Uncle Hunter’s Wisdom, Some Public Schools are Trash, Are You Sure, Earning a New Client
“Maybe there is no Heaven. Or maybe this is all pure gibberish—a product of the demented imagination of a lazy, drunken hillbilly with a heart full of hate who has found a way to live out where the real winds blow—to sleep late, have fun, get wild, drink whisky, and drive fast on empty streets with nothing in mind except falling in love and not getting arrested . . . Res ipsa loquitur. Let the good times roll.” — Hunter S. Thompson
Thursday, you look fantastic; join me for a cup of coffee while I make some word soup. I bought some Folgers Black Silk yesterday; if you like coffee, find FBS; it might change your life. It’s thick, chunky, and silky. It’s worth a try.
We had a few appointments in the morning, ran our team call, and then headed to Solans Lake to meet our friend Dan. Bailey joined us as well; we arrived and were seated in a greenhouse outside. It was fantastic, another gift from a bat in China. Dan has kids in school; he and his wife are a little upset that their kids are not in school.
His children are suffering; they are not themselves, they can’t socialize with their friends, it’s not a good situation. Dan’s wife attended a school board meeting where the message was “we’re back,” and his wife typed in the comments “Bullshit.” My kids are going in 4 hours a day; they are getting half the regular curriculum, we are not back.
During recent significant snow, the school system sent out an email telling the kids if they could get to the school for one hour, play outside, they would get a full day of credit for attending school. They invited them to come to make snow angels. The teachers union seems to be pushing for more lockdowns, it’s not safe, but we all know it’s just a ruse. Dan has means and will be moving his kids to private school next year.
I think there will be a massive shift from school systems claiming a lack of safety while other schools are wide open. I’ll again tip my hat to my alma mater Monroe Central High School, in Beautiful Parker City, Indiana. They have been
100% in class, full sports, the rural community that built me is not afraid, and the teachers want to teach.
It reminds me of something my friend Izzy shared when they tried to cancel Speedy Gonzalas. He shared a photo and said, “No Mexcian thinks Speedy is racist because we are not pussies.” Infer from this what you will, but I think some are stronger than others when it comes to common sense pandemic management.
We left Dan and Bay and ran a couple of errands. We got home to put in a couple of hours of work; I prepared for my 7:30 group meeting, my wife worked on a new large account she dug up. At 5:00, we headed back down the hill to meet our friends Keith, Kathy, Allie, Steve, and Corina. These are folks we didn’t know a month ago, but after a week at the hot springs, we became family. The community of Conifer is full of lovely, enjoyable, hard-working people.
As we sat down, I haded out stickers and magnets. We are continuing our “are you sure” campaign that was born during the pandemic. The concept is that there is a continuum of comfort when it comes to insurance. Some people love their insurance provider and trust them; others do not have the confidence. Those confidence-lacking individuals are who we target. If you are not sure about the risk management program you have in place, let’s have a conversation.
Keith and I have had many conversations, and he asked, “so what do you do?” I said, “I’m a father, lover, writer, teacher, and small business owner.” He said, “what is your small business?” I said, “We own an independent insurance agency.” He said, “do you do home and auto?” I said we do; Bay manages that in CO; I said, are you confident in your program, he said, “I have no idea who my agent is?” Keith will be joining our family of clients; he will get VIP treatment; the QR Code Are You Sure sticker was the impetus of earning a new client.
We got home about 7:30, opened a bottle of red, and had a glass of wine while watching a show; I hit the bed about 9:00. I jumped up at 5:00 a.m. I’ve got a busy morning; I’m jammed up until 1:00. Then have my afternoon to work on my new company, I’ve got some organization to do, sorting files, managing my content, my new company reminds me of The Thompson Group when I bought it. It’s a foundation, but I have a lot of work to make it a glistening machine. But I will, I’ve been a part of creating a glistening machine once, and I can do it again.
Is your company a glistening machine or a machine that frequently breaks down? There are people in this world that can help you. I had help building our machine. When in Indiana, I engaged David Clegg, a business guru that helped me understand financial statements. He held me accountable, pushing me to make some hard decisions to get my company rocking. When I landed in Colorado, I met Bob Dodge, another business guru. He helped guide us to success.
I know I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed. I need help, and I seek wisdom from others that might have a different perspective to show me what we are not seeing. What are some threats that are not obvious, how can we build a better culture, what are some opportunities we are not focusing on that could radically improve our bottom line. My Queen and I work a lot on our business; it’s not OK to simply work in your company; you have to get to a point to work ON your company.
I took a call from a client who does business in New York; he got a letter yesterday that stated he would get a fine for not carrying workers’ compensation in the state. We have covered him since he entered the state; I sent my team a note and within 10 minutes was assured, we had the coverage, it was a clerical error, we did what we needed to do, and that issue will be rectified today.
Our team is the Rolling Stones of the insurance world. We have some hits, some good albums, but we will tour until we die. I can see us still cranking out shows well into our late 70’s and 80’s. I’m loving life, and I hope you are as well. Life is a series of lessons, some good, some bad, but if you can recognize that everything happens for a reason. Know that life ebbs and flows, and you must lean into both, enjoy the journey. I did, I do, and for me, it has made all the difference.
“Maybe there is no Heaven. Or maybe this is all pure gibberish—a product of the demented imagination of a lazy, drunken hillbilly with a heart full of hate who has found a way to live out where the real winds blow—to sleep late, have fun, get wild, drink whisky, and drive fast on empty streets with nothing in mind except falling in love and not getting arrested . . . Res ipsa loquitur. Let the good times roll.”