By Mark Halpern
It’s taken me working for almost 35 years, in an industry I love, to become an “overnight success”—and, frankly, most of us can say something similar. As Malcolm Gladwell pointed out in his book Outliers, it often requires 10,000 hours of dedicated practice for someone to become an expert. But can we fast-track that? And what can we do to make sure that when we get to the top of the ladder we’re climbing in our career, we don’t come to the unhappy realization that it’s propped up against the wrong building?
Mentorship is the answer to both questions. I’ve been blessed throughout my career to have incredible mentors who generously shared their “secret sauce” with me—strategies I’ve employed and adapted to build a successful career in life insurance, estate planning, and strategic philanthropy, advising business owners, entrepreneurs, corporate professionals and affluent families. Mentors both sped up my progress and helped me make decisions that ensured each step up the metaphorical ladder was getting me closer to my goals.
A long walk that changed my life
One of my most important mentors was Dr. Paul Goldstein, of blessed memory. He died this past February at age 92. Paul was one of the very best in my profession—a 40-consecutive-year member of The Million Dollar Round Table’s “Top of the Table,” which recognizes fewer than 1% of advisors in the world. He also went back to school at age 80 to get his Master’s degree at the University of Toronto, followed by his PhD at age 86. He even published an academic text at age 88. He was a force of nature.
I reached out to him when I had been in business for about 10 years. I had heard about him from someone I was trying to turn into a client who told me point blank, “We only do business with Paul.” When I asked why, they replied, “His integrity.”
I was determined to meet this person who had built such a rock-solid reputation—someone I aspired to be like one day. So, I cold-called him. He was courteous but firm: he was really sorry but he was far too busy and just didn’t have the time to speak. Instead of hanging up like most people would do, I said, “Paul, I’ll meet you anywhere, at any time. Just give me 30 minutes. I really could use having a conversation with you as I’m at a bit of a crossroads in my career.” He acquiesced. “Fine,” he said. “There’s a track behind the ice-skating rink at Forest Hill arena. I walk there. I’ll meet you on Sunday morning at 9:30. We’ll walk and we’ll talk.”
That morning, we walked for ten and a half miles—four and a half hours. I actually had bruises on my shins. But the conversation was the start of a beautiful mentoring relationship that lasted for 25 years until Paul’s death. Paul gave me invaluable guidance as I built my professional career and family, and he eventually honoured me by choosing me to be the successor to his business! I never realized then how valuable one phone call could be, and how important it is to not hang up when rejected!
The time as well as money
When we think about mentoring, we tend to focus on how the mentor helps the mentee. But mentors are often the recipients of something greater than what they give. Sharing wisdom and knowledge is rewarding, in and of itself, of course. But there are also far-reaching benefits for mentors. One of the biggest benefits is to ensure that the next generation of professional advisors, charity and foundation leaders thrives, and continues to carry on the life’s work of their mentors.
Being religious, our family believes strongly in tithing at least 10% of our money to charity. Going beyond that, we also believe in tithing at least 10% of our time to help others, just because it’s the right thing to do.
In 2020, when everyone was at home because of COVID, I partnered with Jim Ruta, a well-known tactical coach to top advisors across North America, to run Zoom meetings focused on how to pivot and thrive through the crisis. We had 150 advisors sign up for the first session, and they told us they wanted more. So, we created a Masterclass first and then launched the one-year www.PowerofPlatinum.com program to mentor and coach insurance and investment advisors, as well as fundraising professionals, to become experts in high-net-worth life insurance, estate planning, and strategic philanthropy.
More than 200 professionals have completed the program to date, and we’re starting with our fifth group on October 22, 2025. The results have been tremendous. I share everything I have learned, and advisors are having more success, multiplying their revenue by a factor or two to five-plus, and they are having big impacts in their communities.
Participants’ comments reflect the emphasis of the mentorship they receive. For example, “The most impactful benefit has been the collaboration and knowledge-sharing with other experts in the field.” (Sean Peach, with more than 20+ years of experience); “This business can be very lonely, but having access to Mark and his team means that help is only a phone call away.” (Chris Coulter, with nine years of experience); and “It provides tools and solutions to be successful in business and in life, making me a better advisor and a better community member.” (Derek Schaefer, with six years of experience).
We’re taking our philanthropic efforts a step further by working to create a national community of 100 professional advisors and charities, each striving to create $10 million in current and legacy donations every year. That’s an aspirational total of $1 billion per year in new charitable giving. It’s not pie in the sky. It’s like crowdfunding. We have what it takes to teach people how to do it. And we already have about two dozen professionals and charities signed on to this initiative.
More collaboration, less competition
One of the lessons I stress in the Power of Platinum program is that, while many hours engaged in any activity can—as Gladwell wrote—gradually build expertise, it isn’t possible to become an expert in everything, especially not overnight.
That lesson extends well beyond financial planning. If you’re managing a charity or foundation, you shouldn’t be expected to be an expert in tax planning for philanthropists. If you’re a donor, you shouldn’t be expected to know everything about maximizing your legacy to your family and favourite charitable causes. And if you’re a professional like a lawyer, accountant, insurance or investment advisor, you shouldn’t be expected to be familiar with the wide range of strategies and product solutions available to your clients.
That’s why it’s so important to build your bench strength, to support you in whatever your professional role. You can do that in one of two ways: build an internal team from scratch or develop meaningful partnerships with other experts. The latter tends to be better, faster, easier, and less expensive.
Our company is living this advice with a new strategic partnership we’ve established with PGgrowth. Ed Sluga, CFRE and his very capable teamwork with national nonprofits to help build sustainable planned legacy giving programs, and they’ll draw on the expertise we have working with foundation board members, major donors and fundraising staff to create the most cost-effective and tax-effective gifts. It’s all about educating key people in nonprofits to help them learn how to identify opportunities for “Accidental Philanthropy” (not coincidentally the name of my column in Foundation Magazine).
This isn’t about telling anyone to stick to their lane. Rather, it’s about making the most of every opportunity by surrounding yourself with others who complement your own expertise. It’s about resisting the temptation to be territorial and instead working alongside a carefully curated group of other professionals to achieve common goals. And it’s about actively seeking out chances to mentor and be mentored to share knowledge, wisdom, and creative ideas that achieve great aspirational goals.
I encourage you to reach out to my team to discuss any of the initiatives I’ve mentioned, including our Power of Platinum program and the myriad ways we support charities, foundations and philanthropically minded families with planned legacy giving. There is never a meter running. Let’s all do good and do well together!
Mark Halpern, CEO at WEALTHinsurance.com is a Certified Financial Planner, a Trust and Estate Practitioner and faculty member of the Master Financial Advisor—Philanthropy program. He and his WEALTHinsurance team specialize in tax-advantaged insurance solutions to protect families, create charitable legacies and preserve estates. He volunteers for many Canadian charities, foundations and professional associations and was involved in the design of Canada Life’s innovative My Par Gift, the first insurance policy created for charities with ONLY one premium. He writes this column exclusively for each issue of Foundation Magazine.
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