Have you ever wondered if there’s a secret to how the top 1% perform?
It’s really not as much a secret as a formula for getting results. I’ve used this simple formula for years to conjure a winning attitude for tough tasks and to persevere against the odds. And other financial advisors can tap into the same mindset algorithm to get results.
Is this just another formula?
Fair question. There are pages upon pages of books on mindset and performance. So, I welcome your skepticism. I’ll even bet that you’ve read most of those books (or at least more than I have). You may have even spent hard-earned cash to be coached by one of those performance coaches (that authored one of those books), so you probably feel you have it dialed in. Right?
I’m not doubting your pedigree, knowledge or experience … But if you’re like me, you probably still look at the top 1% and wonder, ”How do they do it?”
What creates momentum?
In a book called “Good to Great” by Jim Collins, there’s a metaphor of a flywheel. Think of a large wheel that requires several turns before it gains self-sustaining momentum. A snowball effect of sorts, if you will.
The flywheel illustrates what makes the top 1% as successful as they are. Are you ready?
The answer is Repetition.
The practice of doing something over and over again actually makes you quite good at something — especially when you do it the right way. Shooting free throws. Practicing musical scales. Cooking. Parenting. (Well, maybe parenting requires a bit more than just repetition).
In Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers”,the author argues that the road to a sweeping success of The Beatles in the United States was paved by countless nights of playing clubs in the UK.
In other words, they put in their 10,000 hours.
The first layer—financial advisor mindset. “Watch those words”
Let this graphic sink in for just a second. I want you to think about how the top of the pyramid is what most focus on — results. However, there are lots of steps before we get to results and it all starts with financial advisor mindset.
If you only take one thing away from reading this, it should be this. What you believe about something is critical to your success or failure.
Think about the last dream you had when you were falling. Do you remember that feeling? Your heart is racing. You may have even broken out into a cold sweat, even though you were only dreaming. Why is this? It’s because your brain can’t tell the difference between real life and a dream. And since that is the case, you can literally program your thoughts and belief system (“financial advisor mindset”) to affirm the reality that you want to exist.
You have seen phrases like this, right?
This will be the most productive day of my life
I will encounter someone today and have a life changing moment
I have what it takes to make it to the next level of success
As corny as these “affirming” phrases might be, they are in heavy rotation in the talk tracks of the top 1%. The opposite is true, as well. If you pollute your thoughts with negative thoughts and beliefs, you are limiting your potential.
Have you ever caught yourself saying any of these?
I can’t do this.
I’m no good at that.
There’s no way that can happen.
The power in any set of words is the degree to which we believe what is being said. And just in case you didn’t know it, you tend to believe what you say to yourself.
Dominique Henderson is the founder of DJH Capital Management and director of Client Experience at Brewer Consulting. He’s spent over two decades in financial services helping clients do more with their life and money — and helping advisors grow their businesses.
If you think that you can’t succeed in their world and you’ll never have the money or life that you might wish for yourself, think again. Here’s some great information for you to ponder…
The USA has been ranked the top place in the world for female entrepreneurs.(1)
Many women have decided that working for someone else just isn’t right for them. The fast paced office environment can cause early burnout so women choose to focus their efforts on their own businesses.
Here are 25 amazingly successful women who have worked their way from rags to riches.
Jennifer Hyman—Rent the Runway. She saw an opportunity to build a company based around renting designer clothing to brides and the bridal party, in New York City. Jennifer feels that it’s important to love what you do as you spend most of your time at work. She recommends that you have passion for what you do and to not focus on negativity.
Julia Hu—Lark Industries. Julia saw a need for a silent vibrating alarm when her partner’s erratic schedule and alarms would wake her up. Today her company offers a band-like alarm clock and various wellness apps for the smart phone. Julia says that failure is normal and expected, and to keep pushing yourself to keep going.
Alexa von Tobel—LearnVest. Alexa came from a family of entrepreneurs so it was normal for her to take that route too. She realized that there was no online resource to help people with basic financial help. She recommends that women begin with an idea that they love, as that’s what they’re going to have to devote the rest of their lives in doing.
Lauren Bush Lauren—Feed. Lauren started a company where they have a line of bags, and a portion of the sales go to feed one child in a poor country for a year. The other portion goes toward profits. Her company has expanded to a wide range of accessories, and today she works with Disney, Gap, and Whole Foods.
Ooshma Garg—Gobble. Ooshma created the Gobble company to link up busy but hungry people with personal chefs. Her company began in San Francisco but she plans to expand into other cities. She says that if you want to learn to be an entrepreneur, you should start by being one.
Hayley Barna—Birchbox. Hayley thought it would be fun for women to receive beauty samples in the mail. The first roadblock was securing that initial funding, so she had to rely on family and friends. She recommends that you be open to feedback from everyone and that you may not have a perfect idea in the beginning.
Oprah Winfrey—Harpo Productions. Oprah is one of the most well-known names today. She started from a poor family and won a scholarship to Tennessee State University. She became the first African American TV correspondent in her state. She moved to Chicago and the Oprah Winfrey Show began. Today she is a multi-billionaire.
J.K. Rowling—Author, Pottermore. JK started as a single mother on welfare who would write her first Harry Potter novel at the local coffee shop. She received over fifty rejections before someone said yes. She insisted that she retain electronic rights to the Harry Potter books, making her wealthier than Queen Elizabeth II.
Celine Dion—Musical artist. Celine is one of the world’s richest entertainers. She started as the 14th and last child of a very poor home in Quebec. She began singing at 12 and was discovered. Later she met her husband who became producer and manager and made her the star she is today.
Jane Park—Julep Beauty Inc. Jane recognized a need for salon workers to use safe, naturally based nail polish. She opened up nail salons and then began a monthly subscription-based company where women receive nail polish every month, free of the top 5 toxic ingredients that are contained in common nail polish brands. Today the company has a large range of beauty products.
Shania Twain—Musical artist. Like Celine, Shania grew up in a household that was too poor to have heat and often they had no food. At eight years old Shania began singing in bars to make her first $20. She continued her singing career through high school. She’s now considered one of the highest selling female musicians today.
Taylor Swift—Musical artist. Taylor Swift started when she was eleven years old in Nashville, Tennessee. She went so far as to take a sample CD around to as many record labels as she could find. She repeatedly heard that her music was too common, but she worked at it and became a success in the country and pop music scenes.
Hilary Devey—Pall-Ex. Hilary’s family lost everything during a bankruptcy. There was no money for Christmas presents and she had to make do with three dresses. She left school at 16 to earn money and would work overtime to make extra cash. She had two failed marriages but then decided to sell the family home to finance Pall-Ex.
Indra Noovi—PepsiCo CEO. Indra grew up in middle-class India. She moved to the US without any money and in pursuit of a management degree. She worked as a receptionist to pay her college fees and buy an interview suit. She started at Johnson & Johnson and Motorola. She says that you must work twice as hard as a man to earn your way up the ladder.
Michelle Mone—MJM Ltd. Michelle started out naive and didn’t realize how much work it would take to start a company. She grew up in a poor home which only had one bedroom. At 12 she started working in a fruit shop. At age 16 she had to leave school to look after her disabled dad. She worked as a model and then lied on her resume to get a job at Labatts. She realized the need for a comfortable bra and became cofounder of MJM.
Ursula Burns—Xerox CEO. Ursula lived in the bad part of NYC. Despite living with a single mom, her mom raised enough cash to send her to college. Ursula became a summer intern at Xerox and never left. She’s now chairman and CEO.
Jenna Lyons—J Crew Creative Director. She started working for J Crew at age 21 as an assistant. She says that you must start at the bottom and never expect that you’ll immediately be handed a platter. She worked for what she became. It took some really long hours to become a Creative Director, and today she still works those long hours.
Christiane Amanpour—CNN Journalist. Christianne also had to start from the bottom and work her way up. She had almost nothing when she first joined CNN as a foreign desk assistant. She had a bike, a suitcase, and $100. She began in 1983 and today she is a CNN journalist.
Cindi Leive—Glamour, Editor-in-Chief. Cindi was lucky enough to find a job as an editorial assistant for Glamour magazine in the 1990s. She left to work at Self for a while, and then in 2001 she returned to Glamour. Today she is their editor-in-chief.
Donna Karan—DKNY. Donna Karan is the fashion designer who started DKNY and Donna Karan New York. She began as an assistant to Anne Klein. Her humor has kept her energized through the years.
Ursula Burns—Xerox CEO. Ursula started out as an intern and then worked as a personal assistant. She worked her way up to the first African-American women CEO to head a Fortune 500 company in 2009.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz—Congresswoman. Debbie started as a aide to Congressman Peter Deutsh. Her hard work has paid off and today she is the Florida Congresswoman and DNC Chair.
Cindy Gallop—Website Advertising Executive. Cindy has worked every hour of every day in theater, even though it earned her peanuts. She now manages the advertising for two entertainment websites.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg—Supreme Court Justice. Ruth studied law in school while caring for a child and her sick husband. She was denied a clerkship because of her gender, but that didn’t stop her. She went on to research, professorship, and then the Supreme Court.
Helen Gurley Brown—Cosmopolitan Advertising Executive. Helen started as a secretary at an advertising agency. Her talent was recognized and she went into copyrighting. From there she began a successful career in magazine advertising.
Even though there is an increasing percentage of female entrepreneurs each year, there is still plenty room for growth and for you to join the ranks!
From 2013 census data, 7.8 million women were entrepreneurs, as compared to 27.1 million men. Women aged under 35 are also starting businesses at a more rapid pace then women over 35. In the upcoming years it will be exciting to see the percentages balance out, as more women decide to become their own bosses.
If you’re ready to join the ranks, the first thing you need to learn is personal finance and happily, you’re in a great place to start! How can we help?
Schedule a free 30 minute consultation with Elisabeth and get started today. Just click the popup on the bottom right and let’s get started!
When we started hosting financial education camps back in 2002, one of the first thing I noticed was how uncomfortable the kids were when they first came into the room on the first day, as well as subsequent days during the week. I realized early on that if we wanted to keep them comfortable and wanting to come back each day, it was critical to engage them from the moment they get into the door.
We started by having our participants (any age) create their own name tags after they registered for the camp or workshop. Regardless of age, the participants started talking and getting to know each other right off the bat. And it gave them the opportunity to be creative because there are always lots of markers and stickers to decorate the name tags with.
We take it one step further in many programs by showing the first one there how to make the name tag and then letting him or her teach the next person and so on. The best way to learn really is to teach, so even though the activity is easy, it’s great practice for the participants to be learn how to teach the next person the ‘name tag’ ropes.
Over the years we’ve added a few activities, like the one you’re going to see and learn here…we just call it the String Activity for lack of anything more creative. The kids always say, “Are you sure this is possible?” We assure them it is.
What you’re seeing in the video is the following:
1) How to tie a slip know because you need one in each end of the string.
2) How to set up the activity with two people (the rules).
3) How to untangle yourself.
4) Adults participating in the activity.
5) Kids participating in the activity.
The thing to remember about any activity, is that there is always metaphorical lessons inherent in the activity. With a little creativity, you can find a way to tie this fun, active game into a lesson for your particular topic. Have fun.
You know those first few moments when you meet someone for the first time and they say…
“So…what do YOU do?” And sometimes you know what to say but most of the time you walk away knowing you either:
After The Handshake
1) Said too much.
2) Bored them to pieces.
3) Could tell they really weren’t interested at all.
4) Couldn’t wait for you to finish so they could tell you what THEY do.
5) Confused the heck out of them.
6) Or worse?
Exactly. We’ve all been there. But there is a simple way to make sure these awkward moments never (or rarely) happen again.
Want to learn how? Great. Here’s the thing you have to remember:
People are always paying attention to “What’s In It For Me?” Marketing experts refer to this as WIIFM and it’s the most important thing to pay attention to when it comes to communicating what you do to someone you’re just meeting. So, before you go out and meet one more person, personally or professionally, ask yourself this question:
What is it I do for people and how can I communicate this to them quickly and clearly?
Clarity is Key
Clarity is difficult for many people because, well, they’re generally too close to what they do to remember that it doesn’t make sense to others. So what happens is that you start telling someone what you do and they don’t get it. Maybe you use common industry words, like “time-freedom” or ’empower’ or, well, you get it or you forget that there is another person in the room and all you talk about is you.
But it’s not about dumbing it down, so don’t go there. It’s about stating what you do in a way that speaks to the other person. Let’s look at a template I learned years ago that has helped me.
First, create an easily understood 3.5 second (YES, 3.5 seconds) statement that describes the VALUE of what you do, sell, provide for others. In others words, if someone does business with you, what value do you give THEM. Remember, this is NOT about you.
Next, answer these three questions before going on:
1) What do you do? This is not your job title or what you have a college degree in…it’s a verb. For example, “I provide or I help…”
2) Who do you serve, i.e., who is your target market? (Remember, you can’t be all things to all people.) For example, “people who have a certain disease, people serving the public, people who teach, etc.”
3) What do your customers need, i.e., what will they be able to do or accomplish because they’ve worked with you that they can’t now? For example, “make a lasting impression, get more done each day, save 20% on their phone bill.”
Now that you have answered all three of these important questions (you have, right?), put them all together so that the answers look something like this:
“I help parents make sure their children will eventually be able to move out and stay out!” or…
“I teach teens the financial skills they need to know to be responsible with money when they move out on their own.”
“I provide the most effective financial education game on the planet to people who teach kids and teens so that they can send their students out into the world knowing they’ve done their very best to prepare them to handle money wisely.
OK, that last one is a wee bit long, but you get the idea.
Your Goal
The goal of this short elevator pitch is to prompt the person you’re meeting to ask this next most important question:
“How do you do that?”
This is called Hooking them. They are interested in what you do. Great first step.
The Longer Version
After you freaked out about the 3.5 seconds, and you developed this short version, you probably realized there is more to the elevator speech if your new friend asks you that second probing question. Again, you must remember that you have to speak to what they need from you. Never forget that it isn’t about you…it’s about them, their needs, their fears, their problems, them, them, them. If you find yourself using the word, “I” too often, you have forgotten this golden rule, “It’s Not About You!”
One of my favorite activities in our 5-day Train-the-Trainer Workshop is when I teach participants how to get started crafting their first professional elevator speech. You can do this with a group of kids, teens or adults in your programs if you want, AFTER you’ve done it yourself with a couple of friends or business associates.
First, get a partner. It doesn’t matter whether they understand what you do or not. Actually, it’s better if they don’t.
Stand up and face your elevator speech crafting partner. If you can put 6-10 people into this activity, the better. More people = more input and more input = better elevator speech.
Have someone time the activity. You and your partner have 30 seconds max for this first part. All you’re going to do is greet the person as if for the first time. In other words, shake hands firmly (no fish situations), stand straight and tall, look the person in the eyes and say, “Hi, I’m ______.” They will tell you their name and then you’ll say, “Hi, ________, great to meet you. What do you do out in the world?” (or something like that).
Once the first person has done his part, he/she will ask you the same question. Once you’ve said what you’re going to say, and it should be well within that 30 seconds, stop.
The next part is to take a couple of minutes and share, honestly, with each other about what you understood, what you didn’t understand, etc. Give your partner constructive feedback about what he said, whether it made sense and then how he can improve on it so that it is clear and concise.
Switch partners and do it again. The more times you practice what you want to say and get feedback, the cleaner and clearer your message will become.
OK, that’s all for now. Look around and see who YOU can help and who can help you and get those elevator speeches in order for the new year. After all, if you’re going to be out there teaching financial skills with The Money Game®, we want you to be as successful as possible. And feel free to run your pitches by me. Just send them to elisabeth @ innerwealthpublishing.com and I’ll get back to you quickly.
I know, I know. The idea of surrendering to life for a lot of people puts them in a state of fear, or panic, or worse. However, the idea, and practice, of surrendering to ‘what is’ can be quite freeing, especially when it comes to money and the stuff money buys.
After spending the past four weeks of July teaching financial principles to adults and kids using The Money Game in our Camp Millionaire and Moving Out! for Teens, I am in a bit of an inquiry trying to answer this question, “How did kids get so they want so much stuff?”
And by stuff I mean stuff they don’t in any way, shape or form, need to enjoy their lives on this planet.
Now don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against ‘wanting’ in general. It’s what motivates us in most areas of our lives.
We want purpose…
We want happiness…
We want love…
We want to set an example and do good in the world…
We want to feel useful…
We want to feel comfortable…
The challenge comes when we think STUFF is going to bring us any or all of these states of being.
The Be – Do – Have Ball Toss
When we start our financial literacy programs, regardless of age, we get in a circle and take turns saying, “When I grow up I want to BE a ______.” We fill in the blank, everyone else says, “And you will.” and then that person tosses the ball to another person in the group.
We repeat this process with, “When I grow up I want to DO… and When I grow up I want to HAVE…” And as we’re doing this process I am always amazed at how many people don’t want purpose, happiness, love, do good in the world, etc. Again, I’m OK with the idea of wanting a bunch of stuff. It just seems like so many human beings aren’t stopping long enough to evaluate what actually does bring them joy and pleasure these days.
What does surrendering have to do with money?
Well, the art of surrendering has to do with going within and letting a greater knowing figure things out. Letting something other than our convoluted belief-ladened brains try to figure out what’s best or what our next step is and so on.
The idea of financial surrender comes when we stop wanting for a second and take inventory of what is for us at the moment. In terms of our finances, we can ask questions like this…
Where are we financially?
What are we letting drive our motivations and desires and wantings?
What should we stop doing, start doing, do more of, do less of?
And if we have kids, how is what’s driving US shaping what will drive our children when they are adults.
Just for today, stop wanting stuff
This is a personal challenge from me to you and your whole family. Designate a day sometime in the next few days to be a “No Want Zone” and watch how terribly challenging it is for most people to just sit back, relax, accept what is and actually listen to their inner wisdom and guidance when it comes to money.
This process of having a No Want Zone may bring new insight into what you think is right or wrong for you in regard to your money. When you’re successful with one No Want Zone day, try scheduling another one. Pretty soon you may just find that surrendering into your own not wanting zone brings a powerful sense of financial peace to you and yours.
There is one special quality that you can develop that will guarantee you greater success, accomplishment and happiness in life. Of a thousand principles for success developed over the ages, this one quality or practice will do more to assure that you accomplish wonderful things with your life than anything else. This quality is so important that, if you don’t develop it to a high degree, it is impossible for you to ever achieve what you are truly capable of achieving.
The quality that I am talking about is the quality of self-discipline. It is a habit, a practice, a philosophy and a way of living. All successful men and women are highly disciplined in the important work that they do. All unsuccessful men and women are undisciplined and unable to control their behaviors and their appetites. And when you develop the same levels of high, personal discipline possessed by the most successful people in our society, you will very soon begin to achieve the same results that they do.
All great success in life is preceded by long, sustained periods of focused effort on a single goal, the most important goal, with the determination to stay with it until it is complete. Throughout history, we find that every man or woman who achieved anything lasting and worthwhile, had engaged in long, often unappreciated hours, weeks, months and even years of concentrated, disciplined work, in a particular direction.
Fortunately the quality of self-discipline is something that you can learn by continuous practice, over and over, until you master it. Once you have mastered the ability to delay gratification, the ability to discipline yourself to keep your attention focused on the most important task in front of you, there is virtually no goal that you cannot accomplish and no task that you cannot complete.
Successful people engage in activities that are goal-achieving. Unsuccessful people engage in activities that are tension-reliving. Successful people discipline themselves to have dinner before dessert. Unsuccessful people prefer to have dessert most of the time.
Successful people plan their work, and work their plan. They take the time to think through their responsibilities before they begin. They make clear decisions which they then implement immediately. They get a lot more done in a shorter period of time than the average person. And it all has to do with their disciplines.
Perhaps the most important benefit of self-discipline is the personal benefit that you receive. Every act of self-discipline increases your self-esteem. It gives you a feeling of personal power and accomplishment. Each time you discipline yourself to persist in the face of distractions, diversions, and disappointments, you feel better about yourself. As you continue to discipline yourself, you achieve more and more in life. As you achieve more things, you feel more like a winner. Your self-confidence goes up. You feel happier about yourself. You get more done and you have more energy. You earn the respect and esteem of the people around you. You get more rapid promotions and are paid more money. You live in a nicer house, drive a nicer car, and wear nicer clothes. You get a natural high from the thrill of achievement. And the more things that you achieve as the result of employing your personal habits of effectiveness and productivity, the more eager you are to achieve even higher and better tasks. Your life gets onto an upward spiral of success and happiness. You feel great about yourself most of the time.
Every act of self-discipline strengthens every other discipline in your life. Every weakness of self-discipline weakens your other disciplines as well. When you make a habit of disciplining yourself in little things, like flossing your teeth every night, you’ll soon become able to discipline yourself to accomplish even larger things, like working long, long hours to bring a major task to completion.
Your entire life is an on-going battle between the forces of doing what is right and necessary on the one hand and doing what is fun and easy on the other hand. It is a battle between the forces of discipline and the forces of ease or expediency. And when you develop the strength of character that gives you complete self-mastery, self-control and self-discipline, you feel wonderful about yourself. You develop a deep inner sense of strength and confidence. You replace positive thinking with positive knowing. You reach the point inside where you absolutely know that you can do whatever it takes to achieve any goal that you can set for yourself.
Self-discipline is its own reward. Not only does it pay off in terms of greater self-esteem and a more positive mental attitude, but it pays off throughout your life in terms of the goals that you achieve and the success that you attain in everything you do.
Self-discipline is a skill and a habit that can be learned by practice. Every time you practice a little self-discipline, you become stronger and stronger. Bit by bit, you become more capable of even greater disciplines. As you become a totally self-disciplined individual, your entire future opens up in front of you like a broad highway. Everything becomes possible for you and your future becomes unlimited.
Let this graphic sink in for just a second. I want you to think about how the top of the pyramid is what most focus on — results. However, there are lots of steps before we get to results and it all starts with financial advisor mindset. 
Well, the art of surrendering has to do with going within and letting a greater knowing figure things out. Letting something other than our convoluted belief-ladened brains try to figure out what’s best or what our next step is and so on.