What Are You Doing To Be Average & Routine?

Seth Godin’s quote, “Change doesn’t fail because it is too early, change fails because it is too late”, resonates as my 15 years of experience in behaviors and values analysis confirms that 54% of financial advisors will do anything to avoid change.

• Behaviors are “How” we do what we do
• Values are “Why” we do what we do

That same 54% of financial advisors tend to approach the profession as being an employee rather than from the place of owning a business and a business requires a commitment to do far more than just getting by.

Like the frog, 54% of financial advisors hate change so much, they will sit in a small beaker of water on a hot plate until it is too late failing to create a written vision, business plan and 90-day goals which would likely have them swimming in a much bigger pond.

The same 54% of financial advisors lulled themselves into complacency over the decade solely focused on money products and they are now really feeling the heat because they are afraid to diversify because of their fear of change.

Over the past decade it was very easy to take orders for money products, and it went on for so long that they forgot how to offer a complete package that includes, a financial plan, money products, life insurance critical illness, disability insurance, all creating a foundation for retirement and a legacy for the next generation.

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 brought on by the conflicts that are brought about by today’s economic world.

With money too tight to mention, financial advisors that avoid change and conflict 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 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 what is routine and or 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 marketplace.

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 a financial advisor, one must invest their time into the finding the truth.

The truth brought on by knowing your values will set you free.

You can build your self-confidence, self-esteem, self-respect, self-trust and energy which will build a stronger personal foundation in the following ways:

1. Re-Visit Your Calendar For The Past 24 Months
2. Write Out Everything That You Have Accomplished
3. List 3 – 6 Best Practices, Disciplines Or Habits That Are Responsible For The Success That You Have Enjoyed To Date
4. Write Down How These Accomplishments Make You Feel
5. List 3 – 6 Best Practices, Disciplines Or Habits That You Need To Improve Or Add To Your Toolkit To Move To The Next Level Of Success
6. Block Out Tine In Your Calendar To Implement Your Best Practices, Disciplines Or Habits

As we have just passed the 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 and 90-day goals”.