I started sending these weekly emails four years ago. On November 13, 2012 I sent the first one titled What Is Life Insurance? During that time, except for the last two weeks of the year, I have sent one every week, although I have recycled a half dozen or so.
My apprehension in starting it was that I would run out of topics to opine on and to some extent, I have. Although I try to come up with fresh topics and new slants on old ones, I’m sure long-time readers have noticed similar themes.
Before I started, I made a list of about two dozen topics; I figured that would be good for about a half a year, and it was. But towards the end of the first year, I decided that since human behavior was closely tied to the purchase of life insurance, I would write about that.
Some people have asked me how I come up with topics to write about. For one, I read, think, and talk a lot about life insurance. I mean a lot! And I reckon one could write about human behavior every week well into the next century (not me, but someone).
When I first started, I would write them on Thursday or Friday, put it aside for the weekend, then edit it on Monday. For at least the last two years, I have written them after dinner on Monday evening. I will jot down ideas whenever I think of them and try to flesh them out while on a run, but the actual writing always takes place Monday evening.
Most weeks, I get a comment or two on the essay. I must say I have the most polite reading audience because in four years, I’ve only received one negative comment. Sometimes a comment will spark an idea for a topic.
The topic that produced the most comments was a life insurance quiz that I linked to. That one generated seven or eight comments, most asking why their answer to a particular question was wrong.
The last two years I’ve written an essay on books I’ve read and not only have they produced more comments than usual, they also produced many excellent book recommendations. Look for this year’s edition in mid-December.
That is probably way more than anyone cares about the genesis of this newsletter, but it did save me the trouble of trying to come up with a life insurance topic!
Thanks for reading.