Tiger Woods is currently considered the best golfer in the world. Focused, relentless, and patient, he doesn’t win all the tournaments he plays but he wins often enough. Sometimes he seems to take on the world by himself, but if you watch him play, you will notice his caddy is always nearby. He helps Tiger analyze the shot and choose the correct golf club.

Did you know Tiger has a swing coach who helps ensure his body alignment and swing are correct? He also has a trainer who helps him train daily so that he stays in perfect physical condition.

Tiger’s job is to hit the shot and win the tournament. His support team - which includes a caddy, a swing coach, a trainer and countless others—helps place him in a position to hit the next shot as well as possible.

The Financial Planning Tournament of Your Life:

There is a tournament you signed up for the day you were born … the financial planning tournament. Yes, everybody is automatically signed up for this tournament on the day of your birth. The question is: How has your tournament progressing?

• How are you playing?
• Are you on the first hole or are you turning to the back nine?
• Do you have a crystal clear vision of your financial future or are there gaps that are hazy and need some clarification?
• Do you have the confidence to execute the strategies that are needed to accomplish your vision?
• Do you have the tools that the strategies require?
• Have you played well but need counsel on how to proceed down the final few holes to win your tournament?

The Support Team:

I was sitting with a client and a mutual friend. The client was having a conversation with our friend concerning her personal financial tournament. Regarding the topic she said, “Richard is my advisor. He makes those decisions for me.”

The mutual friend said, “Jane, he is only an advisor.”

At first I was offended by his comments, but he is absolutely right. The job of a financial advisor is to help you hit the next shot correctly, not to hit it for you. You’re our Tiger; financial advisors act as the caddy, swing coach, and trainer.

We provide you with the information you need to help you win the tournament of financial planning. In order to help you win your tournament, we need to know you well, just as Tiger’s support team knows him. We would like to have an understanding of your desires and your capacity so that we can best align you for the perfect shot.

Let’s take the golf analogy one step further: During the 2009 Bridgestone Invitational, Tiger hit an 8-iron 183 yards, landed on the green with back spin that rolled it back one yard and was within one foot of the hole. That took a lot of skill, focus and confidence … and a little luck. Tiger’s caddy knew he could achieve the shot even though it would have to be one of the best 8-iron shots Tiger had ever hit. His caddy was so intimately in tune with Tiger’s skills that, despite the risk—the landing area was only five yards in area and the front of the green sloped back to the pond—he knew the shot was possible.

In this case, your Crystal Clear Vision—your financial goal—is like Tiger’s desire to hit that 8-iron shot next to the hole. His assets are his skill and talent. Yours might be your earnings capacity and current savings. Tiger took a big risk hitting that shot; do you have the same risk capacity or perhaps more or less? Tiger is 33 years old and at his prime. Maybe you have a few more years on this rock and prefer not to take such a large risk.

In order for us to help, we have to know you as well as Tiger’s support team knows him. Instead of spending years getting to know you, we have to move differently. We ask questions and listen carefully to your answers.

Let’s talk a little about how we get to know you and your vision, how we help you gain the confidence to move forward, and what your comfort zone feels like.

Dan Sullivan said, “THE PROBLEM IS NEVER THE PROBLEM; THINKING CLEARLY ABOUT THE PROBLEM IS THE PROBLEM.” How do we approach thinking clearly about the problem?  

First, we have a get together to see if there is common ground that we can build on. This is really just a personality mixer. Do we see eye to eye on things, and on those things we can’t, is that okay?

Is there a basic trust between us? If there is, we move to the next step. Do you want someone to carry your golf bag?

Someone to listen to your concerns and provide advice for your next shot.  If you do, we get the privilege of spending time together to discuss your vision … almost like projecting it on a movie screen.

There is a question we ask. It is far reaching and it is the key to building the clarity that is so valuable to this process. It is also a very simple question:

So what keeps us from getting to Clarity?

Usually information. That’s all.

In any life there are:

• Dangers to the fulfillment of our dreams, but there are
  Opportunities that make it possible to accomplish our dreams and
  Strengths we have developed to get us there.

Typically clients have an opaque idea of their dangers, opportunities and strengths, which we clearly define and put on paper. These ideas move from opaque to crystal clear.

All we have to do now is FOCUS on the OPPORTUNITIES and STRENGTHS, and AVOID the DANGERS.

The dangers are really the building blocks to your financial future; they are sometimes called planning gaps. We plan around them. We use your opportunities and strengths to build on those gaps and complete the plan. It’s the identification process that is so valuable because it brings Clarity to your Vision.

Bridging the GAP between today and tomorrow’s Crystal Clear Vision involves various strategies. Strategies are nothing more than the use of financial tools applied to assets for the purpose of bringing about your Crystal Clear Vision of your financial future.

Let’s go back to our golf analogy. Tiger’s Crystal Clear Vision was to put his ball as close to the hole as possible. His strategy was to use his assets (experience and skill) in conjunction with a tool (his 8-iron) to strike the ball, watch it climb and settle on the green.

Success:

We return one last time to Tiger’s 8-iron shot. If you had seen the look on Tiger’s face as he watched that shot soar to the green you would clearly see what Clarity, Confidence, and Comfort look like on a person’s face. His plan had been executed successfully.

And that’s what we strive to do—help design a plan and implement your plan so you, too, can enjoy Clarity, Confidence, and Comfort as we work towards the fulfillment of your Crystal Clear Vision.

So now what? Do you know what’s over the hill? Can you see around the corner? Do you have a vision? Do you need someone on your bag that is familiar with the tools available and the terrain ahead?

Your coach is waiting. Call Richard at 702-362-3123 to help you create your Crystal Clear Vision.