Phil Robertson of “Duck Dynasty” fame was raised in abject poverty. His boyhood home had no electricity, toilet or bathtub. Food was anything they grew in their garden and whatever meat they could hunt. Nevertheless, he said they were always “happy, happy, happy.”

Despite his limited beginnings, Phil went on to acquire a master’s degree in education owing to his football playing skills. At Louisiana Tech, he played first-string quarterback for the Bulldogs, ahead of Pro Football Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw. Most thought Robertson was a natural for the NFL. However, his love of hunting overshadowed his love of football, and he went on to get a patent on his design of a better duck caller. The rest, as they say, is history.

Terry Bradshaw and Phil Robertson are very different personalities with two principles in common:

As an independent agent, you spend many hours driving from one dealership to the next. On any given day, you may be called on to craft reinsurance strategies, develop training plans for F&I, vet products, and provide the motivation to make everyone successful. Not all of these tasks are always our favorites, but they allow us to do the thing we love the most.

Help dealers and their people reach new levels of success and profits. It’s like the duck call to Phil or the call of the crowd to Terry. They have spent their careers doing the thing they love the most, and that’s why they are both champions in their field.

Phil once cleverly said “Terry went for the bucks, and I chased after the ducks.” They both pursued what they loved. Just remember that, even during those long days, the reward of having made a tangible difference with your dealer is worth the effort. And that’s what you love to do!

At last count, there were 23 Robertson family members working to manufacture, sell and deliver their products. The one foundational principal Phil Robertson developed in his family was the work ethic he learned as a child. “Duck Dynasty” episodes are filled with family members bucking the system while Phil reinforces the demand for a strong work ethic, often times in hilarious ways. The success in his company can be traced to his consistent effort to develop his family’s abilities to shadow his vision on how to provide the best duck call ever invented.

And what would Terry Bradshaw be without world-class players around him like Lynn Swann, Franco Harris and “Mean” Joe Greene. Bradshaw was not responsible for their world-class talent. However, he was responsible for molding them together as a team, and he did. The result? Four Super Bowl wins.

Duck Dynasty determination is doing what you love and developing those around you. It creates great duck calls, quarterbacks and independent agency teams! I love this business and I know you do as well. That’s why we do what we do. So keep up the great work and we all will be happy, happy, happy!

I look forward to seeing you on my next post! Please feel free to contact me. Exchanging ideas with F&I professionals is what I love!