You may not know it but you need a success 
ritual. What is a success ritual? A set of activities that allow 
you to obtain positive results daily. It can also be seen as a 
sequence of habits that put you in a positive, motivated mental 
state. Top athletes have success rituals. You can see their 
preparation and concentration when batting,  putting, or waiting 
for an oncoming serve. Positive thinking and focus help athletes 
perform at a high level. You may not be a professional athlete, 
but if you want to be a successful financial adviser, you must 
create a daily success ritual too, one that permits you to 
perform well every day.  

Here are some strategies my clients use to create and maintain 
success rituals.  

1. Ask yourself when you have been at your best in the past. 
Determine if you already have some helpful rituals that you are 
unaware of. You may find that arriving at your office by a 
certain time helps you be more productive or you may notice that 
when you list your daily task the night before, you seem to get 
more done. Stop and analyze the behaviors that have worked for 
you before, recognize their value, and implement them more 
consistently. 

2. A complementary task is identifying activities or rituals 
that have not supported your goals. They are obstacles that are 
detrimental to your success. If, for example, you stay out late 
during the week and get up late the following day, you may not be 
at your best when you need to be. If you want to be regularly and 
reliably successful, you must eliminate each and every activity 
and habit that stands in your way! 

3. To better understand and benefit from your success rituals, 
break them down into specific segments. I have outlined some 
examples my clients use in their daily success rituals: 

Health - Go to the gym in the morning, run, eat 
healthy foods, take supplements. Some exercise at midday to help 
them finish the day strong. 

Motivation - Read over goals, business plan, and 
mission statement. Spend 15 minutes in the morning with a 
personal development book or listen to a tape on your way into 
the office.  

Day-Planning - Create and review your daily must-do, 
must-call, and project list. This will help you get focused on 
what you need to accomplish that day. 

Technical or Professional - Read a trade or 
professional journals, do research for yourself or for clients, 
read the Wall Street Journal, listen to an analyst call, 
check the markets overseas. 
 

4. Keep a log and evaluate yourself daily. Use a checklist of 
the elements you deem necessary for your success. Check off each 
as you complete it. Rate your day (from one to five). If you did 
not keep to your ritual and had less than stellar results, give 
yourself a one. If you followed your success ritual and had a 
productive day, give yourself a five. Keep this data and watch 
for trends. Which is your worst day, Monday or Friday?  

If you consistently score a four or five, congratulations! You 
have developed a sound success ritual, and you are probably 
noticing a marked improvement in your performance. If you rate a 
three or below, experiment. Try adding or deleting items until 
you come up with the right mix for you. Whatever you do, don't 
give up!