The other day I went river tubing. Floating. Whatever they call it where you live.

On the Chattahoochee River in Georgia, they call it “Shooting the Hooch”. That’s not relevant, it’s just funny.

The idea is that you float down a river in an inner tube, letting the river dictate your speed. No agenda, total relaxation. Some sun, some shade, a little wildlife. Maybe a little snack, some booze, and some laughs while you’re at it.

River tubing is an amazing experience. It’s also a vastly different experience depending on the time of year, geographical location, river speed, and many more factors.

During my tubing adventure, the river was very low. Thankfully, the tubing company rents broomsticks to push yourself along if necessary. (Spoiler: it was necessary.) At numerous points in our journey, we found ourselves stuck on a rock, trying to navigate the river with a stick.

Of course, the irony is that the cold river water was about knee deep for most of the trip. Several of the rocks we got stuck on were in very shallow waters. Could we have stood up and just walked down the river? Of course not, that’s why you have a pole, idiot. Take 60 extra seconds and push yourself while wiggling your rear end around. That’s the way everyone does it.

Maybe you’ve never been tubing, but I bet you’ve tried to pole your way out of a proverbial river when you could have walked.
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Drunk on Freedom

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There’s a reason many refer to their 9 to 5 job as a “prison”. Someone telling you what to do, how long to break, and where to be at what time. Some workplaces even resemble prisons with their plain walls and dim lighting. (I’ve actually never been to prison, they’re probably well lit.) We call it a prison because we are not in control.

Whether it’s the ability to travel and work on a beach or being able to chase creative pursuits, many of us long for freedom from our 9-5. We dream about not having to ask for vacations. We’d like to donate to our favorite causes without having to stress.

The idea of freedom in our time and freedom in our finances is intoxicating.

This is the dream that we all have. We want our life on our terms. Ramit Sethi calls it “Your Rich Life” and it certainly does look different for each person.

You are no different. You want a rich life, even if rich means time or relationships of freedom instead of finances. However, you may find yourself stuck in a rut with your work hours or unable to pursue your true business dreams. While helping clients achieve their dreams, yours fall by the wayside. While offering the sweet nectar of freedom, you forgot to brew some of your own.

While floating down the river of success, don’t keep poling when you can just stand up.

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Those Who Can’t Do, Teach

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Honestly, after getting stuck on multiple rocks, I thought, “I should just stand up. I know I should. That makes the most sense.”

But I didn’t.

You’ve taught almost every client you worked with to diversify their income streams. As an advisor, I’m sure that your portfolio is balanced. Your portfolio is as diverse as a U.N. meeting. But maybe in your pursuit of financial freedom you’ve been guilty of trying to pole off of a rock when you should really just stand up.

But you don’t.

Even while your portfolio is diverse, your income streams are not. As an advisor, that single income stream of client work might be a strong one, full of class 5 rapids. If it ever gets dammed up, you’re in trouble. You know you should practice what you preach, but actually following through might be a bit harder.

However, there’s always time. Whatever your skills are, you can find creative ways to diversify your income. I promise that you have what it takes. As someone who consistently doles out great advice that I don’t take, I understand the struggle of being able to teach well but having a harder time implementing things myself.

I get it. You don’t want to fail or look foolish.

So how do you stand in the river when it’s easier to sit?

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It Starts With A Trickle

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Between online courses, public speaking, changing your fee structure, collaborative work, implementing new technology, utilizing online branding and a social media presence, offering consulting in new areas, and more, the opportunities for income stream diversification are endless… and overwhelming.

And that’s just directly related to financial advising! Don’t forget about side hustles, real estate, rare art, Wall Street, and a million other things.

You’ve heard it countless times (insert parable here about eating elephants or 1,000 mile journeys), but it is true: life is not an overnight event. Pick one thing that you have the most interest in, or whatever you are the best at and start there.

Do you have a very in-depth knowledge about a helpful topic but don’t have time to coach everyone? Create an online course.

Love connecting with new people? Connect with someone new on social media every day.

Acquired new knowledge that you can pass along to old clients? Offer an updated advisory package.

But just do one.

Pick the most fun thing, or the easiest thing, or the most profitable thing, but please, pick only one. Once you feel comfortable and have a steady income stream going, pick another one.

Don’t over-analyze the decision to stand up, just do it. Keep the pole in your hands if you must, but stand.

If you need some motivation or guidance, start here.

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[Link/CTA here]

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I believe in you,

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(Your Name/Company Here)

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Socials, websites, etc.
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