Book excerpt: Ned Ryerson. That's who a lot of people picture when they think of insurance agents. Don't remember Ned? Sure you do. He was the "cheesy" insurance agent from the Bill Murray classic Groundhog Day. In Ned, we see examples of what can go so horribly awry with the insurance sales process - someone who gets people to sign on the dotted line because it's the only way they can escape him, someone who is far more of a salesman than a trusted advisor, and of course, someone who is living commission-to-commission, putting his own survival above his clients' needs. The reason all these things make Ned our "anti-mascot" is that if you fail to grasp the danger of these things, you'll undoubtedly place major obstacles between you and your career goals. Starting of course, with your quest to pass the licensing exam. Thus, the goal of this book is twofold. First and foremost, I want to help you pass the exam, and do so by a wide margin. I don't want it to be even close. I want your state's insurance commissioner to be so blown away by your score that he takes your exam home and hangs it up on his refrigerator. But second, I want this book to become the basis for your career. I want it to help shape the way you approach insurance sales so that you not only help protect others against loss, but protect yourself (and your hard-earned license) as well. Even more, I want it to protect you against an average career. I want this book to help insure your financial success. Interested? If you are, then you're in for some exciting lessons about insurance theory, products, and sales. I'll share with you both the practical and conceptual knowledge you need to get to where you want to go.