Distraction-Proof® Advisor Ideas

The 2024 Paris Olympics are over. In the coming weeks, every successful 2028 LA Olympian will have this in common.
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They’re setting down a plan for where they want to be in four years time and then working backwards. So they’re starting with their goal time or their goal objective in 2028, and then, if they want to hit that objective in 2028, where must they be in 2027? And then where should they be in 2026? And ideally, what would show they’re on track by 2025? And that’s how they factor in the next 16 quarters.

That’s how we break it down. So we know, for instance, in Q1 we’re going to be competing at the NCAA tournaments, and then we’re going to have the American Nationals, and then we might have the Pan Pacific meet in September of that particular year. And so we work backwards from where we want to be in four years time to then, where are we today, and what have we got to put in place to make that a reality? Then, we simply go down that list and check the boxes, one by one, ensuring we stay on track.

There’s no magic to winning those Olympic medals. You’re going to hear those interviews given to those athletes who have been successful, and they’ll say, “Four years ago I watched this happen in the Paris Olympics,” and some of them will say, “I knew I could have done better. So once I got home, we set down a four-year plan of where we wanted to be today, and it’s worked just perfectly!” You’ll hear those stories.

You’ll also hear comments like this from the commentators saying, “Who would have believed that four years ago she did x, and now she’s a gold medalist? What an amazing performance! What a surprise!” Not to the athlete—there’s no surprise there at all. They’ve simply said, “This is where I am today, and this is where I want to be in four years time,” and laid down a plan.

So for you, as a financial advisor, to be successful and achieve your objectives, that’s what you have to do, as well. Get specific. Wherever you start measuring from, in a four-year cycle, you’ve got 16 quarters. So, where do you want to be by 2028? Then work back 16 quarters. So, for each quarter, how many financial plans do I want to have written? How many financial plans do I want to have charged for? What financial planning fees do I want to be netting out 1st quarter, 2nd quarter, 3rd quarter, 4th quarter? What A clients do you want to be working with, and how do you want to average up assets that new A-clients have when they starting to work with you? Those are just some of the metrics to start measuring. Remember, what gets measured grows. The athlete knows this, and successful financial advisors know this, also.

As a financial advisor, at the RIA I was a part of, we often made space to take on four pro bono clients, people who couldn’t afford our services and, yet, wanted learn how to do what we promoted for themselves. They just needed some help, and we could provide that help. So, we did that on a pro bono basis.

So, to implement this important step for yourself,

1. Set a goal for four years out.


2. Sit back and reflect. That four-year goal might seem a little audacious. You want a goal that’s going to be realistic so you know you can achieve it, but it is also good if it’s going to stretch you.


3. Set down a plan. If that’s where you want to be in 2028, where do you need to be in 2027? And then if that’s where you want to be in 2027, what does the end of 2026 look like? What does the end of 2025 look like?

Sixteen quarters—no magic, no luck—just putting down a plan and working to that process, step by step by step.

I look forward to hearing about your success and bringing you another Distraction-Proof Advisor Idea next week.