Thomas Edison said, “Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.”
I just came across this quote this morning and it keeps bouncing around. Being a child of the 70s, of course the word “Hustle” caused a little pause, then I had to get that obnoxious tune to stop playing in my head. After a little reflection I was able to get on the same page with Mr. Edison. And it was something of an AHA moment for me.
When we have an attorney inquire about Membership, one of the most common questions that comes up is, “how much money will I make?” and another is, “Why do some attorneys fail with the Academy systems?”
The first question is simple. I usually tell them that they are almost guaranteed to make whatever they’ve made per year over the last five years. We all have some sort of invisible cap on what we earn. Typically we reach that secret number then let up a little. Seeing that cap and blowing it out of the water is something we love helping attorneys do. So, the best answer to that question is, “how much do you want to make? How much can you commit to making?” After an honest answer from the Member, it’s a pretty straightforward process to put together a plan that will generate what the owner has in mind.
The second question is a little more difficult to answer. Or at least it was until I saw Edison’s quote this morning. It is so difficult to identify why many attorneys can build a practice that surpasses all of their dreams, and others don’t.
Of course, major influences on success have to do with being properly capitalized and having some decent business sense, looking for the perfect mentors, and being coachable. That is all HUGE! Ask any successful person. The other element has to do with mindset. We spend a lot of time looking at the results. Results are directly tied to actions taken. Actions come directly from plans. And plans fall right out of our mindset, with all the limitations or abandon we walk around with.
If we want to know what an attorney’s mindset is, we just have to look at their results and back track. If a mindset is fearful, the plans are timid. If the mindset is cautious, the plans are weak.
If the mindset is (pardon my French – and God bless France, by the way!) KICK ASS, then there is an underlying “hustle.” That hustle takes place way before the results show up. You can just look at someone and tell that there is hustle happening. It’s in their eyes and voice. It is on their calendar. It’s in their planning and on their reading list and it shows up in the webinars they register for and the conferences they attend. It is also evident when looking at the people they associate with. They live life being excited. They live into the dream they created.
All of this may sound very “woo-woo,” we are in California after all, so that may not be a shock to some of you…. but I dare you to prove me wrong.
The sad thing is that you can’t TEACH SOMEONE how to hustle. You can inspire. You can give them the dance steps. But if they don’t have it in them, they’re just going to Waltz.
What’s on your reading list? What is on your calendar? Who do you have lunch with and socialize with?
Jennifer Price
Chief Operating Officer
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (800) 846-1555
www.aaepa.com
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