Wisdom a day at a time

The book of James says, almost at the beginning, “if anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives generously to all and it will be given him.

Of course, I can think of three sources for Wisdom. Our experiences, the experiences of others, and the Word of God. When we want to gain it from our own experiences it goes like this “I need to make my own mistakes” which is generally a pretty lame excuse for “I am going to assert my own control of my life here rather than listen to anyone else.” (implication: Yeah I know I shouldn’t but…i really want to do this stupid thing)

Making mistakes because we lack knowledge (and forgot to add the eggs to a cake mix or didn’t know that you don’t hook up the positive cable to the negative post on a battery) is one thing, but doing so simply TO make a mistake is simply foolish.

Anyway, as I said, others and God’s word also provide us with wisdom. As far as God’s word goes, Proverbs is a good source of wisdom and conveniently enough there are 31 chapters in this book. Which means that in many months you can read just one chapter a day and finish the book in 1 month. Try doing that 12 months in the year. Sure you will have to double up in February a few days, but it is worth it.
I imagine, that if you did this, the wisdom would start to sink in a little bit…..Then when you come upon a situation you otherwise wouldn’t have known how to handle, you can say….Thanks to God, I have that covered.

Cold calling phobia?

You know, I have found that cold calling can be a lot of fun if you simply be honest and up front with people. For example, when a person answers the phone, I introduce myself, First AND last name. I don’t know if this gives me any more credibility with them but immediately they know who I am, even if they did not catch the name clearly.
I ask them how they are doing today and most of them respond positively.
Then I tell them “I work as an insurance agent….” no hiding my agenda
and I ask them “Do you shop and compare your insurance policy when it renews or not?”

I do not emphasis the NOT but it certainly gives them the opportunity to say no, they do not. I don’t have to pressure them, I am looking for people who are open, not people I have to badger into doing something.

I have to give credit for much of this technique to Jacques Werth and his “High Probability Selling” process. (Yeah, just Google it) Without his guidance, I still might be trying to talk my way past objections and making the prospect feel not so important.

Cold calling phobia? I got that covered.

What difference can a driver’s education course make?

There are two main reasons why going through the hassle of taking a driver’s education course can be worth it. Most of you will know that a driver’s education course is a way to keep points off your driving record. It does not avoid the cost of the ticket and the class itself cost money too. Some are fairly inexpensive, others are pretty expensive.

The first reason to take the class is because if you do not, you are almost certainly locked into your current carrier. Why? Because when you go to get comparative rates, the new agent will pull your DMV report and Viola! you will be a higher risk than a driver with a clean record. This means you will not get the best rates.  Assuming that you keep a clean record the points will drop off in 3 years.

The second reason is because if you get another incident on your record, your rates will go up! While most companies have what they call ‘accident forgiveness’ and will overlook a first infraction, a second infraction will undoubtedly result in a significant increase.

If your misfortunes happen one after the other, like mine did, you may wish you had paid the $50 for the class when your rates go up $100/month. Of course, your rates will come down in 3 years but wow….that is an expensive decision.

One last thought, minor accidents that are not needing to be reported to the police, and therefore to your insurance company, may be best dealt without reporting it to your insurance company. Avoiding that single report can keep you from even needing to take a class.

Next time you have an accident and someone asks what you are going to do you can say….I have it covered.

Before you say Good bye, kick the bucket, let the curtain fall….

Who wants to think about dying? Really after you have made peace with the fact that you eventually will die, there really are only two things you need to concern yourself about. Your Destiny after this life and those who you leave behind. Fortunately, both of those concerns can be dealt with while you are still among the living. The Eternal destiny is beyond the scope of this blog (though I do blog about things like that-or will once I get another one set up. See my recommended links) However, the concerns about those who you leave behind is definitely within the scope of this blog.

1) Get a will! I don’t care if you are young or old. If you do not have a Last Will and Testament made out there can be confusion for those left behind. Tell those closest to you what is in the Will and why you are leaving that special figurine or pocket knife to this or that niece and nephew. There should not need to be secrets.

2) While you are getting a Will get cheap term life insurance. (Hey! Fancy that, an insurance guy recommending life insurance.) Unless you have a nice pile of money stored away, you can help your loved ones adjust to your passing for very little money. Once you reach 60 and the kids are grown, if you have enough for your burial and to buy off the debts if you die then dump the life insurance. (Hey, I even tell you when you don’t need it!)

These two things can be a big help to those you leave behind. Remember, you can’t take it with you. Naked we came into this world and unless the undertaker clothes us….we will leave the same way.  Take the time to do both of these and whatever you do, if something changes, like a divorce or death of a beneficiary update both your Will and your life insurance…

Do you have that covered?