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