Leonard Martin
	The Advisor of Advisors

When you were a child, you dreamed of being a baseball player, a fireman, or an astronaut, right? The seemingly unglamorous life of a financial advisor never quite made it into your top-ten list of things you wanted to do when you grew up. As we mature, we realize that as noble as it is to be an astronaut, there are more practical ways to help humanity. Our Super Star Advisor this month is in fact CRP’s version of a firefighter and an astronaut combined into one man, an Advisor of Advisors. Lenny Martin has reached heights as a Financial Advisor that everyone in the business dreams of achieving. His truly elite status is reflected in his many years of top notch performance.

Martin had his tireless work ethic recognized recently by the crème de la crème of organizations, MDRT. He was awarded membership in the Quarter Century Club, meaning not only has he simply been in the industry for a quarter century, but he has maintained membership in the Million Dollar Round Table for twenty five years, a milestone that only a handful of advisors in the nation can say they’ve accomplished.

"To have met, learned from, and socialized with some of the greatest in our industry, is not only a tremendous honor, but a humbling and life changing experience. It is truly an indescribable feeling of pride and accomplishment to belong to the MDRT. It is something all of us should experience." Martin says. "Learn and apply the 20 points system (see Matt for information on this concept). I still practice it every day and I know that when I achieve this number, I have had a productive day. Also, remember my business philosophy: Never sell what you would not buy and make the MDRT one of your professional goals."

If you weren’t a CRP Advisor already, you might ask, what attracts Super Stars like Martin to FMOs like CRP? What is it exactly that keeps such quality people here? "CRP and Matt embody the ‘Whole Person’ concept I learned over 20 years ago from Tom Wolfe at an MDRT meeting. A ‘Whole Person’ is like a wheel with spokes. The spokes represent family, business, spirituality, community, and health. The wheel needs to be balanced; if one spoke is too long or too short, the wheel will not run well or will deviate from its path."

We all learn from others. We are all students of business, faith, and life. The strongest people are able to recognize this and acknowledge their mentors. Martin cites one of his mentors when talking about what inspires him as an advisor. "The legendary John Savage taught me the four ‘As’:

Attitude – We are surrounded by so much negativity that it is imperative to counteract it by being positive. Remember that a negative thought is a down payment on an obligation to fail.

Amiability – Be friendly, sociable, upbeat, and fun to be around. If your attitude is great, you will be very amiable.

Availability – When someone needs you, be there. Whether it’s your family, friends, or clients, give them your time and most important of all, your full attention.

Ability – Maximize, sharpen, and improve the talents you were born with. Yesterday’s knowledge will not suffice today. We are similar to athletes because we have to mentally “workout” continuously to maintain a certain level of proficiency. If we let our mental ability "go", we will soon be out of shape!"