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A Personal Lesson on Staying in Motion
Every advisor learns this lesson eventually, some the hard way.
Recently, I relearned it myself.
For several months, I’d been holding a spot for a potential client. We went back and forth, in, out, in again…until they finally decided not to move forward.
This isn’t about the client. They’re a good person and have every right to make their own call.
This is about me.
And it’s about what it means to be a professional.
I broke my own rule.
I stopped prospecting.
When you only work with a handful of clients, as I do, every engagement matters. Each client represents about 20% of my available capacity. So when I “hold” a spot, waiting on someone else’s decision, I’m not just being patient…I’m pausing my growth.
That’s a dangerous place to live.
Cultivate. Plant. Reap.
In my Can I Borrow Your Car? methodology, business growth follows a simple rhythm I call CPR: Cultivate, Plant, Reap.
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Cultivate – Prepare the soil. Build genuine relationships before you need them.
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Plant – Have intentional discovery and value conversations even when you’re busy.
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Reap – Harvest what you’ve sown — close new engagements naturally and confidently.
When we stop cultivating or planting, we’re left with barren ground, no matter how good last year’s harvest looked.
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”
— Robert Louis Stevenson
The Advisor’s Dilemma: The Empty Calendar and the Anxious Heart
Many professionals confuse being busy with being secure. But the moment your calendar looks comfortably full, you’ve likely stopped building the next season of your business.
Prospecting isn’t an act of desperation; it’s an act of discipline.
It’s how you manage risk, reduce anxiety, and stay in the driver’s seat.
Within the Can I Borrow Your Car? framework, prospecting and referrals aren’t separate tracks; they’re part of the same road. Both rely on trust, consistency, and intentional follow-through.
When you stop prospecting, you stop inviting new collaboration.
And when that happens, anxiety takes the wheel.
“It is not the load that breaks you down. It’s the way you carry it.”
— Lou Holtz
The Power of the Waitlist
So, what’s the fix?
For me, it’s returning to the principle of abundance: always having more qualified opportunities than you can immediately serve.
I’m rebuilding my waitlist right now.
I want four clients already in motion, deposits made, start dates scheduled, and readiness confirmed. When one spot opens, another steps in seamlessly.
You can do the same.
Ask yourself:
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Who in your network already fits your ideal client profile?
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Which conversations have gone quiet but could be re-engaged?
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What referral relationships could you strengthen now — before you need them?
“You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
— James Clear
Your referral system is your pipeline system. Every conversation you cultivate today becomes a potential harvest months or even years from now.
Refocus on What’s Essential
If you take only one thing from this message, let it be this:
Never stop doing the essential work just because the optional work got loud.
As professional advisors, our confidence and peace come not from the clients we already have, but from the consistency of the work we do.
Prospecting, when done relationally, systematically, and generously, is the single most powerful way to stay confident, calm, and collaborative.
I failed to stay focused for a season and am paying the price for taking my hands “off the wheel.” However, I haven’t wrecked the car or lost my farm.
It’s time…
Time to cultivate.
Time to plant.
And soon, time to reap.
“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.”
— Jim Rohn
Related: You’re Now Selling to Two Customers—One of Them Is AI