Every 4 years, 2016 being one, we are blessed with an extra day in the year.  I looked up what “leap year” really means, and found this…. A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or a bissextile year) is a year containing one additional day (or, in the case of lunisolar calendars, a month) added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year.  I’m glad we don’t use a lunisolar calendar, whatever that is.

Frankly, I think the term “leap” isn’t the best term one could choose to describe adding another day to the year.  Why not call this year “Another Working Day” year, or “Let’s Extend Winter One More Day” year, or even “We Need More Time For Presidential Campaigning” year?  Well, maybe that last one is a little silly.

Anyway, even though I think “leap” isn’t the right word to use, I am not going to advocate to change how we describe the year that has an additional day in it.  However, I would like to put the word “leap” into a different context, at least for this “Leap Year”.

This “Leap Year”, we should choose to “Leap” forward with full commitment into the new LTC Industry.  The LTC Industry that we all love is much different today than even the last time we had a leap year.  This is my 25th year in this industry.  And from my perspective, our industry and the opportunities it affords have never been better; never afforded more people more opportunities to obtain various types of private LTC funding; and never offered the professionals that bring the LTC solutions to their representatives and clients, more ways to help virtually anyone, regardless of their age, health, or financial state.  Yes, today’s LTC Industry is different than before.  But as they say, “Change is the only constant in life”.

I took a “Leap” of faith a couple of years ago in helping to form the Alliance and amass the amazing portfolio from amazing carrier partners that you now have available.  Thank goodness for that decision, as your Alliance is the now the only company in the country leading the way in helping more people provide and obtain much needed LTC protection.  I’m proud to have a role in helping to effect constructive change in our industry.

If you haven’t taken the “Leap” yet, join me, and make 2016 the year to provide as many LTC solutions to people that you can.  You, and many more clients than you could have helped in the old LTC Industry, will be happy you did.