Act your age

I guess I don’t need a beard to look like I’m 40—but it helps. (The beard was my wife’s idea. She actually had the idea before we were married— before we’d even talked about getting married. Now, I’m not saying the beard sealed the deal, but again, it helped.)

Truth is, I’m something less than 40. And although I’ve been working in print media for more than a decade, from time to time I’ve felt that my youth is a liability.

Take, for example, a two-day conference I attended a couple years ago at a hotel that also housed a casino. To get to the various meetings and seminars I planned on attending, it was easiest for me to walk through the casino at the centre of the hotel, rather than go around the perimeter. And every time I walked through the casino—which happened five or six times a day—I was asked for identification.

Being asked for ID when I was in my 30s and walking to a seminar with an industry contact or advertiser was a little embarrassing. Perhaps security thought I was a 17-year-old in a suit who enjoyed tagging along with business people. Whatever it was, I’m happy to report that, since growing the beard, I haven’t had the same problem.

But my attitude has changed since then. I’ve decided to embrace being younger than 40. If people think I look too young to be walking around with a bunch of suits in a casino, I’ll take it as a compliment—whether it was intended as one or not. (I’ll also keep the beard, just to be safe.)

As you may have noticed, I’m the new editor here at Top Broker—a respected publication that has stood the test of time, in print for 112 years and counting. It’s a privilege to be a part of this team and I look forward to serving our readers and advertisers. And I’m proud to be in this role—it’s not a bad achievement for a whippersnapper like me.

I’m also in great company in this issue, since it features our annual top 10 brokers under 40 feature. I had the pleasure of meeting several of them in person and they were everything you’d expect them to be—intelligent, charismatic and high-achieving. And, like me, they’re all under 40. What a coincidence.

Once you’ve had a chance to read the top 10, I’m sure you’ll agree the industry is in great hands. Be sure to visit our website in October, when you can vote for your favourites. We’ll announce three winners at the Top Broker Summit in November. I look forward to meeting many of you there!

Until then, enjoy the September issue, and please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the magazine and learn more about what we can do to serve you better.

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Copyright © 2017 Transcontinental Media G.P. This article first appeared in the September 2017 edition of Canadian Insurance Top Broker magazine

This story was originally published by Canadian Insurance Top Broker.