I recently read an article in a professional magazine about an advisor's work helping his clients transition into retirement. I found the story included within the article (posted below) to be very insightful and wanted to share his take away and my own.
I recently heard about this young man who started working for his father at a young age. During that time, one of the main staff members was a custodian who had a ring full of keys to access the different work areas and offices.
The young man went off to college and returned to an official role in his dad’s business. But when he started, he was disappointed that his dad didn’t trust him yet and that he would have to do more and be more to get full access.
For years, he asked the custodian to open various areas for things he needed to complete projects, fulfill customer orders and help manage employees. The one day, he needed immediate access to a room, but the custodian and his dad were not around, and they would not be back anytime soon. He was desperate and did not know what to do, so he reached for his key and was surprised to learn that he was not just given a single key for his office but the master key to the entire building.
The moral of the story for the other advisors’ clients is simple: They already have everything they need to be successful in retirement. They just need to be encouraged to insert the master key and open up the different areas of their life and skills - and put them to work in new ways.
The moral of the story to me is also simple: We all have been given the Master Key to greatness. Do we know it? Do we believe it? We also need to be encouraged to use our Master Key to accomplish all we desire in life.