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I know a lot of wealthy people. I also know many "successful" investment advisors. One day, while doing research for my Smartest Sales book, I had this epiphany: Most of these people aren’t particularly happy. In fact, they are no happier (and perhaps even less so) than many others who have achieved far less financial success.
My personal journey
This observation really resonated with me. I have always been highly motivated to be financially successful, initially as a lawyer and later as an investment advisor.
I was a successful trial attorney in New York City for many years. Like many lawyers, I worked long, hard hours that took me away from my family. Trying to strike the right balance between my career and my family was difficult. The demands of practicing law can be unrelenting and inflexible. Spending time with family can be deferred. No matter how hard I worked and how well I did, I still felt unsatisfied. I was achieving my financial goals and providing nicely for my family, yet I had a feeling of emptiness and a lack of fulfillment.
I was consumed with these thoughts:
- Is this all there is? I work, I come home exhausted. I get up and I start all over again.
- What is the purpose of my activity and my life? I mostly increase the wealth of entities that are already wealthy.
- When I die, will anyone other than my immediate family and few friends miss me? I’m not leaving any meaningful footprints in the sand.
- Is life supposed to feel like an endless grind? Where’s the payoff?
These concerns troubled me for many years. I discussed these issues with close friends and family. I know it sounds trite, but really what I was asking was, “Isn’t life supposed to have meaning greater than what I am experiencing?”
After I became an investment advisor, I attended courses and read everything I could about effective salesmanship, but most of the sales advice made me uncomfortable. It was formulaic and manipulative. The people teaching these courses were everything I thought successful people should be: affable, outgoing, charming and charismatic. I am not. Going into a room where I know no one and introducing myself still ranks as one of my least favorite activities.
I was struck by the underlying assumption, which no one (including me) ever challenged: “Stay focused on increasing sales. That’s the only goal that matters.”
Here’s where I chose a different direction. I thought increased sales meant more income, and more income meant a higher level of happiness. I was wrong. I had it backward. Making more money (after you reach a baseline level of income) is unlikely to make you happier. But being happier is likely to make you more successful. I was missing the “happiness forest” for the “income trees.”
The change in my thinking
The big change for me came when I started representing investors who had lost a significant portion of their savings due to flagrant misconduct by their stockbrokers. I found this work very satisfying, but also frustrating. In some cases, I was able to recover their money. In many others, I failed. I had a number of cases in which worthy clients’ savings were decimated by indefensible broker conduct. More often than not, these clients were awarded nothing by arbitration panels.
But when I was successful, I felt I had made a positive impact on my clients’ lives.
Those wins inspired an idea. What if I could keep people from being victimized in the first place? They wouldn't suffer the stress and uncertainty of trying to get lost money back. I knew I would need to demystify investing and provide simple choices that anyone could implement. After months of research and reflection, I came up with the concept for the first of a series of Smartest investing books. Instead of dealing with one investor at a time, I reached tens of thousands of investors all over the world. I was gratified and surprised by the success of my books. Two of them made The New York Times best-seller list. One was even translated into Chinese.
I started getting emails from readers telling me how my books had changed their lives. Some told heart-wrenching stories of how they were victimized by stockbrokers. Others said they gave copies of my books to their children and wished it had been available when they were younger. I remember one email from someone who bought 50 copies of one of my books and gave them to family, friends, neighbors and anyone else he cared about.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but that restless fire inside me was beginning to abate. I focused on writing more books that readers might find helpful. For me, this activity is the gift that keeps on giving. While I still believe I can do more, and I certainly could be a better, kinder and less judgmental person (old habits die hard), I no longer ask the questions that troubled me before. I can’t put a price on the positive feedback I receive almost daily. It has made me a happy person, content with my life and deeply appreciative.
I was not surprised to find that authors have one of the highest ratings for job happiness. It turned out I was not alone. In future articles, I will discuss the sad state of job happiness that afflicts many advisors and will suggest an action plan to improve your own happiness as you pursue your career.
Dan Solin is the director of investor advocacy for the BAM Alliance and a wealth advisor with Buckingham. He is a New York Times best-selling author of the Smartest series of books. His latest book, The Smartest Sales Book You'll Ever Read, has just been published. He consults with corporations and advisory firms on ways to improve their sales.
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