Have you ever heard the saying, “You are what you eat”? If it’s true, I’m a pepperoni pizza. I love pizza and wish I could eat just one or two pieces and walk away, but I can’t. Once that sweet aroma of mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce and fresh baked bread hits me, I get consumed by an insatiable desire to have more, and I lose all sense of direction.
Whether your fix is—pizza, ice cream or chips—we all crave certain things and don’t always make the healthy choice. I mean if you put a bowl of chocolate chip cookies next to a veggie tray, guess which direction my hand is headed?
Yet, over time, we have all come to learn that you can’t eat pizza and cookies every day. An unbalanced diet that is high in fat and preservatives is going to catch-up to you at some point. There will be repercussions in terms of your weight, energy level, potential for disease and even your longevity.
So, we have adapted our diet and learned to fight off these natural cravings with substitutes like cauliflower crust pizza and a fruit smoothie. Even though they may not taste as good, we know it’s the right thing to do and that they will benefit our long-term health.
This is important because the things we eat, or are fed, aren’t just about our physical health. The stuff that we consume in terms of what we see, hear and the people we surround ourselves with can also play a role in our long-term health and well-being. This is why it’s so important for advisors to take a look at the things they are feeding clients, especially when it comes to retirement.
Right now, I believe our industry is serving too many pizzas and cookies. It’s an unbalanced diet focused on saving, investing and protection. We’re essentially telling people that if you just focus on the financial pieces, the rest of the stuff will take care of itself. Yet, there is nothing further from the truth.
Along the way, we are also teaching people to crave the wrong things in terms of money, status and possessions. And just as I get consumed by the smell of pizza and lose all sense of direction, if we don’t teach our clients about the other important ingredients to a successful retirement, they will be faced with a loss of purpose and direction.
This message is particularly important because now is the perfect time to start offering clients a new menu to eat from. Why? I don’t know about you, but my favorite time to start a new diet is when I am full. It’s a lot easier to commit to hitting the gym and replacing a meal with a smoothie when my belly is full and I’m feeling satisfied in this area. Sort of like the age-old advice to avoid the grocery store when you’re hungry.
In any event, the current bull market has made it easy for our clients to be financially full. Yes, client’s will always crave a little more in this area but for the most part, many will be ready to commit to some new ideas and direction. This makes it a great time for advisors to introduce new services, resources and ideas to help them strike a better balance with their future life in retirement.
As a result, advisors have to become advocates for what I call The New Era Of Wellth Management—an approach to financial and retirement planning that incorporates the mental, social, physical and spiritual aspects of life with the financial ones.