You. The Light in The Darkness?

“When Will They Ever Learn?”

It’s a plaintive line from the 1962 song “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”

A classic, much-recorded anti-war heartbreaker.

And here we are again, with the daffodils only just unfolding.

We never learn, do we?

There will always be one man drunk with power.
One man to plunge us into darkness.

One.
Man.

And yet, in the midst of dark times there are pulses of light.

Because that’s the other side of our human spirit, isn’t it?
Hope. Light-seeking hope.
And the sight of what’s gloriously possible when our humanity soars.

I see them in this industry.
This place we call ‘Financial Services’.

They are the light in the darkness.

They fly beneath the radar of the AUM-guzzling consolidators.

They’re not for sale… because the soul-deep work they do is hard to emulate with slick systems and efficient processes.

They’re not committed to being impressive, or being right.
They’re committed to learning how they can move from self-centred advice to selfless leadership.

They’ve long ago risen above the movement of money and the saving of tax.
They’ve seen beyond the optimising of investment performance and the implementation of product.
 
The hygiene factors.

They’ve long recognised… “That’s not what financial planning is here to do!”

They ask scary questions like “What does this client really, really want?” rather than “Why do we want this client to choose us?”

They ensure that all of their skills are directed to answering the question: “In what way does this action bless the lives of this client?”

They don’t lust for more power and greater affluence.
They yearn to do work that truly matters.

They embrace and dance with change. And already work with the reality of AI.

They meet with other powerful minds… quietly, sans fanfare.
In those meetings they learn Uncommon Sense.

What AI-defying human relationships look like.
What genius-generating leadership looks like.

You won’t see those meetings heralded on social media.

You can’t apply to join them.
You’ll only gather with them when you’re personally invited.

And you’ll be invited when what they see and hear of you let’s them know… “She gets it!”

Theirs is an Infinite Game.

A game that rises above short-term gain.
Above More and More and Bigger and Bigger.

A game that brings out the finest qualities of humankind.

Gradually, they’re already infusing that game throughout this sector. This financial planning community.

And the wonder of light is that it takes only the tiniest pinpoint to chase away the darkness.

A pinpoint, that once switched on, the darkness can never engulf.

The beauty is that it doesn’t take many of these light-bearers to change the course of a whole industry.

Perhaps just one voice – laser directed – is all it takes.

One voice, whose message will be heard.
Whose goodness won’t be silenced.
Who will attract other voices to them.

Perhaps that’s your voice.

One.
Voice.

Wasn’t it Margaret Mead (pioneering cultural anthropologist) who said:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

That’s The Soul Millionaire Way.