A view of the Gulf of Mexico from Marco Island. Courtesy Taylor Trogdon
Happy New Year! The Cherokee Grandfather’s Lesson parable below comes from one of our loyal readers and is a favorite for both of us. I hope you like it, too, and agree that despite enormous challenges, now is the time in this new year of 2021 to transform problems into solutions, crises into constructive accomplishments.
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My beloved grandson, the battle inside every person is between two wolves.”
“One wolf is Evil. It is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, pessimism and negativity.
The other wolf is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, compassion, optimism and faith.”
The grandson thought for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee gently grasped the boy’s shoulder, looked deeply into his eyes, and replied, “The one who wins is the one you feed.”
I find that oftentimes, the most simple stories give the most powerful lessons!
Speaking of doing good, we want to repeat the recent news of CFO Patronis’ outstanding selection of former Florida Corrections Secretary Julie Jones as Deputy Chief Financial Officer in the Florida Department of Financial Services. She fills the position created upon Jay Etheridge’s retirement. Jay leaves a long history of incredible contributions to our state and we wish him well!
Deputy CFO Jones will lead DFS investigative services, including property, auto and other insurance fraud and the workers’ compensation fraud teams. I have had the privilege of serving on the Corrections Foundation when Julie led Florida’s Department of Corrections and her openness and willingness to listen are extraordinary. For those of us on the front lines working on so many angles to protect consumers from fraud abuses, we will have a champion in Julie with her common sense approach to solving problems. Hat’s off to Julie Jones!
Now, as we enter the first work week of the New Year, we’ll bring you up to date in this newsletter edition on all of the Florida insurance and related news you need to know to start off 2021 informed!
LMA Newsletter of 1-4-21
