When you’re making an important life decision, such as thinking about retirement.  You want to make sure that you’re making informed decisions.  It is imperative that you understand the DOs and DON’Ts of retirement.    

Our job as an agent is to really understand what your needs and goals are, when you are making a retirement plan.  One of our goals is to take longevity risk out of your retirement scenario.  What does that mean?  It means that we want to make sure that you don’t outlive the money that you worked your whole lives to save.  (Believe me, the fear of outliving your money is ranked high on the list of retirement fears that people have).  There are ways to take this fear off the table and live retirement in peace.  Education is key.

This is why Safeguard Insurance has invested in a third party resource, called Retire Happy U!, that will educate you on important retirement issues.  The subject matter is taught by retirement expert, Tom Hegna, and includes maximizing social security benefits, making a retirement plan, protecting your savings from inflation, and more.  This is a free resource to you.  This course is good for anyone (any age) that wants to learn about retirement or for someone that is thinking of retiring soon.   

​ Once you complete Retire Happy U!, retirement will seem more understandable and Safeguard will be there to help you with these important life decisions.  

Do you ever think about the reason that you are here?  What is your purpose?  We are all put here for a reason.  If you're anything like me, I seldom think about things like this.  That is unless I read something that resonates with me and makes me go down that path.

Tonight while reading the book, by Thibaut Meurisse called Success: Why you fail when others succeed, I read a passage that made me pause.  It said, "If you could use a time machine and go back in time or into the future, your life purpose would remain the same."  That started me thinking, "so what is MY life's purpose?"  Then it just kind of popped into my head without too much thought.  My purpose in life has always been to help people.  I truly believe that to be the case.  I have always reached out to try to help anyone in need and all those experiences make me think that I was destined to find a job where helping is key.  The majority of the time, in my job as an insurance agent, I work to help people find a solution to a problem. 

I know that some people don't like or trust insurance agents (or salespeople in general) and there are instances where that is warranted.  As in any profession, sometimes a rotten apple comes along and makes the whole basket look bad.  But I see it differently.  I think being an insurance agent is an opportunity.  It's an opportunity to really and truly help people on a bigger scale.   Sometimes people come looking for an agent when they've experienced some kind of trouble.  They are in a bind, because they tried to enroll online, then it didn't work out favorably or they trusted the wrong person who unknowingly gave bad advise (or the person selling just didn't have their interests at heart).   It happens.   On the whole, most insurance agents are good people.  

As insurance agents, we have to earn money or else we can't keep a roof over our head or food in our bellies.  But money shouldn't be the driving motivator.  I guess that's why I'll never be rich and that's okay.  But at the end of the day, money is only money and I get a lot of excitement and joy when I know that I helped someone and put them on the right path.  I experience a sense of fulfillment.  

They say do what you love and most days I really do love what I do.  I feel like I'm doing what I was meant to do.  Do I still have a ways to go?  Yes, absolutely; but who doesn't.  I get up every day with the intentions of learning more, improving my skills, and becoming who I am meant to be.

So if you are still searching for your purpose, figure out what allows you to reach your full potential.  In other words, what makes you happy?  Then figure out how you can make money doing it. 

Real success isn't measured in money or fame.  Both are fleeting.  Real success is in the fulfillment.