Imagine, just imagine me,
AppMan, being asked to share some thoughts with my fellow members of this
industry on the subject of the Whole Thankful Person. That’s almost like
having the Chicago Cubs demonstrate to the New York Yankees how to win the
World Series. I am sure most of you reading this email practice, to some
degree, the concept of the Whole Thankful Person. What I mean by
the practicing of the Whole Thankful Person is this, we concern
ourselves with all the “parts of life”—not just the professional. The
other parts are sleep, play, leisure and rest. Are we balancing the seven
vital life parts—health, family, spiritual, education, financial, service
and career—not necessarily in that order? Life is more than the sum total
of what a person does for a living. Who an individual is and what they are
Thankful for is more important that what an individual does. Some aspects
of life allow us to simply live, and others permit us to live well. So my
question to you is, “are you living well?” “What are you Thankful for?”
Have you put it all together? I must admit that how I would answer
that question differs from one period of my life to another.
Let’s review the vital life
parts:
FAMILY—Do you have a
loving and caring relationship with each member of your family? Do you
spend as much time as you can with them?
HEALTH—Do you exercise properly? Or should I say, do you exercise
at all? Do you eat properly? Do you get enough rest? Do you abstain from
smoking and drugs?
EDUCATION—Are you up to date on all reading applying to your
specialty? Are you studying for or have you received your professional
designations? Are you abreast of all pertinent information regarding our
industry?
CAREER—Is what you do a job? Or is it the pursuit of an endeavor?
Is it more than just a paycheck? We make a living by what we get, we make
a life by what we give!
SERVICE—Are you there when service is required, either for your
policyholders, or your industry, or your community? Or is it just
something you just talk about at the beginning of a relationship?
FINANCIAL—We sell financial security, but do you practice it? Is
your financial house in order? If you die prematurely or become disabled,
have you provided adequate funds? Are you putting enough money away for
the future?
SPIRITUAL—The dictionary
defines spiritual as, “of, from, or pertaining to God, or of or belonging
to a church or religion, ecclesiastical or sacred.” So I suppose I should
ask, do you communicate with your God, either formally or informally? Are
you at peace with yourself? Do you have compassion for and love your
fellow man?
These are questions which come to mind when I think of the seven vital
life parts, and they may not necessarily agree with yours, or do they? The
answers to these questions allow me to reflect upon what I’m Thankful for
and how I can put it all together as a Whole Thankful Person.
Life is a Celebration. Every human being is working to celebrate his or
her own very special uniqueness. You, as members of Financial Markets,
Inc., are not involved in the sale of life insurance but in the
preservation of life. To preserve life, you have to learn to celebrate
your own uniqueness and become special and understand your labels.
As a professional life underwriter practicing the Whole Thankful Person
concept:
- We must determine what
our objectives are in this business. Is there more of a mission in our
lives as we market our products?
- We have to decide what
hours of the day suit us best for working, allowing us to have balance
in our lives.
- We should conduct our
professional practice without compromising our integrity. Promise a lot
and deliver more!
- Get involved in our
industry. Your future may depend on it.
- We should never stop
learning. Professional designations like LUTC, FLMI, CLU, ChFC, CFP
should be minimum objectives, not the end of the education path.
- Have you thought about
being a mentor to younger agents (in the business)? We have little real
control over the lives of others. We do have some control over what and
whom we choose to emulate in models. We must strive to become the best
role model for those who glimpse us during our fleeting lifetime. Let’s
strive to be good examples to each other of a life well lived. The
Whole Thankful Person—putting it all together.
Autumn is my favorite time of the year. How about you? Indian-summer days
turning into cold, crisp nights. Flaming hues of red, gold and orange atop
towering trees. Big, snuggly sweaters with that favorite pair of jeans.
Hot tea with honey to sip late in the evening, curled up with a good book.
Thick, creamy soups, bubbling on the stove top and served with warm,
buttery rolls. And of course, that heavenly scent of turkey, gravy and
nutmeg, woven together in a colorful quilt of Thanksgiving aromas.
Thanksgiving is a time of great celebration with the family. It’s a time
to give thanks for everything we have, literally. It’s hard not to connect
with the sentimentality of the season. This is one holiday where there are
actually no gifts required, but YOU just show up to share time with loved
ones. Thanksgiving has always been one of AppMan’s favorite holidays.
Everyone came to our house on Thanksgiving. Happy chaos abounded in the
kitchen as the turkey was carved, potatoes mashed, the gravy simmered. The
pin-pong table was draped with sewn-together bed sheets, dish upon dish
laid out, homemade name cards lovingly designed by my sister and me
(haphazard turkeys and pilgrims traced with crayons) placed by our “best
china”.
Family. Friends. Good food. Bounty.
This Thanksgiving, as we gather around our Thanksgiving meals, whether we
are surrounded by family and/or friends or dining on our own, we share
what all we are thankful for. I hope that we all remember our military.
Whether we agree with war or not, I hope that we all can appreciate what
we have, thanks to our service members. I hope that we are thankful for
what they do/have done and all they’ve sacrificed, especially those who
are far from home this holiday season and those who won’t be coming home
at all. Let them know they are not forgotten!
And as that season approaches again this year, a still small voice
whispers: 1 Thessalonians 5:18
MAY TODAY FIND YOU WITH MANY REASONS TO GIVE THANKS.
Written by: AppMan© |
