I am just back from the MDRT Million Dollar Round Table annual meeting taking place this year in the Anaheim California convention center, where I had the chance to meet with the top people in the financial industry from all over the world and I am thrilled to share with you some of the highlights that may be of benefit to you.

1) In the words of Peter Ricchiuti, (Ricchiuti started his career with the investment firm of Kidder Peabody and later managed over 3 billion USD as the assistant treasurer for the state of Louisiana.) the economy works in cycles and since the great depression we had 9 cycles and he compared the current situation in the world and in north America with previous recession indicators and he is 100% convinced that we are on our way out of this recession big time! He also showed us the comparison indicators which signal that we are definitely NOT in the direction of a double dip recession.

2) Mike Schlappi (the only wheelchair basketball player in the United States to compete and earn medals in four consecutive Olympic Games.) who was shot in the spine as a teenager which paralyzed his lower body, challenges individuals of all ages that, despite difficult circumstances, we can take “responsibility” and be empowered. From students to chief executive officers, from the classroom to the board room, he shows audiences “If You Can’t Stand Up, Stand Out!”

What we learned from Mike is, that no matter how bad our situation looks, if we take it positive and look at the good things in life that we still have and at the endless possibilities still available for us in life and we enthusiastically pursue with the important things in our lives despite the challenges, then the challenges are converted into stumbling blocks that help us achieve greater things in life we had ever imagined.

3) Jeffrey M. Wadsworth who is a 13 year MDRT member shared with us how his consistency saved his clients business and family from ruin, by not giving up and for 3 years consistently reminding his client of the importance to finalize his will and all legal procedures for both his personal life and for his business despite the complicated turn it took and the high legal lawyer fees it incurred which was the reason of its stalling, and reminding him to have his financial security plans up to date guiding the client through it all, which gave only 6 weeks later when the client died in a road accident the financial freedom and support to his widow and kids allowing them to stay in their home, pay for their education and take them through their most important years of life without financial ruin and misery, and it took also care of his business interests in the way he wanted it to be taken care of.

4) And finally WOW! How powerful was David E. Appel, a 16 year MDRT member when telling us his own miraculous storey when he was told by his doctor a few years ago that he feels a little bump in his neck advising him to go to a specialist to check it out, and then being told that they found a large cancerous tumor in his thyroid of which some don’t live for more than a few weeks after diagnosis, and how fortunate he was that the doctors successfully removed the full tumor and together with 3 weeks of radiation thereafter he was lucky to learn that he is clean of the cancer because the tumor was discovered before it had a chance to spread the cancer.

He continued with how grateful he was that he had the sense to take action while he was still young to buy life insurance to the MAXIMUM amount that he could got approved for by the insurance company which he calls “buy your tomorrows today” because now that he can no more buy any new life insurance, he can keep his current policies and the parts that are term insurance he can still convert to permanent without any medicals! and more so was he grateful for his wise decisions of buying and having a disability insurance policy to cover him for the time it took to recover and get back to full peak business.

IN CLOSING, to put my experience at this year’s MDRT meeting in a few words, “no matter how old or young you are”, THE BEST OF YOUR LIFE IS YET TO COME!!! let’s move forward with ENTHUSIASM making the right decisions and taking immediate action. “A DECENT DECISION PUT IN ACTION, IS BETTER THAN THE BEST DECISION NOT PUT IN ACTION”