What investors really want but can't articulate to you

I just finished reading Michael Shermer's book "The Mind of The Market". It's an excellent encapsulation of what our emotions do to our financial decisions. But I was most struck by the "Why Money Can't Buy You Happiness" chapter. He writes that decades of research have found some rather unmaterialistic sources which drive happiness (in this order):

--Social Bonds (marriage, friendship)
--Trust in People (friends, family, strangers)
--Trust in Society (the economy, justice, government)
--Religion and Spirituality (prayer, meditation)
--Pro-social behavior (helping others, volunteering)

These things are all rooted in our evolutionary adaptation, as they were important components to our survival back in the time of the cave man (getting along with others helps when hunting mammoths).

If advisors could tap into the rudimentary components of what drives us to be happy, then perhaps they could change the conversation from one of investment performance, to one that is so much more meaningful. This would require a conversation not just at the 30,000 foot level, but from the stratosphere. Referring to the list above, an advisor would have to deeply understand not only the nuances of a marriage (which they probably usually do), but also what kind of friendships that individual cultivates. (What kind of friends do they have? how deep are those friendships? How wide do they cast their net?)

Furthermore, those clients out there that are known as "the independents" that like to do it on their own are easy to send away, because they don't trust any advisor completely (nor even the entire system for that matter). And yet, it's a rather telling sign of how unhappy they are if they can't trust in society, and likely are in the most need of help to find that trust.

Clients that have a practicing religion are likely to be happier and more trusting. For clients that don't have a religious component to their life, the advisor might do well to probe about where the client finds spirituality.

And lastly, the willingness to help others-either in time or financially. To me, it would be the fun part of being an advisor: "So, Mr. Client, after you've squirreled away your nest egg, taken care of your children and your aging parents, and traveled the world, what do you want to do with yourself? What's your real mission here in life all about?". That truly loftier goal of contributing to the community, or finding a thoughtful cause that they can connect with takes away the grind of investing, and gives it a much greater purpose. And if you can be the person to help define that purpose, I would have to think that you would be in position to be their advisor for life.