Leaving Your Legacy

With September being Life Insurance Awareness Month, and October being Estate Planning Month, the topic of Legacy should be an essential part of your discussions with clients. Preparing for an untimely death and having personal beliefs and values to pass down to the next generation is a topic that I unfortunately am all too familiar with.

As many of you know, Asset was started in 1996 by my dad, Rick Metcalfe. He was an extremely successful sales rep for New York Life, but when he saw an opportunity to do something more he started Asset Marketing and began teaching others how to be successful selling insurance products. He was an innovator in the industry. He built a respected marketing organization and became a legend in the business.

Sadly, I lost my father in a tragic boating accident on the Colorado River. My Dad, my mentor, my inspiration, was gone…just like that. I was 20 years old and it was devastating to say the least. There was so much we planned together, and so much he was going to teach me.

Fortunately for our family, the very thing we encourage our clients to address is something my Dad was able to provide…a Legacy. Not only did he have the necessary life insurance in place to allow us to continue our lives, but he also left our family with purpose, goals and values to live by…a true Legacy.

Although we went through some tough times, the gifts my Dad passed on as an example in his life helped me build my future, and will continue to do so. Faith, passion for this career, hard work, a culture of sharing, and most importantly a genuine care for his family, both at home and our extended work family, is my Dad’s Legacy.

Besides having the proper financial products in place, having a solid estate plan with all the necessary documents is essential for a family when a loved one passes. Asset Marketing provides advisors with a tool to make this part of a client’s legacy planning easy and affordable. The Estate Documents Pro platform affords an opportunity to have this conversation.

Of equal importance is the written Legacy of purpose, values, and goals. No matter how busy he was, my Dad always made time to be there for me and my brothers. He went to all my games and never missed one of my special events. He was there to instruct me, comfort me, and advise me on everything I did. Over the years, I began to realize that my dad’s focus on family was the reason why his business was so successful. That same dedication to his own family expanded to include his clients. They were all family to him and they admired him for it. He genuinely cared about his clients, and they trusted him to take care of them.

I want to share one more story with you. When I was 14 I remember going into my dad’s office at home, and seeing him write in a little black notebook.   I asked what he was writing. He told me that every day he writes down his goals and affirmations to help him stay positive and keep his focus on what’s important.

I have a framed notebook page from my Dad’s goal book in my office. It reminds me of what my dad wanted for all of us.     On that page are his top two goals: The first goal says, “I am the best dad.” …. Not only did he achieve that goal. . . he exceeded it. The second goal says “AMS is a Great Company.”

So what makes a company great? Good systems, good marketing, good products? Like my dad, I think the true greatness of a company comes from its core values, and “Family First” is what I want Asset to stand for.   I believe this is what sets us apart from other FMOs. This is the Legacy I want to continue.