I am that guy… When I’m working, I’m totally engaged in working. When I’m playing, it’s all about play. That is the expectation you have of me—and of our team.
I was thinking about this because of my schedule this week. I’m going to be putting in a lot of hours, and I want to talk to you about education. There are requirements that both my team and I must meet annually to remain compliant with the rules and regulations of the organizations we’re affiliated with. There are continuing education requirements for insurance agents, securities representatives, and registered investment advisors. You’d think there would be some crossover, but there isn’t. They all have separate requirements.
Organizations like ours must complete certain courses annually, but the learning shouldn’t stop there, because that’s just the minimum requirement. Even if it’s dozens of hours every year, it’s just the baseline to stay licensed and continue performing our duties.
I take my education very seriously. When I’m out in the early morning doing my three-mile walk, I’m plugged in—but not to music. I’m plugged in... to a knowledge base. What should I know about current economic trends? What should I know about the markets? What should I know about today’s politics and how they might affect your future plans? That’s how I spend the first hour of my day—and that’s after I’ve already read the latest issue of The Wall Street Journal. Then, I head into the office and review information from Morningstar.com. What should we be watching today? What should we be changing today?
The reason I wanted to talk about this during this particular week is that I’m actually out of the office doing continuing education, none of which is part of my minimum requirements. This is something extra I’m doing—something I’m writing a check for. I’m paying out of pocket for the education, the flight, the hotel, and the meals.
Monday through Wednesday, I’ll be in Nashville, TN, at a Mastermind event discussing concepts that can be used in a person’s financial life. It starts early in the morning and goes all day. On Wednesday night, there’s also a special educational dinner with some of the speakers, running from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m.—or maybe later.
After the Mastermind seminar, I’ll wake up the next day at 3:00 a.m., head to the airport, and fly to Chicago, IL, to attend a Strategic Coach event, which happens quarterly, with about 80 other entrepreneurs. We talk about our businesses—how to do a better job, a more fulfilling job. How to make sure we’re truly serving our clients. This event also starts early and runs until about 10:00 p.m. on Thursday night. So yes, I’ll definitely be dragging my feet by the end of the day as I fly home.
Why am I telling you all this? If you’re a client of mine, you’ve heard me say this time and time again:
Life is like a tomato—if you’re green, you’re growing. If you’re ripe, you begin to rot.
I hope this organization I started many years ago—and the team I’ve surrounded myself with—never, ever, ever becomes ripe. I hope we’re always green. Always learning. Always pushing ourselves to be the best we possibly can be, and not just doing the mandatory minimums. That’s what we strive to bring to the table every single time you sit down with us.
So, as you’re out and about this week, talking with friends and family, and if they ask who you work with for your financial life—I would be so honored, so blessed, if you told them you have the Financialoscopy team in your corner. And that perhaps… It’s time for them to schedule their Financialoscopy®.
