Introduction

It was 1981 in the state of Ohio and I was in college hanging outwith my buddies. I started college in 1980 and it was really the firsttime that I had been away from my hometown of Brooklyn, NY forany extended period of time. Come to think of it, the only time Iever left New York City was to go to work over in Jersey City, NewJersey. While in college, I gravitated towards all the East Coast type ofpeople since that was what I was used to. So my small circle of friendsincluded two cousins from Baltimore, Maryland and two other friendsfrom the Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania. We used to hang out atthe Eastside apartment of the two cousins, which at the time was theworst side of the city. At one point, I was actually on the President'sList for my high grade point average but unfortunately our circle'sextracurricular activity and lifestyle swiftly rescinded my invitationfrom that prestigious list.

Now to say that we were a little mischievous at times was really puttingit mildly. We had a lot of fun and got some attention in the city, andit wasn't always for the right reasons. The two cousins carried guns tocampus which I wasn't aware of at first. I really wished I had knownthat fact before I got into a fist fight with one of them at one point. Imay have had second thoughts about inviting him outside but I guessit turned out ok, but I digress.

I found out about the guns at a campus party we went to at anotherlocal University. We were in the rest room and one of the cousins gotinto an altercation. There were two major college football players in therestroom at the time. One of the footballers, who was about 6'5" andin excess of 300 pounds, wanted to break up the fight. It was at thatpoint I learned that one of the cousins was carrying a gun as he revealedit to the football player and said, "You are not breaking up anything."And the football player sort of agreed with that notion so the festivitiescontinued on. [I found out a few years ago, these two football playerseventually played in the NFL and both won a Super Bowl.]

One day after that altercation when we were back at the apartments, Iwanted to talk about that situation since I hadn't realized that they werecarrying guns. We had that conversation and it was clear I was expectedto just deal with his intention to keep carrying the gun. Unfortunatelyfor me, coming from Brooklyn, this was not really that unusual of anoccurrence. I had seen a lot of violent situations by that early point inmy life.

A few weeks later, one of the cousins snuck up behind me, grabbed mein a choke hold and put the gun up to my temple. I closed my eyes andsaid a quick prayer to myself. Before I could say or do a thing, I heardthe click as he pulled the trigger. When I opened my eyes and saw thatI was still in that same raggedy apartment, I blurted out a full line ofexpletives towards him and basically told him that he had better notever do that to me again. He only laughed and put the gun to his ownhead, pulled the trigger again and said, "See, it wasn't even loaded".

The next time we were all together, he did the same crazy thing toanother one of my friends. I thought to myself that this person wasa little bit off. He probably was going through some issues, but deepdown, I felt he was really a good guy and I liked him. We had a lot offun together and I had a lot of respect for other aspects of him.

I have always had this mental compass that guides me and tells me attimes to move to another location. This compass has never failed meand it has moved me out of harm's way on many occasions. Besides, Ireally had not come to college for this sort of turmoil. I wanted to getan education.

So the next time we were all together, I went next door where a groupof girls from the apartment building were just hanging out. I wasprobably over there for about twenty minutes before we all heard agunshot. The mother of one of the girls called 911, but I had to see whatwas going on. When I got back to the apartment and saw the looks onmy three friends' faces, I knew what had happened. This cousin hadput the gun to his head again but had not remembered to empty out thechamber. There was one round left in the gun. It was a terrible tragedyand a loss of life that I will never ever forget.

I truly hope that I have not offended anyone by relaying these experiencesas I begin this book. This was one of three very unfortunate situationsin my life that have left very emotional scars in my memory. At thesame time, these situations were also a positive catalyst for change in mylife. The terrible loss of my friend was the significant event that trulymotivated me to take more positive steps in my life. College is supposedto signify the beginning of one's adult life and career but for my friendit turned out to be the end.

At that point, I sat down and put a plan together to take more positivesteps in my life that would hopefully propel me into situations thatwould be more beneficial and rewarding to me. Those steps includedthe military and seeking a more spiritual base to ground me in mylife. I wanted to surround myself with positive and success seekingindividuals.

So while preparing to write this book, my mind drifted back to that lowpoint to illustrate for me why I now have this great opportunity beforeme. It was that moment that provided the emphasis for me to plan anew life for myself which truly propelled me to this point.

I am very glad and thankful that you decided to pick up this book and Idefinitely appreciate you for that. I feel that all of my experiences in lifehave strengthened me and provided me the knowledge and experiencenecessary to assist you in becoming very successful with your pendingbusiness venture. Incidents like the ones I described earlier are whatmotivated me to get my life in order, but I have always felt like I hadso much more to offer of myself than what I was giving at that time.

Shortly after that tragic situation, I signed up for the U.S. Navy whichwas the first step of my plan. It was the best decision I have ever made inmy life. While in the Navy, I rose in rank very quickly and won manyprestigious awards and accolades during my career. The Navy providedme with the discipline and self respect I needed to shape the rest of mylife. All told, it has been a heck of a journey but I am here now and Iam so happy to be in this position to share some of what I have learnedabout business and life in general.

I may not have taken the path best traveled but I am truly here now! Istand toe to toe with my peers in this business and I am very effectiveat the job that I do. I vividly remember standing in front of a roomof about eighty financial advisors, just a few years back, preparing tointroduce a Professor from Harvard University and thinking, "NobodyI knew from Brooklyn would ever believe I am here doing this today."I mentioned this thought in a joking way to the Professor, and he saidan interesting thing to me. He told me that many years ago he used towalk with Civil Rights leaders. He said, "Rasheed, I may not knowyou but I would imagine that you have gone through many obstaclesto get to where you are today. You should be proud!"

It's funny because when I talk to my mother about some of the thingsthat I am doing or my accomplishments, she will look at me and laugh,thinking that is not possible knowing the young person that I used tobe. God is truly great!

I am writing this book for all sales professionals but mostly to my peerspresently in or about to enter the Financial Services industry. Thisbusiness is a tremendous business and I am so fortunate to be a part ofsuch an industry as the one we have. I have been a financial advisor, salestrainer, coach, and now a consultant, in this industry for many years andI would not want to do any other thing. [Okay, maybe I would love tobe able to shoot hoops like a Kobe Bryant or LeBron James but that isabout it.] It has taken me from very humbling beginnings to a life thatI am truly comfortable in and very content with.

This industry has helped others do similar. At one time, I was in arelationship with a wonderful woman who was also in this industry andhad become extremely successful in it. She is now able to provide herson with a better life than the one that she was afforded. She, herself,has since had a wonderful life, but her son will be able to start withadvantages that she had not had access to. This business can truly begreat and rewarding for people who work hard in it.

When I was a financial advisor back in the 90's, I was like a sponge. Isoaked up everything that people shared with me and all that I observed.One of the first lessons I can remember is my mentors telling me thatI needed to have a hook. I needed an elevator speech that could be mycommercial to market myself. It needed to capture intrigue and causethem to want to hear more from me. I thought hard about this and,even though my early thoughts were also about all the money I couldmake in this business, the one standout thing I thought was that I reallydid want to help people. This is a crazy concept, huh? But that is whatI truly wanted to do. I wanted to ensure people were able to live theirlives without the stresses of wondering how to pay for some of life'snecessities. I wanted parents to be able to decide where their childrenwould go to school and not if they could attend school. I wanted to goto places like Wal-Mart and McDonalds and not wonder if those seniorcitizens were working there because they wanted to or because theytruly had to. I wanted people to retire like my mother who, up until afew years ago, would take an occasional odd job because she was boredand wanted to get out of the house and not really because she needed theincome (although she would say otherwise). Not retire like my fatherwho passed away in 2002 and we had to pool together money to payfor his funeral. God rest his soul.

So that became my hook. When people would ask me what I did for aliving, I would smile and say, "I help people; that is what I do!" Mostpeople would look at my devilish grin and want to know more so Iwould expound for them. If I knew something about the person, like ifthey had children, I would tell them that, "I help people like you sendyour children to college." Or, "I help people like you and your husbandpurchase your dream homes." Or, "I help people like you retire in away that few could possibly dream of." "I help people with their peaceof mind so they can be free to enjoy the pleasures that life can afford."When you think about it what better gift can you give someone?

When I say that I help people, some might guess that I am somethinglike a firefighter or a doctor instead of a financial advisor. That isprobably because financial advisors rarely position us in that way. Ido believe that saving a life is something that is very admirable andheroic. I am not comparing or trivializing the two in anyway; however,providing individuals with the peace of mind and resources to live theirlives to the fullest is no trivial feat or matter. It is a gift. It may not beheroic in the same sense as fighting fires, but it is admirable. Financialadvisors should be proud of what they do and all that they and theirclients ever accomplish. So that focus on my purpose is how I beganworking on my brand.

Fast forwarding a few years into my career, I took over the managementduties of the new hire sales program for a prominent financial servicesorganization on Wall Street. This came about in sort of an unusualway. After a merger of organizations, I travelled down south to observethe first week of this program for new hires with thoughts of possiblyworking within it. There were already two people managing andrunning the program at the time.

I got off the plane and took a cab over to the site. When I got to the site,I found out that the person who was the lead manager of the programhad been let go by the company. No real explanation was given to me,but I sensed it was a surprise and not something that people wanted todiscuss. He wasn't really the person that was the face of the program sothe program would be able to go on for now without a hitch.

The next day I came to the class all bright eyed and bushy tailed andready to observe the sessions. I met someone there who eventuallyturned in to a very good friend of mine. She introduced herself as theinstructional designer for the program and we exchanged pleasantries.

She was very nice and extremely knowledgeable about the process buthad never worked on the sales side of this business. Between my reviewof the materials and my discussion with her, I could see the programaddressed what to do as an advisor but very little about how to do it.I could easily identify where I would be able to add a lot of value if Ibecame involved with this program.

Class was scheduled to begin at 8:00 am and, breaking from conversation,we noticed it was already 7:45 and the instructor had not arrived. Oneof the executives walked in, introduced herself to me, and then told theperson I was chatting with that the instructor was feeling ill and mightbe in later that morning. This same executive kicked off the class andtook the participants through an impromptu lesson that, in my opinion,really had no significant value in the course, but she was brilliant nonethe less. She spent about ninety minutes before she released them on along break.

During the break, the executive made a call and found out the instructorwould not be able to make it in at all that day. They debated about whatto do and it was suggested to let the participants go back to the hotelfor the day. Looking at the agenda, I knew that I could handle theday's lesson even though I had no familiarity with the details of thecurriculum. I offered that I felt I could handle delivering the programfor the day. After some conversation, they agreed this would be a betterstrategy then cancelling for the day.

So when the class came back from break, I started working my waythrough the curriculum. I looked at the agenda and would read the topicwhile my new friend in the back prompted me with the objectives foreach lesson. I simply taught the lesson improvised from my experience,guided by the agenda and objectives.

After about twenty minutes of observing my instruction, I noticed theexecutive left the room. At the next break, I asked the instructionaldesigner if she thought I had gotten myself in trouble with the executive.She said, "No, she was just comfortable with what you were doing." Ithought, "Okay cool, I get to keep my job."

We completed the day and I went back to the hotel feeling very satisfiedas I reflected on what I had accomplished that day. As I had left, to mysurprise, many of the participants thanked me for the day with smilesand a lot of passion. This kind of positive feedback certainly made mehappy but I also wondered why they were so pleased.

I came in the next day intending to sit in the back and observe day twobut, before I knew it, I was up front at the podium doing my thingagain because the instructor was still very ill. So, I looked at the agendaand again received some guidance from the instructional designer andcompleted day two. After day two, I took the guide to the hotel with mejust in case. Maybe, it was my internal compass working for me again.The next day I found out that the instructor had to fly back home andI had the opportunity to complete the whole two week course.

I completed the course successfully and at the conclusion of thecourse we had a small dinner for graduation where the class presentedme with a one hundred dollar gift certificate to Target to buy mykids some Christmas presents. The participants and I got to knoweach other very well and that turned out to be one of the greatestprofessional experiences of my life. They even tricked me into goingto a basketball game with them at one point. I usually would not goto such an event with students because I believe professionally andethically there should be a separation in the relationship. This timewas different since I felt this group had received a bit of a raw deal.They knew I basically had to ad lib the whole course. So I agreed togo to the game with them.

I told them I had no transportation and they said, "No worries Rasheed,we got you sir." I was a little worried about that statement. When I goton the bus they had rented, I realized that it wasn't any ordinary bus. Ithad flashing lights and a booming sound system inside with a huge polein the middle of the bus. Now I may be from Brooklyn but I have neverseen such a thing as this before. My brief initial thought was, "Whydo you have to walk all the way to the middle of the bus to hold thepole if you need to stand up?" After a few seconds of contemplation, Isheepishly realized the single pole's purpose. I remember people on thebus commenting about how they never have seen an African Americanman turn quite that shade of red. And if you know me well, you knowthat naivety about the situation is absolutely true!

Even with that, overall I was very touched by the gesture of themasking me to go to the game and for the gift card they had given meat the completion of the course. At the graduation dinner, one of thestudents had stood up and said, "Rasheed, we want to thank you. Youtruly made this time a highlight in our careers". All of this meant a lotto me even though this was the very beginning of their careers. Thatsame speaker later continued on in private by telling me that honestly,none of them had really wanted to come for this class but, after meetingme, they were so glad that they came. They felt like they were nowprepared to be successful advisors in this industry.

If you were a student in that class, and remember this story, I am alsovery glad that I came. Oh and about the bus ride, it was one of the mostembarrassing nights of my life. It was all in fun, but I was embarrassedjust the same. You know the story though, what happened on that busstays on that bus! (But nothing really happened on that bus.)