mEeting mY 1ST pRospect laTer in tHe eVening! i'm so eXcited yET neRvous aT tHe sAme tIme.. i dUn wannA sCrew up like leaVE a baD impreSSion oR sOmething.. but he's an ex colleague so shld be easier right? *sHiver* bAsically tOday i'll need tO gAther inFo only aNd gO bk oFfice aND dO reSearcH.. shld be ok.. buT i'm sTill nErvous.. :(

aNw mEt up w cLarissa yeSt! maN.. it wAs a gReat eVening.. fOod waS gOod, coMpany wAS gReat.. waTs not tO like? :D wHen we weRe yOung, we tOt friends were simply pplE wHom wE kNew aNd weRe fRiendly tO us.. later in life, we rEalise fRienDs are ppl wHo sTick by uS tHRough tHiCk aNd tHin & yeaRs dwn tHe rOAd, nO maTTer how wE cHange, tHose wHO sTill aCcept us aNd gRow w uS aRe cAlled fRiends..

mY colleaGues wEre sHaring w me how SOME of tHEir frens dIsappear aFter knoWing tHey wk in tHis line.. i told mY manAger abt it.. i told him its a mAin concErn of mIne.. he said "it happens to me too.. u see, some ppl can't say no. they feel bad rejecting you. but the funny thing is, i dun pester! so they actually just need to say 'i dun think i wan to do financial planning now' or 'i'm not ready for financial planning' or 'nah.. maybe next time' or simply 'no la dun wan la' and i'll tk it fr there but it happens.. on the bright side, fr this u can filter who ur real frens are.."

he makes seNse.. the last tHing i waN tO see is tHat mY fREns avoid me bcOs of mY job.. i think i'll rather be sacked tHan lOse ppl i loVE.. sO mY dEAr fRens, if i evEr approach you and ask whether u wan to do financial planning, pls just tell me right in the face if u dun wan to and lets keep the friendship going..

aftEr like 5 days into tHis IFA thing, i realised we are a misunderstood bunch.. we're not insurance agents but to many ppl its the same.. we're not sales pple.. but to a lot others its the same! and i know just where the problem is.. the few black sheeps that spoil the market! i can't broadcast it here... but there aRE (few, but there exists) planners wHo value $ more than clients neeDs.. they may or may not hav been in this line for long.. but in my opinion they totally spoil the uniqueness of our job! so how are they different fr sales pple? it brings me back tO thOse G.P days.. ethical issues.. whats right and whats wrong? is there really a clear line? perphaps not.. but a few more dollars (ok maybe more than a few dollars) vs a guilt-free conscience? they can do it.. but i can't.. i'll be sleepless knowing that the client didn get the best value that we cld hav offered him/her..

its not up to me to dictate wat other advisors can or cannot do.. like wat one of my teachers used to say, "u can't ctrl the weather but u can ctrl ur mood. u can't ctrl pple arnd u, but u can ctrl how u react towards them. u can't ctrl other ppl's behaviours, but u can ctrl ur own.." it depresses me to sEe them like that.. thankfully they are the minority.

it serves as a wake up call to me.. Do i want to see myself like that? btwn benefits for clients and my commission.. i choose benefits for my clients.. commission wise, if i do my job well, bringing value to others truthfully, honestly & w/o bias, which is wat we are supposed to do in the 1st place, even if i earn less, those are money that i receive happily knowing my clients are well protected financially, well prepared for their retirement, are growing their $$ comfortably, etc.. maybe at the end of the day i wldn even earn enuf to keep myself in this line but so wat? at least i can slp peacefully at night.. HM! *ROAR* XP