Nobody wants to deal with the fact that many people who are investing have no way of achieving their retirement dreams. Every investor expects to retire. When they invested $25,000 into that mutual fund and the advisor collected their commission or fee, there existed the expectation of being retireable. The reality is very different.
One important aspect of your ability to retire is the need for a clear vision of your desired future, a life dream. For most this is a faded, out of focus, black and white photography of the future. It needs to be a wide screen BlueRay movie with surround sound, clear, crisp, and with brilliant detail.
Since most couples do not have a clear vision of their future, their advisors should facilitate creating this dream by asking provocative questions. Because how can a couple hope to have the life they desire in the future if they do not know what it will look like? How can you invest for an unknown future?
The following questions may help create your dream future:
In this rare video by Napoleon Hill, he shares one of the great secrets of creating a successful future.
No matter what business you are in, everyone wants to maintain and enhance their lifestyle throughout their lifetime. This basic desire is forgotten many times when clients visit their financial advisor. The products and services offered by the advisor are insignificant if this primary concern is overlooked. Why is the most important financial concept rarely discussed?
continue reading…
Shirley Anderson sent me a link today to an article about Studs Terkel, Chicago author and commentator. He is the author of Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression
http://www.aarpmagazine.org/money/fear_economy_studs_terkel.html
This is a great message to pass on to family, friends, and clients.
The press continues to encourage investors to watch what the institutional and hedge fund managers are doing as an indicator for what they should do. And because they are selling, so should the investor. This is foolish advice, because institutional managers, during the extremes of the market, are never doing what they personally want to do. Because of redemptions during crashes and infusions of new money during rallies they are forced to liquidate or invest against their own best judgment
Investing is counter intuitive. One of the great counter intuitive investors is Warren Buffett. Read his letter to the New York Times here.
Forwarding this letter to clients might be a good way to comfort them in these difficult times.
Wednesday, April 25th is Administrative Professionals Day. This is a great opportunity to say thank you to those team members who allow your processes to run smoothly, your brand to be delivered consistently, and your time to be focused on what is most important.
On page 167 of my book *[Attract Clients: A Financial Advisor’s Guide to Building and Running a Practice](http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2F0978062442%2Fsr%3D1-1%2Fqid%3D1152791900%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks&tag=lloydwilliams-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325)* is an article titled *Nine Ways to Say Thank You*.
The worksheet can be downloaded [here](http://www.lloydwilliamsinc.com/wp-content/uploads/nine_ways_to_say_ty.pdf). In the comments below tell us how you say thank you to your administrative professionals.
Sometimes the best thing to do in a conversation is to say nothing. [Kathy Sierra](http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2006/12/two_more_words_.html) says:
>Things I learned from my horse trainers #42: practice saying, “Hmmmm… how interesting.” Say it when you’re frustrated. Say it when you’re mad. Most importantly, say it before you say or do anything else (including hit the “send” or “post” button).
>It should be the first thing out of your mouth when things go wrong—or don’t meet your expectations—because:
>1) It inserts a pause and gives you a moment to think before you react.
>2) It keeps you from taking things too personally
If someone calls you an idiot (or worse) saying “hmmm…how interesting…” changes your reaction from purely emotional to more curious and detached.
>3) It helps you ask more questions instead of jump to conclusions.
With horses, the main goal of the “how interesting” technique is to keep you from losing patience and blaming the horse. If you say “how interesting,” it helps you explore reasons, including what your own role in this might be. It makes problems feel more like puzzles.
Merlin Mann from [43 Folders](http://www.43folders.com/) quoted the [following](http://www.43folders.com/2006/12/31/starting-2007/) from the Scottish mountain climber [W. H. Murray](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._H._Murray):
>Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.
>
Happy New Year. Start something you are passionate about.
