Blah Blah Blah Where Is My LV ?

This time its for real! I'm leaving AIG for a better career in regulated business. Mark that as a new challenge but I'll make sure that what my clients will get is the best advice!

Three years ago, 17th of May 2004 to be exact, I joined American Life Insurance training in Leeds. We have a 5 day intensive training course and another week in the field for prospecting. At first, I find it hard to sell insurance policies but as you go along the business - it's just like a daily routine or part of life already. Though the turnover for new sales consultant is very high that time, lucky or should I say I was bless to do this business.

I received numerous awards in sales, incentive trips, financial rewards... what more can I ask for? Mortgage! this is the one I'm missing. I advice my clients for insurance protection, life and CIC protection, ASU, Income Replacement to protect their financial obligations but the the mortgage. Always, everytime I leave my clients after insurance advice, I still feel empty for I feel that I wasn't able to give them the complete advice. Should I stay or should I go? But what can I do?

Since the regulation of insurance by the FSA, imposing new stricter rules in financial regulations, AIG launched a nationwide campaign of getting new consultants. When they introduced the new scheme, it's good for the consultants but I guess it's not good for the clients. It just looked simply a pyramid to me! You recruit people under you and you get overriding commission up to the third level. The more people under you selling insurance, the more commission you get. So just how simply you could put the Affordability, Suitability and Needs in here?

Well, I guess the world is not enough! Nowadays you can find agents everywhere selling insurances. The only good thing in American Life insurance is the money back guarantee - i.e. if you don't make any claim in your insurance after finishing the term, you'll get all your premiums back (20 yrs. min., i.e. if you finished the term but are you guaranteed to finish your term? can you still afford to pay the premium?)

Ahhh, those were the days. This time I'm getting out of the box - joining the much more regulated business - mortgage and financials and opening new players in the insurance business.

Mortgage and Financial Advice!

Here comes a new chapter of my life. Joining independent mortgage and financial advisors , well it's not really a new game for me but just adding new players and restructuring my game plans.

Been with American life for 3 fruitful years now, gained experience in the financial world particularly FSA regulations in insurance industry. Gained respect from my clients who now I called friends. Thanking them all for bringing me where I am today.

Well, for this new chapter... no one can predict the future. We'll just wait and see!

Kuya Rod in Angel of the North, Gateshead.

This is a 208-tonne “Angel” basically takes the form of a human figure based on artist Antony Gormley's own body. At 20 metres high, the Angel is higher than a five-storey building. Wingspan at54 metres wide - almost the same as a jumbo jet.

Overlooking the A1 at Gateshead, at least 90,000 motorists a day will pass by the sculpture. Rail passengers travelling on the East Coast mainline from London to Edinburgh will also see the angel as they approach Newcastle.

The sculpture has been created by the artist as his own response to the site, which had already been chosen as the location for a ‘landmark’ work of public art. It is a stark, otherwise unremarkable, skyline site visible from a distance. The artist has described how he felt this called for a feature which would link between earth and sky.

Like Kuya Rod, this sculpture is made of weather resistant steel, containing copper, which forms a patina on the surface that mellows with age.

A very interesting Blog from Matt Loney re: Vista

Vista upgrades: A case of technology hobbled by business models?

As we start to delve into the intruiging world of Vista upgrades, the following email arrives from disgruntled Microsoft customer Mike Cope:

"After spending over 2.5 hours on the phone with Microsoft's customer service and tech support, they admitted that they are now aware of a new bug with legally purchased upgrade product keys.

Windows Vista Upgrade is advertised to allow users to perform a "clean installation", however, after installing the operating system and attempting to activate it, Vista reports that the product key entered cannot be used because this version must be installed from a previous version of Windows.

Personally, I own Windows 2000 Professional, and so, I had to RE-INSTALL my Windows 2000 Pro, and then try installing my Vista upgrade. However, the installation then reports an error that I do not have enough disk space for the temporary files ... Even though I have a 500GB hard drive with ONLY Windows 2000 installed.

As mentioned, it was only after over 2.5 hours on the phone that a customer service representative told me that Microsoft is now aware of the situation. HOWEVER ... they are unable to provide users with a new product key. In other words ... My legally purchased copy of Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade is currently USELESS.

Sure it can install ... but I can't activate it, so it will currently expire after 30 days. As a professional cartoonist and multimedia designer, I was extremely pleased with the beta versions of Vista -- at a time when I've been debating about buying a Mac instead. Unfortunately, Microsoft has told me that I'll need to wait until "mid-week" before they can help me anymore. They really dropped the ball this time, and wasted my entire afternoon."

We've been hearing other rumblings of odd policies and behaviours with Vista upgrades - almost certainly a case of technology hobbled by business models. If you have any interesting experiences with upgrading Vista drop us a line.

Comments on this post

Ouch! I hope Mr Cope can get his money back!

Posted by Chris Rankin on Feb 7, 2007 9:06 AM

Hi Matt,

Here's an interesting update for your readers ...

Since my initial phone call to Microsoft, I've received a pair of calls from Customer Relation Managers. In short, I was informed that the documentation printed on the packaging of all current Vista Upgrades is incorrect, as well as the information on their website at the following URL ...

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradepaths.mspx

Quote: "You can upgrade from your current edition of Microsoft Windows XP or Windows 2000 to a corresponding or better edition of Windows Vista by purchasing and installing an upgrade copy of Windows Vista ... If you are currently using Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP Professional x64, you are eligible for an upgrade copy to a corresponding or better edition of Windows Vista, but a clean install is required."

As a solution, I was informed that I would need to return my upgrade copy to the retailer, and purchase a FULL version. When I expressed my concerns that they've misled consumers like myself, I was then informed about a "possible solution" that they could not guarantee would work. Personally, I had already discovered this workaround -- others have too, as it seems to be well documented online.

Still, with respect to the current Microsoft documentation, the rep that called me tonight said that they would be revising this information to make it clearer to consumers.

One thing is clear ... My next computer will be a Mac.

- Mike Cope

I just received this email from my aunt Hedy a couple of hours ago and its just in time... always in time. God is always there when you need Him like me now that's why I'm posting this one for those who needs Him, now!

Rick Warren (REMEMBER HE WROTE-PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE)

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having "wealth" from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, "Purpose Driven Life " author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California .

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said: People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense. Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness. This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you're going into self- centeredness,"which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others. We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her. It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people. You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72. First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church. Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation. Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free. We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)? When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD. Difficult moments, SEEK GOD. Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD. Painful moments, TRUST GOD. Every moment, THANK GOD.

May the Good God Bless Us All!

New year? New friends? New challenges?

"...another year over, a new one just begun ." famous line from the late John Lennon. So what have we really done for the past year? Is it time to reflect again? Like the one' s we always do every year... the one we called "my new years resolution?"

Well, well, well, one thing for sure - we're not getting any younger. Time flies too fast and we have to catch up but... we have to enjoy!

Let's just ask the kids "... you happy?" hope they are 'coz we were like them before... the mortgages, problems, loans etc. so smile! time is fast and life is short.

Happy new year to all!