“It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.”
Hey Sunday Brewers!
Here’s a glimpse at what’s inside this week’s ‘Brew:
🔥 A simple technique for reversing the grip of negative emotions and replacing them with positive feelings
🔥 Clients and prospects think more favorably of you when you do *this* on LinkedIn
🔥 How some FAs are able to consistently generate leads with YouTube
The First Sip
After losing his wife of 72 years several years ago, 100-year-old Peter Davies said he felt like a “lost soul.”
Shortly after her passing, he knew he had to do something to occupy his time.
So he started volunteering at a primary school in his town of Bollington in Cheshire, England.
His job?
Helping local school children learn to read.
“I’m sure I get more out of it than the children do. It is a lovely, warm feeling [that] I belong,” Davies told the BBC.
“I’m not this old man who lives on his own. I’m part of the community, which is great.”
Hilariously enough, he also says his volunteering is giving him a lot of “street cred” in his village 😂
“My street cred is tremendous because I’ll be going anywhere in the village and a child will shout out ‘Hello Mr Davies’ and I feel 10 feet tall,” he said.
While Davies claims he gets more out of the experience than anyone else, the school’s head teacher would counter that statement.
Vicky McPherson describes him as inspirational, generous, considerate, and thoughtful.
“He has gifted his time to so many children over the last six years to instill a love of reading that we will never be able to say thank you,” McPherson said.
You can check out the full BBC video feature here!
1 Caffeinated Neurohack
If you’ve been around my team here at Advisorist for any length of time, then you know we’re strong believers in having an “attitude of gratitude.”
We genuinely believe that a posture of gratitude has the ability to change how you think, feel, and perform.
And we’re not the only ones.
There are countless double-blind, placebo-controlled studies that show a significant correlation between gratitude and happiness + success.
It’s no longer a theory or cute idea (like many have claimed over the years)… it’s a commonly accepted fact among social scientists.
As Dr. Mealanie Greenberg puts it:
“Feeling and expressing gratitude turns our mental focus to the positive, which compensates for our brains’ natural tendency to focus on threats, worries, and negative aspects of life.”
Gratitude actually CREATES positive emotions and REVERSES the grip of negative emotions.
Pretty incredible stuff…
And if you’re looking for a way to try it yourself, I’ve got a simple little exercise for you.
It takes about 15 minutes.
Here’s how it works:
- Call to mind a person who once did something for you (which you’re grateful for) but to whom you never got a chance to express deep gratitude.
- Write a letter to this person (addressing them directly).
- Describe in specific terms why you’re grateful for this person and how their actions have positively impacted you.
If the person is still alive, consider sending them the letter.
But even if they aren’t, the simple process of putting your brain into a place of gratitude can prime you for success.
☕ TL;DR: Write somebody special a letter of gratitude – you’ll feel better.
Marketing Psychology Quick Hit
The human brain responds more favorably to people, brands, images, logos, and ideas that it’s exposed to on a frequent basis.
This idea was first popularized by a 1968 experiment in which subjects were shown images of random people’s faces and then asked to grade how much they liked the faces (before and after).
The results?
When a participant saw a face 20 or more times, they rated it significantly higher than faces they only saw a couple of times.
Since then, dozens of similar studies have reached the same conclusion: People respond more favorably to familiar stimuli.
This concept is known as the “Mere Exposure Effect.”
And though it may sound fairly basic, I want you to understand just how powerful that idea is – particularly when it comes to LinkedIn.
It indicates that the more active you are on LinkedIn – sharing content, getting into prospects’ inboxes, liking and commenting on posts, and participating in group discussions…
…the more people will LIKE and TRUST you.
So while you might feel like you’re putting yourself out there too much, it’s actually helping to forge stronger ‘neural connections’ between you and your prospects and clients.
Research shows that the ideal number of LinkedIn posts per week is 5.
If you make it a point to post once per day for the next month, I can almost guarantee you’ll experience a lift in visibility, trust, and likability.
☕ TL;DR: Clients and prospects think more favorably of you the more they see you. You’re probably not posting enough on LinkedIn – do it 5x weekly.
What’s New in SHIFT Nation?
Ever wondered how some FAs are able to consistently generate leads with YouTube?
Sometimes it’s as simple as the right…thumbnail.
Weekly Industry Catch-Up
🔹 Bright spot. U.S. GDP rose 2.9% in Q4, more than analysts expected (even as recession fears loom big). Consumer spending weakened from the previous quarter, but still remained positive.
🔹 Tech diet? Here’s an interesting statistic: A total of 1.21 billion smartphones were shipped in 2022, which was the lowest annual total since…2013. Experts say lower consumer demand and supply chain issues were primarily to blame. Apple remains in the #1 slot with 72.3 million iPhones shipped.
🔹 Loan forgiveness. The Biden Admin has approved another student loan forgiveness program. Preliminary numbers suggest more than 16 million borrowers will see some relief. However, the plan faces its biggest hurdle on Feb. 28, when nine justices hear oral arguments.
Go get ‘em,
Jeremiah D. Desmarais
CEO, Advisorist
#1 in ROI-Driven Training for Advisors
