New beginning, for an old dude!

At the start of each year we all kind of take stock.  I look back at what I've accomplished, and what I failed to accomplish.  I also look forward at what needs to change and what I want to make better in my life.  We all do that to some degree, don't we?

Sometimes it's more a function of what really works and what is most practical.  My friend Else sent me this week's picture.  Her friends all had their iphones with their Otterboxes to protect them in the rain and she has a nondescript phone in a ziplock baggy!  We joked about it being a redneck Otterbox but in truth it is a wise use of her resources for a tool that will be out dated before she can graduate college and find a job that will pay her enough to afford the iphone in the first place.  That's sort of what I've done this new year.

I left the insurance agency I was with to join one that will offer me greater opportunity to help people find the right policy for the right price.  I now have 20 or 30 different companies to write insurance through, not just one.  So now I can focus in on what a person needs not what I can insure ('cause now I can insure it all).

Life insurance, commercial policies, homeowners, auto policies ... coal trucks, restaurants  homes, antique autos, and just about anyone's life.  Better products, better prices, and most importantly better coverage.  

Yes this year I'm making the best use of my resources and I'm using those resources to help my friends and family insure the things they own.  So, call me for you insurance needs at 812-384-3575 for my Bloomfield office or 812-847-8141 to reach my Linton office.

I hope your new year inspires you to make the most of what you've got and perhaps create a unique style all your own.  See you soon!

Life insurance is more important than any other type of policy, let's talk about why!

Happy Hallowen!

Halloween isn't my favorite holiday but we usually have fun with the neighborhood during the night.  We get 300 plus kids at our house for trick or treats and while we know many of them we get a lot that are total strangers.

The funniest ones are the teenagers that are too old to be trick or treating and don't even have a costume on, they walk around with a sack looking to get candy from the neighborhood houses.  The funny thing is that they don't even look like they are enjoying it.  The uncostumed "too old to be doing this" teens look like they just lost their best friend.  Of course I know they didn't just lose their best friend because they are standing right there next to them.

Our favorites are the young kids that we know, they show up with super hero costumes on or princess costumes or funny ones with a mask.  Best of all is when you say "oh my who is this?"  and the kids pulls up their mask and with a sly grin says, " it's just  me!"  How cool is that?  More than the pursuit of candy, the youngest kids are really wanting everyone to see that behind the mask, it's just them.  Perhaps those sad teens have forgotten that the candy is not nearly as sweet as your neighbors knowing that you and your parents have turned ordinary you into a believable super hero, princess, ghoul or other creature.

Every year my family and I carve pumpkins and as my kids got older they started liking it less and less, but I like just as much now as I did when I was really young.  Maybe I didn't like it when I was a teenager, I don't recall, but right now I really enjoy it because it gives me a chance to show my neighbors that I and my family have turned an ordinary pumpkin into a really cool super hero.

Happy Halloween.

J

Call me for an insurance quote!

One sad Day!

You know this business is great!  Everyday I get to help people protect themselves from disaster.  Insurance is there to stop a loss from being total.  Everyone wants maximum coverage for the minimum premium but, in general we all know that insurance is a necessary part of life that will someday help us out.  However, one type of policy is more important than any other. 

Here's a quick story about a man named William Pettry, who flew to Jacksonville Florida Friday, October 5th to watch his favorite team play, the Bears.  That Sunday at a local bar in Jacksonville William was murdered in an unthinkable way.  He was stabbed to death right in the middle of the bar.  Now they caught the guy right away and have a confession but that won't help Mrs. Pettry.

You see William leaves behind a wife and three young children and no income.  Mrs. Pettry will struggle to pay the funeral costs but that is just he beginning because William's contractor business will not continue to make money without him there and they had no life insurance on William.  Mrs. Pettry is a stay at home mom that takes care of 3 young kids, so now she has to leave her kids, get a job, and pay child care to make ends meet, because he husband's income will no longer be there.  Not only will he not be there to see his kids grow up, take them to the doctor, play baseball with them, hug his wife when she has had a bad day, fix the toilet, and all the other things he did but his current and future income is all gone!

If William had just spent a couple of dollars a day on a term life policy, his family would not have to worry where next week's mortgage payment was coming from.  Don't put your family in this position!  Life insurance is cheap!  It's important! and you need to get some!  Call an agent that you trust and buy a policy today! 

J

Ask me for a quote!

Is that pumpkin head mooning me?

I was driving to work the other day and ... well let me just say that I wasn't sleeping or anything, but it was early and when I passed this scene and I really wasn't sure that I saw what I saw.

So I whipped the truck around and snapped a photo, and to tell the truth I didn't even realize until after I took the picture that the second pumpkin head was flashing her chest at me! 

In one day I was mooned by one pumpkin headed scarecrow and had another flash her chest at me, and all this was before eight in the morning.

Ordinarily I would have taken away some deeper meaning from the experience, but on this day all I could do is laugh.  So the next time you see a pumpkin headed flasher be sure and honk so they know you seen them!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Here's my ad ... STOP! You've been putting off buying life insurance and your family is at risk!  Click here and send me an email; see how simple and affordable term coverage can be.

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!

Don't bother ducking the rock is still going to hit you!

Sometimes the world weighs heavy on you and sometimes it just crashes down on your head like a ton of rock!

If you are lowly in authority these heavy weights are different than those experienced by people that wear a mantel of authority.  Not better or worse, tougher or easier, just different.

I can say this because I've felt the pressure from both sides.  Today as I write this I am thinking of the trials I'm in the middle of right now and at this time and in this place I have some measure of authority and responsibility.

No matter what the issue that you are dealing with as a leader, someone will second guess you ... most often it is you that starts the second guessing.  However, others are soon there to point out any questionable decision, thought, action or word you have ever had, whether it is relevant or not.  Somehow, the things you say and do are more of an issue than people without responsibility.  Somehow, the folks who don't make the hard decisions know all the answers and are very confident in telling you what those answers are.

I'm not sure why they don't just take up the reigns and take charge, but at least they are here to tell me when I am wrong.

But ... I'll tell you this, after being pummeled for a while you develop a thick skin, and that helps you to see truth more clearly than ever.  Mistakes and all, you have to own all that you are, in order to effect change and lead people ... you are right, wrong, good, bad, slow, fast, but most of all you are a leader.

So shake off the falling rocks, and brush the dust out of your eyes, and take responsibility for your decisions while you hold other accountable.

Don't risk everything ... email me for a quote on life Insurance!