As we return to work from the Christmas break, emails and social media are full of how to get your life together for 2019, whether it is fitness, health, wealth, career or happiness.
Whatever you are aiming for, it should always have a plan and all goals should be written down.
I always like to start the year off in this way and it is surprising, that as the year progresses, when you check in on your goals, how they occur.
That is because: “A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goalbroken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action becomes reality,” according to motivational speaker Greg Reid.
We wrote down their goals and the dates and they left feeling satisfied, that they had at last taken a major move towards securing their future and that of their sons.Certainly, this is the message we at Uniq constantly give to our clients.
Only yesterday I saw a couple who described their situation to me and what they were trying to do.
My feedback to them was that it seemed like they were in a fog, trying to get out, but could not find a way through and were not sure how to, so they felt paralysed. They agreed with this summing up of their financial and personal circumstances.
Yet, they are high earners with relatively secure positions, have some capital, but not a huge amount and are funding children through university.
There were a few deferred and paid-up pensions and now aged 52, they were seeking financial advice from a professional for the first time, to help them make some progress and find clarity.
We wrote down their goals and the dates and they left feeling satisfied, that they had at last taken a major move towards securing their future and that of their sons.
As advisers and planners, we have all met people like these, who are intelligent, capable, but time poor, and muddle through life, thinking they are coping with it all.
These are the best clients to have, as you know they will welcome having a track to run on, and someone to guide and encourage them on their journey.
If you have not written down your goals yet, then you must, or else how can you ensure that your clients will do the same if you are not setting a good example?
Marlene Outrim is managing director of Uniq Family Wealth
