the watch of time

It’s worthwhile periodically to consider what it is that makes some of us so much more successful than others, in certain occupations or other pursuits.

This doesn’t mean we should look to copy what they do.  It doesn’t mean we should be envious.  It does mean we should emulate the positive and practical of their drive, their manner, and their goal-setting.  What is it, in manifestations of their mindsets, we could use to better ourselves and the value of our actions?

The April edition of The Insurance & Investment Journal includes brief profiles of ‘Sales Masters’ speaking at the 2018 insurance industry congress, late May, in Toronto.

Two important points emerge consistently from these snapshots:

• Some people have an relentless capacity to pursue a path to success in their field
• Some of the characteristics of these people are transferrable skills and attitudes; we can learn and practice them on our own journeys

Here are examples from this year’s featured cream of the crop:

There’s the industry veteran, Joseph, a speaker at many high-level events, who strongly believes no one provides ‘a more meaningful and lasting impact’ on clients than he and his colleagues do.  Leverage this kind of attitude.  It’s a ‘message of significance’ we all can absorb: revive a sense of purpose and desire to bring value to others.

There’s Cleo, originally a veterinarian in southeast Asia, who came to Canada ten years ago.  Shortly after arriving here, he joined an insurance firm, and has managed to be a top three producer in North America since.  His secret is adherence to prospecting.  Being a dynamic prospector means being persistent and letting rejection slide over you as you bore on.  Similarly, many’s the time in life we need to keep at it under adverse or discouraging conditions.

Illustrating the capacity to be very efficient, enjoying the range of challenges while fashioning two roles of expertise, is Whitney.  She is very effective in dealing with top executives and business owners, while able to pilot her own aircraft; in so doing, she holds her own in her male dominated marketplace.  To find what causes us to succeed often involves risk, and handling personalities of a range of types, both of which may stretch our comfort zones.

How about someone working with the ‘forgotten’ market of millennials?  One herself, Erica is a second-generation advisor, who uses modern techniques to reach this tech savvy group, helping address concerns about themselves and their future responsibilities.  This is a reminder that younger generations may deal with issues differently than veterans, and with different issues, but lessons are adaptations handy to access, the more so in a quickly changing world.

Sometimes borrowing from another’s experience, gained the hard way, is the way it goes. Both second-generation advisor Brian and his wife have learned the value of Critical Illness coverage first hand: they are each survivors in this category, and each insurance beneficiaries.  For Brian, insight from this encounter, coupled with a core belief in having such protection, emerges in passionate and inspirational talk.  Learning from someone’s journey in overcoming serious difficulties can improve our own displays of empathy, better relating to others’ struggles in their own shoes.

It seems that the mindset of almost everyone with a powerful message to share has one or more foundational backstories, which have helped to shape their pro-activity.  We don’t have to experience the same first-hand to find our better selves; listening and learning from those who have may be enough to get us moving in the right direction.

It’s not reinventing the wheel.  It’s remembering to sharpen our own (akin to Steven Covey’s ‘sharpen the saw’), ready to keep turning in the right direction.