Is now truly a great opportunity for financial advisors to build their businesses? Or is thinking that it is just a mind game we play with ourselves to help us get through difficult times?

Let me begin to build my case that right now is, indeed, a great time to be a financial advisor by telling you a story about four men in a hot tub. Don't worry this is not a photo story. One of the four men was me. Another was an advisor named Barry.

After a long day of powder skiing at Alta, we were unwinding, having a beer, and I asked him how it was going. A big smile spread across his face and he told me that 2008 was his best year ever. Furthermore, he is working to make 2009 even better. If you're curious about the number, his production in 2008 was just shy of $4 million. But, the amount of production really isn't the point. The point is that it was up. Jokingly, I asked Barry if he was aware that not everyone in the financial services business was having the same experience he seemed to be enjoying. He was aware of that.

What question would you have asked Barry if you had the chance? How did you have so much success in 2008? What are you going to do to make 2009 another great year? Do have magical powers of persuasion?

I asked him. And he said, "It wasn't easy. We just decided not to buy into the belief that because the market is bad and the economy is bad that our business has to be down." That was it. Could it be that simple? Apparently it can be. Barry isn't some Pollyanna with his head in the sand about the bad news in the market, economy and world. He's just decided to take charge of the only thing he CAN control-himself.

This is not a new phenomenon. In 1960 Maxwell Maltz wrote a book entitled Psycho-Cybernetics. He said, "Within you right now is the power to do things you never dreamed possible. This power becomes available to you just as soon as you can change your beliefs."

I'm not asking you, and I don't think Barry or Maxwell Maltz would ask you, to pretend that circumstances are good when they're bad. The point is that as bad as things might be externally, as bad as things may be that are out of your control-the market, the economy, world events-the biggest obstacle to achieving your goals is always ...YOU.

The biggest challenge is not out there, it's inside your own head. My friend Capt. Charlie Plumb, USNR, spent 6½ years in a Vietnamese POW camp. He says, "The key to survival isn't the 8-foot cell you are confined to. It's managing the 8 inches between your ears."

Psycho-Cybernetics introduced Maltz's view that a person must have an accurate and positive view of one's self before setting goals; otherwise he or she will get stuck in a continuing pattern of limiting beliefs. He believed that self image is the cornerstone of all the changes that take place in a person. If one's self-image is unhealthy, or faulty, all of his efforts will end in failure.

Do you think your beliefs matter?

Does what you think matter?

You are in charge of getting your head right. If you don't, this might not be a great time to be a financial advisor-for you.

So, how does this make it a great time to be a financial advisor? Because, sadly, many financial advisors will not get their heads right. They will continue to stare at the computer screen or watch the news waiting for a sign that it's OK to get back in the pool. Therefore, if you are one of the advisors, like Barry, who decides to do the work required to be successful you will end up with many, many new ideal clients. In fact, Barry is hoping that things don't turn around too soon. In the first quarter of 2009 he added 25 ideal clients with a total of $44 million of assets. The business hasn't really changed at all. The advisors who are asking for referrals, making follow-up calls, and seeing the people are getting new clients. Those who are not, are not.

And don't think Barry is living a workaholic lifestyle either. He has two children under the age of 13, plays tennis several times a week with his son, doesn't miss one of his daughter's dance recitals, works out regularly, and is more proud of his family than his business.

In the March 2009 issue of Women's Health, Rachel Bertsche and Jennifer Merritt wrote about the "Hottest Jobs Right Now" and, you guessed it, one of the hot jobs is financial advisor. They write, "Due in part to the struggling economy, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) considers personal financial planning to be one of the ten fastest-growing careers."

On October 3, 2008, the Wall Street Journal ran an article citing research from Prince & Associates that 81% of investors with over $1 million are so dissatisfied with their advisor that they plan to take money away from that advisor or change advisors completely. Of those surveyed, 86% are actively telling their friends to avoid their advisor. I suspect this may be true for people with less than $1 million to invest as well.

Of course, we know that not all of these people will change advisors, but it's interesting how seriously they are considering doing so and how receptive that makes them to being approached by another advisor, especially by referral.

At our academy last weekend one of our advisors, Tom, said, "A year ago I would call referrals and many of them told me how happy they were with their financial advisor and that their plan was right on track. I'm not hearing that when I call them today. Now they want to talk to me." Tom has 92 of his target 100 ideal clients.

It really is a great time to be a financial advisor, and it's an even better time to be a full-service financial advisor. If you've put all your worth in an investment-based value proposition, then when investment performance is down your worth in the eyes of your clients falls. Worse, your self worth declines. And you'll probably have to do more than just a little tax and estate planning to bridge the gap.

As an advisor, you need to expand your value proposition so that clients judge your value (and how much they are willing to pay for your services) by more than investment management and performance. On April 21, Financial Advisor magazine is hosting a Webinar  where we'll discuss how you can do just that.

The bottom line is that people are worried about their money, the bubble has been burst that anyone can consistently predict and time the market, and people need help getting and keeping their entire financial house in order now more than ever before.

Success is not about belief in what's going to happen in the market or the economy. It's about having belief in yourself and belief that you add value regardless of what's happening in the market and the economy.

©2008 by Bill Bachrach, Bachrach & Associates Inc.  All rights reserved. Bill Bachrach is the author of several books, including the best-selling Values-Based Financial Planning. He has delivered approximately 2,000 keynote speeches and presentations teaching financial professionals to build high-trust client relationships. For 20 years he and his team have trained successful advisors and planners to dramatically improve their client loyalty, build their business by referral only, and live a very high quality of life.