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Every Chinese New Year, we greet each other with “Gong Xi Fa Cai”
Wishing prosperity, abundance, and good fortune.
But if there’s one thing years in this business have taught me, it’s this:
- "Prosperity in our profession is rarely about luck.
- It is almost always about discipline."
The Chinese New Year is not just a change of calendar.
Traditionally, it is a season of reset, reflection, and renewal. Families clean their homes, settle old accounts, and prepare their hearts for a better year.
Financial advisors should do exactly the same with their practice, their clients, and themselves.
Here is my #acgadvice for every advisor who wants this year to be not just “lucky,” but truly productive and prosperous.
1. Clean the Books Before You Chase New Business
Before you dream about new sales and new clients, clean your house.
- Review your pipeline.
- Follow up old leads.
- Revisit dormant clients.
- Fix incomplete paperwork.
- Update your records.
Just like in Chinese tradition, you say goodbye to the old clutter so you can welcome better things.
- A messy book of business attracts stress.
- A clean book attracts opportunities.
2. Strengthen, Don’t Just Expand, Relationships
In our culture, prosperity flows through relationships. The same is true in financial advising.
Before you rush to “expand your network,” strengthen your existing one:
- Thank your loyal clients
- Reconnect with your best referrers
- Check in on people who trusted you with their plans
- A wide but shallow network looks impressive.
- A deep and loyal network builds careers.
3. Set Fewer Goals, But Make Them Non-Negotiable
Every January, I see advisors write long lists of goals and abandon most of them by February.
The old way still works, set fewer goals but honor them daily.
Pick 3 to 5 priorities only:
- Daily prospecting
- Regular client reviews
- Skill upgrading
- Better follow-ups
- Better time discipline
Then treat them as non-negotiable.
- Not when you feel motivated.
- Not when the mood is right.
- But because this is your craft.
4. Prospect with Consistency, Not Mood
Let me be blunt: good years are built on boring, consistent days.
Prospecting should be a ritual, not an emotional decision.
- Same time.
- Same effort.
- Same discipline.
- Rain or shine.
What people call “luck” in this business is usually just someone who showed up every day when others didn’t.
5. Protect Your Reputation Like Your Family Name
- In many Asian cultures, your name is your honor.
- In our profession, your reputation is your real asset.
Always put:
- Suitability over commission
- Disclosure over shortcuts
- Long-term trust over short-term targets
Money comes and goes. A damaged name is hard to repair.
6. Invest in What Endures: Skills and Character
Markets change. Products change. Companies change.
But these endure:
- Selling skills
- Advisory discipline
- Work ethic
- Character
These compound quietly, like good long-term investments.
Year after year, they pay dividends, often when you least expect it.
7. Don’t Just Wish Clients Prosperity—Help Them Build It
It’s easy to greet clients with “Gong Xi Fa Cai.”
It’s more meaningful to sit down with them and make prosperity real:
- Review their plans
- Close protection gaps
- Align their money with their real priorities
- Protect what they’ve worked so hard to build
- That’s not just good service. That’s real advising.
The #acgadvice Bottom Line
If you want this year to be a “lucky year,” don’t wait for luck.
Do the old fundamentals exceptionally well.
- Clean your house.
- Honor relationships.
- Work your craft daily.
- Protect your name.
- Invest in skills that last.
Prosperity doesn’t come from the calendar.
It comes from what you do, consistently, long after the greetings are over.
Gong Xi Fa Cai. And more importantly, do the work that makes it true.
All the best my friends!!
#acgadvice
