It’s that time of the year where we reflect on the people and things we are most thankful for; we should all follow Tyrone Ross’ lead and practice more gratitude and not wait until Thanksgiving to be thankful. I try to let those I love and care about know how much I appreciate them, but I can always do better.
Here’s what I’m thinking about for Thanksgiving 2019
Personal
Let’s start with the personal—after all, our personal lives are what it’s all about.
Family
I am tremendously lucky to have such a supportive and loving family. By now, you all know Ang, Roman, Leo, and Silas. There are not enough words to explain how thankful I am to be able to wake up each day and experience life with these four. And not only am I thankful for my family, but I am also extremely proud of them as well.
I’d like to think that I am a hard-worker and dedicated individual, but when I reflect on what I’ve witnessed Ang accomplish over the last 10 years—supporting my journey to where I am today, overcoming brain surgery, giving birth to three boys, starting Roman & Leo, her boys’ clothing boutique, building the store into a success and staple in our town, running the boys to practices, and so much more—I can only feel underwhelmed at what I’ve done. I am thankful that Ang is as ambitious as I am and, as you can see, more hard-working.
I’m thankful that Roman, Leo, and Silas are intelligent, ambitious, confident, caring, and full of personality. Parenting involves moments where you have to be the disciplinarian, and we are not without those moments in our home, but it doesn’t take long before we’re all back laughing and enjoying life as the boys always find a way to make us smile.
I’m also thankful that all three boys still hold my hand, cuddle with me, and give me kisses. I know it’s only a matter of time before they get too big for those signs of affection, but I’m thankful I’ve made it this long!
Beyond Ang and the boys, my biggest supporters are my Mom, Dad, and sister, Kristin. Whether it be the daily emails from my dad, which I’m embarrassed to say I don’t always respond to—a New Year’s resolution for 2020, or the constant sharing of my content or proud moments on Facebook by my mom, I know they’re always behind me.
I’ve been extremely blessed to have the family that I do—and that includes my extended family and in-laws.
Health
As we get older we see more people impacted by health issues. Growing up, I knew nothing of cancer, but as I get older it seems like everyone I know has been impacted by it. 2019 wasn’t a year without some health issues for family members, but luckily everyone has overcome the ailments they had.
In our house, we had our first trip to the E.R. for stitches, thanks to Silas. At the end of the day, a few doctor’s visits and 4 stitches is not a bad year for a family with three active boys. I’ll take it.
I’m thankful that we are all healthy and that is something I will never take for granted.
Business
Clients
Every financial advisor says they have the best clients, and while they might have good clients, I am beyond fortunate to have clients I consider friends, not just clients. I can honestly say I do not have a single client that I think twice about answering the phone when I see their name on the caller ID—this is a luxury!
I’m thankful to have a group of people with whom I enjoying spending my time. My work does not seem like work because I’m constantly surrounded by people I want to be around.
I’m excited about what 2020 has in store for RLS Wealth Management and strengthening and deepening the relationships I have with my clients.
Clarity
I’ve never been surer of where I’m heading in my business life. I’m in the process of aligning my business life with my values, which includes continuing to serve the clients I mentioned above but also help other financial advisors reach their potential.
RLS Wealth Management is now structured to only welcome referrals of existing clients to the family, which allows me to direct the time that would have been spent meeting with prospects, onboarding new clients, creating new financial plans, implementing those plans, and more on deepening my existing relationships, growing the Advisor Growth Community ™, and helping other financial advisors communicate their story and create their personal brands.
They say you don’t know what you don’t know. I had no idea how exciting it is to know exactly what you’re supposed to be doing and more importantly, and new for me, WHERE you are supposed to be going.
Darlene
The clarity that I now have, and am so thankful for, would not be possible without my Director of Operations, Darlene.
Darlene joined me in the summer of 2018 and I immediately felt her impact—I knew from Day One that I got lucky with my first hire. But in 2019, I learned I was spoiled by my first hire. This year we switched CRMs, reorganized records, launched the Advisor Growth Community™, survived our first state audit, created and implemented workflows, and laid the groundwork for a more efficient and intimate client experience. This would have been much shorter if it weren’t for Darlene.
Thankful is an understatement.
Advisor Growth Community™
The initial success we’ve seen with the Advisor Growth Community™ has been amazing. I’m thankful to have a teamed up with Taylor Schulte on this project; I don’t know he feels about me, but I view him as the perfect complement. I’ve always been reluctant to look for a business partner, but working with Taylor is easy and natural—I think it’s “right” because I wasn’t looking for it—the idea of the AGC™ found us.
I’m thankful to have the support to help us run the community. Once again, Darlene comes through huge, but so does Karen who works with Taylor at Define Financial. Taylor and I come up with the ideas, but all the execution lives with Darlene and Karen. The AGC™ does not exist without them.
I’m thankful for the Founding Members of the AGC™. We had 50 financial advisors willing to jump in with us and build a community that will eventually impact hundreds (if not more) financial advisors. The AGC™ is filled with advisors interested in sharing just as much, if not more, with the community. I’ve often talked about my belief in collaboration with other advisors and this community definitely does not view other advisors as competition—we are all better when we work together.
The early success and my optimism for the future of The Advisor Growth Community™ are due to the amazing people in the community and I am extremely thankful for every single member.
Mentors
Rolling solo as a financial advisor and business owner has never really bothered me; I’ve never felt lonely. I’ve been able to build my own network of peers to eliminate the feeling of being alone, but having someone I could look to as a mentor is something I’d lacked most of my career.
In the last couple of years, I’ve been able to find a few people to fill that void—one started as a mentor that taught me through his writings, media appearances, and actions. I’ve been fortunate to turn that into a true mentorship and it is a relationship I’m beyond thankful for; I’m pretty sure he knows this.
This year I’ve added 3 more mentors, and I wasn’t really looking—funny how that works out. These individuals have been beyond generous with their time, sharing life experiences and advice, and friendship. I am excited to continue to develop these friendships and can only hope to be able to repay them for the inspiration, motivation, and guidance they have provided in less than a year. And if you’re reading this, wondering if YOU might be one of these mentors—you’re probably right and just to confirm your suspicion, without name dropping, you received a message from me in the last 24 hours.
Friends
I am thankful for both old and new friends that make my life better. There are too many to mention here, and I would feel terrible if I left someone off the list, which, I’m positive I would do. Hopefully, you all know who you are—if not, I have work to do to be a better friend.
I’m also thankful for the future friends I’ve spoken with this year; rarely does a week go by that I’m not talking to at least one or two new financial advisors. While we may not be friends, I am thankful for the opportunity to talk with all of you and I know that many of these phone calls and Zooms will lead to true friendships because the quality of people I am talking to is high—I know the future of our profession is in good hands and will only get better because I’m talking to amazing financial advisors, and more importantly, PEOPLE all of the time. I know it’s awkward to reach to schedule a call with a stranger, but THANK YOU to everyone who has done so and please keep them coming!
FinTwit
What a community! If you know, you know!
Without FinTwit I would not have the mentors and friends mentioned above. I only know of one other community, The Advisor Growth Community™, filled with people willing to share ideas, collaborate, and help others. And the AGC™ is a more focused spinoff of FinTwit.
I am so appreciative of the entire FinTwit community and I realize that a lot of what I have experienced, relationships I’ve formed, and fun I’ve had over the last few years would not exist with you.
I can’t wait to get back and re-engage in a few days!
I have so much to be thankful for and I’m sure I’ll revisit this post and wish I would have added more. I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy the time with family, and have some time to reflect on what you are most thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Disclaimer: Nothing on this blog should be considered advice, or recommendations. If you have questions pertaining to your individual situation you should consult your financial advisor. For all of the disclaimers, please see my disclaimer page.
