When a financial advisor has a singleness of purpose success is inevitable. But that purpose must come from your soul, it must be a fire that burns inside of you. It must have deep meaning to you and your life and you must be able to articulate WHY it is so important to you.

A college education, masters or graduate degrees, and industry training have minimal value to your success in the absence of singleness of purpose. Certainly with a good education and training, success can be achieved but it is a mere shadow of what can be accomplished when driven by singleness of purpose. It is often our own limiting beliefs that prevent us from finding our true path to success.

Each of these women discovered what they were passionate about, and put all their efforts into their singleness of purpose. They weren’t worried about pleasing others in fact in many cases displeased many, yet regardless of the challenges, nay Sayers and obstacles their pure authentic focus moved them to greatness. A singleness of purpose can build a successful business, inspire millions of people, start revolutions it may even move mountains.  

• Wilma Rudolph Born prematurely, weighing a mere four and a half pounds. At age 4, Rudolph contracted polio, forcing her to wear leg braces for five years and orthopedic shoes for two years after that. Just 5 years after she found running she made her first performance in the Olympics and eventually claimed three gold medals.

• Valentina Tereshkova: Before being recruited as a cosmonaut, Russian Valentina Tereshkova was a textile-factory assembly worker and an amateur parachutist. She was selected out of more than 400 applicants to pilot the Vostok 6, and on June 16, 1963, she became the first woman and the first civilian in space.

• Malala Yousafzai: By age 10 Malala was becoming a spokesperson for girls education in Pakistan. At the age of 15 a Taliban gunman shot Malala Yousafzai in Mingora, Pakistan yet she was not swayed from her purpose to provide all girls the opportunity to get an education.  At 17 Malala was the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

If singleness of purpose can have that great an impact on the world and the success of others why as financial advisors are we hesitant to define our own driving force? 

Target markets, niche markets are an industries unsuccessful attempt to adapt to social and cultural changes in training but most often have little relationship to the soul of the advisor and as a result little impact on their success.

The financial industry was built and developed by warriors whose single purpose was to bring home the bacon. The model worked in a day when the world was narrower and culturally limited. .  But our world has become more diverse, more receptive to cultural changes, gender integration and social sensitivities.  The days of hunters and warriors have changed and bringing home the bacon is not enough. 

Advisors armed with singleness of purpose and with the courage to challenge status quo will find their success goes well beyond monetary compensation.  They feel a sense of fulfillment, peace and passion. Their purposeful focus will provide constant motivation fueling their actions and conversations each and every day.

Women have become a powerful source of purpose for many advisors regardless of gender.  In my work coaching advisors the process of writing their story “Why they care about women” they quickly uncover a sense of purpose that had long been buried.  Advisors with 20 years of experience become recharged and encouraged as they unleash their true desire and purpose as an advisor. For some it’s simply feeling permission to finally follow what their heart and soul has been telling them for years. Typical clients appointments become intimate discussions inspiring new referrals, assets and mutual respect.

New advisors, challenged with growing a business find tremendous clarity and focus when they are able to hone in on their singleness of purpose. Their focus, vision, actions and strategy all become more focused and their message with strangers has an immediate impact.

Whether your singleness of purpose is women, business owners,, young professional couples determined to achieve early success, or people of faith who strive to be good stewards of their wealth it is WHY they are important to you that makes it powerful.  When you uncover that singleness of purpose, you will ignite a fire in your soul that will reflect in your message, actions and interactions. You will experience a fuel that sparks meaningful interactions, stronger relationships, more natural referrals and the ability to bring home more than just bacon.