Episode 721 - Elite or Not

This week, Phil takes us on a journey that begins high above the clouds and lands on a powerful life lesson. What starts as a peaceful sunrise flight becomes a story of loss, courage, and rediscovered passion. Through his experience, Phil uncovers how the right questions, and the right people, can help us face fear, spark growth, and reignite purpose. Tune in to this inspiring episode for a fresh dose of motivation and a reminder that the journey to excellence begins the moment you choose to rise above your fears.

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Transcript

Top performers in every field surround themselves with those who inspire them, who seek to build them up, and who push them to reach beyond their current limits. I am Phil Buchanan, executive chairman of Canon Financial Institute. I designed Monday Morning Mojo to provide you with a weekly spark, a push and motivational insight to live your best life. Thanks for joining.

Good Monday morning, Cannon Nation. Phil here with episode 721 of Monday Morning Mojo. A couple of weeks back, I flew on an early morning flight from Cleveland, Ohio to Athens, Georgia. I'd gotten to the airport in the pre-dawn hours. I did my pre-flight inspection and then took off at first light, which was a good 30 minutes before the sun rose.

It was a cool, crisp morning in Cleveland and my small plane climbed into the sky at a wonderful rate. The sun crested to the horizon in the east as I made my way south and I watched an absolute awe as the colors below emerged from the gray of dawn. It was absolutely beautiful. The moment calls me to reflect on the journey that had me in the pilot seat that morning.

When I was a little guy, I got my first exposure to small planes from my sister Deanna and her fiance Robbie. Robbie was a physician who had served in the army at the end of the Vietnam War. He had gotten his pilot's license as a teenager in South Carolina, and after he and my sister started dating, Deanna pursued and attained her private pilot license, and they flew together quite a bit.

Occasionally they would take little brother along on their trips. They would put a very thick seat cushion in that plane, which allowed me to not only see out of the plane, but to also see the instrument paddle. During these flights, they would quote unquote, teach me how to fly. I can remember holding the yoke and turning the plane right and left and pulling back and pushing down to move the plane up and down.

It was a very cool and intriguing experience. After Robbie and Deanna got engaged, they decided to sell their current plane, which was a Piper PA 28, and acquire a faster plane that could also carry more weight. Two physician buddies of theirs who were also pilots were interested in acquiring the plane, and they wanted to take it for a test flight.

So the two prospective purchases, along with Robbie, Indiana took off from McCollum Airport near Atlanta, one February afternoon. The plan was to go and do some maneuvers and pattern work. Unfortunately, for all four of them, it was their last day on earth. They all died in a accidental crash that occurred.

Now, the details of that crash aren't important to the story. Rather, for me it was the aftermath. As a little guy who had been exposed to something for which I had a lot of passion, IE flying, I was crushed. I had lost a sister. I had lost a soon-to-be brother-in-law, but I also now had a fear of flying, and it was a fear of something that, to that point in time had been so much fun.

Now through the years, I did start back flying, but I did so as a passenger, usually on Delta Airlines. There were a couple of occasions that I also did fly on smaller planes that a buddy might have, but again, it was always with a tremendous amount of angst. Yet with each flight, whether it was on Delta or on a buddy's small plane, my intrigue and my interest in the mechanics and the skill of flight remained, but so did the angst and fear associated with flight.

About 10 years ago, I met someone who was a private pilot, an individual that has become a close personal friend. When we had first met, we had several very deep conversations about flying and my history with it, including my sister's death. He asked me some very direct questions, including did my sister love flying. I said, absolutely. She loved it. He then asked, do you think had she lived, that she would've encouraged you to pursue flying since you were and still are very intrigued with flying? I told him, I'm sure she would have. He then suggested something. He said, go take an introductory flight and maybe a follow-up lesson or two.

You'll know pretty quickly if it's something that you personally want to do. Two weeks later, I was at a small airport in Georgia in a small plane that's known as a Diamond D 20. That afternoon as we rolled down the runway and took flight, something very interesting happened. The energy and the passion and the enthusiasm that I'd had that I remember having as a small child came back in amazing ways since that day, the longest stretch of.

Consecutive days that I have not been up flying is 26 and those 26 days were due to maintenance issues with an aircraft. Since that day of my introductory flight, I've gotten several ratings and endorsements mostly to improve my skills, my confidence, my abilities. I do quarterly sessions with flight instructors to ensure proficiency and also to catch any bad habits that might emerge.

The entire process has brought me great joy and tremendous flexibility. During that morning flight from Cleveland, I realized that all of us are impacted by the events in our lives, and some events propel us forward, and some of them limit us. My only regret regarding my personal flying is that I didn't start sooner, but I'm also very thankful for my pilot buddy who asked me the hard questions, the questions that motivated me to test my intrigue of flight, and then to determine the right course of action.

As I thought about it on that flight, I had seen advertisements for flight schools my entire adult life, and none of that ever motivated me. I had seen the examples of types of planes available to private pilots, and that too did not motivate me. But what did motivate me were the conversations with and the questions posed by my pilot buddy.

You know, wealth management clients aren't any different. Your marketing and advertising will rarely motivate a prospective action. Action is going to occur based on conversations had and questions posed. And so for you and your teams, I would encourage you to hone in on your conversation and discovery skills.

These are the most important areas. For advisors to work. This is where client development occurs or doesn't. In the conversations of the discovery phase and being good enough in the area of conversation and discovery is not good enough. As University of Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart, so aptly wants a pine.

You are either elite. Or you're not. Period. Becoming an elite conversationalist and an elite discoverer is not a destination journey. It requires continual and intentional practice and development. It's kinda like flying a plane. If you want to be a very proficient and elite pilot, it doesn't end with getting a certificate.

It requires ongoing intentional development in the areas of conversation and discovery. How intentional are you? And as Kirby says, you're either elite or you're not.

Monday Morning Mojo is a production of Cannon Financial Institute; executive producer of Monday Morning Mojo is Sarah Jones. Editing and mixing is done by Danny Brunner. Until next time, I'm Phil Buchanan reminding you to be a force for good. Have a great week and thanks for being part of the Mojo community.