The Q4 Quest for Financial Advisors

Ron was sitting at the diner, pondering his next move in the puzzle we call life when, like a tornado, the front doors to the diner opened and Papa Joe walked in. He looked more like the front cover subject of a Harley Davidson magazine than a consultant. He wore a leather vest, scruffy beard, combat boots, and he even had a chain wallet. With a firm but jovial voice that the whole place could hear, Joe yelled to his old friend, “Hey, Ron, how are you, my brother?” Ron looked up from his booth. He was startled but excited to see his old friend. Grinning like a child, he said, “So good to see you, Joe,” as he stood from his seat for a hug. Joe reciprocated with a manly bear hug, nearly lifting his friend off the ground. “You too, Ron, you too.” “So, how’s it going?” Joe asked, sliding into the booth across from his old friend. “Well, you know, same old stuff,” Ron said. He had asked for the meeting but clearly wasn't ready to get into the weeds. He elected for his trained “I’m fine” speech coupled with a well-rehearsed smile, but Joe wouldn't have it. He stared him down like a schoolyard principal waiting for a more honest answer. “Let me try that again. Ron, how are you REALLY doing, my brother?” Ron dove in, and once he did, it just kept flowing. The simple truth was Ron was not fine, and Joe knew it. Ron was a middle-aged small business owner cracking under the pressures of surmounting bills. He was overwhelmed by a digital world running faster than he could; he was disappointed by how distant he had gotten with his family, particularly his daughter; and he knew his house was out of order, let alone his future finances. “Thank you, Ron. I appreciate your honesty and trusting me with that confidence. It sounds like I am right on time, and I am guessing by your story you aren't familiar with Q4, are you?” “I don’t think so. What’s Q4?” Ron asked. “Well, Q4, my friend, is a way of life for people looking to break free and break through to new potential.” “Slow down, Joe, that sounds like corny self-help stuff to me.” “Maybe, but let me ask, do you need help?” Joe asked, pausing to let the truth of his sarcasm sink in. “I am not sure, to be honest. Maybe I just need an ear to listen.” Papa Joe slid his coffee cup over, making room to write on a napkin. He pulled a pen out from his leather vest pocket, clearing his throat, and said, “Q4, my friend, is where we are going together. I will show you a new way of making decisions that, if you embrace, will change the way you see everything. It will make your bright brighter and your whites whiter, and new opportunities will present themselves everywhere.” Eager and curious, Ron stared at Joe. “Go on!” “Now, think about this,” said Joe. “According to a study published by the Oxford University Press in 2013, the average adult makes about 35,000 choices each day, and most of these take place with no conscious knowledge. In fact, we make nearly 300 decisions a day on food alone! “These choices run subconsciously; more like the operating system of our phones or computers. You don’t have to think about your next breath, and throughout the day, you don’t think about the habits you’ve built up over a lifetime. “Now, think of your habits like operating systems. How many old phones or computers do you have that are bogged down, or flat broke because they became cluttered and overburdened with junk? Your habits are built up around you the same way. When there is a surplus of poor habits in place, it’s easy to become encumbered quickly. The Q4 Quest begins by uncovering and reprogramming your sub-conscience with your true inner motivations so you can begin to purge your operating system of all the other junk.” “Makes sense, Joe, please keep going.” “Well, when our brain has been cluttered and bogged down with all the bad information and propaganda of our media-laden society, what do you think happens?” asked Joe. This time Ron appeared to feel relieved his problems were not entirely his fault. “You got it?” Joe smiled as he drew a compass on his napkin. “The Q4 Quest comprises four elements that will create your code, or framework if you will, to help you make great decisions not only for yourself and for today, but also for everyone you care about, and for life.” Hesitant, yet eager to learn more, Ron probed again. “What are these four mysterious elements you’ve got? Let’s hear ’em, Joe.” “I am glad you asked.” Joe pointed back to the napkin where he drew kind of an x shape to make four quadrants. He wrote a word in each: MOTIVATIONS, RESERVATIONS, SITUATION, EXPECTATION. “That’s it?” questioned a disappointed looking Ron. “That’s it,” Joe said. “It's not complicated, but it's not easy either. Trust me on that, but here is what I need you to keep in mind. I am not here to merely help you build a formal improvement plan, and I am not simply going to dole out some life rules or professional suggestions for changing something about how you do some part of your life.” “Then what do you intend to do?” Ron quipped. “Well, it’s like this. If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, but if you teach him to fish, you feed him for life, right?” “Yeah, sure.” “So, think of Q4 as learning how to fish with your mind. I believe in time you will appreciate the benefit of learning to ‘be’ far more than being told what to ‘do.’” “Okay, hippie,” Ron smiled, “so what am I fishing for?” Joe lit up. “I love that question, Ron. Let’s find out!”