I’ve said before that one of the ways I test whether I’m doing the right thing is to consider whether I’d want what I say and do to be said and done for the benefit of my mom. Would my mom be best served by following the advice that I give?
The reason I mention this is to draw-out something unique in that test. Most people are genuine and honest and would say that they also only give advice that they’d want their mom to follow. But what I see so often is that the quality of the advice given, even with good intentions, is just so poor.
If the advice is well-intended but poor in quality, then it’s not good advice. And when people who give advice aren’t committed to the mastery of their craft, then you wind up getting well-intended poor advice that does the same amount of damage as ill-intended advice.
The point: don’t always listen to people just because they’re nice and honest. Those should be minimum standards. And don’t buy stuff from people just because you like them. Look for gravitas. Look for wisdom. Test for mastery and the boundaries of where that mastery stops. Look for an advisor who invests in continuous learning and who plans on being better tomorrow than they are today.
Photo: Rachael McGraw, Santa Monica
Darren McGraw & Mechelsen Private Client 
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