Ten Ways to Recapture Your Passion This Fall

by Dan Richards, 9/11/12
Dan Richards

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Over the past year, I’ve heard more comments about fatigue and the challenges of staying motivated than in the previous 20 years combined.  Reigniting the passion for your business and raising your energy level is job one – the necessary precondition to making everything else possible.  My research with advisors has shown that a number of specific steps will recharge your enthusiasm.

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There’s a good reason everyone is exhausted, investors and advisors alike; the last four years has been one of non-stop crisis. And this is after an extended period of tough markets going back to 2000.

Here’s how one veteran advisor put it:

“I’ve been in this business for over 30 years. For most of the first 20, I looked forward to meetings with clients – they were making money and I felt I was adding value. By contrast, most of the past 10 years have been brutal – in meeting after meeting, I’ve found myself apologizing for performance.”   

In these circumstances, it’s no surprise that our enthusiasm for the business is down; in fact, it would be surprising if it wasn’t.  But even if being a bit down is understandable, energy and passion are essential to implement new initiatives and inspire confidence with existing and prospective clients.

Think for a moment what it would take to hit the ground running truly excited about your business.

If you struggle to figure out the formula to reach that goal, try these 10 strategies:

  1. Focus on small wins

    A Harvard Business School professor conducted a large study of motivation among knowledge workers on project teams. The factor that drove motivation, more than any other: feeling a sense of progress and small wins on a daily and weekly basis.

    Set small achievable goals for each day and each week – and then focus on getting those done. Your motivation will rise as a result. 

  2. Remember the difference you’re making

    Amidst all the gloom, remind ourselves of the good we’ve done. I recently talked to a veteran advisor who set aside time in his weekly staff meeting to focus to talk about one client they’d met who they had really helped. When clients thanked him, he asked them to send an email he could share with his team. He was astonished by the results.

     “This was on the agenda for five minutes but we ended up going well past that – it was the most engaged I can recall seeing the members of my team. But the biggest surprise was how I felt afterwards. By making one small change to my weekly meeting to focus on a client where we’d made a real difference in their lives, my enthusiasm increased. As a result, I’ve been able to recapture some of my excitement for the business – and we’re making this a permanent addition to our weekly planning meetings”