Distraction-Proof® Advisor Ideas

AdviserBlast – Quick Tips to Accelerate Your Practice

In this issue: Start now to actually make 2010 better, not just busier!

November is a great time to review the past year and start preparing to move ahead! Thanksgiving reminds us to be thankful, and with the end of the year in sight, it's time to start thinking about next year's goals.

It won't be long until all the email newsletters, the mass media, and maybe even colleagues will start encouraging you to determine to achieve more next year than you achieved this year! Without even realizing it, we can get on the treadmill of thinking we need to simply do more and more and more.

But, wait a second! Let's get off that exhausting treadmill! Before you race to set a goal to increase what you've achieved this year by a random five or ten percent, really consider what you have done during 2009.

• What have been the increased benefits to you and your family from what you've completed this year?
   
• Were the benefits in line with what you were expecting?
   
• Before advising one more client about their life, do you first need to bring more balance to yours?
   
• How did you measure your progress this year with your practice? With your health? With your family? With your closest friends?

If you've been reading my newsletters for any length of time, you know I usually focus on getting the job done and improving your bottom line. But, there is also a time to hold off action to allow some reflection, before automatically deciding to set goals to simply "do more" next year.

Right now, before setting new objectives for 2010, I'm asking my coaching clients to step back and consider:

• "Why are you doing what you're doing?"
   
• "What is your number of perfect clients?"
   
• "Why do you want that number of clients?"
   
• "Why do you want to manage that amount of assets?"
   
• "What number is enough?"
   
• "Did you become a better adviser this year?"

What do your responses look like?

While it can often be easy to spot the loss of perspective in other people's lives, sometimes ensuring we maintain perspective in our own lives can be a little more elusive; it takes deliberately setting aside activity, noises, and distractions.

Make some time to reflect on different areas of your life from the past 11 months:

• What worked and should be repeated? (It's OK to keep doing the same thing if it's working! "Don't fix it if it ain't broke!")
   
• What didn't work and should reattempted?
   
• What didn't work and should simply be dropped?

By reflecting on all you've done and achieved throughout this year and being honest with yourself about the outcomes of your 2009 goals, you'll be better prepared to move into 2010 with a plan that is balanced and will have you focused on what will make your life better, not just busier.

Thoughtfully,
Paul

Copyright Paul Kingsman 2009

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As a motivational speaker and executive coach, Paul Kingsman provides financial services professionals practical tools to overcome distractions and stay focused so they can get the money they need, clients they want, and time to do what they love. Combining his experiences as an Olympic medalist and his background as an adviser for Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo, Paul understands how to stay focused over the long haul, as well as the unique business challenges faced by advisers, and equips them to build the businesses they desire.

To find out more about how he can equip you or your team to achieve your own Split Second Success® through his presentations or executive coaching, visit paulkingsman.com/coaching or email him at Paul@PaulKingsman.com

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