We would all like to think that our life's projects can simply be 'one and done'. Last year, the street in front of our home was torn up during the entire summer as sewer pipes, water pipes, wiring and electrical hidden underneath the pavement of our street was replaced. We literally lived with a mud bog in the front of our house for three months. Once this project was completed, we were told our street wouldn't need any work done on it for the next 100 years. Yet, here I am today and our street boulevard is being torn up anew to install new high speed optical fibers. That's the way it is with life. Let's have a discussion of your life and thoughts about the concept of 'one and done'.

Grapevines have been plagued by pests that can leave a vineyard void of fruit. Olive trees has been dying in many countries due to pests and disease that has killed off entire hillsides. Have you felt that same frustration with your 401(k), IRA or other retirement account? Specialized grafting has saved many vineyards and olive groves. Could a graft of a whole life insurance policy into your plan help your retirement account sustain itself, to not only survive but to thrive? Mark Bertrang, the author of Investments Don't Hug: Embracing the Life Insurance Asset discusses the grafting of a whole life insurance policy to your overall retirement planning to counter the financial pests and disease that your retirement maybe suffering from.

Words can be confusing. Why? Sometimes we simply don't speak the same language. During a recent trip to southern Italy, this became very clear to me. Sometimes just holding up the wrong fingers during a simple conversation can confuse one another. So, why is it that when both speakers are speaking English, there can still be confusion? They're both speaking the same language, yet there's a misunderstanding of their communication. We can all suffer from language misunderstandings.

You've heard of the story about the Achilles Heel or a Glass Jaw. Today, Mark Bertrang shares the story about The Glass Bull. Decades ago, Mark purchased this bull in the village of Murano on an outlying island of Venice, Italy. A small group of world class glass factories are located there, where handblown works of art are produced. Mark carried this bull throughout Italy fearful it would break. It didn't. Yet as it was then, it is still a fragile piece that helps to tell a story of beauty and venerability today.

There are those folks who sit in the stands or armchair quarterback from their mancave. Yet, to win you actually have to get off your duff and get into the game. Playing is oftentimes difficult. It takes training, practicing and endurance. That's why most of us simply sit in our overstuffed Lazy-boys and yell at our big screen televisions after each play of the game. For some, money is also a game. Are you watching or are you 'in the game'? Are you waiting for an outcome or are you working toward your outcome?

You may live in a world of scarcity or a world of abundance. Often, we choose the world in which we live, because of our own upbringing. We bring our own circumstances to the world that we live in. Many believe that their world is out of their control and sometimes it is; but maybe our mind limits us more than our own individual circumstances. Mark Bertrang uses a simple story about dryer sheets when you do your laundry to explore the possibilities of prosperity-thinking in your life.

People talk about 'averages' as if they actually live in an average world, where everything plays out in average-ways. Is that really how life works? Do you want to be average or are you an Outlier, who wants to live in a non-average world, a world full of possibilities which aren't average, but are unique? Let's discuss averages, outliers, your life and the options to live a more impactful life using the Life Insurance Asset in a non-average way.

I was scrolling through my Facebook feed recently and saw this post from a client and friend of mine, lamenting on how his four-year-old refrigerator died. It was brand new in 2018 at a cost of $1,900. He and his family had to move all of it contents to a nearly thirty-year-old refrigerator in their basement that has now outlasted two modern refrigerators. He went on to say - "The new stuff just sucks when it comes to reliability." Do you ever feel that way.? I know I do. This is a perfect example of what I have seen for the past thirty-five plus years in the life insurance industry. The advertisements are always trying to sell you the new and the improved, when all you really want is something that simply lasts the test of time. Here's my take on what lasts.

In the mid-1960s Michael Caine starred in a British comedy/drama title: Alfie. It might be better known by the question which was also part of its title and a song which became famous by Dionne Warwick - "What's it all about?". Today is Mark Bertrang's birthday and it is not unusually for each of us to ask this same question of ourselves. Mark shares an intimate story of what he believes his calling is all about.

: If you research down through the ages, you can actually see how your simple cup of morning Joe has been maligned. Coffee was thought to make you weak, lazy and of questionable value. Coffee? This simply tells of a then popular opinion before people actually knew the facts. Some of these researched opinions were still considered valid as little as thirty years ago. Think how your days would be different without your morning brew. The same might be said regarding owning a portfolio of quality mutual insurance company whole life insurance. It's unfortunate that most consumers have not had the benefits and the actual uses of this time-tested product. Businesses know how it works. Banks know how it works. Individuals need to understand and make the decision for themselves on how to maximize their own 'living' with this unique asset which can provide safety and liquidity for emergencies and opportunities.