Clear Your Roadblocks eNewsletter – February 2009

Welcome to the February 2009 edition of Clear Your Roadblocks To Success.

With 17 flights and 27,000km in January I’m enjoying a month off the road in February and enjoying the practice of Strategic Quitting to create the space for A Much Bigger Picture.

It is Monday morning, February 9th and I have four days this week to invest in business building activities that include writing this e-newsletter.

Our marketing activities are yielding fruit and we are attracting an incredible harvest of new clients and speaking opportunities … last week being one of the best weeks we have had since the completion of my book with 4 new clients, 2 Advocis speaking inquiries, an inquiry to speak at a financial advisor conference in the USA with 10 coaching prospect calls yet to complete. It is a good thing that I am working on coaching workshops that I plan to launch because there is only so much of me to go around.

Here is an inspiring e-mail related to my book that was sent to me over the weekend;

Good morning Simon

I’m sitting here on my patio on this beautiful warm sunny morning, in Cabo San Lucas,truly feeling safe and taken care of. I am gradually working my way through your book and have reached some ‘aha’ moments.

You have a winning book dealing with an issue I believe almost everyone has buried like a dog with a bone, and most of us have no idea where that bone is buried, what it looks like, nor how it is affecting us, or even better, how we might be able to truly live once we dig it up once and for all and deal with it.

I thought I had it pretty much together however am realizing I’m still dealing with issues that arise mostly from peer issues at school that I havn’t completely healed from.  

I would like to take up the 2 month offer. If I am to be an effective coach this is an area I want to understand and be able to work through with freeing results.

We get back on the 17th. Can we start after that sometime?

For now, cheers and God bless.

Bill

This edition of the Clear Your Roadblocks To Success newsletter is all about change and includes two great articles called What Are You Doing To Avoid Change? and Change Is Easy When You Understand It.

Enjoy the read;
Simon Reilly
The Financial Advisor Coach
Simon Reilly Coming To A City Near You

 

 

 

 

What Are You Doing To Avoid Change?

Seth Godin’s quote, “Change doesn’t fail because it is too early, change fails because it is too late”, resonates as I am reminded that 54% of financial advisors will do anything to avoid change.

Like the frog, 54% of financial advisors hate change so much, they will sit in a beaker of water on a hot plate until it is too late failing to create a written vision, business plan, 90 goals and time management plan.

The same 54% of financial advisors lulled themselves into complacency over the past six years solely focused on money products in this last bull market and they are really feeling the heat because they are afraid to diversify because of their fear of change.

Over the past six years it was very easy to take orders for money products, and it went on for so long that they forgot how to sell insurance.

At the same time, those same financial advisors who hate change, will avoid conflict at all cost.

‘Selling’ to them, in their fear based mind, equals conflict.

Change will happen because it is only a matter of time before their best clients are contacted by financial advisors that are comfortable with change and conflict.

With money too tight to mention, these financial advisors don’t want to talk to their clients. So they sit waiting for something to happen on the outside when something needs to happen on the inside.

This brings to mind Daniel Pink’s new book, A Whole New Mind.

Daniel is included in the 46% of the population of left brainers and suggests that left brainers need to change to become more right brained embracing the six senses of; design, story, sympathy, empathy, play and meaning.

Daniel’s message of change to left brainers is offered because he believes that left brain skills are being commoditized because of competition, computerization and jobs going abroad.

We have gone through the Ages of Agriculture, Industrial and Information and Daniel writes we must change to the Conceptual Age of creators and empathizers with a high concept and high touch consultative approach.

Pink believes this is because a worker overseas can do routine and average, a computer can do it faster, and if you are not branded and working in a niche, you look like every other financial advisor in the market place.

Having said this, right brainers need to change to become more left brained embracing; vision, ambition, commitment, focus, inspiration and enthusiasm.

Malcolm Gladwell talks about the theory of 10,000 hours in his new book, Outliers.

“That the most successful people in a field tend to be those who met a certain threshold of intelligence or talent, and then practiced their skills for at 10,000 hours before attaining success.  He applies this recipe to hockey players, computer scientists, musicians, and others and finds it to be a consistent guide to predicting the most successful.”

Change doesn’t happen overnight. It takes practice and most of the people that have gone through change didn’t do it by themselves, they worked with a coach or a mentor.

Change is about taking responsibility.

When one takes responsibility self confidence, self esteem, self respect, self trust and energy all increase.

When one doesn’t take responsibility self confidence, self esteem, self respect, self trust and energy all decrease.

When one doesn’t know how to get their needs met from within, they are addicted to trying to find the answer to their lack of self confidence, self esteem, self respect, self trust and energy from outside of themselves which can’t be done.

The addiction of trying to meet the unmet need of security and not creating a vision, business plan, and 90 days goals will be fulfilled by watching the news to find out if one is secure all the while giving more evidence that one is not safe.

As financial advisors one must be investing their time into the finding the truth.

Some examples can be gleaned from the Feb 7, 2009 Vancouver Sun article “Canadians spooked by U.S. news” by Barbara Yaffe.

The American experience is making us a lot more depressed than we need to be. In Canada, the housing sector is healthier. In fact, residential mortgage delinquency is on the decline. Canadian consumer spending has been supported by income growth, rather than home equity. Canadians — with average savings between two and three per cent — have more cash to sustain spending during a recession. Canada’s recession will be both “shorter and shallower” than the one in the States. – Barbara Yaffe

As we approach Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday, and to embellish a quote from journalist and satirist H.L. Menken …

“It is hard for the ape to believe he descended from a financial advisor that doesn’t have a written vision, business plan, 90 goals and time management plan”.

 

Change Is Easy When You Understand It

What would you do if you could not fail? Did you succeed? What did success feel like? What difference did you make?

Have you failed in the past? What did it feel like? Was it painful? What difference has it made to the way that you approach your goals? Was your past failure so painful that your fear is preventing you from setting new goals for the future?

Are you excited about 2009? Are you doing everything to be all that you can be? Do you have a vision, business plan and 90 day goals for 2009? Are you meeting and exceeding your goals for 2009?

These are the questions that came to mind as I flew out of Toronto after completing a financial advisor speaking presentation where less than ten hands went up out of one hundred financial advisors in the audience when I asked the question, “Do you have a vision, business plan and 90 day goals for 2009?”

As I reflect on this, the words of the CEO of a major MGA firm come to mind, “Why are these results happening? My biggest frustration is that we spend all kinds of time with a financial advisor to help them create and complete the sale. While the consumer receives excellent value from our products and services and the financial advisor is well rewarded for their efforts, we don’t hear from the financial advisor until they are back into their line of credit.”

“For the life of me, I can’t understand it. One would think that the excitement of making a big sale would inspire the financial advisor to go out and sell more”, said the CEO during the meeting that we had where I had the opportunity to introduce my new book Curing The Unmet Needs Disease – How to Prosper in Business by Meeting Your Unmet Needs.

I explained that this type of financial advisor or rather “financial survivor” suffers from The Unmet Needs Disease and here is my theory.

Let’s look at what got the financial survivor in the business in the first place.

Was it based on some of the following values of the financial advisor?  Assist, Create, Demonstrate, Discover, Educate, Empathize, Engage, Enlighten, Enliven, Explain, Explore, Extend, Facilitate, Guide, Honour, Illuminate, Implement, Inspire, Invent, Learn, Listen, Nurture, Organize, Participate, Plan, Prepare, Realize, Refine, Renew, Respond, Sense, Strengthen, Support, Teach, Unite and Understand.

Was it based on these values that would compel them to assist their clients to build a strong financial plan to create financial freedom and a legacy that will last for generations?

Was it based on values that create positive feelings and positive beliefs?

Was it based on values and through service and the financial survivor would be rewarded in kind?

If this were the case, if the financial advisor were living their values, the financial survivor would be rewarded  in many ways which would include a loving and supportive family, great friendships, a well balanced life with health, vitality, travel and hobbies all standing on the foundation of faith and inspiration.

Their business would be effortless built on vision, a plan and goals attracting a steady flow of higher net worth clients that come to them through a well orchestrated marketing system which is supported by a strong customer service team.

The sad reality, the financial survivor likely started in the financial business because they were not making enough money and they were unfulfilled in their past business or career and were caught up in the illusion that money buys you happiness, which was all created by the following dominant unmet needs; Approval, Control, Power, Recognition, Security and Worthiness.

Unmet needs are the source of negative beliefs and negative emotions, and based on the law of attraction; contribute to attracting the very thing that the financial survivor is trying to avoid.

When the financial survivor attempts to ask for a referral they sabotage themselves before they even start with their unmet need of Approval which is fuelled by the limiting belief that, “I might get rejected”, and the limiting emotions of anxiety and fear.

When the financial survivor attempts to take the time to create a vision, business plan and goals they sabotage themselves before they even start with their unmet need of Security which is fuelled by the limiting belief that “I don’t have enough time” and the limiting emotions of panic and overwhelm. The panic and overwhelm contribute to their adrenaline addiction making them feel really busy doing most of the wrong things.

While the financial survivor is addicted to unmet needs it is difficult to add value to others.

So they thought the solution to their lack of security was to become a financial advisor because they had heard that there was an infinite amount of money that could be made.

So they gave it all that they had and made it through those first years of the long hours of study and evening appointments. They made sales and the financial rewards started to flow. But there was still something missing.

Let’s look back to their early stages of development to understand what may be missing.

The financial advisor may have been raised by parents that experienced the Depression or the War.

In the early years, their parents did their best to fulfill the child’s physiological, emotional and spiritual needs.

Regrettably, if the parent went through a depression or war, it is likely that their physiological, emotional and spiritual needs were not met because like their forefathers before them, they were caught up in survival and one can’t give something that you don’t have and it is no fault of their own.

Instead of meeting the physiological, emotional and spiritual needs, the child is left with typical unmet needs of approval, control, recognition, safety and worthiness and no matter how hard the child tries to meet these unresolved unmet needs as they progress into their adult life, it is impossible to meet the unmet need from outside of themselves.  It must be met from within.

It is highly likely that they intuitively picked up that there wasn’t enough money and because the home environment wasn’t safe. Many heard that they were not good enough or that things were not good enough.

As they grew into their teens, they started to reach out to the outside world to try to meet their unmet needs.  They tried to meet their unmet needs through alcohol, cars, drugs, education, fashion, food, friends, hobbies, money, sex and sports … and for a while, they may have been successful … at the same time, they still felt something was missing.

Some found themselves in business and in sales.

Unmet needs can be both a blessing and a curse.

Imagine an oyster and the unmet need of security is the grain of sand. After many years the irritation of the grain of sand creates a beautiful pearl and this beautiful pearl has many business and sales skills.

At the same time, the irritation of the grain of sand is still there and no matter how hard they try, no matter how much they sell, they still don’t feel secure or fulfilled.

As years go by, they continue their drive based on unmet needs like security that continues to fuel limiting beliefs that there isn’t enough money and this creates limiting emotions of anxiety and fear.

Sure they stay motivated and may even break some sales records but their performance is up and down because there can never be enough money to satisfy the unmet need which must be met from within.

Eventually the grand daddy of all unmet needs, the need of worthiness catches up with them along with the limiting beliefs they are not good enough along with the limiting emotions of depression and sadness.

You can almost see them laying there on the couch on a Saturday morning completely burned out and pissed off at the world with the TV remote in their hand thinking, “is this all there is?” and “maybe there is something wrong with me?”.

Fact: There is nothing wrong with them as it is only a lack of understanding.

Unmet needs are completely satisfiable, they must be met and they can be met.

When unmet needs are met the financial advisor lives their values and is rewarded in many ways which includes a loving and supportive family, great friendships, a well balanced life with health, vitality, travel and hobbies all standing on the foundation of faith and inspiration.

Their business is effortless built on vision, a plan and goals attracting a steady flow of higher net worth clients that come to them through a well orchestrated marketing system which is supported by a strong customer service team.

Curing the Unmet Needs Disease

In Simon’s latest book you’ll discover the REAL reason why you are frustrated, stressed, and falling short of your financial goals.

There is a cure for this disease, but you won’t find it in a motivational seminar or a workshop on closing techniques. Nor will you be able to cure it yourself by working harder or spending more time prospecting. It’s deeper than that.

More Info… | Buy Now