Mister. Paul, as the Aflac nation calls him, passed away yesterday, July 3^rd from complications related to Parkinson’s disease in Columbus, Georgia. He was 88.  Mr. Paul was one of the 3 brothers that founded Aflac together in 1955.  As many of you know, I started my Voluntary Benefits career with Aflac and even though I now lead a sales team for Aflac’s biggest competitor, Colonial Life, I have absolutely no ill will towards Aflac and treasure my time there greatly.  Just like any carrier, they have their strengths and weaknesses.  One of their greatest strengths has traditionally been a great senior management team.  This legacy was started by Mr. Paul and his two brothers.  It was something he was very proud of.

I had the opportunity to meet and learn from Mr. Paul on several occasions during my time with Aflac. Mr. Paul’s example and words have impacted my life and career in many ways. In today’s episode, I want to share with you five great leadership lessons that I have learned through those interactions.

The Five Leadership Lessons I Learned From Mr. Paul

1. Be Interested
2. Be Generous
3. Be Humble
4. Be Working
5. Be Optimistic

I have a story for each of these lessons so please listen to the episode to learn with me.

Often times when I have a guest on the SIV podcast I ask them how they want to be remembered once they have finished their time on this planet.  I’ll tell you this very sincerely, I hope when I am done here on earth the same things I saw in Mr. Paul would be said of me.  I hope it will be said that I was interested, generous, humble, hard-working, and optimistic.

To the Amos family, please accept my sincere condolences for your loss.  And to Mr. Paul, let me say this, “If there is a heaven, you were absolutely right!  You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

To read more about Mr. Paul’s life, just click here: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2014/07/03/3183438/aflac-co-founder-paul-amos-dies.html

If you are part of the Aflac Nation, could you please do me a huge favor?  Would you share this post on Facebook, Tweet it, or send it to your email list?  I think that many, many people can learn from Mr. Paul. I want them to have the opportunity to experience the same lessons I have. Just click on the appropriate icons at the top of this post or use your forward button on your email program.