However, with it also being highly competitive and fast-evolving, in order to make this potentially profoundly beneficial impact for as many clients as possible – and simultaneously to grow our businesses – I believe there is one fundamental that all advisers need to remember: if you kill time, you murder success.
I was recently invited to give a TED talk on this subject and started by inviting the audience to focus on a number.
It was 86,400, which is the number of seconds in a day – seconds we will never get back once gone. We all have the same amount every day to use, however we wish.
But those seconds run down quickly. Time disappears.
We know that over a 75-year lifespan, on average we spend 25 years asleep, five years trying to get to sleep, five years eating, 11 years watching television and 13 months sitting on the toilet. This shows us that we also have an expiry date. It teaches us that we need to respect and be appreciative of time. It is our most important resource.
We have to realise that success does not go in a straight line in most cases.Successful people are the ones who put good habits and actions into place now; they do not wait around for tomorrow. There is urgency and momentum in their professional practices.
Taking action on a consistent basis will set you apart. I am not necessarily referring to the major actions like setting up a new office in a different city, but rather the smaller ones that build up over time. It is like the compounding effect of interest on savings – something about which we always speak to our clients.
For example, taking 30 minutes each day to hone your skills by learning about new regulations, studying for formal industry qualifications, or deep-diving into how geopolitical issues can affect your clients’ portfolios, will help you become more authoritative and knowledgeable and, therefore, can help more clients reach their long-term financial goals and improve our businesses.
We are all on a success journey, and at each stage of this journey, we need to make sure we are good with our time.
First stage is to have a goal, which needs to be something exciting and have a good ‘why’ attached to it. The goal also has to have some sort of deadline, as without one, it is simply a pipe dream.
The next stage is the leap, where we just have to realise there is no perfect time – it is all about progress, not perfection. This is where we commit to going all in, where we make some sacrifices. It is always good to have some accountability in there, too, as most of us tend to work better with it.
Next, the fight stage. This is where life's obstacles typically come in and throw you off course and, perhaps unsurprisingly, it is where most people give up because they forget about the original goal and the ‘why’.
Successful people remember what went right, not what went wrong. We have to realise that success does not go in a straight line in most cases.
It tends to bobble around a bit; you get some good days you get some tougher days, you get some good months, get some harder ones, but as long as things are moving on an upwards trajectory we are doing okay.
It is where having a healthy self-talk can make a critical difference. Successful people remember what went right, not what went wrong.
The climb stage is next, where we start to make tangible career progress. In this stage, I suggest you need to put in place a workable system. Systems will save you time and always beat willpower alone.
As we come out of that climb stage, we arrive, we hit that goal, we take time to pause, we take time to celebrate those wins. We are positive and reward ourselves. But, of course, it is important that we do not sit there for too long. Time is ticking along. We need to reset that goal and go and find another.
Success takes patience, but we have got to be impatiently patient. We should consistently be taking positive action towards our objectives because doing wins over dreaming every time.
It is true that time flies, but the good news is that you are the pilot. It is down to us to adopt a one-shot mindset each morning.
Ultimately, what matters most is that we go for it, day in and day out, in order to maximise every second to help our clients reach their financial goals and, as a result, fulfil our true potential as advisers.
James Green is investment director of deVere Group
