Distraction-Proof® Advisor Ideas

2008 Preparing for Excellence Series – Issue 10

Last month we looked at the costly dangers of continually making last minute adjustments to our practice methods: there simply comes a time when a choice of direction needs to be made and more time gets spent on practicing the “game day” process than on forever chasing a slightly tweaked, “new and improved” course of action.

Constant changes don’t only cost time and money – they cost conviction! Because conviction isn’t tangible, and it is so easy to get distracted by the hot trend of the day, we often don’t think about it very much. But, conviction is another of the key building blocks in the foundation of our practice.

Conviction is the consistent, motivating emotion that spurs us to excellent action. It is the assurance that our rationale, procedure, and expected results will work, are right, and are genuinely best.

Our clients and associates come to us for expert advice and direction. They want to trust and rely on us. Constant changes to our practice leave us, at some level, constantly second guessing ourselves. If we don’t fully believe in what we’re doing and saying, the people we work with won’t either. Conviction gives security and direction for both us and them. It is a solid, internal belief that provides us the “true north” for our actions, responses, and thoughts. It gives us confidence and allows our clients and associates to believe in us and our counsel.

Conviction also provides stability. When we know what we are doing is right and best, we can more easily weather those inevitable “off” days. The worth of our advice (and often how we perceive ourselves), then, does not become reliant on a prospect’s response, or on whether the market is up or down, or on a mood.

The Olympic athlete relies on conviction to motivate her to awake each morning at 5am, still stinking of chlorine from the previous day’s work, and head to a pool while the neighborhood sleeps; or has him lifting weights when his arms are still burning from the last night’s workout; or has them going to sleep at 8.30pm when their friends are trying to entice them out to a night on the town.

In fact, conviction makes work that seems like a boring grind to the casual observer stimulating and exciting. Conviction spurs on those who realize that the surest way to achieve outstanding results requires consistent commitment to a process, which in turn pushes us to practice tirelessly, over and over again . . . until it becomes a consistent, winning process.

With change happening so fast in today’s culture, people with unwavering convictions are getting harder to find; yet this fact actually makes them easier to see. They are people whose conduct, standards, and moral approaches aren’t situational. Your clients need and deserve someone who is prepared to exhibit conviction.

To develop the kind of deep, motivating conviction Olympic athletes use to propel themselves toward their goals, carefully critique your current business model and ask yourself:

• Is it working? Is it right? Is it best?
• Will it allow me to reach my objectives?
• If I was told I could write a book titled The Greatest Financial Services Process in the World, would I simply describe my practice?

By holding fast to your convictions, you’re following the pathway of the Olympian: a path where consistent hard work, high ideals, and unfailing professionalism reap huge returns.
Be convicted,
Paul

Copyright Paul Kingsman 2008
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How do you deepen your conviction and use it to become a better advisor, sales person or manager? Paul Kingsman – Olympic medalist, professional speaker and executive coach – helps his clients plan and implement specific, practical, and measureable steps to strengthen their conviction and make it work for them.
To find out more about how he can help equip you or your team to achieve your own Split Second Success® through his keynote presentations or executive coaching, contact him at http://www.paulkingsman.com.

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