This is part five in a series about Why I became an Insurance Agent; read part one. Now, you’ll see how Insurance Agents’ careers are rewarding in many ways.
Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to do something so incredibly good for someone that it impacted them in a life-changing way? Maybe heart surgeons, or firefighters, or POTUS issuing pardons get to have these rare and rewarding experiences.
Growing up, I wanted to be a doctor. I hadn’t experienced any traumatic event that enamored me to the medical profession. I just wanted to help people in life-changing ways, and the idea of doing that as a doctor fueled the aspiration. No one in my family tree had worked in the medical profession. I didn’t know any doctors or nurses personally. Becoming a doctor just seemed like the best way – the most impactful way to make a difference and help people in meaningful ways they couldn’t help themselves.
Not really doing anything to forward my dream, I just fanaticized about it, only thinking about the end result and never considering the required schooling, costs, GPA, internship, debt, and long-term commitment. Then, as a sophomore in HS Health Class, I faced my first dose of medical reality. We watched a film about the birth of a human baby. It wasn’t interesting to me. And it wasn’t encouraging toward a life in the medical field. I almost threw up – probably would have if I hadn’t almost passed out. I sheepishly closed my eyes to protect myself from an embarrassing moment.
From that day forward, I knew I couldn’t be a doctor. The sight of blood and the thought of surgery freaked me out and made me nauseous. Having given up on becoming a medical physician, I thought I’d do something a lot less impactful; something much “safer.”
Insurance Agents’ Careers Are Rewarding
I let go of the “life-changing-profession” dream and started settling on something more pedestrian, more vanilla. With the doctor dream gone, I lost enthusiasm for being able to make my mark on the world. Instead, an accountant, a software engineer, a car salesman, an architect – now those sounded like “safe” jobs. No queasiness, no fainting, low risk – these were the kind of jobs for me! But with the low risk came the loss of the chance to change the world – or so I thought.
As discussed earlier in this series, I had met a man when I was 21 years old and became friends with him. Jerry was more than three times my age. He taught me more by example than by instruction and showed me that there was another way to have a deep impact (like a doctor) on people with the right career.
Jerry was a life-long insurance agent. Dozens, maybe hundreds of lives and in turn, their children and grandchildren had experienced life-changing moments of help because of Jerry’s profession. As I learned more, my heart swelled, the hopes previously shattered were brought back together. I was on my way to becoming an insurance agent “physician!”
The analogies are many between medical doctors and “insurance agent physicians!” They both consult with their clients, make critical assessments, diagnose problems that sometimes require surgery. They both treat problems, create sustainable treatment plans, and minimize risks. Both prescribe antidotes to existing and future maladies, advise their clients with the best course of action and encourage best practices to get the most out of the diagnosis and treatment. They both promote the best courses of action – not the cheapest – the course that will provide the best benefit for the situation. Both physicians and insurance agents address client concerns, keep up-to-date on the newest threats and remedies, and develop life-long relationships of trust and friendship. And sometimes, in critical situations, they both save lives!
I didn’t come close to practicing medicine in a hospital, and I still get a little light-headed at the sight of blood. But for more than 30 years, I’ve practiced being an “insurance agent physician.” In that practice, I’ve given hundreds of checks (healing care) to my clients (patients) with drowning bathrooms, burnt kitchens, stolen cars, broken arms and legs, blown-over fences and trees, total losses of homes, stolen jewelry, and even in a few heart-breaking incidents of unforeseen deaths.
I may not have been responsible for reviving a stopped pulse, but I have added hope and life in places where hope was lost, and life seemed lifeless.
But I found that Insurance Agents’ Careers are Rewarding.
It’s true what they say – about the unmatched feeling of good that you get when you’re involved in something incredible for someone, and it impacts them in life-changing ways! As an “insurance agent physician,” I get to have that incredible feeling every week. And I wouldn’t ever want to trade my pen for a scalpel.
Learn more about the benefits of becoming an insurance agent.
