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Articles by David Murphy
David Murphy: Joel Embiid and the Sixers finally have their signature playoff moment. What a story.
BOSTON - Joel Embiid shook his coach's hand and pumped his fist and then half-walked, half-limped toward midcourt and wrapped his arms around Jaylen Brown. He pulled the Boston Celtics superstar in close and whispered something into his ear. Soon, his son was in his arms, and the cameras were all around him and he was smiling and shrugging and trying to make sense of the most improbable and glorious moment of his career.
Job Costing for Profitable Bids in Contract Cleaning Services
Accurate job costing — often called bid budgeting — is vital for cleaning professionals looking to submit competitive and profitable bids in the contract cleaning industry. It is more than just crunching numbers: effective job costing demands a thorough understanding of labor, materials, overhead expenses, and market factors. When performed correctly, job costing helps you create bids that stand out while safeguarding your bottom line.
Scorched Earth by Paul Thomas Chamberlin — Open Letters Review
Scorched Earth: A Global History of World War II By Paul Thomas Chamberlin Basic Books, 2025 2025 marks 80 years since the end of the Second World War, and in the week of VE Day Basic Books gives us Paul Thomas Chamberlin’s utterly engrossing and amazingly tortured history of the conflict, Scorched Earth: A Global History of World War II, that is in turns agonizing and electric. Chamberlin tells us his target here is the “orthodox interpretation of the Second World War,” . .
Rain of Ruin by Richard Overy — Open Letters Review
Rain of Ruin: Tokyo, Hiroshima, and the Surrender of Japan By Richard Overy W. W. Norton, 2025 The bomb worked just as it was supposed to. It exploded 1,800 feet above ground, destroying all life within a radius of 1.5 kilometers from the hypocenter, burning those within 5 kilometers, followed by a blast wave that tore off the skin and damaged the internal organs of those who survived the initial radiation then briefly by a hurricane-force wind.
People And Their Money
CLU, ChFC, FLMI, is a director, vice president, team leader, speaker and mentor for Global Leadership Partners. For nearly four decades Murphy worked in the financial services industry, and has held positions in sales, marketing, product development, training and development, distribution, agency management, and recruiting. In his latest role he was responsible for managing National Account relationships.
The Importance Of Focus In A Spinning World
One of my favorite authors is Annie Dillard. In a book called The Writing Life, she wrote: “The sensation of writing a book is the sensation of spinning, blinded by love and daring. It is the sensation of a stunt pilot’s turning barrel rolls, or an inchworm’s blind rearing from a stem in search of a route. At its worst, it feels like alligator wrestling, at the level of the sentence.” I am not a writer, but I can relate to what she describes just in terms of life in general.
Advising The Giver
CLU, ChFC, FLMI, is a director, vice president, team leader, speaker and mentor for Global Leadership Partners. For nearly four decades Murphy worked in the financial services industry, and has held positions in sales, marketing, product development, training and development, distribution, agency management, and recruiting. In his latest role he was responsible for managing National Account relationships.
Power Of Redemption
CLU, ChFC, FLMI, is a director, vice president, team leader, speaker and mentor for Global Leadership Partners. For nearly four decades Murphy worked in the financial services industry, and has held positions in sales, marketing, product development, training and development, distribution, agency management, and recruiting. In his latest role he was responsible for managing National Account relationships.
Financing Life’s Motion
CLU, ChFC, FLMI, is a director, vice president, team leader, speaker and mentor for Global Leadership Partners. For nearly four decades Murphy worked in the financial services industry, and has held positions in sales, marketing, product development, training and development, distribution, agency management, and recruiting. In his latest role he was responsible for managing National Account relationships.
All About Home | Broker World
CLU, ChFC, FLMI, is a director, vice president, team leader, speaker and mentor for Global Leadership Partners. For nearly four decades Murphy worked in the financial services industry, and has held positions in sales, marketing, product development, training and development, distribution, agency management, and recruiting. In his latest role he was responsible for managing National Account relationships.
Wrong | Broker World
© Insurance Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. The Copyright Act of 1976 prohibits the reproduction by photocopy machine or any other means of any portion of this issue except with the permission of the publisher. For permission to photocopy or to use material from Broker World magazine, please contact Stephen Howard.
Valentine's Day is steeped in myth and mystery, but sacrificial love is at the center of it
OPINION: Valentine’s Day 1929 opened with a hail of gun violence in Chicago. Murders from Al Capone’s infamous South Side Gang, some of them disguised as policemen, ambushed and killed seven men from the North Side gang of the infamous mobster George “Bugs” Moran. The massacre shocked America, and what was known as a day of Christian sacrificial love became, for a time, synonymous with hate and murder.
Colorado's Assisted Suicide Bill Invites Out-Of-Staters To Die In 48 Hours
Canadian lawmakers recently introduced legislation to delay a planned expansion of their Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program for three years. Without this delay, the rapidly increasing Canadian suicide rates will explode as those suffering from mental health conditions will be allowed to commit suicide with the help of a medical professional.
Serving As You Ought
CLU, ChFC, FLMI, is a director, vice president, team leader, speaker and mentor for Global Leadership Partners. For nearly four decades Murphy worked in the financial services industry, and has held positions in sales, marketing, product development, training and development, distribution, agency management, and recruiting. In his latest role he was responsible for managing National Account relationships.
The Financial Arena
CLU, ChFC, FLMI, is a director, vice president, team leader, speaker and mentor for Global Leadership Partners. For nearly four decades Murphy worked in the financial services industry, and has held positions in sales, marketing, product development, training and development, distribution, agency management, and recruiting. In his latest role he was responsible for managing National Account relationships.
Fine | Broker World
CLU, ChFC, FLMI, is a director, vice president, team leader, speaker and mentor for Global Leadership Partners. For nearly four decades Murphy worked in the financial services industry, and has held positions in sales, marketing, product development, training and development, distribution, agency management, and recruiting. In his latest role he was responsible for managing National Account relationships.
Specialists Trading In Antonyms
CLU, ChFC, FLMI, is a director, vice president, team leader, speaker and mentor for Global Leadership Partners. For nearly four decades Murphy worked in the financial services industry, and has held positions in sales, marketing, product development, training and development, distribution, agency management, and recruiting. In his latest role he was responsible for managing National Account relationships.
Rockwell Labs: EcoVia Fly Killer
Rockwell Labs introduces EcoVia Fly Killer, formulated to kill filth flies at the source and kill all life stages of flies. It also kills odor-causing bacteria. This new research-based, botanical insecticide is registered as a 25(b) category, minimum-risk product through the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). exempt from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Doing it right, right now
Josh Brady is No. 8 of 10 children; his brother Daniel is No. 9. Raised on a farm, they learned from a young age that work can be hard, but if you put it off or do it slapdash, there will be consequences. It’s an ethic that both incorporate in their pest control firm, Manchester-N.H.-based Anchor Pest Services, every day.
Manage SPP with traps, cleaning
Stored product pests (SPP) infestations can surface quickly when adult populations emerge from infested food, pet food or bird seed. The search for the source of the problem involves trying to find not just the adults, but typically the larvae and pupae as well. Given that most of these pests can go through complete development in a few weeks, the problem can worsen quickly.
How to handle friends and family as employees
My brothers and I have an unusual history of business transition, from our childhood to now each owning and operating our own businesses. In short, Dad — Pest Management Professional Hall of Famer Bob Jenkins Sr. (Class of 2005) — helped each one of us start our own independent business. We are all ABC Home and Commercial Services, and yet we are all different. Dad had someone running an ABC Pest Control office in Austin, Texas.
Time To Realize The Power
CLU, ChFC, FLMI, is a director, vice president, team leader, speaker and mentor for Global Leadership Partners. For nearly four decades Murphy worked in the financial services industry, and has held positions in sales, marketing, product development, training and development, distribution, agency management, and recruiting. In his latest role he was responsible for managing National Account relationships.
Eliminate The Impossible
CLU, ChFC, FLMI, is a director, vice president, team leader, speaker and mentor for Global Leadership Partners. For nearly four decades Murphy worked in the financial services industry, and has held positions in sales, marketing, product development, training and development, distribution, agency management, and recruiting. In his latest role he was responsible for managing National Account relationships.
The IRS“Death Penalty”
Something that I don’t think advisers talk enough about is the “death penalty” that the IRS assesses to the surviving spouse. What do I mean by this? Many times when one spouse dies, the surviving spouse generally gets a tax increase. This is because, once one spouse dies, it is not like the “taxable income” to the surviving spouse immediately reduces by 50 percent. And without a 50 percent reduction in taxable income, that generally means a tax increase to the surviving spouse.
Living In“If, Then” Sentences
In the last five years I have become quite involved with the Ukrainian people. I have traveled to Ukraine numerous times and spoken to a few dozen audiences of university students in many cities. In March 2023, shortly after the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion, my team and I conducted an online seminar (for some seventy students) entitled, “Prepare Yourself for Victory.” The simple outline for our presentation was as follows: You must proactively prepare yourself for victory.
Process Means History
The basic processes of human life include growth, differentiation, respiration, digestion, organization, metabolism, responsiveness, movements, and reproduction. All of these processes are interrelated. These processes continue for as long as the human being lives. The financial services industry operates on the principle that human life is never static, fixed, or inflexible.
Up, Down, And Sideways
“People put limitations on their creativity, believing they have to rely on what they know and what they have done.” —Bertrand Piccard I once had the opportunity to meet Bertrand Piccard, an explorer and a genuine hero. My company contracted with him to speak at our annual general agent’s conference.
Why Bother? | Broker World
A good friend of mine has suffered through brain cancer, kidney cancer and then lung cancer. Mike wrote a book1 about his experience with the medical community. He details the well-meaning but often maddening comments made by friends and family, and the mystifying variety of tests, treatments, and indignities.
Seeing Through Your Clients’ Eyes
Greek Philosopher, Epictetus, mused, “What concerns me is not the way things are, but rather the way people think things are.” My daughter Leah owns a cat. Her name is Holly. Holly looks intently at me when I am sitting with her and petting her. Those eyes! Cats are predators that need to be able to sense movement well, and they are nocturnal, so they also need to see well in very low light. “Humans have a 20-degree range of peripheral vision on each side. Cats can see 30 degrees on each side.
Recipes For Financial Success
“There are three ingredients in the good life: learning, earning, and yearning.” —Christopher Morley Bread is a common food source throughout the world and has been a staple of human diets throughout the ages. It comes in multifarious shapes, sizes, and flavors. I enjoy all kinds of bread and delight in any meal that includes a Bagel, Baguette, Boule, Breadstick, Brioche, Ciabatta or Focaccia. I like a chewy crust, an open crumb, and a moderately soft interior.
Going To Extremes With Impossible Schemes
March 4th is famously known as the only calendar date that is also a military command. It just so happened that I attended the 105th birthday party for a WWII veteran on March 4, 2022. “And if you should survive to a hundred and five Look at all you’ll derive out of bein’ alive And here is the best part, you have a head start If you are among the very young at heart.”1 Robert Henry Doolan was born on March 22, 1917, in Cincinnati’s West End. He graduated from St. Xavier High School in 1935.
Red Lines And Planning
“Generally, a fall of fifty feet or more will kill almost anyone.” This is what my rappelling instructor told me. Although I had been a rock climber since I was a young adult, I was in my mid-forties when I began rappelling. Together with good friends I rappelled off cliffs and even buildings. I actually was able to participate in a seasonal event associated with the Christmas holiday in downtown Cincinnati by rappelling off a building with others dressed as Santa, Reindeer, and an Elf.
In A Word | Broker World
I recently spent three weeks in Poland doing what I feel called to do these days. I traveled with two teammates named Rich and Joan (a delightful married couple). We conducted three nightly seminars each week on the subject of Emotional Intelligence. Our audience was comprised of university students from multiple universities in three different cities. We spent the daytime hours meeting with individual students for mentoring.
Grace That Runs Deeper Than Rulebooks
As a child, I was always threatened by Christmas. Santa is described by these frightening lines in the Christmas song: He sees you when you’re sleeping He knows when you’re awake He knows if you’ve been bad or good So be good for goodness’ sake! And the moral? “So! You better watch out!” Over my career in financial services, I often wondered if I were in fact doing “good for goodness’ sake.” Or, to be honest, doing good for my good. For mere personal gain. To receive acclamation.
Is Your Net Working?
“Pretend you are driving a car in the middle of a thunderstorm, and you happen upon three people on the side of the road. One of them is a frail old woman, who looks on the verge of collapse. Another is a friend who once saved your life. The other is the romantic interest of your dreams, and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet him or her. You have only one other seat in the car. Who do you pick up? There’s a good reason to choose any of the three. The old woman needs help.
When Life Is Not A Hoot
“Every morning in Africa, an antelope wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion, or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest antelope, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a lion or an antelope—when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”1 —Bernd Heinrich The greatest mistake we sometimes make in financial services is believing that our industry is about money. It is not. It is about people.
The Last Mile | Broker World
CaringBridge,© a nonprofit organization, exists to help families keep their social networks informed when a family member is battling serious, life-threatening illness like cancer. As I write this, a dear friend is battling metastatic brain cancer. His wife created a CaringBridge© Journal to share their journey with others.
Money Like Water
Question: Where do fish keep their money? Answer: In riverbanks. Question: Why are some fish at the bottom of the ocean? Answer: Because they dropped out of school. Question: What keeps a dock floating above water? Answer: Pier pressure. (See Footnotes for more jokes about Water1) Jokes stem from the art of slightly bending familiar and simple things. Stories, like jokes, help us see something with fresh eyes. I am an avid fan of Jesus. For one thing, I admire his use of stories in communicating truths.
C’est Moi | Broker World
“When the legends die, the dreams end; there is no more greatness.”—Tecumseh The Paths We Follow Recently I have been reading about the history of Indiana and Ohio. In particular, I am studying the process by which the land was surveyed, divided into land parcels for purchase, and how the Native American traces, trails, and pathways became our modern-day roads and highways. For thousands of years, herds of bison passed through the forests of Ohio and Indiana during their seasonal migrations.
Insured: Addie Joss (A Fictional Account)
“I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.” —Anonymous On Tuesday, July 19, 2022, Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game will be played at Dodger Stadium. Question: When did this revered institution originate? Once upon a time there was a professional baseball team from Cleveland, OH, named the Cleveland Naps. The team existed for twelve seasons (1903 to 1914). The Naps played their home games at League Park situated at the northeast corner of E. 66th Street and Lexington Avenue.
Succession Planning Is Sweeter Than Syrup
Home Monthly Commentary Succession Planning Is Sweeter Than Syrup The Past, the Present, and the Future walked into a bar. It was tense. If you laughed at that, you might just be a geek. Like me. Actually, I am a geek on many levels. I study nature. I devour books on theology, the history of inventions, and enjoy learning about scientific discoveries. But it gets worse. I am an enthusiast for life insurance. I also like learning about things I will likely never do.
Four Wise Words | Broker World
“Begin where you are and such as you are, without aiming mainly to become of more worth, and with kindness aforethought, go about doing good.” —Henry David Thoreau “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”—C.S. Lewis On a dark and rainy morning in Cincinnati I found myself in heavy traffic heading downtown for an appointment with the owner of an investment company headquartered in my city.
Taking Flight | Broker World
“One of the greatest inventions of the 20th century—indeed, one of the landmark inventions in the history of the human race—was the work of a couple of young men who had never gone to college and who were just bicycle mechanics in Dayton, Ohio.” —Thomas Sowell, describing the first successful manned flight. Beginning in 1899, Wilbur and Orville Wright scientifically experimented with the concepts of flight.
On December 14, 2021, a dear man passed away. You would not have heard of him. His obituary says, “He had a long and wonderful life.”1 He was 85 years old when he passed. I first met Joe (Pete) Eastridge in 2012 at the dump in Union County, Tennessee. That was where, at age 76, he was working. The dump is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday (just in the morning). Residents drive up and unload larger items into huge dumpsters, or regular garbage into the compactor.
Worth The Paper | Broker World
“You can make anything by writing.”—C.S. Lewis When I began my career in life insurance, I represented a “Northeastern Mutual” as such companies were called back then. Initially, I sold life iInsurance primarily to families. A senior agent in my office told me how to make a favorable impression on my clients such that they would remember me fondly. He said, “Throw out the plastic cover in which the Company issues the policies and buy leather pocket folders instead.
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