ventures, a company that offers accredited investors access to carefully curated investment opportunities not yet accessible to public markets.
Overcoming Challenges To Grow
Nobody will find long-term success if they aren’t able to take in new information, learn, and change their strategies when it’s necessary to overcome the myriad challenges they may encounter. To Frank Cardia, every challenge is an opportunity for learning and growth—whether self imposed or otherwise. Even the worst jobs are an opportunity to grow as a person and as a professional. A good example of this comes from Cardia’s own work experience, before he started his career in finance and investments.
“The worst job I ever had was working at a seafood restaurant. Everyday you left there you smelled like the ocean and it was just a nasty job,” Cardia says, reminiscing. “But, it taught a great lesson on how to interact with people of all walks of life. It made me very aware of social clues from people, how to turn a seemingly bad situation into a positive situation. It taught me all about how to present yourself, and how to leave your problems at home when you’re doing your job.”
Despite these lessons, no amount of discipline, perseverance, or learning aptitude will ever matter if there’s never a challenge to prompt meaningful growth. This is why Cardia is consistently pushing the envelope in different arenas of his life, both in business and in his personal life. Sometimes it’s training for a sports event like Ironman Maryland (which Cardia competed in in 2023 and 2024), and sometimes it’s something as simple as learning a new technical skill with humility and focus.
“I am not the most tech savvy person,” Cardia says, “I went online and took a course on ‘how to use Excel.’ Everyday I am looking at spreadsheets and data, and it was about time I learned how to use it properly myself!”
Success Is A Process; Success Is A Mindset
Frank Cardia’s life and career changed after reading a specific book: Extreme Ownership, by Jocko Willink. The book discusses the strategies used in US Navy SEAL leadership training, and puts the focus on taking ownership of one’s actions, decisions, and consequences. In Cardia’s own words, “It really resonated with me that everything that happens to me from this point moving forward (good or bad) is all my fault.”
The perspective of that book would shape Cardia’s mindset for the rest of his career, leading him to develop his own strategy for success built on those lessons of ownership. For Frank Cardia, success is both a process and a mindset, a melding of personal discipline, perseverance, and intentionality. Cardia’s success is built on three core pillars, each one building on the others before it.
“First, it’s having an unwavering belief in your ability that you can actually do what you’re setting out to do,” he explains. “Second, it’s coming up with a game plan. You have to be willing to change this game plan as you’re moving along towards your goal. Then, finally, it’s all about discipline. Discipline to me is doing all the things you know you need to do, even in those moments when you don’t really feel like doing them.”
The secret to Frank Cardia’s success is not esoteric industry knowledge, unique connections, or anything else. It’s a perspective of ownership, continual learning, consistent effort, and making intentional decisions every day. It’s about examining what he needs to stay at the top of his game and choosing to consistently dedicate his time and effort to it. Whether it’s regularly engaging with colleagues and industry publications to keep sharp professionally, or dedicating the first hours of every day to keeping his body and mind well-trained for the Ironman challenges and marathons he regularly competes in, the secret to success is the same: confidence, discipline, and perseverance.
