For the past 6 months I have been working with a female financial advisor who had hit a wall, she could not get beyond the $500,000 mark.  This past year she changed firms creating a new environment that might help her get through this barrier, yet she encountered the same problem.  It didn’t matter how hard she worked, how much she sacrificed or how determined she was to succeed success continued to be a struggle.  Everything she did was dominated by the desire to achieve production, as a result she was constantly stressed and anxious causing her to get sick, feeling negative at work and impatient with her family. 

While all of us are motivated in different ways I have found that the most common motivator for financial advisors is fear.  Fear of not making your numbers, fear of being rejected, and fear of not having all the answers.  As female financial advisors we can often add the fear of not being accepted, the fear of not getting approval or the fear of being different and not fitting in.  While fear under certain circumstances can be a great motivator overtime it can cause you to stall , get stuck and create a barrier to growth which is exactly what it did to my client.     

Today my client is making better decisions, is less anxious, is willing to walk away from business that does not fit with her principles.  The fear that once motivated her is now replaced with something else which she struggles to describe.   It is not tangible, it does not have a name and it is not something she can quantify she just knows that as a result of this new approach she is feeling better as a person, more connected as a mother and wife and more effective as a wealth advisor. 

By helping my client identify the core principles that drive her desires and actions she has become more focused on positive qualities setting a standard that is in line with who she is as a person.  This standard causes her to be more selective about with whom she does business.  Every decision she now makes is driven by her three business principles: 

1.  A thoughtful process;  This prevents her from making rash or pressured decisions while incorporating the big picture an important approach as a wealth advisor.
2. Integrity – Doing what you say you are going to do is not only critical for how she treats her clients and coworkers but what she expects in return.  
3. An Ethical Process:  By always focusing on what is right for the client first she feels more committed to her decisions and confident in her value.  This ethical standard permeates every aspect of her practice. 

Today these three principles are the guiding force that influences every decision she makes in her business.  These principles help her determine the clients she chooses to work with and the standards she expects from her co-worksers.  By applying these three principles she no longer makes decisions based on fear.   While she often falls back to the old way of thinking, worrying about her numbers she quickly reminds herself of the principles that drive her, immediately replacing fear with positive energy. 

 Call it the law of attraction or the power of positive thinking, call it what you will but this force is real, this force can allow you to achieve success beyond your imagination.  Eliminate the fear, identify the core principles that drive your practice and great things will happen.