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 and exercise routine. So it seemed like a good time to reestablish a baseline for all those important medical stats.
No crazy resolutions…just the thought of a healthier 2015.
One problem…my doctor determined a slight irregularity during one of the tests. (You can guess which one.) “No big deal,” he said, “but you should probably have a colonoscopy.” I had a colonoscopy 3 years ago and the best part of that exam was knowing I wouldn’t need another one for 10 years.
Now…my reward for looking out for my health was going to be a 2 day “Miralax and Gatorade diet”. Followed by a procedure involving a “long, flexible tube” to which no normal human being could look forward.
Oh joy!
After I stopped feeling sorry for myself, (I’m betting on a clean bill of health) I decided to look for some inspiration. Based on some recent joking with my fitness guru friend, I decided to turn to (don’t laugh) The Terminator…Arnold Schwarzenegger. Putting politics, acting skills and personal foibles aside, you gotta love a guy who has accomplished so much while starting with so little.
Arnold always tries to make each year his best year ever.
What does that have to do with the financial advice business? Absolutely everything! In a profession that can lull you to sleep, it’s easy to rest on your laurels. It’s tempting to confuse success with bull markets.
But the mark of a real pro is the desire to get better every day.
Arnold put it this way: “For me life is continuously being hungry. The meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer.”
Do you have a conquering attitude and mindset? And a plan to make it happen?
Or do you treat your plans for the new year like a colonoscopy, an inconvenient event you hope you don’t have to go though again anytime soon? You get tired of the push for new assets to manage. You’re bored with all the talk of elevating your commitment to greater client service. And you just don’t care if there are better ways to manage your time or run your business.
Don’t get me wrong…I am NOT suggesting you do more just for the sake of doing more.
More isn’t necessarily a good reason for getting out of bed each day. Doing more, making more money and striving to be your best need to have meaning…real meaning. As one of my favorite mentors used to say: “Your career goals need to be so meaningful you’re excited to get to the office on Monday morning.” Each day is a step on a journey to a championship season.
How do you get yourself on track?
As you look at the different ways you can measure your success, ask yourself a critical question: “What would it mean if I accomplished this goal, committed to this activity or broke through this milestone?” Don’t settle for easy answers like more money, more vacations or more trophies.
Real meaning is more of an end game.
Real meaning is setting targets and priorities that through steady effort achieve breakthrough results. Real meaning is raising the Super Bowl trophy, not just spiking the ball in the end zone after a touchdown.
Need some examples…
…Last year, I worked with an advisor who has given more meaning to his business by tying financial goals directly to the number of needy children placed in an orphanage he helped develop.
…Another advisor found real meaning by turning a commitment to running his business more efficiently into a three month vacation to accomplish a bucket list dream of biking across the country with his son.
…And still another advisor, bored by meaningless company recognitions, used his platform as a financial expert to lead a major effort for greater financial literacy among the low income families in his community…impacting hundreds.
These advisors, already successful by most measures, decided “life is not to simply exist” but “to conquer”. They had their best years ever. And there is little doubt that 2015 will bring even greater meaning.
How about you? Do you have goals and a plan to achieve them? Will they give your business and your life meaning? Will 2015 be your best year ever?
It’s not too late to get started.
Do you need some help?
I’m available for a free phone consultations. We’ll spend 20 to 30 minutes developing ideas for making 2015 your best year ever. Click here to pick a time that fits your schedule.