In 2 days most of us will sit down with our families, our friends, and those who are most important to us and celebrate Thanksgiving dinner. We will share stories, reflect on the past year, discuss what we are most thankful for and we will remember those who we have lost. Its a time of year when we reflect on all that is positive in our life from our friends to our families to our jobs and unplanned opportunities. We take a moment to think about the loved ones we get to share this day with, and remember those who are watching over us from above. We enjoy family traditions, and eat more turkey than we should. For me, and many others it truly is a time of reflection.
Like most of you I will sit at the table and quietly think to myself “WOW, I am a lucky man.” I have a family which I love, 3 kids that that are my life, a wife I adore, a career that I am passionate about and friends who would drop anything to help me if I was in need. As I sit there and reflect and give thanks, none of the things I am truly thankful for are “things.” I don’t give thanks to the car I drive, the TV I watch, the phone I use or any other “thing.” The true blessings in life are my friends and family (keep this in mind).
As I sit there I also stop and think “what if I wasn’t here?” What if something happened to me? Would my family, who I adore be able to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner together? Would they have a roof over their head? What would their life be like if suddenly they lost me?
See I bring this point up to make you think. not to sell you a “product,” but to truly make you think about you and your family. We insure everything in our life – our house, our cars, our boats, the vacation house heck even our cell phones, but we tend to forget about the most important thing US/YOU. Its rewarding to have a nice house, a nice car and a good life style, but when asked what is truly important to you I would imagine those “things” would be at the bottom of the list. Most of you would more than likely say the most important part of your life is your friends and family!
So I ask you this question. If your friends and family are truly the most important part of your life, why do you place their future at risk? You wreck your car you have insurance to fix that, your house catches fire, you have insurance to repair it, you break your phone you have insurance to get a new one – but what if you suddenly die? What if you did not make it home from work today? The number of examples I could give you are endless – but here is what I can tell you.
I am Thankful for a career that has taught me about the importance of planning for the future. I am thankful for mentors and friends in the insurance business that made me realize protecting my families future should be at the top of my priority list, not insuring my iPhone. I am thankful that should something happen to me my wife and my kids will not be financially impacted – they will continue to live in their home, have food on their table, go to school with their friends. Losing me, will be hard enough on my wife and kids so I am thankful they will have time to grieve. No amount of life insurance will bring me back, but what it will do is give them time, and peace, and hope without worry of losing their house, their friends, their way of life etc.
I will close by asking you this – this Thanksgiving as you take time to reflect, what are you truly thankful for and is it protected?