Soraia Close Podcast

Speaker 1 (00:00):

All right. You ready to do this? Yes. Let's do this. Let's

Speaker 2 (00:03):

Do that.

Speaker 1 (00:04):

All right. Welcome everyone, uh, to the Alliance Group Podcast, and we have a special guest today, uh, from the Brazilian Airs in Firings Financial. We have Miss Soray close, a very dear friend of Alliance Group, and we're so excited. This is your first time in, in Stratton Studios,

Speaker 2 (00:21):

Right? Yes. Yes. But I feel like home. Yes.

Speaker 1 (00:24):

<laugh>, we, we, we really try hard to make it feel like home, and of course, so you've been so helpful, uh, with Alliance Group. We, we've worked with you on many different projects together. Uh, a wonderful person, a wonderful friend. So it is, it, it's great to have you here.

Speaker 2 (00:36):

Thank you. Thank you. Course. I'm honored. Honored.

Speaker 1 (00:38):

Yeah. <laugh>. Absolutely. So, we're, we're, uh, we're, we're, we're talking today. Um, you have a really interesting, uh, story. We were actually talking about this before we, uh, came in here to the podcast room. Um, someone who has built, uh, a, a life, uh, a family and a career, uh, here in the United States. But you, uh, you actually came to the States, um, when you were 26 years old, um, and you had no, uh, you had no job, right? You didn't speak English yet. Yep. Uh, you didn't have any citizenship or anything like that. No. You, you kind of came for the American opportunity, and here we are, uh, you know, just a, you know, few years later, um, you have built, like I said, a family, a career, uh, and, and, and a thriving business at Five Rings Financial.

Speaker 2 (01:29):

Yeah. And I could not ask for, you know, to be in a better place that I am right now.

Speaker 1 (01:33):

Right. It's, it's, it's pretty amazing. Um, obviously we know Kenny, uh, your, your husband, we've, we've been able to, to meet your boys. Um, it's, it's, uh, it, it's really awesome to see they've, you've been at the last, what, two Alliance conferences?

Speaker 2 (01:49):

Um, no, the three. The

Speaker 1 (01:50):

Three, yeah. So this will be your fourth coming up, fourth year. So, uh, someone who went from not, you know, again, you know, kind of the whole thing that people always say is you showed up in, in America with the clothes on your back and a dream kind of, right? Yeah. And now you've built this, this very successful career. I want to talk about that and, and, and I want to give our viewers a little bit of insight, um, into that, because I just think it's such an amazing and, and inspiring story. Um, so kind of, let's, let's start back at the beginning. Um, when you did arrive in the us, you're in your mid twenties, um, and your, what is your very first, uh, goal that you want to do is, is to secure employment, right?

Speaker 2 (02:35):

Uh, yes and no. Right. My, my story is a little different. Um, I didn't come thinking that I wanna have like a better life. I did have a good life in Brazil mm-hmm. <affirmative>, but I had a boyfriend, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, we married in Brazil.

Speaker 1 (02:48):

Yes. The old, the old story <laugh> <laugh>.

Speaker 2 (02:51):

And, uh, you know, we dated, we did the long distance. He was living here in the US and he went to Brazil a few times. I came here, met, you know, I met his family, and then we decided that was going to be better for me to move to the, to the US and instead of him going back to Brazil, right. But yes, I had, of course, when I came, I came to visit a few times and I'm like, okay, this is, and it's funny because it felt that I, I just lived here forever, right? I just fit, like writing in, and it was very good. But there were a lot of, uh, challenges that, you know, not speaking English at all, right? Um, in Brazil, you know, I used to work in a bank, and coming here, I had to start over from the beginning mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So it was very challenging, but I came with a heart like, you know, I, I wanna do this. I know I can handle, and yep, it

Speaker 1 (03:41):

Did. So not only learning to speak English, which you do beautifully, by the way, <laugh>, she's, she's very self-conscious about her English. I keep telling her, your English is wonderful, <laugh>. Um, but not only learning the language, um, but being able to, to, to, to kind of build a life and to assimilate. Um, you, you were in the, did you, were you in the Orlando area? Uh,

Speaker 2 (04:00):

No, south Florida. Right? I moved into, uh, west Palm Beach. Gotcha. Always in Florida.

Speaker 1 (04:04):

Yeah. Right. So tell me about your journey from arriving here to how you, uh, found five rings Financial. There was, uh, you actually started cleaning homes, correct? Yep.

Speaker 2 (04:15):

Right? Yeah. Had no idea what we was going to do. And this is something that most of the Brazilians ended up doing, right? Right. In the very beginning. Um, uh, there's a lot of jobs, uh, available for, uh, men. They go to construction. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you're gonna hear that a lot. And, you know, women, we usually go to the cleaning business. So I just found a company, a cleaning company, because I had to learn mm-hmm. <affirmative>, that was like the first thing, right? Right. You had to learn how to clean. So I, I found a company that hired me. It was <laugh> cleaning Construction, like, you know, it was like very, very crazy. So I went on the first day and, um, went back. So you're

Speaker 1 (04:51):

Cleaning actual, like construction sites, the post

Speaker 2 (04:53):

Construction, you know? Oh, wow. So that,

Speaker 1 (04:54):

That's, that, that isn't like a little dusting. That's No,

Speaker 2 (04:57):

No, no, no. That's

Speaker 1 (04:58):

Some heavy

Speaker 2 (04:58):

Duty stuff. And the funny thing is that I came back and the next day, so the lady just looked at me and she goes, oh, you came back, you know, I'm like, small. Yeah. Right. And then I'm like, yeah, sure. Right. So I did that just for a few days, and then she just liked it the way that, you know, my attitude Sure. There. And she said, you know, I, I'll take you to the residential clinic now. So it started like that, and, you know, oh, okay. And then she took me to those, uh, beautiful homes. Right.

Speaker 1 (05:23):

Those South Florida

Speaker 2 (05:24):

Homes to do. Yeah. Yeah. But it was a good, like, you know, it's, it was a good learning mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, process.

Speaker 1 (05:29):

And you were, you were actually, and this is actually where your entrepreneurial spirit was, was kind of born, right? Because, and

Speaker 2 (05:35):

I did not even know, right?

Speaker 1 (05:37):

'cause you, you, you realized fairly quickly that, okay, well, I could work for this company, um, or I could start my own business. Right? Yeah. Which would, which would provide multiple benefits. Right. Exactly. Tell me about that.

Speaker 2 (05:48):

Yeah. Um, you know, we work by the hour when you do the cleaning, the, the cleaning job. And I had to work 10, 11 hour hours sometimes mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And so I just find out that if I get my own homes, my own private, uh, jobs, I could charge, you know, 70 or $80 and do it way less time. Right. So that's how I started. I started looking for people that needed the job. Um, once I got the same amount of money making in private residences, then I just left one day of the company. Right. So, you know, I, I started doing the transition. You

Speaker 1 (06:21):

Transitioned

Speaker 2 (06:21):

Slowly transition. Yeah. Yeah. Because I needed the certain amount of money monthly, you know, to pay for my bills, to pay for everything. Sure. So that's what I did. So it was about seven months until, you know, I, I, I started, uh, doing transitioning and, and probably within a year mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I started my own schedule.

Speaker 1 (06:39):

And now you're, are you, are you learning English as you are doing this? Oh,

Speaker 2 (06:42):

Yes.

Speaker 1 (06:42):

Yes. Are, did you like, just, you know, learn by being, uh, sub submersed in, in the English? Or are you actually taking Rosetta Stone?

Speaker 2 (06:51):

Same? No, no, no, no. And, and here's the thing, the funniest thing, right? That was like 20 years ago, right. We didn't have Facebook. We didn't have smartphones. Yeah. Right, right, right. Translate, like all those things. Uhhuh <affirmative>. So literally, I used to, to carry my dictionary. Oh my gosh. Whatever. I went and, um, you know, I, I did, I took some classes in the beginning, but I, like, it was just so tiring. Yeah. You know, coming from working and then going to school at night, and I started watching like a little, it's not a video, but a little show Uhhuh back in the day. It's called Seventh Heaven. Seventh Heaven, right. Seventh Heaven.

Speaker 1 (07:31):

Right. I remember seventh Heaven. Yeah,

Speaker 2 (07:34):

I

Speaker 1 (07:34):

Remember this name. I, I didn't watch it. <laugh>, maybe, maybe my sister was watching, and I might've seen it in the background. This was on the wb, I think.

Speaker 2 (07:42):

You think? Right? Yeah. But what I did, I started, because they talk about life in general. Uh, he had, the guy had like seven kids, Uhhuh and like, all the thing, and I would start watching with the captions first. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, because, you know, it was a little easier. And I would get like one full, uh, uh, episode Uhhuh, and watch with the captions, and then write about the words that I did not know. Wow. And go to the dictionary, dictionary looking Portuguese. And then it started making sense. And then I would take the captions, you know, out. Right. And then just doing it until I was able to understand and repeat what they were saying. Wow. That's incredible. So I, yeah. I did

Speaker 1 (08:19):

Seventh Heaven folks. This is how Soray was able to master the English language. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (08:24):

And that really helped in talking, talking to people.

Speaker 1 (08:27):

Absolutely. That's awesome. I love that story. Yeah. So, um, so you, now you're, you know, let's, let's kind of fast forward a little bit mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um, you, you now you're, you're doing your own, uh, cleaning business mm-hmm. <affirmative>, which is excellent. How did you come across the Fiveing financial opportunity?

Speaker 2 (08:42):

Yeah. I was doing, I did that for about four years, you know, at the end of four years I had people working with me there, and then I, um, I got married. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I got married, and I, you know, I got pregnant. And I, at this point, I decided that I was going to start doing something new. Right. I, I felt blasted off to, to be able to, you know, like I said, meeting my wonderful husband. Yes. So I did not have to work anymore, you know, in that matter, which wasn't bad mm-hmm. <affirmative>, but I wasn't using my mind. Right, right. Um, so I decided to have my baby, and it was very hard for me to go back to work mm-hmm. <affirmative> because she was little. So I took a little while, um, and I decided, you know what? I'm gonna, I wanted two kids.

(09:27)
Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, so got pregnant again. My kids are two less than two years apart. And when it was time to, uh, me to go back to work. Right. I think I mentioned to you, I still couldn't because I had, I think we're gonna talk about this Right. About my mother-in-law. Yes. We're, yes. But when I was ready to go back to work, I actually wanted something to do a part-time job. Right. Because to me, it was very, very important is still taking care of the kids. And I saw an ad on Facebook with Marina. Yeah. Marina Coto. Yeah. And that was it.

Speaker 1 (10:00):

That, so it's, it's amazing. You saw a Facebook ad, uh, featuring Marina Coto from, from the Brazilians,

Speaker 2 (10:06):

Talked about

Speaker 1 (10:06):

Five financial,

Speaker 2 (10:07):

The words that she said that really got my attention, flexibility of time. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> helping people. 'cause I, I've always loving, you know, loved helping people. So she says, flexibility of time, helping people, changing your community. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and still making some money. Right. Doing it. I'm like, okay.

Speaker 1 (10:26):

I'm interested in that. Um, so you went to your first event then, and that's where you met Claudia Farba, is that

Speaker 2 (10:31):

Correct? Yeah. It wasn't, it wasn't an event. It wasn't a Five rings event because I was in Orlando. Right. And they were all in south, you know, in Boca Raton. Right. And they came to Orlando for an event, which was, I don't remember. It wasn't an A five Rings wasn't, it was something that they were there. It wasn't like a Monday 1 0 1 or something like that. No, no, no, no, no, no. They were just here to represent five rings. Gotcha.

Speaker 1 (10:51):

And so you went and you met Claudia. Yeah. And then that, that kind of kicked off this whole thing. So now from someone who, uh, kind of came to the us, um, and, uh, you know, didn't speak the language, um, to someone who is now making, you know, six figure income every year, and you absolutely love what you do, it shows that you love what you do. Um, <laugh>, you really do enjoy helping people. That is not hot air. She's, uh, an amazing person, uh, Sariah. And it's just been awesome to watch you grow. One thing that I think helped you, um, and you were, uh, talking about this in, in, in our kind of pre-meeting, uh, for this podcast, is that you had a very specific life situation that led you to want to give people guidance on the importance of preparing and having your financial household in order, and how much of a positive impact that can have on the people you love the most. Absolutely. Your mother-in-law was diagnosed with Alzheimer's mm-hmm. <affirmative> at, at, at, at, at around this time. Yep. Uh, that, that we were just discussing. Um, she ended up living with you for four,

Speaker 2 (11:53):

Five, almost. Yeah. Three years. Three and a half years.

Speaker 1 (11:55):

Three and a half years, mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, but luckily she had prepared, she had a long-term care plan. She did not have living benefits mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, but she did have a long-term care plan. She had put forethought into preparing and putting these things in place to help her family, her son, your husband, uh, and, and, and the rest of the family to make sure that she wasn't a, a burden financially. Right. Um, tell us a little bit about that experience and how that has influenced your career at, at, at, at five Rings.

Speaker 2 (12:28):

Absolutely. Kind of how you got started. That that's like, you know, one more reason that I'm so passionate about talking to people, the importance mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, we were the family that benefited Right. From someone thinking of the future. Right. In her case, wasn't even, she never thought that she was going to have Alzheimer's, but in case if she died, she wanted, you know, the kids just to have a, a, like a, you know, a, a tranquil Yeah.

Speaker 1 (12:55):

Right.

Speaker 2 (12:55):

Time. Exactly. Doing the thing. So she's always, uh, um, made, she made sure to, even in her banking accounts, right. Lead, uh, put them as a custodial, uh, um, accounts, I think, what's it called? The, you know, think of the beneficiaries. Yeah. The beneficiary. Yeah. Everything. She had a wheel Uhhuh

Speaker 1 (13:13):

Done. She did all of that planning, the estate planning and the, the, yeah. The medical directives and

Speaker 2 (13:18):

Everything, all of that stuff. And, you know, the living wheel. So little did we know how much that was going to be helpful, because throughout this, this time that she, she couldn't speak and she couldn't decide anything.

Speaker 1 (13:30):

Once Alzheimer's had, had, had advanced,

Speaker 2 (13:32):

It was very, very quick. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, it was very quick. So she, she had done, you know, a lot of, lot of things financially to be able to leave well mm-hmm. <affirmative> and to give something for the kids. And she always thought about not having to, to let us be a burden. Be a burden. Yeah. It all for us, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So something that I shared with you that I always shared with everybody, she even had the care of, uh, writing like a notepad. Right. A little book that she had with everything where she had their accounts or who to call. And the cutest thing. Yeah. Because she was very independent. Right. She lived into a community and she had a lot of friends, and even the name of the friends that she wanted us to call. Oh. That's, so when everything happens, uh, you know, you get like very, very, uh, uh, mentally, it's, it's not a good, it's Right. It's, it's very

Speaker 1 (14:22):

Hard. It's a very emotional situation. It is. And, and I don't, to be very clear, she did all of this planning and it was a huge benefit for you guys. This is the thing. It does not mean that that was an easy experience. No. Right. Even, even with this planning. So one thing that you were telling me about in the other room is I'm so glad that she planned so well. Um, yep. She didn't have living benefits, which we'll, we'll, we'll talk about in a second. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, that actually would've been even more help. Um, but she did have long-term care. She had the life, she had the will, she had all of this stuff, which is, which is great. Um, you, this really underlined for you the importance of people planning and, and, and making sure that that planning is happening and you wanted to help others plan as well.

Speaker 2 (15:08):

Absolutely. 'cause the family, you know, the, the, we are the ones that are, are left here dealing with the whole situation. So, uh, we were able to take care of her mm-hmm. <affirmative> and also do what she wanted to be done. Because, you know, when something like that happens, your family, and like, for example, you know, my husband and my sister-in-law, they're very different. Right. And, and so yes.

Speaker 1 (15:29):

Siblings can be very different and they can have different opinions on

Speaker 2 (15:32):

How, and she's a nurse and you know, like my, my husband is more the free spirited guy. And, and so it, it was very helpful for, it was very helpful for us mm-hmm. <affirmative> to do everything the way that she wanted us to do for her. Right. Right. And so to honor

Speaker 1 (15:47):

Her, her wishes

Speaker 2 (15:49):

In, in every way. In every way. So this is something that I tell everybody, I know you love your family. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Right. It doesn't matter how old you are, just make sure that you make it easier Yeah. For them in case of this happens. Because mentally you are already like suffering to see your loved one going through that difficult situation if you still have to take decisions, you know? Right. Financial decisions that it, it's like very, very hard. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (16:16):

And adding that onto the, the, the, the, the pile of the burden Yeah. That, that's already there with Alzheimer's, which obviously everyone knows is just a terrible disease. It's terrible for everybody that's around that situation. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> to witness what people with Alzheimer's go through. So she had the life insurance, she had the living will, she had the, the, you know, the, all, all the estate planning done, which was excellent. Again, this was all very helpful. Um, I, I want to talk a little bit about the long-term care, which we know is, is very expensive. It's, it's amazing that she, that she actually took that, that step. I know. And, and, and got that traditional long-term care coverage in, which was a big help. You were telling me that it was a great help, don't get me wrong. Like, that's, that was, that was crucial to be help you guys navigate that, that situation financially and definitely did provide help. You would've loved if she would've had living benefits as well, because with long-term care, it's not like you get the money and you spend it however you want. Right. No,

Speaker 2 (17:11):

No. And you're saying that very expensive. I remember, I think she used to pay about $270 or something, which, you know, back then it was a lot of money. Absolutely. Yeah. That

Speaker 1 (17:23):

Huge thing, especially for something you might not even need, right? Yeah. With long-term care, that's kind of a use it or lose it sort of thing. Yeah. There's not a, there isn't a death benefit at the end of that. It's nothing if

Speaker 2 (17:31):

You, and you run out of money too, <laugh>

Speaker 1 (17:34):

And you can run out of money as well. Right.

Speaker 2 (17:35):

So the the one thing that I was mentioned that I love, you know, talking to people about the differences that, uh, you have to go through companies. For example, for us, with her, we could have hours, uh, I think it was five or six hours for a nurse mm-hmm. <affirmative> in there. But they, they, they used to send just anybody. Yeah. It was very hard to having a strange person, you know, each time in your house. Sure. Taking care of you

Speaker 1 (17:59):

Don't get to choose them. No. They just kind of show up.

Speaker 2 (18:01):

They don't do that. They don't do that. And, and so there's a lot of, uh, uh, what do you call, it's related only through the medical expenses too. And we you are like in their hands. Yep. Yep. It's Right. So this is something that wasn't very helpful. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, we have a limit of what you can use as well. And then when it came to the facility, which is another very expensive, we're talking about, you know, the expenses Yes. The nursing facilities. Yes. Which it was like our last resource, we did not wanna do it, but it gets to a point where, you know, for the sake, for everybody Yeah. It's better to do it. And there was another big huge expense that we had to go through as well. And, and, and because of her planning, we are able to offer her the best. Right. Because what she's done, and so the, so the pain kind of eases it. Yeah. You know, it becomes a little smaller.

Speaker 1 (18:53):

A little smaller, which is huge in a situation like that. Yeah. So you, you're, uh, she eventually passed away mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I think, uh, three, three and a half, four years, uh, in, in, into the, into that. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, that whole, looking back at that experience, you're, you know, what you basically took from that is planning is very important. It helped us a lot. It was still a very, uh, hard situation. It always will be. Yep. Um, but you wanted to help people, um, do that planning, um, so that, so that their loved ones could Yeah.

Speaker 2 (19:26):

Could get the benefit of you. And I hear, I hear sometimes, you know, oh, we don't have a lot of stuff. And I'm like, it's not only about stuff, it's not about, you know, only the, the the why you have material. Right. Things, it has a lot more. 'cause even when we had to go, uh, uh, take her to the hospital mm-hmm. <affirmative>, she did not wanna be resuscitated. She didn't, you know, she had her wishes, which it was hard. Right. But, you know, we didn't have to take that decision.

Speaker 1 (19:52):

Right. Because it was already made. Yeah. She had already made it. Um, yep. And when she was thinking clearly and, and when she was healthy.

(19:58)
Absolutely. I think that's, that's wonderful. So when you started at Five Rings Financial, um, you know, a lot of, uh, agents when they first start in the industry, um, they tell you, well, it might be hard to, to, to, to talk to your friends or your family, but you said that actually you friends were your first clients because they had seen your experience, they knew you. Yep. They knew that your heart was in the right place, and they knew that you were trying to help from your experience. So that's, those were your first clients, correct?

Speaker 2 (20:26):

Yeah. Uh, a lot that happens to me, coming to the, this, this career is a little different than normal. Right. I had no prior experience at all. Right. With finances mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Right. So, um, lot of people there, you know, is this for me? Yes. If you have the heart, if you believe it. And, and nowadays, especially after Covid, I believe mm-hmm. <affirmative>, everybody understands the need of, you know, being educated. Yep. Financially, absolutely. Because people really <laugh>, they were caught, like, you know Yep. By surprise they were caught. Yep. And before that, we had to tell them, and they were like, eh, eh. But nowadays it's a very easy thing to, to tell them, you gotta be prepared. Yeah. Right. Things can happen anytime. So I came to this industry not having any prior experience, and for most of people, they say, you know, friends and, and family don't buy from you. Like, it's a very hard thing. Yeah. To me, it was just different. I had, you know, people that I trusted and I loved it, and I was like, listen, just hear me out. You know, I have my field training, uh, my field trainer that's going to come and, and, and is going to explain to you. And probably 90% of them really understood Right. What we were doing, and they loved it.

Speaker 1 (21:43):

Yep. So you were, you were kind of saying, look, you don't need to, it's not no pressure. You don't need to buy anything, but I would like you to listen to my field trainer, and I would, I would love your feedback. Um, and what you found is that when they sat with Claudia and, and with you, um, they would see the value Absolutely. And what you guys were doing.

Speaker 2 (21:59):

Absolutely.

Speaker 1 (22:00):

That's fantastic. Yeah. Uh, so we fast forward again, um, and here we are. You're about to attend, uh, our fourth Alliance Group Leaders conference. Yes. You've, you've built this, this incredible career. Um, you know, and it's, it is just, it's just amazing to see, uh, what would you say is your kind of philosophy as far as how you work with people, um, and how, how, how have you become successful within five rings? What are those qualities, um, that you try to portray when you're speaking with clients that kind of drive your success?

Speaker 2 (22:36):

I think I just speak from the heart. I,

Speaker 1 (22:38):

I would agree.

Speaker 2 (22:39):

And, and, you know, it's, it's like I, I, again, I understand what it is to be into the situation. I've been, um, I don't know if you can say blessed, but I had the opportunity twice, uh, to, to give a living benefit. Right. I, I've had two,

Speaker 1 (22:56):

You've had two clients

Speaker 2 (22:57):

Who two clients

Speaker 1 (22:58):

Already experienced living benefits,

Speaker 2 (22:59):

The living benefits, very young people. And one, it's, uh, he was at the time, 41 that he had cancer mm-hmm. <affirmative>, excuse me, and was very unexpected. Mm-hmm.

Speaker 1 (23:09):

<affirmative>, uh, two, two clients of, of yours who have, uh, you know, who had a living benefits policy that you helped put put in place for them. And then they had one of those triggers happen. Cancer, heart attack, stroke. Yeah. Major organ transplant living benefits, for those of you who might not know, are new kind of life insurance policies that allow the insured to get money in their hands from their death benefit while they're still alive through these living benefits features. And it puts a, a lump sum of tax free cash in their hands. Absolutely. So you've had two of, of those. I

Speaker 2 (23:38):

Had two of

Speaker 1 (23:38):

Them. The first one was, you were saying 41.

Speaker 2 (23:40):

Yeah, he was 41. Uh, works, uh, work is two works in construction. So it's one of the ca those cases that if he goes to work, he gets paid. If he doesn't, if he doesn't, he doesn't, nothing happens. Right. He has two little kids, five and a seven year old, the wife that takes care of them, so she doesn't work. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So I still remember in the very beginning that desperation, right. He was diagnosed with cancer and he had to go through treatment, and he kept postponing to do the, the, the chemo, because every time that he got the chemo, he couldn't work for several days. Gosh. So, you know, the bills were piling up. And, and, and so when I got to, to them with the $211,000 check, he just fell his knees. Oh gosh. Like, you know, it was very, very emotional. And I've always said, you know, I've always believed on it, of course. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. But that day I really felt like this is what I wanna continue doing. It. You,

Speaker 1 (24:36):

You absolutely changed that, the entire course of that, of that family's life. You know, I've, uh, obviously in my position in Alliance Group, I've been able to witness a lot of these living benefit stories, you know, real life stories from our real agents who have real clients who experienced this. But what, what you just described, that is a guy who is desperate, desperate. I mean, when you're, you're delaying chemo treatments, which is not ideal, obviously from a, from, from a medical perspective, just because you're in such dire straits financially that you have to have that money, $211,000 that you were able to deliver to him.

Speaker 2 (25:09):

And I think he paid $35 for his policy a month. It was a very, you know, it was a very small policy. And there comes, you know, we deal with a lot of Brazilians, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, we, we go into this community. So again, a lot of people don't speak English, we don't have families mm-hmm. <affirmative> here. Right. As well. So when something strikes like this, you are on your own. So it's so, so important to be able to let them know that that exists. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, it doesn't cost a lot of money. No. Right. And as you know, we, we help them going through their budget. We, you know, we, we do you find money we can, if we find the money right. For them to do it. And so when I had this, the, the first time that I did this, I was like, okay. If I knew, like, you know, I had in my heart, now I'm absolutely, you know, certain that that's what I wanna continue doing for the rest of my life.

Speaker 1 (25:54):

That's amazing. You know, it's, it's something that always strikes me as, you know, everyone wants to do something that changes people's lives or that has a positive effect on people. Um, and many, many ways to do that in many different jobs. But when you're talking about changing a life, I mean, there's, there's very few, uh, opportunities that, that other professions have to truly save a family from financial disaster. Absolutely. Uh, the, the way that our agents do,

Speaker 2 (26:20):

And my second one actually was a suicide case, and this was something else. You know, I, I normally I become friends with my clients. Sure. And, um, this, this cowboy specifically, the guy was like an amazing, you know, like one last person that you ever think that was going to Yeah. To do that happen. And he was very young as well. So it was, uh, two little kids, two girls. There was a lot of his life mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um, a situation that you don't expect ever. Right. As well. And, and same thing, the wife, you know, he was very, like, he, he cared so well about, uh, for them, and the wife had no idea about how to pay bills and everything. He was the one that did it. Right. So when that happens, same thing. Come up with a check. You know, at the point what happened, um, he killed himself in his own house. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, first thing she said, I cannot ever leave here anymore. Right. Of course. So there were so many things that she had to rearrange, and if it wasn't for this money, she always says, I, I don't know what it would've done. They probably, you know, would've gone back to Brazil, and that was not what they wanted. They were here because of the kids to give the kids a better life. So it's, it's, I can't explain to you.

Speaker 1 (27:37):

It's, it's, um, that's, that's absolutely heartbreaking. And, and what, what you have here that we've discussed, uh, you know, today Soray is three different people who never thought, and their families never thought, yeah, that they would need this, but they set it up anyway. Um, you know, when your, your mother-in-law, uh, never thought that she would get Alzheimer's, but she had things in place. Uh, that 41 year old cancer patient never thought that he would get cancer. He is too young to get, you know, too young for anything like that. It happened 41 years old. Uh, thank goodness you were able to, to protect him. And then you're the su the, the suicide case as well. I mean, these are three very different things that are unexpected in three very different ways. Right. Living benefits, um, you know, would help all of those of those people. So, um, and it's, uh, it's, it really is amazing what, what these products do and, and the impact that they can have. But of course, the, the, the trick is we have to let people see the value. We have to let them understand that first of all, this exists, that's exists. Uh, and second of all that, now is the time to do it. Yeah. You know, the better time would've been yesterday, but we can't go back and change time, so now is the time. Right.

Speaker 2 (28:43):

Yeah. I also volunteer, uh, I teach finances in our church for two years as well, and it's, it's incredible. You know, we talk a lot about Brazilian communities because that's where we market, but Americans like <laugh>. It's something that every time we tell, and we have a pastor that he absolutely loves mm-hmm. <affirmative> life insurance in general. Right, right. He's always been on the podium, uh, talking about the importance because he sees of Yep. So many families. But

Speaker 1 (29:10):

The churches get very involved in

Speaker 2 (29:11):

Those, in those cases. And that's where, you know, they go ask for help. Yeah. That's the first place that they ask for help. So he's a big advocate of the term insurance and also the Will Uhhuh <affirmative>, because what can happen do the planning. Right. The planning. It's always, you know, and, and so it's, it's, we all, I keep saying we need like a, a huge amount of people to be out there just screaming to, you know, in the top of the world, like living benefits,

Speaker 1 (29:35):

<laugh> living benefits. Right. Uh, that's what, it's what we've been doing at Alliance Group for a long time. Yeah. Again, you know, we're 25 years into doing living benefits now, and still the vast majority of people out there don't know that that, that this type of life insurance exists. Um, so that is, that is our shared crusade. And, uh, sorry. I'm so glad that, that we're on, on, on this crusade together, and thank you for everything that you've done for, for your clients. Um, and you know, for, for, for Alliance Group as well.

Speaker 2 (30:01):

Yeah. It's, it's a pleasure. This, this became like my life, you know, it's just part of my life now. Yeah. Love it. Awesome. Never wanted to do anything else.

Speaker 1 (30:09):

Absolutely. <laugh>. Well, uh, Sarai, thank you so much for joining us. Uh, fantastic conversation. Thank you. Um, and, uh, welcome, uh, your, for your first time to Stratton Studios, I think. I think you knocked it out of the ballpark. Yeah,

Speaker 2 (30:20):

It was awesome. <laugh>. Thank you. Awesome. Thank you.

Speaker 1 (30:24):

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