Key Links

• The financial advising program that Matt references: Academy of Preferred Advisors
• Joe’s free program: PracticePower
• International Performance Group: Website
• Magellan MasterMind & Network: Page

----------------------------

Micah Shilanski’s coach for the better part of fifteen years, Joe Lukacs, is the guest of this episode. And within the time allotted, Joe disrupts the usual gamut of topics discussed for some interesting insights he has gained over the years. One of the first topics that he brings up is boredom. More specifically, how a coach can handle the boredom brought upon by holding too comfortable a position in the industry. As is common in most vocational positions, Joe knows just how detrimental a comfort zone can become for a coach. He says that human beings are happiest when we are in “expansion mode.” That is, we are challenging ourselves, learning, and overall expanding our repertoire. In short, to stave off boredom and to prevent a harmful mentality from developing, challenge yourself and challenge your clients. He says that as soon as one thinks they have figured something out is the first day they start to slide from any lofty position they may have held. Don’t hasten the backwards slide and don’t let yourself get bored.

Another crucial segment in this talk is when Coach Joe talks about the middle stage that all successful investors must move past to truly reach prosperity in their practice. He calls it the “pivot point to prosperity.” According to Joe, there are three different levels of being a financial advisor. The first being what he calls a “scarcity startup.” Essentially, this is the stage where advisors are paying the bills and keeping the lights on. The second, advisors are sustainable and abundant--this is the comfort zone and the most tempting stage to never pull one’s self out of. This is the stage that advisors need to pole vault out of to reach prosperity. And the last is where the magic happens, where the future is realized and plans of “what’s next?” become further cemented and realized. To get there though, failures mustn’t be avoided, but instead, encouraged; it is the crucial time to take risks and to avoid regrets of not having taken the chance to expand when the opportunity was there. And Joe encourages advisors to never stop chasing the next thing. Don’t be failure-phobic.

Lastly, Joe talks about the importance of surrounding yourself with a network (or tribe as Joe calls it) that inspires you, bolsters your practice, and ultimately reinforces beneficial mindsets of abundance for your personal development. Joining a mastermind is brought up as a strategy for obtaining all of this; meaning that deep, lasting friendships are developed as well as valuable support for your enterprise. This is one of the most important techniques for shifting your mindset from complacency to prosperity. Some other important action points are laid down by Joe, Micah, and Matt. These include, establishing a morning success ritual, reinvesting 5%-10% of your total revenue in yourself for the purpose of personal development, and last but not least, joining a mastermind group.