Have you ever felt frustrated that you’re not being promoted or making business progress quickly enough? Maybe you’ve heard client say things like, I’m not worried about when I’m 80, I’m worried about the next 5 years.
There are different types of patience, but I’m talking about long-game patience: patience that relates to building financial independence, a business or a successful career.
“No great thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.” – Epictetus
As a financial planner, I find myself prescribing long-term remedies to clients. A new client may walk in with an immediate need or short-term problem in their eyes. While part of the solution may be some initial action, the big wins will be over the long-term, with very few shortcuts.
We know there are no legitimate get rich quick schemes out there. However, you don’t have to look far to find people caught up in them anyways. Part of the problem is impatience.
Many people will not necessarily give much thought to their financial position projecting forward until they are older. This is why as financial planners, we have to ask great questions to get clients thinking and then show them early on they should. The power of financial planning software is sitting with a client and being able to show them their own financial future – whether it’s good, bad or ugly.
Recent times have made obvious that things will change and there will be bumps in the road. But helping clients visualise their financial future using long term projections, coupled with historical data, can help shift the focus to what’s important. Encourage your clients to think in decades, not days.
People often refer to the business of financial planning as a get rich slowly operation. There are many facets that determine how successful a business becomes, and of these I believe patience is critical.
As with client relationships, along a business journey there will be distractions and challenges to test your resolve to stick to your long-term plan. Patience alone will not bring success, but patience, mixed together with resilience, could be as close to a super power as we can get.
But ambition and patience are not friends. Ambition wants it now, patience will get you there when it’s right. The two feelings will pull you in opposite directions.
In my 20’s, I always wanted the next move, the next job. I hopped from one job in financial services to another and then another all fueled by ambition and frustration of things not happening quickly enough for me.
Whilst I got so much experience from seeing how different companies operate, eventually there came a point when I had to start focusing on something bigger than earning a higher salary or a more impressive job title. Could I really work like this forever? Looking back, would I be proud of myself? Would my future children and grandchildren be proud? Would my career be fulfilling? I had to start thinking longer term. That would take patience.
Taking a step back will seem counterintuitive to your ambitious, impatient self. However, sometimes taking a step backward will lead to your biggest step forward.
When I decided to move backward, I was working as an adviser for a bank. If I’m honest, I hated it. There were parts I enjoyed, but I really could not see myself working there for another year, let alone longer. So I walked away from a decent salary, company car, private healthcare, holidays and generous pension to… well, nothing. No clients, no income.
6 months in I began to question whether I had made the right move as I watched my savings fall. It took me a few years before I was back on par with my total remuneration at the bank.
Looking back 7 years into my business, my biggest step forward was back.
If you are ambitious, the thought of having to wait for the things you are chasing can feel painful. Remember the next time you feel like this, as this may be similar to how clients feel at times along their financial journey.
The road to success, whatever that means to you, often requires a healthy dose of patience.
So, relax. Start with ambition, nurture it with patience and protect it with resilience. And don’t forget to have fun and enjoy the ride!
John Markham is a Certified Financial Planner, Chartered Wealth Manager and Managing Director of Future Financial Planning.