As of this article, I’ve been a health insurance consultant for 4+ years.
The journey has had its ups and downs but has been a really thrilling ride. It’s a rollercoaster that I’d queue up for and ride on over and over again.
When I shared my journey from the start with Mahmud on his podcast episode, it made me reflect a lot on the values I live by as a health insurance consultant.
Listen to the podcast here: https://drnoorhealth.com/talking-about-my-roots-struggles-successes/
In the podcast, we discussed Bengali entrepreneur stereotypes. My life in Bangladesh. My education. And a whole lot about health insurance.
But it was his question about values that got me thinking the most.
When he asked me the question, I instantly knew what mattered to me. What purpose I want to serve.
But over the few weeks after that podcast went live, I had the chance to sit down and pen my thoughts even more.
So which values are important to me as a health insurance consultant?
Education
Education is something that is usually brushed off, especially now with so many non-traditional methods of obtaining education, but I enjoy the notion of lifelong learning.
I started institutionalized learning at the young age of 3 and found myself in some type of school or the other until I was 29. I only took a 2-year break to have a baby and I was back at it again with executive education from Yale University.
To someone else, this may sound like a lot of school time. But I’ve always enjoyed being a student and learning.
Today, the dynamic of ‘going to school’ is changing. We have YouTube, Google – all valid sources of education today. Look at LinkedIn learning. There are also companies like Verizon and American Express that offer real life lessons from small business owners which is also a great alternative education.
We even value books as free education sources today. I always find myself reading non-fiction audiobooks. We no longer have to get up and go to a building to learn. You can learn from your home, from your phone, even!
One of the biggest learning curves for me when I switched from being a medical doctor to a health insurance consultant was how I was going to learn all the new information. I decided to become a blank slate. I absorbed faster by being coachable. That trait of being coachable has served me the most when it comes to personal growth. I absorb everything around me and turn it into my superpower.
For example, I learned how to write my own resume. I talk about this in detail on the ‘My Favorite Mistake’ podcast with Mark Graban.
Listen to it here: https://drnoorhealth.com/on-accepting-failures-learning-from-mistakes/
After learning all I had to, I had to find the balance between mimicking others and putting my own flavor to my work. I needed to develop my own style that aligned with my values.
That’s where my consultation and knowledge sharing came about. My main purpose is to aggregate and distribute my knowledge through experience with as many people as possible. And that’s exactly what I do as a health insurance consultant today!
Love
Love makes the world go round!
Everything you do, do in love and it will come back to you tenfold.
One principle I really like to stick to is loving my prospects and clients and being genuinely grateful for them. Without them, I could not have a business and could not provide for my family!
That love has always been reciprocated in the form of loyal clients and referral businesses.
It’s really just as simple as that.
Service
As a health insurance consultant, there is a stigma that we’re all about selling.
But I’m here to change that point of view.
Yes, when I first picked up this profession, I had to learn selling strategies. If you say you don’t have to do this, that’s a lie. Every profession requires you to sell something.
But I had no background so I learned the art of being tactful and negotiating, and ultimately providing a solution to a problem. Sales has a very negative connotation but it’s actually beautiful. It’s a transformation. Someone once told me sales is the solution and in my case, I’ve made the solution my service.
This was an influential book that helped me take my business practice and life to the next level:
If you’re in the same boat as I am and believe in the above values, then let’s chat, especially if you need health insurance advice. Schedule a chat with me to discuss your health insurance needs.
