Success starts with positive thinking

Kyriakos Chatzistefanou

Written by nine-year MDRT member Kyriakos Chatzistefanou, of Thessaloniki, Greece.

In Greece, we’ve recently faced difficult economic times: banks closed, withdrawals limited, citizens puzzled, pensioners and retirees crying in front of ATMs, uncertainty and volatile political situations seeming to surround us. As financial advisors, we wonder what we can do and how we can help.

Perhaps in these times of economic uncertainty and “capital controls” we can show how “thought control,” or how you think, impacts your outcome.

Take, for example, the story of Vassilis. I first met Vassilis in 2015 when I was in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the MDRT Annual Meeting. He moved there from Greece more than a dozen years before. About two years after he crossed the Atlantic looking for opportunity, Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi. New Orleans was devastated and thousands of people moved out of the area.

Vassilis said “no” to this movement. Instead, he stayed and opened a small construction company so he could help rebuild the city. This turned out to be one of the best opportunities of his life. Today, he’s a successful professional in New Orleans who also owns a world-class jazz club on Bourbon Street.

In Greece, we are now in the middle of a disaster. It’s our time to be like Vassilis and face our fears. Although fear is invisible, its effects on us are visible. But if we talk to our friends who have seen hard times and moved forward successfully and we control our thoughts so we see the opportunities instead of the fear, we’ll see we’re not alone. And we will succeed.

The vision of MDRT members

As MDRT members, we must remember when we share our vision of positive thoughts and a better future with others, we’re helping them see circumstance differently, too. Now is the time for unity and learning from those who have walked this way before.

More about being successful despite adversity

• How to get through tough times (video)
• Helping your clients when disaster strikes (pdf)
• Don’t allow negativity (video)
• The mind of a winner (video)