Finding the “why” behind the work you do as an advisor

In a profession often driven by sales targets and commission structures, Reuben Choo, a seven-year MDRT member with one Court of the Table qualification from Singapore, has discovered something far more powerful than external motivators: the power of genuine advocacy for insurance.  

“There's always a limit to how much motivation external rewards can offer. Up until achieving my first MDRT qualification, the desire to make a better living was my primary motivator. It gave me the drive and momentum I needed at the start of my career. But as I continued, I realized something important. While these accolades are meaningful, they couldn't fully sustain my inner drive,” Choo reflects. 

This realization marked the beginning of what he calls his “personal reformatting”, a deliberate shift from viewing himself as a salesperson to embracing his role as an insurance advocate. This transformation also formed the foundation for renewed purpose and sustained motivation in his work. 

 

Recharging a sense of purpose daily 

The idea of “charging his advocacy engine" emerged from his understanding of how unconscious messaging from other people can affect one’s performance. For example, every rejection, every "not now" or "I'm not interested" from prospects can quietly drain an advisor's confidence and drive.  

"We cannot control the messaging that we receive," he notes. "That's why it's critical for advisors to proactively charge their advocacy system, just like recharging a battery. This is done by inundating the conscious mind with messages and routines that reinforce our purpose." 

This requires daily, deliberate effort to internalize the deeper meaning of financial advisory work. For him, this meant shifting perspective from finite external rewards to embracing advocacy. "Choosing to see myself as an insurance advocate gave my work renewed clarity," he explains. "I wasn't just helping clients secure policies. I was helping them protect their dreams, create safety nets, and build legacies." 

 

Aligning actions with advocacy 

This approach emphasizes the alignment between personal actions and professional recommendations. Choo discovered that clients are attuned to non-verbal cues that reveal whether an advisor truly believes in what they are selling. 

An example to illustrate this is when he decided to increase his own critical illness coverage from SGD500,000 to SGD1.5 million. Prior to this decision, he had been recommending similar SGD500,000 coverage to clients but would sometimes hesitate internally during such discussions. 

"Once I updated my own plan and aligned it with the same conviction, I was advising others with, everything changed," he shares. "The way I spoke about it became more assured, more personal, and clients could sense that. What used to feel like a challenging discussion became natural. Closing a SGD500,000 critical illness case became business as usual." 

Similarly, completing his own comprehensive estate planning—including a Will, Standby Trust, and Lasting Power of Attorney—improved his ability to discuss legacy planning with clients. "That experience not only deepened my understanding, it gave me the clarity and confidence to speak about legacy planning from a place of genuine conviction. Friends and clients could feel that I wasn't just advising. It was something I personally believed in and had acted on," he notes. 

 

Steps to embody advocacy 

To help other advisors develop this congruence, he recommends various "formatting exercises" designed to strengthen conviction and align actions with one’s personal advocacy principles. 

A Beliefs Audit serves as a foundational exercise, challenging advisors to examine their deeper motivations. One of the questions he asked himself as part of this exercise is "If I were to interview my top 10 clients and ask them why they decided to place their business with me, what would they say? And more importantly, what do I want their answers to be?" 

The true value of this exercise comes when you begin to crystallize the answers to those questions into belief statements that define the kind of advisor you aspire to be. “Identifying your belief statements is just the beginning. To internalize these beliefs, we must verbalize and repeat them consistently whether while brushing our teeth, in the lift before a client meeting, or just before sleep. This repetition helps re-program the subconscious by bombarding the conscious mind with advocacy-driven messages until they become embedded in our subconscious,” Choo shares. 

Other exercises include: 

• Client Impact Reviews involve documenting meaningful outcomes for clients, particularly focusing on claims experiences and their impact on beneficiaries. This exercise helps advisors stay connected to the human element of their work. 

• The 3x5 Card Practice requires writing down three daily actions that benefited someone else across five working days per week. These cards serve as daily reminders of one’s purpose and impact. 

• Impact Tapes involve recording post-sale reflections on what would have happened without protection, creating a library of motivation for future challenging days. 

The process extends to other elements like regularly reviewing personal coverage and maintaining impact charts that visualize total coverage. He also tracks both claims delivered and families protected, viewing these metrics as reminders of real human value rather than mere business indicators. 

Choo emphasizes reformatting is not a one-time transformation but an ongoing commitment to growth and purpose. "As you repeat these exercises, your internal dialogue sharpens. It becomes a rehearsal for your real-world messaging. Eventually, your confidence isn't externally motivated—it's rooted internally. You speak not just with clarity but with certainty, and in turn enjoy stronger client engagement, reduced fear of rejection, and greater consistency in actions even during challenging times." he shares. 

 

Perseverance and purpose 

The power of this advocacy approach is illustrated through one of his most challenging yet rewarding client relationships. Referred by a client's daughter, he encountered a mother with strong resistance and skepticism of the importance of insurance.  

It took three separate appointments before she upgraded her hospitalization coverage, and during annual reviews, she regularly asked about cancelling the policy due to premium costs. Yet he patiently reinforced the value and purpose behind the plan each time. 

Earlier this year, she was diagnosed with stage 2B breast cancer. The shield plan covered the majority of her treatment costs, allowing her to focus entirely on recovery without financial stress. After completing treatment, she invited him for dinner, cooking fish porridge and insisting he stay for the meal. 

"It was a simple gesture but in that moment, it felt deeply personal and affirming," he reflects. "I remember thinking, 'Behind every well-protected family lies a persevering advisor.' That experience reminded me why we do what we do. Advocacy isn't always glamorous. It's about staying committed, even when it's not easy. Because one day, it will make all the difference." 

This mindset does not diminish the business aspects of financial advisory work but elevates them to something more meaningful. When advisors truly embrace this perspective, their authenticity becomes unmistakable to clients, creating deeper relationships and more sustainable success.

The journey from performance-driven goals to purpose-driven impact transforms how advisors work but how they see themselves and their role in clients' lives. In a field where advisors constantly seek to elevate their reputation and deepen client trust, Choo’s approach offers a powerful model for meaningful, sustainable success. 

"This mindset shift away from performance-driven goals and toward purpose-driven impact was the beginning of my personal reformatting," he concludes. "It reshaped not only how I worked, but also how I led and inspired others in this profession."    

 

Contact: MDRTeditorial@teamlewis.com