It takes tremendous “emotional labor” to get crystal clear on what you really want. Few really know what they want. Developing a worthwhile definite purpose is among the most rewarding – and difficult – processes there is. Actually, it’s almost everything.

Here’s the skinny re. getting the North Carolina License; reciprocity, rules, procedures, how to get licensed, etc…

The point is, these things that I could have done — but didn’t — were an important reminder to me. An idea is just an idea. An intention is just an intention. A decision is just a decision. Until it’s followed by sustained, focused action. And this is the hard part. Ideas are a dime-a-dozen; we all have tons of them. But “doers’, on the other hand, those willing to take ideas run them to the finish line, are a rare breed. To these doers go the spoils.

Bottom line; we recommend that you hold a license in their state of residence and other limited strategic states, depending on your claims company requirements, your state of residence and your aspirations in the claims industry. If your state of residence does not license adjusters, we recommend obtaining significant, strategic state licenses, such as high-weather activity states (TX, FL, GA) and state with fewer adjusters, such as New York.

There’s an elephant in the room, and we’ve been working around it for years. I’m talking about the “wild West” process of hiring a new adjuster. It’s a real problem. This difficulty of accurately assessing a prospective new-hire’s ability, and the lack of a viable, unbiased, meaningful measure of that competency has plagued the industry for decades.

It’s my opinion that we can’t click with everyone, but we can sure earn their respect. Everyone’s in this game for results. Respect your Storm Manager’s job, and earn his/her respect by showing results.

18 months ago, in October of 2009, aspiring claims adjuster Darren Moser did what everyone told him he couldn’t do – find a full-time job with no previous experience a full 13 months removed from any major storm. How did he do it? One word – Tenacity. But I’ll let him tell the story – here is Darren’s post from the Well-Adjusted Social Network 18 months ago…