For many seasoned financial advisors, the road toward building a career and a business can be challenging and rewarding. And even though most advisors would agree that the road to success involves many years of hard work and sacrifice, each advisor’s path to ultimate success can consist of massively different experiences.
In our 102nd episode of Kitces & Carl, Michael Kitces and client communication expert Carl Richards discuss the challenges they have each faced in their decades-long careers, the ways they developed opportunities for themselves to advance in their professional and personal lives, the importance of self-awareness, creating balance, and how reflecting on a career in retrospect can often provide insightful perspectives and appreciation for the present and even the future.
While newer advisors are faced with infinite pathways in the financial services industry, it can often be easy to focus solely on getting ahead professionally while putting aside personal interests and self-care. But by deliberately managing a lifestyle that focuses on work, play, and rest, younger professionals can establish a healthy work-life balance that can benefit their well-being throughout their entire lives.
One critical question for advisors to ask themselves, regardless of where they may be in their careers, is whether they are doing things today to set the stage for the kind of life that they ultimately want in the future. And while there will always be unplanned surprises, maintaining a vision based on the advisor’s values and priorities will help them make the best decisions possible to support their path.
Ultimately, the key point is that while newer advisors can learn from more experienced advisors, there is no one right path to take in an advisory career. Certain strategies for paving career paths and balancing work-life priorities will work for some but not others. However, by learning from past mistakes and staying focused on their values and priorities, advisors can ensure that they make the best possible choices for their own lives and careers. And by sharing their knowledge and experience, advisors can enrich the financial planning community by providing support and insight to others who may be facing similar challenges and victories along their own paths to success!
