The Power of Positive Disruption

[Music]

every single day

we are faced with decisions that can

change the course of our lives

sometimes we make split-second decisions

and other times we have the opportunity

to pause and ask ourselves what do

i really want how do i want to show up

in this world

but often we are so stuck in the chaos

of our daily lives

that all we can do is put a band-aid on

it

and think to ourselves i’ll suck it up

rather than take the risk

to push back or to disrupt

we learn to ignore our higher self

that voice that says this just doesn’t

feel right

and yet if you can be open

and embrace that discomfort it will lead

you

down the path to personal freedom and

it’s the first step

to becoming a positive disrupter

a positive disruptor is someone

who challenges the status quo they look

for positive alternatives

changing the way we think behave

and how we do business how do we become

positive disruptors in our own lives

that is what i would like to share with

you today

three examples from my life

where i unknowingly was setting the

stage

to become a positive disrupter in my own

career

i was 35 years old divorced

mom with three kids and desperate

to find a job to support my family

i dreaded going to job interviews

because i was too ashamed to tell anyone

that i had never gone to college

i landed a job interview with a local

brokerage firm and i convinced the

manager to hire me

even though i knew nothing about stocks

and the only investment i’ve ever owned

was a 25 war bond from my grandpa

i had just talked my way

into a job that i had no idea how i was

going to do it

i was scared but i knew this was a risk

that i had to take in order to support

my family

positive disruptors must be willing

to disrupt their own lives first

to let go of that fear of

i’m not enough i don’t have time

or i’m too old and have the courage

to disrupt their own lives for the

better

i had no idea of what i was in for

i was a mom in training with young

college graduates

and when we were done working they went

out to party

i went home to parenting duties and then

i studied i failed

my securities test to become a

stockbroker

the first time and then i failed it the

second time

i was so embarrassed

and discouraged three strikes and i was

out

if i didn’t pass that test the third

time

there would be no job and i had no idea

of what i would do

it was a moment that i will never forget

we all have moments like that where we

ask ourselves

why am i doing this

i knew my initial why was to feed my

kids

but there was a bigger why pushing me to

take this test again

i wanted that securities license

so i could let go of the shame

that i felt for not going to college

that bigger why gave me the courage

to push through my fear and take that

test again

i learned on christmas eve

that i had passed my test i was so

relieved

to know that that part was finally

behind me positive disruptors

have the courage to disrupt

when they know their why is in alignment

with who they are and who they strive to

be

i was now a official stockbroker

i was handed the tools of my trade a

phone

and a phone book we called that

dialing for dollars we all sat in this

large

area that we called the pit our job

was to call complete strangers and pitch

investment products like stocks and

bonds

the more we sold the more we made

i was the only woman in that pit

and when men made calls people listened

when i made calls they asked are you the

secretary

it was humiliating and no one

not even any of the other stock brokers

took me seriously

my inner voice was nudging me again

telling me to find a better solution

i thought that if i could get in front

of people

i could overcome the challenges of being

a woman

in a male-dominated industry

i thought i’m gonna do public seminars

i was excited about my idea and i went

to tell my boss

and he shot me down he said

who in their right mind would want to

work

all day and then do seminars at night

they’ll only show up for the cookies

i didn’t want to be gone from my

children

all day and at night so i thought

i’ll take them with me they were so

excited

they passed out paper and pencils and

checked everyone in

and the attendees they saw me

balancing my family and my career

and it caused an immediate connection

many of those people became my clients

and are still clients today

i was surprised to learn that within a

year

i was made broker of the year i was just

now

beginning to understand the power of

positive disruption

i was curious about my competition

so i started listening to financial

radio shows

only to discover it was like diving for

dollars all over again

stock brokers offering one size fits all

advice and pushing investment products

to their listeners

without having any idea whatsoever of

what their financial situation was

i knew that this was not the way

to build a sustainable business hosting

seminars had taught me

that clients want to be educated

they want to work with someone that they

trusted i thought to myself

if i ever had a radio show i would never

sell investments on the radio

i would offer education like i had done

in my seminars

you know what they say be careful of

what you ask for

an opportunity came up for me

to pitch my idea to a local radio

station

they loved it i thought that they were

going to pay me

only to find out i had to pay them forty

thousand dollars

now i had to convince my boss

to sponsor the show he said

you mean you want me to pay for a radio

show

and you’re not gonna sell anything do

you think i’m crazy

well i convinced him to let me do that

show for one

year there i was

ready to go on the air and terrified

i thought to myself what are you

thinking you don’t have any broadcast

experience

are you even smart enough will anyone

want to listen i had all these notes

and none of it helped and after a week

i was feeling sick to my stomach and i

thought

if i’m going to do this radio show it

has to be fun

i knew that i had to let go of my fear

of not being smart enough or polished

enough

and i asked myself why are you doing

this radio show

is it for me or is it for my listeners

i realized that i was disrupting

the status quo again because

i believed there was a better way

to serve listeners that desire

to serve was my bigger why

i have been hosting the same radio show

money sense for over 30 years

without ever selling an investment

product on the air

and providing education to my listeners

and my competition they now listen to me

positive disrupters live

by what they trust not by what they fear

fear is a great teacher

it gets our attention when faced with

fear

ask yourself what am i afraid of

what is holding you back if you

can identify the source

then you can work towards making fear

your opportunity

for growth i was finally

feeling financially secure

and good about how i was caring for my

clients

and that all changed in an instant i was

doing a portfolio review

and my client noticed all the

transactions and the commissions that

were generated in his account

and he turned and he looked to me and he

said karen

i know that your kids will go to college

but what about mine that comment

stopped me dead in my tracks

it was true that whether a client did

well

or not stock brokers generated a lot of

commissions

by buying and selling investments

now every time i made a trade in a

client’s account

i heard that voice i know your kids will

go to college

but what about mine not only was i

out of alignment with my values

of integrity and trust and treating

others how i wanted to be treated

but the entire financial industry was

out of alignment

with the values of ethical business

practices

that client was my wake-up call

and when that light went on there was no

turning back

i thought what if i start my own

fee-based financial firm i had seen it

successfully done

in the banking industry it would mean

that i would charge my clients a fee to

manage their investments

rather than charge them a commission

every time

i bought or sold an investment it would

also mean

that i would have to start all over

again

no clients and no income

i had no idea that i was about to cause

the biggest disruption

in my life and to turn the entire

financial industry

upside down no one

not my family or my friends could

understand

why i was willing to disrupt my career

and my financial stability they thought

it was way too risky

my boss said to me no one will pay you a

fee to manage their money

it’s a crazy idea what they didn’t

understand

was that when you know you are

disrupting

for the greater good it doesn’t feel

like risk at all

i believed that i could do business

ethically

and still make a good living

i started my own fee based investment

firm

25 years ago today we have 40 employees

and we manage over a billion dollars of

clients assets

and my daughter julie that little girl

who passed out pencils

she’s now the president of our company

back then i pioneered a shift

in my industry but today financial firms

all over the world are embracing the fee

based model

positive disruptors lead from their

values

they lead with a deeper sense of purpose

every decision they make comes from a

higher level

of integrity and every action

is driven by who they are and what they

stand for

take time to write down your core values

they will continue to remind you of who

you are

and who you want to be in this world

we have all caused disruptions in our

lives

some for the positive and sometimes not

but for the most part we disrupt

unintentionally

without thought what if

we chose to positively disrupt on

purpose

now that would be powerful

if we want to be a catalyst for positive

change

we must let go of our fear of making a

mistake

or of being judged and have the courage

to disrupt our lives for the better

imagine this every time we make a

decision

in our personal life or our business

life

we stop and we ask ourselves am i

leading from my higher self

am i listening to the needs of others am

i serving

the greater good if the answers are

yes then you know it’s a positive

disruption

take the risk to positively disrupt

and together we will make this world a

better place to live