The carrot or the stick…. The carrot or the stick….. What a day yesterday was! Warren Buffett  said “if you believe it will work out, you’ll see opportunities. If you believe it wont you will see obstacles.” We started the day yesterday with some of us feeling angst about having to dial (in general) in front of each other and we ended the day with some of the best energy I have seen in our office, period! What I saw was a group of people come together, not necessarily wanting to (The Stick) and finishing the day with incredible results […]

This has been a very interesting week. I went to see two of my oldest relationships. One a client and one not a client (anymore). Jeff, has been a client and friend for 20 years. Over the years he has done more and done less. Earlier in the week, we recognized him by sending a framed copy of his most recent accolade via messenger to his office with a bole of champagne. Celebrating his “power”. You see I met Jeff in 1998 and as he likes to replay the me as me calling him every other day for a month […]

Monday started out challenging. Cases were not moving along as fast I would like and clients were not moving or responding as quickly as one would hope. I am thinking how tough this can be sometimes. Several years ago on one of my many trips to Washington DC for AALU, I went with a close personal friend Paul. Paul had done 2 tours in Vietnam as a Ranger. He had become very successful and built an incredible business for himself and his family. He told me stories of his time in Vietnam and the many things he had to do. […]

Its June 1995. I have failed the insurance exam 2 times and finally pass on my third attempt. I have been going to college and studying hard. Working 2 other jobs on the side all while starting my career in financial services. Back then you have 2 computers on a floor, not two on a desk. Cell phones were an expensive luxury. No email. No Facebook. No Google. No Linkedin. No SnapChat. No Instagram. Acer another long week and getting lots of no’s, it happened! Jesus, my parking lot attendant asks me to help him with some insurance. We sat there on […]

Its June 2008 and I am a successful advisor with a great team. Things are good. Business has its challenges, but I have continued on my path of building a fully integrated financial services practice. I receive a letter at the office that my grandmother, whom I had not seen in years had died. We had bee estranged for a number of years. I called the attorney on the letter asking some questions to understand what had happened. I then asked when the funeral was going to be. He informed me that it had been a week ago. Disappointed for […]

It is January of 1995 and I am staring down the barrel of high school graduation. It is January of 1995 and I am staring down the barrel of high school graduation. 2.5 GPA (maybe). No real prospects of how or what I am going to do. Body injured from a game that I loved and still do today. Any thoughts that I had of moving forward in THAT career gone. Unclear. Lack of real interest in a lot of things other than people and THEIR story. I am 17 years old. I have been working for Sears automotive for […]