He started Sam Hebert Financial Group in 1995 with a business focus on retirement and estate planning. Hebert wanted to be able to support his family, and the aptitude test he took strongly suggested this field.

“I chose this business because I realized that I could work well into my 80s,” Hebert said. “I wanted a career instead of just a job.”

Hebert said he left home at 17 years old because he “was such a knucklehead” that he wouldn’t listen to anyone.

“I spent the next 15 years bumping heads with the rest of the world and not getting anywhere,” he said. “When I humbled myself and began to listen, I became open to learning.”

Hebert began reading and listening to philosophers like Wayne Dyer and Steve Covey. He attended local area seminars such as “Education for Living” given by Mike Pappania. All of them basically had the same idea, “Change the way you look at the world, and your world will change,” he said.

“In other words, you have to shift your focus from worrying about what the world does to you, and instead focus on how you react to events that take place,” he said. “This is a determining factor of the quality of life you will have.”

Hebert was recently named the No. 1 agent for New York Life in the country. There are approximately 12,000 agents all over the United States, and many of them are from large cities, such as New York City, Boston and San Francisco.

“Some have dual degrees — finance, law, CPA — and have graduated from some of the most prestigious colleges in the United States,” Hebert said. “It’s cool to compete with these guys and win, especially when I come from a small town relative to them. It says a lot about the opportunities that Lake Charles has to offer.”

How does this new status help your clients?

This helps my current clients in so many ways. I’ll share a couple of them with you:

1. I am now on a board which consists of past council presidents for New York Life, which is a lifetime position, if I’m active. This board meets twice a year. Being a part of this board will allow me to help implement policy changes to make processes more effective to serve our clients in a better and more efficient way.

2. I am introduced to brilliant people around the United States that will teach me things I have never had access to before.

3. New York Life is not the only company we use, but it is my go-to company. The honor I received carries over to all the rest of the companies we use to serve our clients.

What is the key to success?

The keys to success: These ideas come from a book called “The Answer” by John Assaraf.

1. Create an image of your ideal life.

2. Get emotionally connected to the vision. You have to become passionate about your vision.

3. Convince yourself to believe it’s possible.

4. Give no energy to the concept of failing.

5. Start thinking and taking actions as though you already have what you desire.

6. Act this way in work and your personal life.

7. Begin each day visualizing your goal, visualizing how you want your life to be, believing with emotion that this will happen, and taking the necessary steps to make it happen.

What are your core beliefs that motivate you?

The most important moods you can have are one of gratitude and one of ambition. Gratitude creates peace and helps you to realize just how fortunate you are…how lucky you are. This gives you hope. It makes you take actions that no longer seem to be a burden. Most people, including me, over the course of our lives, create beliefs and habits that get in the way of our hopes and dreams. When you start questioning the beliefs you have, you begin to unravel the barriers that keep you from fulfilling the life you desire.

What does your future look like?

My goal is to be active in this career until I die. What really excites me about what I do is that we’re able to help men, women, and children move toward a safer and fulfilling life.

My other desire is to do motivational speaking around the country, which is something that I have already begun to do. My goal is to constantly expand what’s possible and to do my best to cultivate whatever gifts God has given me.

I have had a lot of different experiences in my life…ranging from really bad to outrageously great. For me, the more self-aware I am, the more wonderful things show up in my life. I just hope to share the lessons I’ve learned with as many people as I can so they can see the abundance of opportunities there are in the world.

• • •

Send your Businesswise suggestions to Lance Traweek, American Press, P.O. Box 2893, Lake Charles, LA 70601; or email suggestions to ltraweek@americanpress.com.

Business Snapshot

• Location: 790 E. Bayou Pines Drive, Lake Charles, LA 70601.

• Owners: Sam Hebert.

• Services provided: Financial Planning.

• Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday

• Years in Business: 24.

• Number of Employees: 3

• Phone: 436-7797.

• Email: slhebert@ft.nyl.com.

• Website: www.samhebertfinancialgroup.com

• Company Slogan or Motto: “Perhaps We Should Talk”

The staff of the Sam Hebert Financial Group is