Blogger Amy Morin has put together a wildly popular post covering 13 things about mentally strong people. Here are some of my favorites:

(1) Don’t waste time feeling sorry for yourself.

(2) Don’t let others control your feelings.

(3) Embrace change.

(4) Take calculated risks.

(5) Don’t dwell on the past.

(6) Avoid repeating mistakes.

(7) Celebrate success.

(8) Patiently wait for results.

(9) Don’t give up.

— Amy Morin, Forbes Entrepreneurs

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Last month I had a very interesting experience. I was asked to present at a Conference in Las Vegas on a topic that I am very familiar with. The topic was not what was important or interesting in this case. The interesting experience was that as I spoke my whole presentation was recorded. When I was done I was able to watch myself and hear  and see the message that I was delivering. Without question seeing myself will help me the next time I present. (Do I really pace back and forth that much!!)

You might be surprised to hear how you sound to other people. You might laugh, you might cry, but you will never think that you were so good that there is no room for improvement. You will see your body language. You will hear how you interacted with the audience, and most importantly you will be able to learn from what you see and hear and improve.

The same idea can work for any of your one-on-one meetings too. Try this at your next appointment. Ask a cooperative client if they would mind if you taped the interview. Assure them it will only be used for internal training and if necessary ask them to sign a release. These types of recordings are gold. You will hear how you asked questions, how you listened (or not) and find all kinds of things you can improve on. And isn’t that what we really want to hear?

The United States tax code and regulations are absurdly complicated. In 1939, the entire tax law was contained in 504 pages. The current tax law is nearly 74,000 pages in length! There is no professional advisor and no employee of the IRS or the U.S. government that knows the entire code.

The most recent changes in the tax law are detailed in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) which was signed into law on January 2, 2013. Here are some key provisions that will impact estate planning for 2014.

Estate Tax, Gift Tax, and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Laws

1. The federal estate tax, gift tax, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions have been indexed for inflation. The exemption amount was $5.25 million in 2013 and increases to $5.34 million for 2014.

2. The maximum estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax rate increased from 35% in 2012 to 40% in 2013. It remains at 40% for 2014.

3. The annual gift tax exclusion for 2014 remains at $14,000 ($28,000 for married couples). That is the amount that may be gifted to any individual without gift taxes, and without using any of your lifetime exemption.

4. Prior to 2010 married couples could use both of their individual estate tax exemptions by using what was known popularly as “A/B Trusts” in their estate planning. The Tax Reform Act of 2010 made the tax exemptions for married couples “portable” through 2012. That means that the surviving spouse could apply the unused portion of their deceased spouse’s exemption, along with their own exemption, to reduce estate taxes on the 2nd spouse’s death. ATRA made this “portability” permanent for 2013 and beyond (as much as any tax law can be deemed permanent). In other words, in 2014 a married couple can pass $10.68 million to their heirs without special planning. To take advantage of this opportunity, the surviving spouse must file IRS Form 706 after the first death, and elect to use the deceased spouse’s exemption.

5. NOTE that “portability” applies only to the federal estate tax, not to the generation-skipping transfer tax, or to state inheritance tax laws (with the exception of Hawaii who has made the state estate tax exemption portable between married couples). Careful planning is still required to take full advantage of existing tax laws.

Income and Capital Gains Taxes

1. The highest marginal income tax rate increased to 39.6% for 2013 for those above the taxable income thresholds. The thresholds are adjusted each year for inflation. The top rate applies to single filers with taxable incomes over $406,750 for 2014 and to married joint filers with taxable incomes over $457,600. These threshold amounts will continue to be adjusted annually.

2. Using the same threshold amounts, the long-term capital gains tax for 2014 is 20% for those in the highest marginal tax bracket; 25% on Depreciation recapture; and 28% on Collectibles and qualified small business stock after exclusion.

3. There is a 3.8% Medicare tax on net investment income for single filers whose “modified adjusted gross income” exceeds $200,000 or married joint filers who exceed $250,000 for 2014. This effectively results in a maximum capital gains rate of 23.8%.

4. For 2014, itemized deductions are reduced or phased out for single filers with incomes over $254,200 and married filing jointly over $305,050.

5. The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) was “permanently” indexed for inflation. For 2014, both single taxpayers and those who are married filing jointly, there is a 26% rate on AMT taxable income under $182,500 and 28% over $182,500. The threshold amounts are cut in half (under and over $91,250) for married filing separately.

Medicare and FICA Social Security Taxes

1. The employee portion of Social Security (FICA) taxes increased back to 6.2% during 2013. (The 2% reduction was temporary, and was allowed to expire.) For self-employed individuals, the rate reverted from 10.4% to 12.4% and remains there for 2014.

2. For single filers who earn $200,000 and married joint filers who earn $250,000 there was an additional 0.9% Medicare tax for 2013. That rate continues for 2014.

3. The FICA wage base for 2013 was $113,700 and is $117,000 for 2014 with the annual adjustment for inflation.

4. A 3.8% Medicare tax was added to capital gains taxes in 2013 for single filers whose “modified adjusted gross income” exceeded $200,000 or married joint filers who exceeded $250,000. Those thresholds remain the same for 2014.

For years our clients have been putting away money in their qualified plans as a tool for saving for retirement. The upfront tax deduction and the tax-free accumulation are the main reasons for doing this. Personally, I have a SEP IRA and I max fund it – meaning I put in as much as the government will allow me. There-in lies the rub. These government plans have restrictions and limitations that on further examination may offset some of the benefits of the plans.

I am not advocating that we stop putting money into our qualified plans. But, I am saying that it is time to revisit the idea of using life insurance as a supplement to our retirement plans, especially if you are already “maxed out” on your current qualified plan.  A good plan design (low death benefit and high cash accumulation) can provide a significant advantage over traditional qualified plans – here are some that you should consider:

Reasons why FIUL’s are an advantage over “Tax Deferred Qualified Plans”

1. Limited funding: Your 401k, SEP IRA, SIMPLE, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA and other qualified plans all contain IRS guidelines on how much money can be funded for your retirement. There are no limitations on the amount that may be contributed annually to an FIUL.

2. Participation Requirements: Just another obstacle company’s face in providing retirement accounts which can be reduced and or avoided.

3. Unknown Future Tax Rates: If taxes are going to be higher in 20-30 years, why would you want to pay a higher tax rate on a larger balance in your 401k (tax deferred) or other qualified retirement account?

4. No Death Benefit: This is the most overlooked benefit. Would your heirs rather have the small balance in your tax deferred account (then pay taxes on it) or receive a huge death benefit tax-free?! Obvious answer, yet so often overlooked!

5. Social Security Taxation: Upon withdrawal of your tax deferred investment money to supplement your Social Security income, you could trigger a tax liability. Also, once the IRS guidelines for your “Required Minimum Distributions” (RMD’s) kick in, avoiding taxation on your Social Security income will be difficult.

6. Wall Between You and Your Money: If you decide to access your money, you may experience a penalty and steep income taxes. Qualified plan withdrawals prior to age 59 1/2 are subject to a 10 percent penalty in addition to being taxed as ordinary income for the year the withdrawal is take. Policy owners may access their money from an FIUL without IRS penalty regardless of age.

7. 100% Market Risk: If you’ve lost 50% of your retirement account in the past several years, it will take a 100% return just to bring your account back to even! Using the investment rule of 72, if you make 8% each year (avg. of the S&P for the past 30 years), it would take you 9 years to get back to even. FIUL account values grow tax-deferred like a qualified plan (IRA and 401(k)); Simply put, this means that your account value benefits from triple compounding: You earn interest on your principal, you earn interest on your interest and you earn interest on the money you would otherwise have paid in taxes on the interest

8. Negative Returns: This is part of #7 above, but is so significant that it needs to be highlighted. A 25% loss requires 33% gain to break even; A 50% loss requires a 100% gain to break even; A 70% loss requires a 233% gain to break even! Can you see how devastating negative returns are which quickly damage your ability to save and threaten the loss of your principal? These examples define Warren Buffet’s rules of investing: Rule #1: “Never Lose Money!” and Rule #2: “Never forget rule #1!” Imagine if you were getting close to retirement age, say 65ish, and one of the above scenarios happened to your retirement account. For example, your 401k lost 50% (like so many have in the past several years) and you now have to pay another 30% in taxes on the funds that you do withdrawal. How many years do you think you could retire for? You will probably never see retirement. Don’t give Uncle Sam and Wall   St. any more control over your future!

9. No “Open Enrollment” Requirements: You should never be limited on when you start putting money away for retirement.

Indexed Universal Life Insurance (FIUL) is structured as a Tax Free insurance policy that puts the owner in control of their cash accumulation. It’s perfect for individuals and business owners and has more “living benefits” than the actual death benefit that is included with the policy. The absolute beauty of these policies is their not classified as “Qualified Plans” by the IRS. An FIUL is a permanent cash-value life insurance product that is designed to outperform Whole Life, Universal Life and Variable Life without the catastrophic downside risk to the cash value of the policy.

If you want an advantage…give us a call and take a look at our FIUL  options!

A fact of life for financial reps who do public seminars – seminars are on the decline as a client generating mechanism. Costs have gone up, attendance is down and the market is saturated with events. Notice however I stressed public seminars, not seminars.

Seminars for the public are great for disturbing people and creating an environment where you can show that you can help them solve their problems. The problem with seminars advertised to the public is that people are just not coming any more. The advertising costs can run into the thousands and in order to get more people you need to spend more money. This model is broken.

There is a much better way. Rather than going after the public, we recommend moving towards the private seminar route.

Many of our reps have taken our advice (and our state-of-the-art training on concepts) and are now working with churches, synagogues or other religious organizations. They are easy to get to, cost almost nothing, and usually get great turnouts. The secret is creating a partnership with the entity so that they not only want to have you speak there, but they understand that if you do it will benefit them as well. Here is how:

• Call the church and ask to speak to the person in charge of adult education. Sometimes there is such a person, and sometimes they will not know what you are talking about. If they don’t know what you are talking about ask for the person in charge of business affairs.
• Ask to stop by for a couple of minutes to discuss a free workshop you would like to present on “Charitable Strategies & Tax Planning.” The workshop can benefit both the church and the families who attend the workshop.
• Once you are there you need to show an outline and sample of the presentation. Be sure to stress that no products or companies will be discussed, just strategies that could help the church get additional contributions.

The person you meet with will almost always have to check with somebody or a board of some kind to get an answer. It is not unusual to have to wait several months to get on the agenda. Sometimes an “expert” on the board will step in and quash the idea. Do not worry. There are many more churches and synagogues to move on to. Keep in mind that very few planners are doing this type of seminar. For most, it is too much work. But once you get on the agenda and deliver on what you promised, you will find it easier and easier to get back into the same church with new ideas as time goes forward.

Getting on the agenda is the 1st and most important step. Having a workshop that delivers is the next piece to the puzzle that can help you succeed in this market place. Give us a call if you have an interest, we can get you started and make 2014 the year you go from public too private seminars in a truly successful way.

As the year comes to a close it is always good to look back on where we were, how far we have come and where we are headed in the New Year. The answers may surprise you. For us it has been a year of growth. We started the year with a goal, to find new Synergy Partners who shared our vision and wanted our programs and processes. This idea fostered a flurry of activity and because of the goal we did find success. New Synergy Partners have come on board and helped us grow. New products have opened opportunities for all of our reps. 2014 looks very promising indeed. And it was all because we said we would do it…and we did it.

With that in mind I wanted to share with you Alex Sheen’s story. Alex Sheen keeps his promises. He will inspire you to do the same.

Because I Said I Would

His inspirational message has changed the lives of people across the globe. How does Alex Sheen make a difference? Simple: by keeping his word.

By Gabbi Chee

It’s a September morning in Lakewood, Ohio, and Alex Sheen is sitting in his living room, waiting on the cable guy. The appointment window of 8 a.m. to noon has kept him from going to work as early as he’d planned. On the surface, it’s not a huge deal; he doesn’t have a rigid start time at the office. But he said he’d be there at 10:30, and when Sheen says he will do something, he doesn’t take it lightly.

The 28-year-old is the founder of Because I Said I Would, a nonprofit dedicated to “bettering humanity through the power of a promise.” To pass the time, he talks about the beginnings of the virtue-driven movement, which was inspired by the memory of his father.

Wei Min “Al” Sheen was diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer in July of 2011. He passed away on September 4, 2012, at the age of 55. His son, who was working for a software company at the time, went into the office the very next day, hoping to distract himself. Instead, he spent the day thinking about his father. He repeatedly came back to memories of Al getting angry, and it suddenly occurred to him that what routinely set his father off were people who failed to make good on their word. “It was an epiphany,” Sheen says.

He recalls being less than reliable himself—like in college, when he failed to pay tuition on time even after his dad had deposited the money in his bank account. “He was upset with me because he didn’t do that [kind of thing],” Sheen says. “He didn’t not show up. He didn’t not pay his bills.” Sheen spent a full hour trying to recall a single promise that his father had failed to keep. Coming up empty, he thought, If you can’t think of a single thing, that’s the lesson your dad was trying to teach you.

That night, Sheen went online. With a few clicks, a bit of typing, and a photo of himself and his father, he launched Because I Said I Would as an open Facebook group. The original post asked friends and family, who’d been offering condolences, to do something in memory of his dad: “Take a little promise in your life and keep it.”

A few days later, Sheen delivered a eulogy at his father’s funeral. As he pondered what to say, he was certain of one thing: He didn’t want people to leave the service unchanged. There had to be a way to keep his dad’s memory alive and, in doing so, make the lives of others better.

Sheen stuck to the concept of promise-keeping, but he knew it had to be more than mere words of encouragement on a Facebook page. “I became tied to this idea that I must hand these people something,” he says, leaning forward in his easy chair. It needed to be something useful, something that would help people remember their commitments. He came up with the notion of passing out business cards with the words “because I said I would” printed on the front in unassuming black type. The premise, which he outlined in his eulogy, was simple: Write a promise on a card—for example, “I will clean the garage,” “I will donate blood,” or “I will not hit the snooze button this week”—give it to another person, then get the card back after the promise is fulfilled. “It’s a reward,” Sheen says. “And why not? Why shouldn’t we reward ourselves with something so simple as a card to remind us that we are good with our word?” He handed out a few hundred cards at the funeral.

The cable guy arrives and finishes his repairs before noon. Sheen is finally free to leave for the office, but before he steps out the door he takes a closer look at the technician’s paperwork. “Service promise,” he says, pointing to the words inside a starburst at the top of the page. “See? It’s everywhere.”

Sheen never expected to end up in the nonprofit sector. That’s not typically the fate of a son whose practically penniless father emigrated to the States from Hong Kong at age 17. “When he came here, he had nothing,” Sheen says. But from nothing, his dad worked his way through college and built a career as a pharmacist. And he instilled in his two boys—Alex and his older brother, Greg—the value of hard work.

Sheen took business classes in high school and graduated from Ohio University in 2008 with a marketing degree. He was focused on landing a good job and establishing a stable career. “I wanted to make enough to where I could eat sushi every day and not worry about it,” Sheen says, only half-joking. At 6-foot-1, he has the athletic build of a former lacrosse player and kick boxer, but his friendly personality keeps him from coming across as intimidating. He has a way of setting people at ease, and he’s quick to follow up his own jokes with booming laughter.

Cleveland-based Hyland Software was no doubt attracted to that charisma, and within a year of Sheen’s graduation the company hired him as a marketing intelligence specialist. Less than five years later, he was the youngest manager among its 1,500 employees. But his promise-card idea quickly took on a life all its own, and Sheen left his job in the spring of this year to pursue Because I Said I Would full-time.

The day before his father’s funeral in 2012, Sheen published a post on the Facebook group saying he would send 10 promise cards, free of charge, to the first 100 people who messaged him their address. The idea resonated right off the bat. Thanks to the mysteriously far-flung nature of the Internet, Sheen soon found himself sending cards to complete strangers. “I handwrote the addresses and handwrote letters” in response to each request, he says. It quickly became apparent that he could not limit his output to a mere 100 people. Within a month, the cards were being distributed internationally.

Amanda Messer, Because I Said I Would’s chief volunteer, remembers those eruptive early days. The soft-spoken Messer has the nonprofit’s trademark slogan tattooed on the underside of her left forearm. She and Sheen were co-workers at Hyland, and about a month after the founding of Because I Said I Would, as the movement began to draw worldwide attention, Messer offered to help. The organization’s mission struck a familiar, if slightly modified, chord. “I had the opposite experiences that Alex did,” she says. “My dad never kept his promises, and he still doesn’t. That’s always been the No. 1 pet peeve of mine: People who don’t follow through.”

Messer helped ship promise cards. “There were, like, 400 pending requests at that time, which now is pretty laughable,” she says. “I think we’re 5,000 behind right now.”

Evidence of that backlog is all over what Sheen calls the “global headquarters” of Because I Said I Would. There are three desks in the office, each one groaning under stacks of paper, envelopes, boxes of promise cards, and T-shirts. On the floor, fabric crates and plastic bins overflow with packages ready to be postmarked. A bookshelf near the door is crammed with packing materials in addition to books like The Innovator’s Toolkit and How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas. Given the mess, Debbie Ward, one of the afternoon’s volunteers, turns out to be a godsend. After labeling a few hundred envelopes filled with promise cards, she checks in with Sheen. “I have a card for you,” she says warmly. Ward works as an organizational consultant, and her promise card to Sheen reads, “I will help organize Alex’s office.”

People use promise cards to document all kinds of commitments. Users have posted on the Facebook page their vows to mail a long-overdue letter, to stand by a relative in a time of crisis, to stop cutting themselves. The idea of holding fast to a commitment is one that crosses cultural lines, too. Because I Said I Would has sent promise cards to more than 48 countries; some of this week’s packages are headed for Qatar, Argentina, Madagascar, and Malaysia. That global reach can be chalked up to Sheen’s compelling message and his keen understanding of social media.

In addition to flooding the world with promise cards, Sheen periodically takes on more high-profile philanthropic endeavors. They help him practice what he preaches and draw attention to the nonprofit and its mission. The Because I Said I Would office walls are decorated with framed photographs that document these projects. There’s one of children from Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada reacting in delighted surprise to the announcement that Sheen had raised money to send 100 kids to Disneyland. Two larger images capture Sheen’s 10-day, 240-mile walk across Ohio in support of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight, the three women abused and held captive by Ariel Castro in a residence just six miles from Sheen’s own home.

Raising awareness for other nonprofits is one of the core imperatives of Sheen’s philanthropic work. For example, during the walk across Ohio he raised funds for RAINN (the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network). In all of it, the message that never gets lost is the importance of keeping a promise, which is why Sheen pushes out news about his work through social media and sites like Reddit, hoping to score hits.

“I’m one dude, right? So if it doesn’t go viral, what can one dude do?” he says earnestly. “If I want to have a greater impact, I’ll influence others and motivate them to head in that direction.” It goes back to an Albert Einstein quote that Sheen strongly believes in: “Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the only means.”

I am one of the lucky dads that gets to drop off my kids at school in the morning. It is such an amazing experience for me. My oldest is in 2nd grade and to see him sprint to the classroom with his backpack on because he is so excited to be at school is the coolest thing. My youngest is in Pre-K and I love dropping him off too. He is like the pied piper, when he shows up all the other kids come running up to him so glad to see him. Awesome.

That is why the events at Sandy Hook, December 14, 2012, were so personal to me. To understand the shattering of that innocence, to find out that in a moment all that can be taken away…is cause for action.

Last year my friend Jayson and I took action. We did it with the tools that we had. We wrote a song, a tribute to the brave children and teachers of Sandy Hook. And, with the help of some great friends we were able to post the tribute to Facebook and have the song heard by so many people.

Here is the link – “A New Promise” – it is our hope that we can pass this on so that more people will support the changes and ideas of the Sandy Hook Promise. Please, if you are so inclined…PAY IT FORWARD>

Thanks.

It is pension season again..time to revisit an old post….

For those of us who market in the Pension arena, we know that this is “Pension Season.” Small businesses throughout the country are making decisions on the current plans or deliberating whether to put in a new plan of some kind. How can we help our clients to make a decision by the end of the year? Here are some tips from the Sandler System that has worked for me.

 Create a sense of urgency. Establish the consequences of your clients not taking action. Think about what your clients have to lose by inaction. Forget features and benefits and talk about the hard value of the pension program in measurable terms. Be able to articulate this to your clients and prospects. Provide creative solutions to help your clients. Specifically give them a “real” picture of the tax savings and the advantages of acting now as opposed to later. We can help you with this so don’t hesitate to call us for support.

Do lunch. Take your client to lunch to thank them for their existing business. This is an opportune time to tell clients how much you appreciate them. Let them know they are an important part of your business, and you will strive to maintain the partnership. Review the history of the account, and let your client do the review. For instance, The Sandler Selling System suggests opening the dialogue by asking questions like: How long have you been doing business together? How satisfied is the client with your services? How does the client feel you could improve your service, and in what areas? Ultimately, this type of activity will help cement the relationship, and like an annual review can give you the opportunity to discuss the idea of pensions – and why making that choice by the end of the year is a good idea.