An unexpected side gig from my long career as a professional financial advisor is that I frequently get asked to speak at industry conferences.
I am not exaggerating when I describe this as unexpected. Public speaking is a learned skill for me, not something that just came naturally. The first time someone approached me to see if I was available to speak to 1200 financial advisors in Toronto, I was confused. It seemed like an April Fools joke. I was waiting for the punchline, but they were serious.
Over the years I have spoken at financial advisor conferences from coast to coast across Canada and the USA, and multiple times in Australia and in Asia. To my surprise, I discovered that I actually quite like sharing my ideas on financial planning with my peers. It forces me to focus my thinking and articulate my messages.
Usually, my conference presentations and my day job of advising clients are separate perspectives. But last week, as I was delivering a presentation to a group of financial advisors, it struck me that my message to them was on point with the same stuff that I have been sharing with clients lately.
The topic of my presentation was building a successful financial advisory business. The transferable part of that presentation is that you can’t keep doing what you are doing now and expect different results from what you are getting now.
Here’s what I mean.
You say you want to get out of debt, but you never make more than the minimum monthly payment.
You say you want to retire, but you are not saving any money for when you stop working.
You say you want to give your kids a headstart, but you still haven’t opened that RESP account.
You say you want to make sure your family is going to be okay if something was to happen to you, but you still haven’t followed through with the life insurance application.
You say you don’t want to leave a big mess behind, but you never get around to updating your will.
Hey, as long as you are happy with where you are now, keep doing what you are doing now.
But if you want different results than what you are currently getting, then you probably need to change up what you are currently doing. This only make any sense.
This presentation that I was doing for financial advisors was in Vancouver. To have a little fun, I included some Northern flavour. I brought some deer antlers!
All winter long I have had about a dozen deer living in my horse pasture. Up here, when deer shed their antlers, it is just the natural course of events. But if you live in Vancouver, seeing some deer antlers up close is not a typical experience.
The antlers were more than just a curiosity though. There is a lesson here too.
Deer shed their antlers every year after mating season. It’s a normal cycle. Whenever you see deer antlers, that is always just one year of growth. Which is pretty impressive, to have that much growth in just one year.
My message to that group of financial advisors, which also is a good message for everyone, is if we were going to get together one year from today, what will your one year of growth look like?
Will you have made progress on paying down your debt? On saving for retirement and your kid’s education? On protecting your family?
The difference between scarcity and abundance starts with making the commitment. These things don’t really happen by accident. You need to work towards the results that you want
If you want different results you need to do different things. And you need to start somewhere. So, my challenge to you is to get out there and grow a great big set of antlers over the next year.
Deer grow their antlers naturally. You are probably going to need to take a more active role. Do what you need to move yourself closer to your Great Goals.
Brad Brain. CFP, R.F.P., CIM, TEP is a Certified Financial Planner in Fort St John, BC. This material is prepared for general circulation and may not reflect your individual financial circumstances. Brad can be reached at www.bradbrainfinancial.com.
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Great analogy.