The TK Advisor -TK Financial Group Ottawa Blog about Life Insurance, Critical Illness Insurance, Wealth Management and Estate Planning

Life lessons that sometimes take too long to learn !

Some people are so busy to get to some point or goal that they forgot to live . Demands on our time are enormous : family , business , community involvement , friends and a million of other things in the course of a day . I remember many years a go reading books on life balance and seeing a circle with perfect pieces divided on all things we need to have in balance : spiritual , personal , family , health ... Unfortunately that perfect division in the circle does not exist in my experience . Sometimes health piece is bigger other times work . Life is about striking a balance but do not be discouraged because it is never perfect nor was it ever meant to be !

Life lessons that sometimes take too long to learn !

Some people are so busy to get to some point or goal that they forgot to live . Demands on our time are enormous : family , business , community involvement , friends and a million of other things in the course of a day . I remember many years a go reading books on life balance and seeing a circle with perfect pieces divided on all things we need to have in balance : spiritual , personal , family , health ... Unfortunately that perfect division in the circle does not exist in my experience . Sometimes health piece is bigger other times work . Life is about striking a balance but do not be discouraged because it is never perfect nor was it ever meant to be !

Lessons we learn !

I wish there was a easy method to teach our kids about the world . Some say that they need to learn on their own and that is best way to learn . I think best way to learn is by learning from others because some lessons are just too painful . One lesson I want my kids to learn is that not everyone that you think is your friend . I also want them to know that investing in meaningful relationships is worth the effort . I also want them to know " taking care of yourself is not selfish " . I want my kids to know that true strength has to come from inside and build it ! I want my kids to know to be kind to people and you never know the pain they are going through so do not judge . Most of all I want my kids to leave a footprint in the world so that others benefit in some way because they cared to give of themselves .

New Year 2012 !

What are you going to do for yourself this year ? What is important in life ? Who matters to you ? Why do you want to change things ? What is the real price of doing same things you have been doing ? How is your health ? How is your family ? How are your friends ? How is your career ? What dreams do you have ? How are your finances ? Never assume that you are alone on this journey ! Go create your plan and live life fully ! God Bless !

Do you respond to voicemail and email messages ?

Business etiquette is something that is badly lacking with some people and I wonder why . Treating people with common courtesy like responding to a phone message or email to me seams like a common action as breathing . Do people really feel that they are that busy or too important to reply ? Maybe I am missing the boat and should accept these people as "special " . I am a connected individual and relationships are very important in my personal as well as business life . The world is a big place and there are many professional people who better deserve our attention so I say good bye to those that choose to be in my opinion rude !

Why relationships are important !

We humans were not created to be alone . Relationships came in many forms and they change over time . Some relationships are meant to last while others were not . Personal relationships are important but I find sometimes they are hard to maintain . We are all busy and decisions as to where we devote our time dictate which relationships last . I believe for any relationship to work there has to be a give and take . I decided to end a friendship and reason was because it was going as long as I was able to accommodate my friends schedule . Business relationships can start as that and evolve into a personal relationship . Respect or lack of respect in my view is a basis if a relationship should continue . Strong relationships make life enjoyable !

Take time to stop and look at your personal and professional life !

Have you ever read a book that was written to teach you about balance in life and a picture of a pie chart with perfect divisions to show a balanced life . I use to try real hard to get that perfect balance and realized I could never achieve it as always there were one or two areas dominating my life . I enjoy going away and just having time to think and look at my life . I also find that being grateful is a good thing and looking at life with optimism helps a great deal . Life continues to be as they say work in progress and a adventure . There is no magic formula and you need to make your own . Enjoy life in the here and now !

What do you stand for ?

All our lives we have experiences that are both good and bad . I see and know many people and the ones that I resonate to are those that have principals as well as know what they stand for . When I was 21 I thought I had it all figured out and then real life came along beyond being a football player and university student . I had principals that have stayed with me for life which have been my guiding light . I now am working to pass some of these to my son as well as people I mentor . Honesty , compassion , seeing things from other person's eyes , take care of people the way I want to be taken care of and controlling my ego . Also belief in God has pulled me from some very difficult situations and dropping to my knees to pray is a good thing . What do you stand for ?

What are you known for and how is your brand ?

In the last 31 years I have met thousands of people through my personal , community and business involvement . I was talking with a friend and he asked how do people know me which surprised me . Do they know me as a : father of 3 ? specialist in estater/insurance planning ? football coach ? soccer coach ? contributor to charities ? connector ? caring ? passionate ? driven ? kind ? CEO of a company ? business partner ? Professional football player ? How well does anyone really know another person is the question . I am careful to protect my brand in any way I can because it took me a lifetime to build and can take a second to ruin . Sometime people get asked to get connected to me on linked in and I am very selective who I accept . I am sure I upset some people when I explain that I only accept people I know well mand or have done business with .

What do you want to do the rest of your life ?

Just got a call from a client whose 33 year old friend went to a hospital with a sore neck and they performed a cat scan to find 6 tumours in his neck . Being in the insurance business over the last 30 years I have seen some not so good things which happen to good people . The question is , if you knew you had say 15 years to live or even 5 years what would you do in those years . Unfortunately we rarely ask ourselves these questions and we continue to live our hectic lives . I am blessed to have close relationships with most of my clients and I know they are asking themselves at times this same question . When I had a health setback 3 years a go all of a sudden life did not seam like a eternity anymore . I do not make the decisions the same way and some day is not in my vocabulary . I urge you all to stop and think what are the 3 most important goals for your life beyond simply surviving which for some it is a reality as well !