Valuing the Unknown

Joey Tacata

“My message for the younger generation is that you might be confused, don't know what to do, and maybe you don't know what value you can bring. Perhaps you're even mad at the world because you just don't know what to do. But what I can tell you is that each one of us is unique. If we focus on servicing and helping others, we'll eventually find our way.”

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Do you remember the last time you uttered the words "I would never do that," only to find yourself doing that one thing you said you wouldn't do? Let's face it. It isn't unusual to stumble upon a "spoke too soon" situation. As life throws the unpredictable, Joey Tacata (Greatway Agent) finds himself on the same boat.

Growing up with a single mom, Joey sees life differently and has accepted that anything can change in the blink of an eye. "Before my mom joined Greatway, my family and I had a bad relationship, mostly because my mom wasn't home much. I remember raising myself because she just wasn't around, but I understood she's a single mom, so she needs to work all the time to support the three of us," he quoted. This was his initial thought, but little did he know that what he thought would last forever, would unexpectedly turn into something that would change his future. He continued, "Then, I started noticing that my mom was changing as a person. She learned to listen to us and started having more time with us. I didn't realize that it was because of Greatway. I believe that if not for Greatway, we wouldn't be as close as we are today. My mom always tried to make me join, but I didn't want to listen. But I saw that she was changing for the better, and gradually, our lifestyle was improving." Just like that, Joey had his life-altering moment and figured that it was time to do the thing he never thought he would do. As Wally Lamb (author of The Hour I First Believe) said, "sometimes when you go looking for what you want, you run right into what you need.”

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It was my Grandma’s 70th birthday and I was trying get the day off from my work. My job said to either show up or get fired. I chose to be with family and be with my Grandma on her birthday and of course, lost that job. However, it opened up an opportunity for me. That experience showed me that there could be something better out there.

I started asking my mom, "What do you do?" and it wasn’t long until I was shown the presentation and the unique life insurance strategies. I fell in love with it, but I never thought I'd become an insurance agent like my mom. I always thought I would be in business, but a in a different industry. No one really has a childhood dream of becoming a Life Insurance agent but after some time and thinking, I thought to myself, “what do I have to lose?”

What really pushed me to join was the first-ever Youth Leadership Bootcamp in Calgary (2019). I saw many successful people my age in this industry and believed that if they could do it, I could do it too! I wanted to bring this same environment to Toronto so the youth, including myself, could thrive. 

What's important is also having a strong why. I'm the oldest sibling in the family, so I took the father-figure role to my siblings. They saw that I wasn't really the best brother when I was younger. When I got myself together and started changing for the better, they also eventually looked up to me. I changed because of the Greatway platform and I think my siblings saw that I could do it regardless of the many challenges. It gave them the courage to try the business.

When starting this business or any other venture, one major challenge is creating that image of success within yourself. When you're young, you might think that you're just young and others may think you are not cut out for the insurance industry. But I decided I'm no longer a teenager and can do this. I needed to become mature enough and choose to do challenging things to do more of what I want in the future. The younger generation typically don't think about the future, but they need to understand they need to be ahead to have a better future.

When I first joined the business, I had really high hopes. Senior Vice President in six months, among other things, but I kept saying to people, "I'm going to be the youngest ring earner." Some people didn't believe I could make $100,000 in 12 months, but I thought, "now I have to prove them wrong." Some say I was too young to earn a hundred thousand, but if you just follow the Greatway system, you can do it because I did indeed, make $100,000 in 12 months. Although it was my goal, I never really kept track of my numbers, I just took action. My focus was to service people. To keep bringing the value that I could and became consistent.

With the $100,000 run, most likely, it will come from people other than your friends because they need to see the results from you. It's most likely going to come from the cold market. If you follow the system and bring value to the table, they will see you, look at you with a clean slate, and let you work with them. Eventually, your friends will realize how much you can help them.

The opportunity of going to college will always be there. If you're sure about the courses you want to take, you can do that. If you're unsure, please don't go to school and amass debt. Find mentors that can teach you what you don't know. Having a mentor and seeking assistance can make the journey to success easier because it's challenging to go through it alone. What's more important is finding something that can help many people that wiill surely help you with what you're trying to do.

My plan for the future is to empower the youth. I want to create a welcoming teaching environment in the business for young people. I also want to go back to school to study public speaking. I want to show people that age is a number and you can really create an impact through Greatway. The business is more than just finances. The skills you learn here will be helpful even outside the financial industry.

Related Article: Greatway Helped me to Experience Real Connections with my Kids

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