Remember the Sandwich ... Taming the Caribbean Jerk War Pig

I travel a lot for business, which means I eat out a lot.  Honestly, you get tired of eating out after the second full day on the road.  No really!  it's the truth, so when I discover something special enough to even mention, you know it is worth your attention.

So, my youngest daughter and I were in Cleveland for business this last month and a friend told us to try this sandwich place.  I love sandwiches, so I have pretty high standards but I trust this guy when it comes to food.

The restaurant is called the Melt (Bar and Grill) and they specialize in grilled cheese sandwiches.  We split the Caribbean Jerk War Pig.

I'll just cut to the chase here ... it was transcendent, one of the top 5 best sandwiches of all time.  This from a guy that has had sandwiches all over the world.  I mean this sandwich was so good that I literally fell in love with it on the spot.  If it was a cult I would have shaved my head and donned a white robe and followed it to Africa.  It was so good the world stopped turning for a split second, sometime during the second bite.

Why am I mentioning it here?  Just to get a chance to say "Remember the sandwich with NuMemory+". Check out our memory supplement at www.intelligencetree.com and check out the Melt the next time you are in Cleveland!

What's Worth your Time?

When you're right you're right.  My dad always said you can tell what a guy really cares about by how he spends his time.  No doubt ... that is one true statement!  We all spend our time doing the things that are most important to us.  There are some things we have to do and profess not to enjoy (like going to work) but even those activities show people what is important to us.

The guy that goes to a job everyday for 35 years that he hates and takes all the overtime he can probably isn't a sadistic maniac.  He probably wants to provide for his family and give his children a better life and more opportunities than he had.

However, finding time to spend with your loved ones is one of the most important parts of your day.  It shows them that you think they are important, because you are spending the one thing you can earn more of ... time.

I'm lucky to have lived long enough to meet my first grandson.  I love spending time with him, and in his eyes that is the only thing that matters.  It really doesn't matter what we are doing either, he's happy to watch TV with me, walk around the house or sometimes we stand under the ceiling fan, and I hold him up so he can practice pulling the chain that turns it on and off.

Sure it's nice when people change his diaper, bath him, or feed him but in the end he knows that people care for him because the spend their time with him.  The rest of us recognize that new clothes, toys and health insurance are important but his life is pretty simple and is distilled down to time.

Take some time to spend with your favorite people this week ... and show them what they mean to you.

Is Pizza More Important than Life?

 

Sounds like a silly question, right?!  Could someone possibly think that a pizza is more important than a human life, or better yet the life of a loved one?  No Jason ... that's just too silly to imagine.  Now, what a minute, lets talk this out.  First off we need to establish what we are really talking about here.  I mean a pizza dinner at let's say Monical's Pizza, in Linton, if you order a large pizza Meat Eater Special with breadsticks and sodas for 4 people would cost roughly $32 (including tip).

 

Does that sound about right?  I think it does, and I think most of us will have pizza at least once a month (it's reported that 70% of Americans do).  So that proves to me that Pizza is more important than life!  Because nearly half of those folks having pizza this month will say that they don't have enough life insurance (according to a LIMRA study in 2013)

 

"But Jason", you say in a whiny voice, "Life insurance costs so much and pizza is so cheap!'  Most Americans greatly over estimate the cost of a life insurance policy.  For example, a non tobacco using man age 30 who is good health and a normal body weight can get a level term policy with a face amount of $500,000 for $28 a month.  How much does he need?  Well if he is 30 years old and he currently provides $40,000 a year for his family, he will earn $1,400,000 over the next 35 years until he retires, at age 65.  So lets say he wants to be worth 1,000,000 .. guess what the monthly cost would be?  About $46 a month or less than a pizza dinner and one trip to the Linton movie theater (full price adult tickets are $6.75) for a family of 4 ...

 

Life insurance is affordable and necessary ... don't make dinner and movie more important than your family's security.

 

Jason

I Invented the Internet and He Hates Puppies!

I don't know how you feel during election time but I always feel a little less smart just listening to the ads and the candidates.  It's always funny to me how everything is always someone else's fault, no candidate ever says "yep, I did that and it was wrong, but I'm trying to fix it!"  In fact most go out of their way to show how everything is the other guy's fault, even when there is no way that the other candidate could have had anything to do with it. 

Better yet, don't you love it when the candidate takes credit for something totally out of their control.  Remember when Al Gore said he invented the Internet?  What President ever personally created a million jobs in 4 years?  What President ever personally caused a financial crisis in 4 years?  Many of the policies a President would want to enact, take funding that is not under the control of the President, and must be approved by Congress.  So why do we listen to these ridiculous claims that in 4 years they will do something they can't possibly control?  Why do we hand our precious vote to a guy who claims that he can walk on water while accusing the other candidate of hating puppies?

The answer is three fold.  First we are looking for a leader that we can trust, and in the absence of personal knowledge of their trustworthiness we must rely on the evidence pointing to the opposite.  If the other candidate can show himself to be less untrustworthy then we have to go with him.  Second we are looking for a leader that really wants the job, if a candidate isn't willing to go toe to toe and take a beating for the job then they don't really want it and that means they might not have the "GRIT" or "STONES" to do what needs to be done.  Finally, we are looking for a leader that leads.  Claiming authority and making decisions is a skill and inspiring others to do what needs to be done is the primary skill necessary to be a successful leader.  In fact I believe that the best speach is the they way to pick your president.  If he can stir emotions and inspire you to action with just his words over the TV then he's the one.

So, good luck choosing a leader this year, I hope you pick the right guy!

Be the leader in your family and get life insurance on yourself!

Chores ... just do them!

I remember as a kid that there were things I just didn't want to do, at some point I didn't want to brush my teeth everyday.  I don't remember why, but I think it was just that I had assigned the task a negative label in my mind.  When I was first in the Army I didn't want to run, anything I could do to get out of running I tried. 

Maybe these things were all just unpleasant chores that had to be done and my human nature kicked in and pushed me to avoid them.  I think everyone is like that in a way, but as we get older we we know better than to give in to the voice that says "don't do it ... life will be easier if you don't".  Of course, some folks never out grow the little voice.  They still avoid things they need to do or address and give childish excuses as to why they can't or won't do the right thing.

Don't do that!  Stand up, do what you know is right, and keep doing it everyday.  Even when it's not fun or a chore ... really folks, grow up!  In the end we all have to do what we know is right or we are just wrong, so don't be wrong!

J

Don't put off buying life insurance, if you wait until you need some, it'll be too late!

Never, Never, Never, Never, Never Give up!

Sometimes taking a stand is painful ... no scratch that, it is always painful!  Everyone (even those that stand with you) seem to have a ax to grind with how it is handled.  Some thing you are too strong, some think you are too weak.  Some say don't be so gruff, some say don't be a wimp.

The bottom line is that when you find an issue meaningful enough for you to take a stand on ... you know drawing a line in the sand and saying everything on this side is okay but when you cross this "we've got a problem" ... don't expect that the crowd will rally around you and praise your eloquent handling of those that have an opposing view.

People are often afraid of how the world will judge them if they stand too firm.  They're afraid that someone will "call them out" and make fun of them or argue better than they do.  In short they are afraid of being made a fool of, and that is a powerful deterrent for most folks.

As I age I'm less likely to take a stand on minor things but much less fearful of being made a fool of, in fact I could care less about people that know me thinking I'm being foolish.  The lack of fear is my best asset in a moral battle.  People can sense when you are are solid ground with your understanding and at peace with the consequences of your stance.

Your confidence will shake theirs, your fearlessness will instill fear in them, your calm attitude will shake their resolve.  When you are not worried about the pain of a moral stand ... truth and right will prevail!  So, don't be afraid if you are standing firmly on the side of right, the pain will fade and when the smoke clears the world will be better for your sacrifice!

Email me to see how inexpensive it is to protect you family's future!

What's Important to Hoosier Families? (blog post)

Google trends is a pretty cool feature on Google.  If you've never used it, you should check it out.  You go to Google Trends online and type in a search term and region (like Indiana) and Zoweee! It tells you the volume of Hoosier searches on that topic.  Cool stuff, indeed. 

Well, today I google trended "Life Insurance" as well as home, auto, and health insurance ... do you know that home, auto, and health did not have enough searches in the last 30 days to show up on this trend counter but life insurance was on evereyone's minds.

I also noticed that there was very little searching for life insurance on Sunday, it was mainly done during the work week.  Perhaps it is our daily interactions at work that make us feel our mortality or maybe we just have more free time at work than at home.  Anyway I thought that was interesting.

I also think it is interesting that the most important and complicated insurance there is is the only one that had enough people searching online for it to even register on Google Trends.  Shouldn't we talk to a real live person about the important stuff?  Can we trust Wikipedia for the really important stuff?  I don't, I try to find people that are experts and discuss my options with them.  Online experts don't have to look you in the eye (neither do the TV experts) so they don't suffer if their advice is not right for you.

Life insurance is an important topic in Indiana (more so than any other insurance type) so call an Agent to get your questions answered, because they will see you at Walmart and CVS each week and that makes them (including me) much more motivated to tell you the best information you can get.