What if 2026 isn't just "new year hype"… but the year you build a system that forces results?

In this Life Insurance Academy episode, Roger, Chris, and Zach recap the lessons of 2025 and map out a clear, executable game plan for 2026—starting with a story from the 2008 USA "Redeem Team" that every agent needs to hear: Kobe Bryant, 4:45 AM, and four words that change everything:

"I got goals."

Inside this episode, you'll learn:

• Why most goals fail (they're vague, vanity, and unsupported)

• The difference between dreaming and goal-setting (hint: a plan + daily action)
  A simple framework to build your 2026 plan: Vision → Math → Method → Metrics
  How to reverse-engineer your income/production goal into monthly, weekly, and daily targets
  The key inputs to track so you can control your outcome: dials, contacts, conversations, presentations, apps, premium, placement rate

• The 3 goals every agent needs:

• 1. Production goal

  2. Process goal

  3. Personal development goal (pick skills that make you dangerous in 2026)
     
     

• A practical 30-day execution checklist to start strong and stay consistent
  
  

🔥 Free Resource: We also mention a Goal Setting Calculator you can download for free at LifeInsuranceAcademy.org to help you run the math and build your plan.

✅ Ready to stop "hoping" and start executing?
Join the Life Insurance Academy coaching calls + get plugged into the community.
👉 Learn more at: LifeInsuranceAcademy.org

CTA: If this episode helped you, like, subscribe, and comment "I GOT GOALS"—and tell us your #1 target for 2026.

If you've ever felt like you're "winging it" on the phone, this episode is for you.

In this Life Insurance Academy Podcast interview, Sydney Deshotel shares her journey from serving/bartending and working in a hospital to becoming a top-producing independent agent—and how everything changed when she discovered what most agents are missing: a repeatable sales process.

Sydney opens up about:

• Walking into her first bootcamp feeling nervous, intimidated, and behind

• The "aha" moment when she learned to focus on who the client is protecting + why they filled out the form

• Why selling off "personality" alone is exhausting—and how structure creates confidence

• How community, daily training, and live dials help agents stop feeling alone and start thriving

• Her heart for helping new agents (especially women) find a culture that's healthy, supportive, and built to develop people
  
  

If you're a newer agent, rebuilding, or ready to stop guessing and start improving your consistency—this conversation will hit home.

Connect with Sydney:

• Instagram: sydney_deshotel

• Facebook: Sydney Kate Deshotel
  
  

👉 If this episode encouraged you, drop a comment to cheer Sydney on, like, subscribe, and share it with an agent who needs a better process (and a better room).

Families are depending on you—and the only thing standing between them and financial disaster is your ability to help them make a decision.

In this episode, Chris and Roger break down the 5 real reasons people don't buy (and why "I want to think about it" is usually a smokescreen). If you're hearing the same objections over and over, this framework will help you identify what's actually happening, remove the barrier, and confidently guide clients to protect the people they love.

• The 5 barriers behind almost every objection: No Trust, No Need, No Want, No Urgency, No Money

• How to build trust fast using authority + empathy (especially in telesales)

• Why "need" can't be created—only discovered and uncovered

• The 4 stakes questions that move a client from "need" to "want" (and "want" to urgency)

• How to avoid killing the close by making the end confusing or transactional

• How to handle affordability with dignity and still get the application
  
  

✅ Drop a comment: Which barrier do you see most often—trust, need, want, urgency, or money?
✅ Share this episode with an agent who keeps hearing "Let me think about it."
✅ Subscribe for more training that helps you sell with clarity and confidence.

https://lifeinsuranceacademy.org/