optimism attitude Archives - Don Connelly & Associates

The Best Newsletters for Financial Advisors

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The list of traits and characteristics financial advisors must have or develop to be successful is long. We’ve discussed many here, including excellent communication skills, outstanding work ethic, uncommon optimism, persistence, and resilience, a hunger for self-improvement, and a passion for helping people achieve their goals, to name a few. While all are essential, advisors with ambitions of becoming tops in their field must also have a zest for learning and staying abreast of the news, trends, and developments that impact their business.

There Are Times When It’s Simply Best to Forgive and Forget

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Forgive and Forget - Success Tips for Financial Advisors

To succeed as a Financial Advisor, one has to accept that disappointment is inevitable. We don’t always get what we want. Disappointment breeds frustration. Negative emotions are unavoidable, yet they must be controlled. We’re in the business of controlling the emotions of others. We can’t do that well until we have control of our own emotions.

I think the best way to deal with disappointment is to put it in perspective.

Developing Your People Skills Begins with Understanding Yourself

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Developing People Skills Begins with Understanding Yourself

People who are able to discern the feelings of others have a distinct advantage in life. They generally out earn and outperform those who cannot. Having this ability is a reflection of one’s emotional intelligence. People with high emotional intelligence understand themselves and they understand the impact they have on others. They know when and how to make the other person feel good. They are able to influence decisions. They have great people skills.

As an Advisor, it is to your advantage to have or develop great people skills.

A Sense of Resilience Will Overcome a Sense of Uncertainty

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Making a decision is essentially making a prediction. We know going in that some decisions will be bad ones. That is why uncertainty always creeps in. How we deal with that uncertainty is a function of our resilience.

Resilience determines how we get strong and healthy after something bad happens.

Your Clients Look to You for Leadership

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Leadership Skills for Financial Advisors

The more uncertain the times, the more certainty clients want from you. They want you and they expect you to guide them to their goals. Like it or not, you are depended upon for your leadership skills. This may be unfair to you.

You weren’t taught leadership in training.

Nonetheless, the role has been thrust upon you.

Learn to Laugh at Yourself when It Is Called for

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It is hard to overstate the importance of being able to laugh at yourself. People who can do this are generally more optimistic than those who cannot.

Optimistic personalities go far in the Financial Services industry.

I have seen a lot of Advisors fail over the years, but I have never seen an optimistic Advisor fail. Being more cheerful and less serious is a great survival technique.

Optimism Is a Choice

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Optimism Attitude and Financial Advisors

I read an interesting article that stated each of us has nearly 60,000 thoughts per waking day, one each second. We mostly think about things we have thoughts about before and many of those thoughts are negative.

Mood and memory are linked.

For whatever reason, bad thoughts seem more powerful than good thoughts. We hash over the bad thoughts and we get in a bad mood. People in bad moods think negative thoughts. We should call it a negativity loop.