Attitude Matters: 7 Tips for Getting More Out of Each Day
“Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.” – Albert Einstein Your daily life is filled with a great diversity of both people and events. Some of them are positive, some are negative and still others lie somewhere in the middle. Each of your interactions can have an effect on your attitude. Smiles, laughter and […]
6 Tips for Stress Testing Your Practice in Lousy Markets
No matter how you frame it, the markets have been lousy. Bull, bear or agnostic…the turbulence has been unsettling. For your clients, your team and YOU! And no matter how well you’ve positioned your portfolios or risk-adjusted your allocations…you need to do some stress-testing. How are your models holding up? How is your team […]
Attitude, Action, Breakthrough Results
25 years ago this month… I had my best month ever as a financial advisor. My TRIPLET daughters were just a couple weeks old. And an article in a copy Money magazine in our pediatricians waiting room was screaming at me. Something like…by time your kids reach college it’ll cost $240,000. And for my wife […]
What’s Your BIG Idea?
Andy was a thorn in my side. Great guy…loved going out for a beer with him.
But he constantly moaned about his production. Two or three times a week, he’d wander into my office, say he was “stuck” and wondered out loud about how he would get off his “plateau”. He would say he just needed one “big idea”. Read More
3 Ways Advisors Sabotage Their Own Success
There are 3 ways financial advisors sabotage their businesses: 1) Do nothing. Just coast along with the markets and seemingly happy clients. And hope the next bump in the road doesn’t throw your business back into the depths of the 2008 meltdown. That’s wishful thinking…a recipe for disaster. 2) Shelf Help. Advisors attend webinars, sit-in […]
Colonoscopies, The Terminator and Your Best Year Ever
Last month, I decided to give myself a Christmas present…a year-end physical. I wasn’t having any problems, but with a changeover to a new year (and a new health insurance plan) it made sense. Plus, thanks to some urging from a good friend who is a fitness expert I had already begun a new diet […]
Should you increase your fees?
The current pressure on the fees you charge your clients is a looming crisis in the financial advice business. Low-cost providers, regulatory “suggestions”, supposed advisor advocacy groups and even some advisory firms themselves are questioning current fee levels. Want some proof? Just look at the onslaught of the so called roboadvisor. Well-intentioned technocrats have partnered […]
Do you picture yourself succeeding?
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale once said, “Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously and never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop this picture!” For many, this is easier said than done. From being naturally pessimistic to getting too busy to […]
How to Speed Up Work
I watched a PBS show with time management expert Julie Morgenstern, author of “Time Management from the Inside Out”. She suggested projects take 40% longer when they are not given your full attention. If you accept this premise, 8 hours of work could take more than 11 hours. A 40 hour work week might require […]