Off the Wall
with Cory Swain
What’s your role at Advisors Excel?
I coach advisors how to step into a CEO role in their business. I love seeing the advisors we work with put our methods into practice and reach goals they’ve never reached before. Leading a team that’s focused on building advisors up – that never gets old.
What could you talk about for 30 minutes with no preparation?
Surfing. I live in Kansas, but I grew up in Florida. 30 minutes wouldn’t be enough time for me to even get started on the subject. I could talk about it for days.
If you could sing one song on American Idol, what would it be?
“Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey. Pyrotechnics, big hair, lasers…it would be epic.
What do you do when you’re not consulting with advisors?
My wife, Hannah, and I have three crazy boys. My hobbies consist of wrestling, good guys-bad guys and I moonlight as a nurse. I can clean up a scraped knee in no time.
If you were to become famous for something, what would it be?
Probably a video that went viral after I tried to do something while saying, “Look what I can do!” A few broken bones would be worth the trip to all the late night shows, though.
If we came to your house for dinner, what would you prepare for us?
We’d let the experts do it at Chipotle and have it delivered. Or Chick-Fil-A. I’m a big fan. Fun fact: I’ve received over 156 free meals from new openings in their “First 100” program.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
It’s not the “best” advice, but it’s the advice I’ve heard over and over: “When you’re dumb, you’ve got to be tough.” I would get hurt as a kid trying to do dumb things or breaking the rules. It gave me grit. When you make a dumb decision, you need to rise up and own it. Don’t blame anyone else; be tough and move on.
What’s one thing about you no one could guess?
I love Pirates. You know, the ones that “argh” and “savvy” and took over the Caribbean during the 1700s. Advisors Excel producers are all pirates. If you’ve ever taken a strategy that someone was using and you started to reach your goals with it – congratulations, you’re a pirate! It’s a pirate’s life for me.