Are you swayed by the facts?
Last week, after a workshop for top advisors, one of them said something interesting to me; “90% of the population is not swayed by the facts.” Think about that for a moment and ponder the truth in that statement. Then, be sure you are not part of the percent who is not swayed by the facts.
You have probably heard the saying that success leaves clues. These “clues” are Universal Truths or Laws of Nature that we observe successful people following that provide a good example of what to do if we would like to be successful also. These are things we accept as being true and unchangeable. Some of the more obvious Universal Truths or Natural Laws are that humans need to breathe air to survive, gravity, and that water is wet.
Another such Natural Law is what I call The Rule of 168. There are only 168 hours in the week and your success and happiness in life are determined by how you choose to invest your 168 hours. This was not my idea. God did not confer with me when he or she decided how long it would take the Earth to make a complete spin on its axis or the time required for the Earth to revolve around the sun. It is what it is. Resistance is futile. Please don’t shoot the messenger.
Jack Nicholson’s character (Colonel Nathan R. Jessep) in the movie A Few Good Men delivered one of the most famous lines in the modern movie era, “The Truth! You can’t handle the truth!” I propose that life is better when you choose to handle the truth. Success is leaving clues about the truths required to be successful. Are you listening? Do you see them? Will you choose to handle the truth?
In her soon to be released book, “Living Life with No Regrets,” my wife, Anne, interviewed Denis Collier. Denis is a registered dietician and certified exercise physiologist. One of the questions she asked Denis is, “What is the impact of choosing not to lead a healthy lifestyle over the short-term and long-term?” His answer can have a profound positive impact on your business health and fitness also. He said, “This question really gets to the root of the cause of why people often choose NOT to do the healthy things. The key is this – there are minimal short-term consequences to making the unhealthy choice. In fact, quite often it is just the opposite: the unhealthy choice is the one that is most pleasurable. This applies to many things in life, not just health and fitness.”
In another part of the interview Denis continues, “Few individuals can honestly say that eating a spinach salad generates the same immediate pleasurable sensation as eating an ice cream sundae. On most nights, it is immediately easier to go home and curl up on the couch instead of going for a workout in the gym. It is only in the long-term, after a lifetime of such choices, do the negative consequences rear their ugly head. My friend, who has lost a great deal of weight, said it best when asked how he, an intelligent, successful man, could have allowed himself to go through life so obese for so long, ‘I knew that it was probably going to kill me, but I also knew that it probably wasn’t going to kill me tomorrow!’”
Denis continues, “The key term we could all benefit from exploring is that of delayed gratification. We need to shift our focus from the pleasure that we will immediately get from the unhealthy choice, to the more fulfilling life of abundant health and energy that will surely come to us if we choose to make the healthy choice.”
And the same is true for making good business decisions, isn’t it? It’s easier to read an article about the market or the economy. It’s easier to do research about the next great technology tool. It’s easier to help your assistant do an administrative task. If you don’t ask for referrals today it isn’t going to kill your business. If you don’t make follow calls today it isn’t going to kill your business. If you don’t improve the value you deliver for your clients today it isn’t going to kill your business. If you don’t get more organized today it isn’t going to kill your business. If you don’t hire a great assistant today it isn’t going to kill your business. Etc, etc, etc. String those days together, however, and after a few years you find yourself smack, dab in the middle of mediocre-land. Mediocre production. Mediocre qualify of life. Mediocre clientele. Mediocre value proposition. My guess is that you didn’t enter this business intending to put down permanent roots in the heart of mediocre land.
So, what can you do about it? Take it one day at a time. The beauty of it being easy not to ask for referrals today is that it’s also easy to start asking for referrals today. Today you can make follow-up calls. Today you can improve your value delivery. Today you can get more organized. Pick one or two things and do them today. Today you can also stop doing one or more of the many things that do not move you toward your goals. And then you can do what you know moves you towards your goals again tomorrow.
And while you’re at it, feel free to do the same with your health and fitness. Make it a great day… today.
Have you ever wondered why some financial advisors have the kind of businesses they want, while others don’t? It’s really no big mystery. They simply took three steps back and made the important choices that led them to their current success.
To create the business you want, start by taking the first step back: Decide what kind of life you want. Do you know exactly how you want to spend the next 10, 20, or 30 years? When you decide how you want your life to look and why, you’re ready to take the second step and create a financial game plan.
It almost goes without saying that there’s a financial component involved in creating the life you want. Therefore, step two is to figure out how much money you need to live the life you want. You also need to consider the time component: How much time are you willing to invest today in order to earn for your future? Most people are willing to sacrifice some quality of life today so they can achieve a better quality of life in the future, but if that sacrifice gets too big, then their willingness to continue eventually diminishes.
By figuring out how much money you need and how much time you’re willing to work, you’re ready for step three: figuring out how to invest that time. When you know what you want your life to look like and how you’re willing to invest your time, you’ll quickly realize that you don’t have any time to waste.
The good news is that what produces a simpler and better life for you also creates better results and value for your clients. Our experience shows that clients are much better served when you organize a “deliverables team” that is dedicated to making sure your clients achieve their goals regardless of what happens in the market, the economy, or the world. Whether you’re 22 years old and a brand-new advisor, or 65 years old with decades of experience, your personal time in the business will never match the collective wisdom and experience you can put to bear toward your client’s best interest when you assemble a team of competent, professional, trustworthy money managers, financial plan writers, insurance experts, tax professionals, attorneys, etc., to work for you and your clients.
Don’t delude yourself into thinking, “Once I get my arms around all this stuff, my business will really take off.” All that stuff is impossible to “get your arms around.” It’s simply too much stuff, coming from too many sources, and there’s simply not enough time. You have too many clients and too many variables to ever be able to manage in the finite amount of time that you can dedicate to your business without letting the rest of your life falling apart. Do you know why you feel like there’s never enough time? Because there isn’t enough time to run the business you have or are trying to build.
What were the most inspiring moments of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver for you?
Did you watch certain moments and find yourself saying something like, “If he or she can do THAT… what’s possible for me?”
I hope so, because that’s one of the biggest benefits of watching sports that most of us only watch every four years. There are valuable lessons to be learned. Let’s not miss them and, more importantly, apply them to our own lives.
When was the last time you crossed your finish line at the end of the day and screamed with the joy, relief, and satisfaction of knowing you laid it all on the line? Think about Lindsey Vonn after her gold medal downhill run.
Did you watch some of the cross-country skiing or biathlon with amazement as competitor after competitor collapsed as they crossed the finish line wondering what your own life would be like if you pushed your limits just a little farther? I didn’t catch his name, but one of the cross country skiers commented about how his sport is the only one where it’s normal to puke after practice. That’s commitment. I’m not suggesting that you should throw up at the end of good day’s work, but maybe you could leave a little more on the “field of play.” What do you think?
Who will ever forget 24 year-old figure skater Joanne Rochette whose mother, to whom she was very close, passed away unexpectedly shortly after arriving in Vancouver? Instead of packing it in, just four days later she skated with extra inspiration and won the bronze medal. Could there possibly have been a dry eye in the house or living rooms around the world when she looked to the heavens at the conclusion of her program? It’s no wonder she was awarded the Terry Fox award as the athlete who best exemplifies courage and selfless qualities.
My favorite quotes from the games were:
“Before you go to sleep at night ask yourself one question: Did you do every single thing you could today to make sure that you did your best? It’s hard to answer ‘yes’ every single day.” – Apolo Ohno; Short-track speed skater
“The more awkward positions that I become comfortable with, the fewer situations I’ll be uncomfortable with.” – Graham Watanabe; Snowboarder
“I don’t like to look at it as competition. It’s about me conquering myself… me being able to face my own fears, distractions, and weaknesses and say that I overcame them.” – Apolo Ohno; Short-track speed skater
How does this apply to you? What if being a financial advisor was an Olympic Sport?
How good would you have to be to make the team? Where would your client service experience and client acquisition skills have to be in order to compete with the rest of the financial professional “athletes” on the world stage? How good would you and your team have to be to earn a spot on the podium or win the gold medal? These are great questions for you and your team to consider as you continually look for ways to be your best.
Fortunately, being a great financial advisor is not a zero sum game with only one gold medal. And you don’t compete against other financial advisors only against your own potential. There is plenty of business for all of the great financial advisors in the world. As the saying goes, “it’s only crowded at the bottom.”
Take some inspiration from the athletes of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada and use it as propellant to achieve your next level of success.
Remember… anything is possible.
