I am the last of four siblings whose journey started in the tropical island of Jamaica. Shortly after graduating from university over 20 years ago, I chose insurance and financial services as a career, and I can honestly say if I had to do it all over again I would.

More often than not, these words uttered by my father several years ago are coming to the forefront of my mind: “Talent without impact is useless”. The message simply means if you aren’t impacting mankind in a positive way (serving mankind) and making this world a better place to live in, then you may as well have no talent.

I decided to immigrate to Canada, and arrived here on March 2006. As I set out to join the workforce all I could think about when talking to potential employers was how can I add value, how can I serve.

Many immigrants “warned” me when I arrived I should “curb my enthusiasm” because of the huge challenge I would face in finding employment in my field of expertise, and that this was pretty much the norm when you are new to the country. When I found employment in the insurance and financial services industry, I had another 6 weeks to go before I could qualify for OHIP (meaning I was here in Canada for a mere 6 weeks). In 2008 I rented an office, signed a 4 year lease (with no money to pay the first and last month’s rent) and opened an insurance agency. In 2012 I opened my independent insurance and investment brokerage and have a lot of fun helping others every day.

My intention is not and will not be about highlighting my accomplishments, or about working hard and following dreams etc. Rather it will be to highlight that I am a beneficiary of the goodness of mankind, to emphasize that nobody accomplishes anything alone and most importantly to express my gratitude by giving.

A wise man once told me, nobody wants a mortgage, they want a home; nobody really wants money, they want the peace of mind that money can deliver; hence this blog isn’t about what I do, but rather about using what I have learned to provide information, stories, ideas and tips that will help create useful and practical solutions. Some of these tips will involve services I provide everyday; however many of them will not, as the aim of this blog is to educate, inform and empower.

About the Author

Karl Marshall is President of lgbtinsurance.ca (a division of Marmac Financial Services Limited) and specializes in serving the insurance and financial needs of the LGBT Community. On Saturday nights he hosts The Party Mix on G98.7 FM in Toronto. You may reach him at 416-554-0892, www.lgbtinsurance.ca, @insurance4lgbt on Twitter or on Facebook.