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Bill Bachrach: Are We Just Like Kids? | |
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What's wrong with our education system? Why are so many kids under-performing their potential? And, how is this relevant for you as a Financial Professional who would like to be more successful? Principal Steve Perry, renown for his success in helping parents help their kids succeed in school and in life, says that parents who have the most success with their kids:
According to Perry, one of the biggest mistakes parents make is giving their kids too many choices. Another mistake parents make is spending too much time being friends with their kids. They are too nice. Perry says, "Parents are not holding their kids feet to the fire to do what's necessary for them to be successful." According to Perry, kids actually value consistency, structure, and parents who follow-through with monitoring and accountability. They know they need it and no matter how much they may rebel in the moment, they recognize this as a sign they have parents who care and love them. Without consistency, structure, monitoring, and follow-through kids become adults without the habits required to create predictable, recurring, and lasting success. What does this have to do with being a successful Financial Professional? Everything. You might be thinking, "But I'm not a kid!" -not any more. Yet, you probably have the same challenges: scattered, fragmented, distracted, too many choices, and under-performing your potential. You get to the end of the day and compare what you actually did to what you know would have produced the best results for your clients and your business; and, you can only shake your head hoping tomorrow will be better. Wouldn't the same things that Principal Perry says are important for kids be valuable for you and your professional success: consistency, structure, monitoring, follow-through; and someone to hold you accountable? As an adult it's up to you to recognize your own need and choose to opt into a community where you can get this structure and support. Your mom and dad are no longer in a position to make you do it. Everyone is more successful when they have structure and someone to "hold their feet to the fire." It's not a kid thing or an adult thing. It's a human thing. The most successful people recognize this and take action. At BAI we have a proven process, the structure, the monitoring, the follow-through, and accountability to help you tap your true potential, acquire more Ideal Clients, create your Ideal Business, and live your Ideal Life. We have helped thousands of your colleagues and can do the same for you. Register today at www.baivbfp.com/srmform.php to
complete or
update your Success Road Map®. We Believe in You , ________________________________________ |
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Anne Bachrach: Real Life Isn't Boring! How to Live Life with No Regrets | |
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While you can't turn back the clock and change past events, would you – if you had the power – change the way things are now? Perhaps you would change where you live, your financial status or improve your personal relationships. Maybe you would drive a different car, play more golf, travel to exotic places, be more physically fit, or relax in a hammock on the beach. You’re probably thinking, that sounds great, but that’s not real life. You can’t spend your life in a hammock! Then let me ask you, what is real life supposed to be about? Work? Responsibility? Bills? More work? (You may be tempted to answer yes, but hold that thought.) This is where most of us get it all wrong. Most of us were taught that being an adult is about being responsible, and life is not about having fun. You're supposed to have all your fun when you're a child, then "grow up" and live responsibly in the real world. I challenge you to break that false perception and create a new rule of your own. If you could live life exactly as you wanted, what would you change? Without even realizing it, you could probably come up with at least three things that would involve less work and more fun. Go ahead, try it. If you could change three things in your life – right now – what would they be? Here are some examples:
Now it's your turn… 1.________________________________________________________ Why would you change these particular aspects? Next, write a specific reason for wanting to change these three things.
Your list… 1.________________________________________________________ When you wrote down your reasons, did you notice that they probably have nothing to do with responsibility and boredom? Still think life is supposed to be one dull ride? The things that matter most to you – and the things that allow you to live life to the fullest – are always the things that make you feel good. This is where you have to retrain your mind to think of life in a whole new perspective. Real life is not about being bored, exhausted, frustrated or even unhappy. Real life is about experiencing the things that allow you to feel whole, free, and blissful. Do not waste one more day of your precious life. Take stock of the life you live now and the life you would like to live, and start moving in that direction. Here's how you get started: 1. Make a list of 100 Things you would like to do before life’s end 2. From your list of 100 Things You Would Like to Do, Make a list of 10 long-term goals (5 to 20+ years) *If you're tempted to write down more than ten goals, go for it! Now put them in priority order with those most important to you at the top of the list. Once you begin accomplishing your goals, cross them off and add new ones. Now that you have your long-term goals, you can create short-term goals. Long-term goals don’t happen overnight and are a series of smaller steps over time. The idea is to breakdown the long-term goals into smaller steps that can be achieved now or in the near future. 3. Make a list of 10 short-term goals (1 day to 3 years) *If you're tempted to write down more than ten goals, stay on that roll. Remember to prioritize your list. Once you begin accomplishing your goals, cross them off and add new ones. Your short-term goals should encompass easy actions that you can begin taking today. Some steps may require only a few hours, while others will require one week, six months, or longer. Start with the short-term goals that are the building blocks to your most desired long-term goals – and the easiest to complete. What you're looking for are the goals that carry the biggest bang in the shortest amount of time. To be sure you now have a new perspective on living life to the fullest, I challenge you to find just one goal on your list of 100 Things that is boring and "adult like." If you found one or more, shame on you. Nothing on that list should be anything remotely close to boring. Go back and review your list, if you find anything remotely boring, stop and ask yourself if you really want that or is it something you think someone else wants you to achieve. The only items on that list should be things you want because you want them. No one else can help you live life without regret, which is why your goals should always be what you want, not what someone else wants for you. Utilize the Quality of Life Enhancer™ online complimentary exercise to help you create your list. You can find this online tool at www.AccountabilityCoach.com (under the Silver Membership section). Share it with your family and others who you think will benefit from this exercise. Create the kind of life you truly want and one with no or fewer regrets. Another resource to help you, is taking advantage of the complimentary Success Road Map® experience through Bachrach & Associates. (Email SRM@BAIvbfp.com and take advantage of this special experience.) Anne M. Bachrach. All rights reserved. Anne M. Bachrach is the author of the book, Excuses Don't Count; Results Rule!, and her newest book Live Your Life with No Regrets; How the Choices we Make Impact Our Lives will soon be available. She has 23 years of experience training and coaching. Anne helps financial professionals keep and get more clients while maintaining balance in their life. Through her proven systems, she inspires Advisors to stay focused and take action on the highest payoff activities that lead to their ultimate professional and personal success. Take advantage of the many complimentary resources on her website (www.AccountabilityCoach.com) and subscribe to her blog (www.AccountabilityCoachBlog.com). ________________________________________________________________________ |
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Mark McKenna Little: Have You Raised Your Bar over the Last Two Years? | |
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How have you improved the quantity and quality of the value you provide your best clients over the past two years? I recall several articles back in 2008 regarding Russ Prince's study about disappointed clients. That study was just one of many I've seen over the past two decades which have consistently shown that often affluent clients don't feel the reality of their relationship with their financial advisor lives up to their expectations. Could it be that, for most advisors to the affluent, the value provided doesn't match up with the promises made, or implied, at the inception of the relationship? This study from two years ago is not much different than any other research I've seen over the years. Unfortunately for our beloved industry, affluent potential clients have become accustomed to being disappointed by their financial advisors. The advice we've given advisors over the years is to focus on those things within your control and not obsess about things outside of your control, such as financial market performance, terrorism, oil spills or other world events that affect our clients' financial affairs. That said, the studies always describe clients' disappointment in things that are indeed within your control, as an advisor. So the question is, "How much have you increased the value you bring to your clients' lives over the past two years?" Back when Russ Prince's study came out, a piece ran on ConsumerAffairs.com entitled Is It Time to Fire Your Financial Advisor? which encouraged affluent readers to answer these questions and fire their advisor if they answered "no" to more than one:
Some of this is silly media perspective that misses the real issues, so let me tell you how I read this from a Trusted Advisor's perspective:
Two years is ample time to completely transform your business. A financial product salesperson with little or no experience in our industry could become a top-tier Trusted Advisor in the community offering fully comprehensive financial services through a Best-in-Class Deliverables Team of Subject Matter Experts within two years. The best question to ask yourself, however, is where are you committed to taking your business over the next two years. There is no question that the next 24 months is sufficient time for you to create a comprehensive financial services business which is in a "category of one" in your community. The only question is whether you are willing to commit to implementing that vision. ________________________________________________________ __________ |
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Tom Voccola: Financial Independence for Financial Advisors- What You Need to Know Now | |
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If financial independence is what you are trying to bring to your clients, you must be on the path to being financially independent yourself. Yet according to many in the financial services industry, less than 2% of all financial advisors are financially independent. That is, less than 2% have enough recurring revenue to provide for their immediate and future financial needs. I really don't think you need to be financially independent before you can honestly advise clients with integrity, but you need to be on the path with a solid plan. In other words, you need to be walking your talk. If you look around, many calling themselves Financial Advisors just may be working for the devil. I think it was Abraham Maslow who once said, if you're a hammer everything begins to look like a nail. Put another way, if you're representing an insurance company, everything begins to look like a policy opportunity. You cannot be a trusted Financial Advisor if you're representing a product. You must have the ability to remain independent. The top Financial Advisors in the world orchestrate solutions, they do not provide them. Here's a check list to see if you're on your way to true financial independence as a Financial Advisor:
This prescription isn't for everyone. But if your goal is
to be a financially independent FA you might want to explore
what it could mean to you and your family. Entrepreneur, speaker, author and CEO
Guide, Tom Voccola is the CEO of CEO2, a Chief Executive Consulting Firm
specializing in the rapid transformation of corporate and organizational
cultures. Tom is the co-founder and past Chairman of the Los Angeles area CEO
Round Table for the American Electronics Association, and the author of The
Accidental CEO – A Leader’s Journey from Ego to Purpose. His life's work is
to inspire a new generation of leaders who transcend ego and its fear based
agenda. His work gives executives immediate and authentic access to new levels
of power, influence and freedom within their organizations. |
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Back to Index | |
Life goes by so quickly – don't miss out on the
extraordinary opportunities you have to live life without
regret! Ask yourself this question, if you left this world
tomorrow, would you feel as if you lived life to the fullest
extent? 
Flashback two years: A recent survey by Russ Alan Prince
found that two out of three wealthy investors are so
disappointed with their financial advisor that they're
thinking about switching.
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| The Trusted
Financial Advisor (tm) |