Planning For Your Life

As I look back on my life it seems obvious that I should have always been a teacher. I was on that track as a graduate student in Philosophy. What do you do with a degree in Philosophy? You teach…Philosophy!

Unfortunately for me, I woke up one day in 1975 and said to myself, “what could I do with a degree in Philosophy? Teach? Do I want to do that? I don’t think so.”

It seems simple enough until you realize, with a lifetime of experience, that you should have been a teacher.

I justify this decision by saying that I was a teacher for the last 22 years. I built my business by doing workshops at companies and adult education classes. I always liked getting up in front of people, even though I am private with most people.

As I have been making this transition from Financial Planner to Middle School Teacher I have begun to reflect on what I have to contribute.

1. I love people. I am genuinely interested in who you are.
   
2. I quickly adapt to my circumstances. I can assess and adjust to let people know that I am with them.
   
3. I know that every person is unique, important and worthy. Everyone wants to excel at something.
   
4. I know that people learn in different ways. Not everyone will understand.
   
5. I know that it is more important to learn how to learn than learn to remember. Know that you can acquire any skill, learn any language, and achieve any goal if you know how to learn.
   
6. I know that if I can reach just one child every year that I will have fulfilled on my destiny.
   

Like most of you, I want to make a difference. We all want to leave some kind of mark, some legacy, even if it is just with our family. We want to be remembered, as a way to keep ourselves alive a little longer.

If you’ve raised children you have already left a legacy. How will your children remember you? How will they relate to you? Whatever it is, you have left your imprint on them.

If you have built a business you have already left a legacy. How will the employees remember you? How will your customers remember you? How will your community remember you?

If you have worked in any profession that requires human contact you have left a legacy. How will you be remembered?

The larger personal goal, yet to be realized, is to know that you have made a difference, that you have made an impression, that you got through to someone, that you connect to people in a way that makes life better for you and them.

With your help I can accomplish this goal. I really would like your assistance in my endeavor by introducing me to any teachers or principals that you know in the Raleigh/Durham area. Any advice you have that you think would help me, please email me so we can set up a time to talk.

I know that I am needed and wanted out there and I look forward to stepping out.

Marc

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Today I sold my securities business to Ameriprise Financial. I also had a talk tonight with the Raleigh Industrial Engineering Society.

It was an interesting day.

I have been working as a financial planner for almost 22 years. I started out because I was unemployed. I was laid off from a job as an office manager for Patsy Aiken Designs. Patsy’s husband Joel ran the office and had designed his own accounting program in Microsoft Access.

I had some experience with Access and felt that I could master his “simple” program. I was there 60 days and I don’t think I got one weeks payroll right the whole time. The Aiken’s laid me and two other people, they had hired at the same time as me, off due to limited resources. In other words, they couldn’t afford us and we did not produce any revenue. . . . . .

But I digress!

I got started in this industry by going to a job fair. I don’t remember where it was, but I met some people with a company called Waddell and Reed Financial Services. I remember meeting Steve Stringberg. He was the district manager of the Raleigh office. It was a day that changed my life.

I remember coming home and declaring to my then wife, Karin, that I got a job that day. She said “great, how much are they going to pay you?” I said “nothing, it’s straight commission!”

You could probably fill in the ending to that story.

But I persisted and somehow I managed to make a living at it.

Along the way I met some wonderful people. Some of them I did business with and feel that I honestly helped. Others were great moments to get to know another life traveler and share a little bit of myself.

I just love helping people. I get joy out of doing little things that say “I love you.” Making that physical and psychic connection, even if it is just for a moment, can make a great day out of an OK day.

The many people that I met in seminars, at trade shows and through referrals will always be important to me. They were the basis of my life during this last quarter century.

I don’t mean to sound too “New Age” but I see life as an adventure, something to be enjoyed. I see myself as someone who likes people and likes life and I want people to like me.

The hardest thing for me to get to, in order to make this sale, was the idea that I was letting my clients down. Somehow I was falling short on a promise that I made to some of them, that I would never leave them.

In order to feel that I had done my best I had to find a suitable home for them, and I know that I have with the two planners I found at Ameriprise Financial, David and Adam.

I know that they will be in good hands and that I have done my duty so I can free myself from my own obligation.

I hope, if you are one of those people, that you will give David and Adam an opportunity to share their knowledge with you.

I also shared some of my knowledge tonight with the Raleigh Chapter of the International Industrial Engineering Society.

It is always fun to share my knowledge with people. I did this for my friend Becky Krier. She reminded me, tonight, that we had met at Martin Brossman’s Artists, Healers and Teachers party a few years ago.

They had a small group but there were some good questions and they added some good thoughts along the way. It was an appropriate way to end a day filled with more deep emotion than I have felt in a long time.

So now is a new beginning. I am freeing myself so that I can move forward to what is next.

Some of you know that I am looking at becoming a teacher. This is something I should have been doing my whole adult life. I was on that path at one time in my life, but then, it didn’t feel right.

I am signed up for the NC teach program and am looking at Middle School Social Studies right now.

I am apprehensive but whenever I mention it to anyone they all say “oh, you would be great at that” so I guess I am on the right path.

If you can help me progress in this endeavor in any way, or you just want to share an idea with me, I would love to hear from you. I am truly on a new adventure and will welcome every fellow traveler along the way.

Marc

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Thanks for checking this out. my intention here is to provide you with both information you can use and ideas and thoughts that will get you thinking about what is important in your life.

Feel free to comment on anything you find as I am interested in how things land and what is working both for you and for me.

I am always on the lookout for what’s new and useful so if you have something you think I should share, feel free to let me in on it.

Marc

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