Remind Me Why I Chose This Career Again?

I don't think anyone wakes up one morning and says, "You know what? I wanna sell Insurance for a living!" When children in kindergarten are asked by their teacher, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Has any child in history ever proclaimed "I want to be an insurance agent!"?? Not any child that I've ever heard of. In fact if there ever was one, I'm sure he was quickly chosen for a stoning afterwards. So when I ask myself why I suddenly decided to get into this industry, my mind quickly races to "money!" After all if you become good at this business there's an abundance of it.

Let me give you some background about myself, I grew up in a very religious Jewish home, with parents of New York descent that were extremely indecisive about where to live. I grew up in a number of different states, and also in the land of Israel. I never minded not having roots, I have always considered myself a very well adjusted child, one that could make friends in a desert. At least that's what my dad likes to say, and you know what? It's probably true. I enjoy the company of people, in fact people have always been my passion. I enjoy starting random conversations with people in an elevator. I ravish in checking out what's in someone's grocery cart, so I can lure the person in front of me at the checkout line into an interchange. I always seem to have an ear open to outside conversing of random people so I can possibly interconnect. Actually that's pretty much how I met my wonderful and very supportive soul mate. Believe me when I say in this industry you need all the support you can get! I pretty much am a closeted yenta as well, probably the Jewish New yorker side I've inherited from my parents.

Many would say I definitely do not have the characteristics of a typical insurance agent. For one I have no background in finance, and numbers, especially BIG numbers are not my friends. I am not the most assertive, organized or money driven person, definitely personality traits that are essential to this business. Paying my bills and improving my financial situation definitely provoke my morning wake ups, yet I find it hard to get up at times. This job has the ability to leave you feeling beaten up, sometimes so badly that laying on the floor just seems more appealing than making cold calls.

To my dismay I had to move back in with my parents at age 30 (I'm 31 now) since I couldn't afford to be on my own at this point of my new career. Please don't get me wrong, my family is very pleasant to be around, and not having to pay rent doesn't hurt either.

So what really keeps my train choo choo-chooing, you ask? I guess I'm hoping to be of some help to people. I want to feel like I'm really giving people the protection they need, and get paid really well for it. I mean there shouldn't really be a price on protecting your family in case of an untimely death, right?

If you were wondering what I was doing for a living before I came upon this "very bumpy start industry," I was actually working with Autistic children. You would think a job that is so high in demand right now would pay more than minimum wage. Unfortunately you're only paid extremely well in gratitude, and alas I am not Mother Teresa.

Since I so enjoy complaining, and making jokes about my career choice, I have decided to share it with an audience who feels as much frustration as I do from an industry that sells a product that everyone needs yet no one wants. I will be writing about unsatisfied customers, quirky prospects, my sales pitches and endeavors, and definitely about my many failures and very little successes. So please feel free to sit back and watch the show....

“There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?”
~Woody Allen