You are what you read
It’s been said that twenty years from now, in a reflective moment of self-evaluation, it will occur to you that the biggest impact on your own personal growth and development resulted primarily from 2 things: the people you met and the books you read.
I make it a point to ask successful clients, mentors and other people I admire what books made an impact in their lives - and along the way some wonderful gems have reached the summit of my bookshelf.
When people ask me to recommend a good self-help book, I tell them about a great one that was originally recommended to me by a special mentor: "How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling".
Why I’m not an astronaut
Reading time: 90 seconds
People often ask me why I chose this profession. Truth is, it really chose me.
A short radio ad recorded with my client and friend Gord Stellick tells the story best. Listen here.
Long Term Care - Short Term Broke
There is a 50% probability that you will need some form of long term care (home care or facility care) in your lifetime.
A recent poll by Leger Marketing on behalf of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA), reported that 74 per cent of Canadians have no financial plan to pay for long-term care.
CLHIA estimates a cost of almost $1.2 trillion ($1,200,000,000,000) to provide long-term care to the baby boomer generation as they pass through old age (those baby boomers started turning 65 last year!)
A Tale of Two Sisters - Powers of Attorney
Despite the fact that everyone knows the importance of having a current and up-to-date will and powers of attorney most people don’t think about their wills until the day before leaving on vacation. A recent survey of 544,000 Canadians with assets exceeding $1.5 Million reported that only 40% have a will and 80% of those wills are not up to date. Where do you fit?
In addition to the will, everyone needs to complete two (not just one) Powers of Attorney:
- Continuing Power of Attorney for Property - You name someone to make financial decisions for you, such as paying your bills, managing your investments, etc.
- Continuing Power of Attorney for Personal Care - You name someone to make personal care and health decisions such as where you live, what you eat or what medical care you will receive if you get sick or injured
W. Brett Wilson - the Dragon spoke!
Brett Wilson was the keynote speaker at a luncheon I recently attended in downtown Toronto. The event was hosted by Canoe Financial of which he is a principal. Do you remember Brett from Dragon’s Den? He was the mensch. (His personal website is refreshingly different and really interesting)
He shared his personal story and it turns out he is genuinely a self-made nice guy.
Brett’s advice to university students (and in all likelihood to us mature people J) resonated with me on 3 key messages:
Jack's Story - Part 2
Happy and HEALTHY 2013
Here’s an update to Jack’s Story, a post from November 19th .
Jack’s three children don’t get along at all. They live in different cities in the U.S. and Europe, with nothing in common but DNA. They are the very model of a dysfunctional family, unable to agree on anything, including the time of day.
Insurance for the UNinsurable
It’s no secret: the people who need insurance the most usually can’t get it.
There are many reasons for insurance underwriters to just say no: the applicant is too old, too short for their weight, has a poor personal or family health history, a criminal background, exotic travel, a passion for dangerous sports, etc.
It isn’t discrimination, just sensible business practice for the insurance companies who would obviously prefer to insure very healthy people in excellent shape with perfect genes who are least likely to get sick. They get to choose their risks, knowing they will lose money if they pay out too many claims.
What a coincidence...ANNUITIES are suddenly a hot topic!
As a member of the Estate Planning Council of Toronto I have the pleasure of sharing ideas and best practices with professional colleagues at our monthly meetings downtown. My personal highlight of the meeting last week was a presentation by Paul Goldstein, a living legend in the Canadian insurance industry.
Paul is a Holocaust survivor with a distinguished 46 year (forty six!) career, decorated frequently with numerous awards and recognition from insurance companies and peers: he is an innovator, educator and top producer. For more than 30 years Paul has consistently qualified for the Million Dollar Round Table's Top of the Table, a select group of less than 1% of all insurance advisors worldwide.
On a personal note…my own accolades… Paul has been my close friend, inspiration and personal mentor for several years. I often discuss the importance of mentors with advisors at my presentations and look forward to sharing with you the story how I pursued Paul and how we first met in a future blog post.
Lost and FOUND - Jack’s Story
Back in the early 1990s, when I was just getting started in my career, Jack was already a retired entrepreneur and senior citizen.
We met through a mutual acquaintance (my late mother of blessed memory), and soon became friends. Jack was an active widower with grown up children and grandchildren who didn’t live in Toronto.
I remember accompanying him to his bank branch where he introduced me to the bank manager. They added me to the approved list for access to his safety deposit in case something happened.
Huge Changes
The life insurance industry in Canada is undergoing huge changes while attracting little mainstream news coverage.
RBC Insurance recently cancelled their distribution contracts with most of their Managing General Agencies (MGAs). They went from 83 MGAs to just 14.
Most Canadians are unaware of their ultimate tax liabilities
Most Canadians are unaware of their ultimate tax liabilities.
Does that include you?
Have you and your spouse been fortunate enough to accumulate substantial savings in RSPs? Did you roll your RSPs into a RIF? Did you know that 46% of those hard-earned retirement savings will be taxed on the second death of you and your spouse? In other words, your estate will pay the government $460,000 on $1 million of retirement savings.
105-year-old Toronto woman forced to wait 10 years for long-term care told to wait two more
What worries the wealthy?
Welcome to My Blog
I want to personally welcome you to my blog. The purpose of this blog is to provide readers with my professional insights and observations coupled with the latest industry information to keep you informed. This is where you can have your own questions answered to help you make well informed decisions to protect yourself and those you love.
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Take care,