Review the Fundamentals

As a martial artist, it is always great to learn new techniques and strategies for handling a confrontation. It keeps you motivated and wanting more. And that's good.

BUT (that's a big but), true practice and growth really comes from reviewing that which you already know - the fundamentals; year-in, year-out. Yes, it can be boring and tiresome and monotonous, but reviewing the fundamentals is what will save your life. Constant review and refinement of your skills is a must. Look, as life continues (read as you get older, LOL) you will see how your techniques will have to change. Having the fundamentals integrated into your body mechanics will help you do this.

Bruce Lee, Enter the Dragon

I recently shared a video of a Martial Arts Master to one of my students, so that he can see what he needs to aspire to. My student's remark, after watching the video was, "You can tell he has done those moves at least 10,000 times." This is such a genuine statement because mastery comes only with correct repetition. I was very proud that my student was able to recognize this. 

And the same goes with your protection planning. I encourage all of my clients to have reviews. Life is always changing, new marriages, divorces, births, deaths, homes, cars, business opportunities will all affect your planning. The only way to stay abreast of the changes is to review what you have, why you have it and how it works. 

Just like the fundamentals of martial arts, it's not exciting, and yes, I will say it, it can be rather boring. BUT (there's that big but again) it is essential to proper protection planning. Keeping you, your family and.or business safe when the time comes is the goal. 

September is Life Insurance Awareness Month, what better time then now, to have that review? Feel free to contact me at DavidL@HolzerFinancial.com to set up a time to review your coverage and discuss your situation.


Ninpo ik kan...




David L. Holzer
Insurance Advisor, Martial Arts Guide

The Cake Boss is Protected, Are You?

A Challenging Path to Success
As a boy, Buddy Valastro’s dream was to work alongside his father in the family bakery to help make it a household name. But that dream was blown off course on his 17th birthday. That’s the day his father, 54, was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died just three weeks later.

Buddy lost his best friend and mentor. And his family lost its breadwinner. Buddy had to drop out of high school to run the family business. That meant 12- to 18-hour workdays, six days a week and overseeing 30 employees. “It was a huge amount of pressure,” says Buddy. “And there were many days I didn't think I could pull it off.”

Buddy’s situation was made more challenging by the fact that his father didn’t have life insurance. “If there had been life insurance, I know things would have been a lot easier. I could have hired more people, worried less and had time to grieve,” says Buddy.

Always Have a Backup Plan
Today, Carlo’s Bake Shop is a household name. Much of that success is due to meticulous planning. Buddy leaves nothing to chance. A finished cake goes crashing to the floor? It may make for entertaining TV, but Buddy always has a backup plan. He has extra sponge cake and sugar flowers on hand to create something new, just in case.

He feels the same way when it comes to taking care of his wife, Lisa, and their four children. No one expects to die prematurely, but Buddy learned at 17 that it’s critical to have a backup plan for your family. Buddy bought life insurance when his first child was born and has increased his coverage as his family and business have grown. “If people depend on you, you have to protect them with life insurance,” he says.

Read Buddy’s realLIFEstory

-david

It''s That Time Again...

Yes, it is September. What does that mean?  Oh, you know, the typical things: the community pool closes, school starts, and I have my review for my life insurance coverage, huh???

Yep. NOW is the time!  This year marks the ninth anniversary of Life Insurance Awareness Month (LIAM), an effort to raise awareness among consumers and producers about the need for life insurance. 

The shaky economy has demonstrated how precarious a family's finances can be. According to a recent study, Americans are more concerned with being able to pay their mortgage and other bills today than they were a year ago. Many say they could not be able to last a month without the breadwinner's salary.


Now more than ever, it is vital that consumers protect their financial security. Life insurance has been providing this kind of protection to Americans for more than 200 years.


Life insurance can do some pretty amazing things for people. Most notably it can:

• buy loved ones time to grieve. 
• pay off debts and loans,
• provide surviving family members with the chance to move on with a clean slate. 
• keep families in their homes
• pre-fund a child’s college education. 
• keep a family business in the family. 
• provide a stream of income for a family to live on for a period of time. 

Life insurance can do all of these wonderful things for your family…there’s just one small catch. You need to own a policy first!

Send me an email to setup a time to review your life insurance coverage today.

-david

Now Serving...

IMAGINE THIS: it’s Sunday morning & you are at your local grocery store. You step up to the the deli counter and pull your ticket. You get #15. You look up at the “Now Serving” sign and see that they are on #12. You breathe a sigh of relief knowing that soon it will be your time.

NOW, #15 is a great number to have at the deli counter but NOT SO GREAT at the Pearly Gates. In that scenario you want as much time as you can get.

Unfortunately in the game of life we don’t have a number to tell us when our time is up.

So what can we do?

Well, we can plan for that great big deli trip in the sky, now! And part of that planning is taking care of those that we leave behind; our loved ones, our spouses, our kids. Remember life insurance isn't for you, it's for them.

The basic social responsibility that we have as husbands, wives & parents is to care for those who need and love us. Life insurance is caring. Life insurance is love. Life insurance makes a difference.

September 2008 is Life Insurance Awareness Month. If you want concrete stories about how life insurance can save families, just go over the LIFE site and check out their realLIFEstories.

Life happens, but you, me, us, can make a difference.

Ninpo ik kan my friends...

David L. Holzer
Insurance Advisor & Martial Arts Guide

The New Look!

When I started this blog last year, I showed everyone my business card. That was then. But now, there is no comparison. The new look consists of the new softer color scheme, the new flowing logo, and, of course, the branding of my "Shugo" concept.

Thanks go out to Mel DePaoli again at Omicle (Mel@Omicle.com; http://www.Omicle.com/). Her insights into my branding image are amazing. She really knows how to capture what you need and want (even if you don't know what it is yet).

BTW, the image above is actually the front and back sides of my card. So actually, the Japanese for "Shugo" is wrapping around the edge of the card.

All in all, a huge success. I hope you like it.

Ninpo ik kan my friends...

David L. Holzer
Insurance Advisor & Martial Arts Guide

"Thank you sir, may I have another!"

Mike Garrison

Ouch, that hurt!

I just received an email from a mentor and long-time friend of mine, Mike Garrison, President of The Garrison Group (mike@thegarrisongroup.biz - http://www.thegarrisongroup.biz/). It was great to re-connect with him, but man did it hurt!

Let me back track a bit. You see Mike is AMAZING! He gets me to do things that no one else can do. In short, he's knows how to push my buttons. Mike says jump, and I say "How high?" If you need help in business and in life, Mike is "Da Man" for you.

I have not heard from Mike for a while and so when I got an email from him last week, it was a pleasant surprise. In my usually friendly fashion I responded to his email. This morning to my delight I got another response from him. But, man did this one hurt.

Again he was re-connecting with me, asking about how things are in the 'Burgh, etc. I should have seen it coming, but I didn't. You see, that first sentence of his was, in martial arts, a fake, a set-up - because as I was reading that, he let me have it full-force. His next comment was, about this here dojo/blog of mine. He noticed that I have not been writing in a while.

That hurt. But it's a good hurt. Why? Because I am writing!!! I know, hard to believe, right?? I told you Mike was good. He knows, and as he reads this entry of mine, he is probably laughing and saying "Gotcha!"

Mike is great. He tells you full-out what you need to hear. You may not want to hear it. You probably won't like to hear it. But he still gives it to you anyway. That my friends is TRUE honesty.

Thanks Mike. I needed that. You make me feel like a white belt again!

Oh and, by the way, can I have another???



Ninpo ik kan my friends....

David L. Holzer
Insurance Advisor & Martial Arts Guide

Ohisashiburi desu nee!

I know, I know. What's that Japanese mean? And where have I been? Well, first off, the title means, "It's been a while".

I apologize but, I wish I could say to you all that I was away on a top-secret mission, need know basis only, but really I wasn't.

Where have I been?

Truthfully, I have been working. I love to blog but it does take time. So, I am back and I now have the time (once again) to share with you my thoughts on Protection (both martial arts and insurance).

My goal is every week to have a new thought posted on this blog. The thought for today comes from my good friend and colleague, Robin Schroff (the Juice gal). Go check out her post at http://www.idgonein60.blogspot.com/. Her thoughts on planning for your will and living will are right on!

Take care and see you all next week.

Ninpo ik kan my friends....

David L. Holzer
Insurance Advisor & Martial Arts Guide