For the first time in I don't know how long, benefit brokers andadvisors are utilizing some truly exciting ideas and strategies on behalf oftheir clients.

The collective “we” have decided enough is enough. We areripping back the curtain to expose many of the factors that haveled to a health care system that is beyond broken. But,as we are also seeing, it's not beyond being fixed.

The change is real

There are advisors designing and implementingdirect-pay-to-provider programs to help their clients bypasstraditional carriers/networks. There are advisors who have embracedcompensation transparency with their clients. There are advisorsout there who have started tying their compensation to theperformance of the programs they put in place for theirclients.

And many of these advisors are very generous about sharing theirideas and successes online for the benefit of others.

Stay strong

However, I get concerned that brokers/advisors who aspire tobreak the traditional model may become discouraged and give up too soon because theyfear they are too far behind. My fear is that they watch all ofthese ideas and successes being shared online and becomeoverwhelmed by a sense of inadequacy. I fear that, in addition tofinding the new ideas motivating, they could become paralyzed bythe reality that they are nowhere close to taking these ideas totheir clients, much less in a position to join in reporting suchtangible successes.

It's easy to assume that the success stories shared by theseforward-thinking advisors represent what they do 100 percent of thetime. That may be the case for some, but I think many of thesesuccess stories are still a relatively small but growing sample ofwhat they are doing for their clients.

A healthier, more accurate perspective

Don't get me wrong, for those who are sharing these greatsuccesses (and huge kudos to you for being out in front), pleasekeep sharing. But, assuming your motivation is to encourage otheradvisors to start down a similar path, maybe you can also begin toshare the inevitable fears and failures you've had to overcome?Maybe you can share the pushback you've received from skepticalclients and how you finally broke through? Maybe you can share thepath of learning you had to endure before you started leading yourclients down a path of improved results?

And for the rest of you who aspire to have these types ofsuccesses in your own businesses, but who may just be approachingthe starting line, recognize that for every online example you seeof these forward-thinking and forward-acting advisors who havegiven themselves a head start, there are hundreds of other advisorsout there oblivious to the fact there is even a new race to berun.

And also remember, as you read these successes online, most ofthe time you are seeing other's highlight reels and not theireveryday performance.

Game on!