The Importance of Giving Back

A lesson I learned as a young life insurance agent was the importance of giving back. By word and deed, my managers, coaches and mentors instilled in me the value of making a difference in our communities, professional associations and charities of our choice.

A value is a thing or condition we consistently act upon to get and to keep. A value is a vector—a direction with a force. The two most important indicators of what we value are how we spend our time and our money. The purchase of life insurance is a selfless act. People buy life insurance for the benefit of their families, to ensure the continuity of their business and to give money to charities or causes that are important to them.

My experience in working with thousands of successful financial advisors over five decades is that they are, by nature, generous of spirit and want to give back. The Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) was created to acknowledge the achievements of the highest performers in the life insurance industry. A core value of MDRT is giving back. MDRT members devote countless hours to serving their associations, communities, and charities, while making a difference in the lives of their clients.

The dictionary definition of philanthropy includes “the desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed by the generous donation of money to good causes.” Life insurance plays an important role in philanthropy. Life insurance proceeds have provided hundreds of millions of dollars to fund worthwhile causes.

Life insurance plays an important role in philanthropy.

Mark Halpern is a successful life insurance and wealth advisor in Toronto. Mark is passionate about making a difference in the lives of others. Working with his clients who are charitably inclined, Mark facilitates their generous donations of life insurance policies to fund good causes. The proceeds of these policies provide millions of dollars to the charities his clients care about. In life, we all want to push as big a rock as we are capable of moving. For Mark, one of his “big rocks’ is to put in place $100,000,000 of life insurance proceeds each year for the benefit of worthwhile causes. Mark exemplifies the lesson I learned of the importance of giving back.