What did I do when I felt stuck in my business and personal growth? Signed up for another business building program sponsored by company, reluctantly. Although I didn't feel like I need more business building ideas - I have been in the financial services industry for a long time and collected volumes in books, tapes, videos. I get news letters from all the supplier companies and other industry publication. I signed up anyway because I wanted to break out of the rut. The program in question was one offered by +Anthony Morris, a coach specializing in training and development in the financial services sector. Although I considered the program a refresher I thought if I get only one thing out of this, it would be worthwhile. I did pick up some practice management tips and tools that I implemented and still use as standard procedure in my sales and client service offering.
The big payoff came on the last day. Antony Morris opened the final session with the statement " It doesn't matter how much you know, or how motivated you are, unless you deal with the monkey on your back you will not accomplish what you set out to do". (The statement in quotation is paraphrased as I do not remember word for word what was said, it has been five years.) That was it, that was what I need to hear and that made the effort and the price of admission worth it. Before the session ended I took my bag and binder and left because I know exactly what I need to do. I had been using part-time assistants in an on/off basis after my last full time person left a couple of years prior. I was "making do" but then and there I knew if I was going to move forward I needed to invest the time to hire and train a "proper" assistant so I can focus on my clients.
The timing was good because it was near the end of the year 2011. After leaving the workshop I went back to my office and drew up a plan of what I was going to do. I called an agency that handles job placements and arranged a meeting with a program coordinator. I revised my practice management guide to incorporate the tools from the Anthony Morris program I'd use. The ball was now set in motion.
The following month (December) I got together with a couple of colleagues to do our planning for the new year. I pulled out a "life plan" document I had drawn up back in 2003. It was then I realized that hiring an assistant was dealing with monkey #1. It was a great start. Construction of a new life was now underway.
Job number one is taking stock, figuring our where you are and where you want to be. Until and unless you do that you are just going around in circles. My new found "friend" and mentor +John C. Maxwell was asked if he had a growth plan and he turned that question into a mission that got him on the path to become the number one leadership guru as rated by influential organization Inc. Magazine and others.
My question to you today is "What is the monkey on your back?" What is holding you back? The first thing that comes to mind is perhaps the one that need immediate attention. Write it done, find a way to address it. I can guarantee you other monkeys will surface, and soon you will realize that there was no way you would have been able to achieve your goals and reach your full potential - living a life of significance - with a colony of monkeys on your back. Start with one, deal with them one at a time and keep focused. Remember life is, after all a journey!
BEVERLEY ALLEN, FLMI
Beverley
Investment Fund Advisor & Life and Health Insurance Advisor
Desjardins Financial Security Investments Inc.
Desjardins Financial Security Independent Network
Ontario Central Region (OCR), GTA West Branch
5070 Dixie Road
Mississauga, On L4W 1C9
#MoneyTalkwithBevAllen
Friday, November 25, 2016
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Emotional Quotient - Do You Handle Critism Like Donald Trump Or Barak Obama?
I wrote this post on November 6th but didn't publish it. I was about to do so today November 22nd, and thought I would update it to include this comment. How timely that the U.S. President Elect Donald Trump schedule a huge "off the record" meeting with TV network executives, news anchors, journalist - a list of who is who in the news business. This meeting, from what I read, was billed as the President Elect finally making time to meet with the media to work out a way forward for covering the new administration. Instead, they were further rebuked, insulted, ridiculed - not what they were expecting. This is not the first time the media "has been had" this way though, it happened a few times during the campaign.
So, really, be honest, do you react like Donald Trump when someone criticizes you or do you respond like President Barak Obama? May be on a scale somewhere in between?
I became aware of the term EQ or motional quotient back in the mid 2000's while attending an industry conference, Mackenzie University put on by Mackenzie Financial. One of the presenters (I believe to be Daniel Goldman, Arthur of Emotional Intelligence) spoke on the topic and it was riveting. Although I have been curious about the subject and have read many personal development books I did not start to focus on the subject until 2007. I can tell you that raising your emotional health or your EQ does not happen at the snap of your fingers - believe me!
Socially aware, definitely. Politically engaged - somewhat. My interest in the political discourse was mostly situational but I have always read the newspapers and kept abreast of what is happening both locally and around the world. Up until recently I subscribed to more than one paper. American politics - before 2007 all I knew was who the contenders were and who one. That changed when Barak Obama came on the scene.
Barak Obama came to my attention when I read an article about him in Oprah Magazine in 2004. I was a raising a young man in a society I entered fully developed. I grew up in Jamaica where people do not wake up everyday thinking about what colour they are. I lived and raised my kids like that. But, after becoming aware of the need to ground my son in his personal identity as a Canadian born young man in a family of mixed race heritage I thought Barak would be a good role model for him so I went out and bought Dreams Of My Father for him, one more tool in the arsenal for raising a successful male. My son is doing very well for himself, by the way! After that DNC speech in 2006 I became fixated. I have learnt a lot about emotional intelligence - EQ, by observing Barak Obama through a brutal campaign and watching him through his years as President of The United States of America.
Everything I have read about high states of consciousness, being "awake" spiritually and having a high emotional intelligence leads me to believe that President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are people who have achieved extremely highly developed emotional quotients. Their high EQ's along with their high IQ's have enabled them to be so successful in the face of unprecedented racism, bigotry, unwarranted mean and degrading criticisms and outright obstructions. Compare how they deal with these pile-ons with how Mr. Trump deal with the smallest slight. I will let you do the grading.
It has been said that a high EQ will take you further that a high IQ and I can tell you that I agree with this as there is much evidence to prove this theory. One of my favourite motivational speakers, Bob Proctor said "Education alone will not bring you success, the world is full of educated derelicts." Where to start? Get a good book on the topic, read it, follow the example of John C. Maxwell and develop a growth plan. Then take it from there, one step at a time. Let your intuition be your guide.
Today is the day. Happy journey,
Beverley
So, really, be honest, do you react like Donald Trump when someone criticizes you or do you respond like President Barak Obama? May be on a scale somewhere in between?
I became aware of the term EQ or motional quotient back in the mid 2000's while attending an industry conference, Mackenzie University put on by Mackenzie Financial. One of the presenters (I believe to be Daniel Goldman, Arthur of Emotional Intelligence) spoke on the topic and it was riveting. Although I have been curious about the subject and have read many personal development books I did not start to focus on the subject until 2007. I can tell you that raising your emotional health or your EQ does not happen at the snap of your fingers - believe me!
Socially aware, definitely. Politically engaged - somewhat. My interest in the political discourse was mostly situational but I have always read the newspapers and kept abreast of what is happening both locally and around the world. Up until recently I subscribed to more than one paper. American politics - before 2007 all I knew was who the contenders were and who one. That changed when Barak Obama came on the scene.
Barak Obama came to my attention when I read an article about him in Oprah Magazine in 2004. I was a raising a young man in a society I entered fully developed. I grew up in Jamaica where people do not wake up everyday thinking about what colour they are. I lived and raised my kids like that. But, after becoming aware of the need to ground my son in his personal identity as a Canadian born young man in a family of mixed race heritage I thought Barak would be a good role model for him so I went out and bought Dreams Of My Father for him, one more tool in the arsenal for raising a successful male. My son is doing very well for himself, by the way! After that DNC speech in 2006 I became fixated. I have learnt a lot about emotional intelligence - EQ, by observing Barak Obama through a brutal campaign and watching him through his years as President of The United States of America.
Everything I have read about high states of consciousness, being "awake" spiritually and having a high emotional intelligence leads me to believe that President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are people who have achieved extremely highly developed emotional quotients. Their high EQ's along with their high IQ's have enabled them to be so successful in the face of unprecedented racism, bigotry, unwarranted mean and degrading criticisms and outright obstructions. Compare how they deal with these pile-ons with how Mr. Trump deal with the smallest slight. I will let you do the grading.
It has been said that a high EQ will take you further that a high IQ and I can tell you that I agree with this as there is much evidence to prove this theory. One of my favourite motivational speakers, Bob Proctor said "Education alone will not bring you success, the world is full of educated derelicts." Where to start? Get a good book on the topic, read it, follow the example of John C. Maxwell and develop a growth plan. Then take it from there, one step at a time. Let your intuition be your guide.
Today is the day. Happy journey,
Beverley
Sunday, September 18, 2016
How Does Self-Leadership Affect Our Finances
According to the teaching of John C. Maxwell, author of over 70 books on leadership and self-development and rated #1 leadership expert by Inc. Magazine, the most difficult person to lead is self. If you can lead yourself successfully, then you will definitely have success in leading others. Since this Spring, I have become a student of John Maxwell Team and I have been reinvigorated with the desire to learn, grow myself and to help others grow to new heights in their personal life, businesses and careers. As I delve into the subject of self-leadership, light bulbs have just been popping on all over the place because I can connect so much with self-leadership.
First, what is self-leadership? Law #1 in John Maxwell's 21 Irrefutable Law Of Leadership is The Law of the Lid. John teaches that leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. In simple terms, the Law of the Lid states that everybody had a "lid" or a ceiling on their leadership ability and no one can lead beyond this lid. So then, my answer without referencing any material, is the ability to effectively master and grow one's self in the development, with consistency, of discipline, character, knowledge, focus, dedication and awareness to achieving one's life purpose through career and personal endeavours.
It goes without question then, that in order to be successful with money, just as with business and career we need to apply the Law of the Lid and grow our knowledge and awareness, and part of this awareness is knowing what to do when you don't know what to do. Having the right people on your team including having an advisor who is knowledgeable in the areas of money management and financial security that are important to you. Self-leadership with money also means being disciplined to use tools and services to manage your income and debt; being proactive in planning and organizing your financial affairs. Planning allows you to be strategic and effective in areas of tax reduction and deferral which will pay tremendous "dividend" in the long run as those tax savings can be reinvested for your own economic benefit. The opposite is doing this in a hap-hazard way, where sometimes you hit and sometimes you miss.
Over the years what I have observed in my career as Investment Fund Advisor and Life & Health Insurance Advisor, it's not the people who earn the most or who are better educated who end up with the most money. I see many examples of immigrants who didn't even go to high school, came to this country (Canada) worked hard, took some chances, and end up with very decent net worth where as their Canadian born highly educated children are not as successful with money or even struggle financially. The main differentiating factor? The first generation immigrants have habits, attitudes and disciplines that is lacking in their offsprings.
The long and short of the matter is that our financial results are directly correlated to our self-leadership and we need to have a growth plan for ourselves which includes a growth plan for our money. In other words, a financial plan.
BEVERLEY ALLEN, FLMI
Beverley
Investment Fund Advisor & Life and Health Insurance Advisor
Desjardins Financial Security Investments Inc.
Desjardins Financial Security Independent Network
Ontario Central Region (OCR), GTA West Branch
5070 Dixie Road
Mississauga, On L4W 1C9
#MoneyTalkwithBevAllen
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