Making an unlimited difference

^“It’s a beautiful new day; now let’s get to work.”

Those words say so much about John F. Nichols, MSM, CLU, in terms of gratitude and being present while moving forward.

After all, the 25-year MDRT member and new MDRT President knows that adversity can change a journey at any moment, and small, consistent actions create a path to success. He knows how it feels to reach new professional heights and nearly lose everything in the same day. And he believes that resilience and true success require cultivating purpose and investing in action.

To wit: He is two years into a three-year program that requires him to meet virtually at 5 a.m. On Saturdays.

“Last Saturday’s class was specifically on two items: graduating from the ‘I’ to the ‘we’ and what our obligations are in life so we can operate in a selfless manner,” Nichols said. “I’m reading books I never would have read, learning how to communicate concepts differently and helping myself think differently. It’s all part of lifelong learning.”

Independent and united

Nichols started learning about teamwork and selflessness at a young age. Sharing chores as the third oldest among eight children, he vacuumed the kitchen floor nightly and was responsible for the three-hour job of mowing the large front and backyards. His parents — dad was a banker, and his mom owned a handmade jewelry business and also volunteered for 50 years at a neighborhood school — assigned household tasks to their kids at a young age, first, because they needed the help; second, it built a strong work ethic and independence; and third, it taught that many hands make for light work.

“My parents managed our home like my dad ran the bank. We operated as a family unit,” he said.

As he got older and took on jobs like caddying and sorting empty bottles in a soda pop warehouse, Nichols became comfortable around many different types of people and accumulated stories. When he was 14 and working in a battery warehouse, he was tasked with pricing a pallet of boxes containing flashlight batteries. Nichols thought he had worked efficiently and earned a half-day off until he realized he labeled the $6.99 boxes at $9.99. He had to scrape off and replace the incorrect price labels, a lesson learned about precision and double-checking your work. Asked by his dad to paint a rental property after the tenants moved out, Nichols completed the work only to have his dad identify that his son used ceiling paint on the walls and wall paint on the ceiling.

“I learned the importance of humility,” Nichols said, laughing.

Finding purpose

After initially going to college to be an athletic trainer, Nichols shifted to major in business with a minor in operations. He briefly sold radio ads until a golfer he caddied for recruited him to the life insurance profession. Nichols struggled at first to build a client roster, but he overcame his fear of cold calling thanks to the “thought zapper” — snapping a rubber band on his wrist to override hesitation — and he became a “phoneaholic.”

“I would call anybody anywhere anytime,” he said. “It changed the trajectory of my life.”

After being referred by a colleague, he won an endorsement by the Association of American Medical Colleges and helped create an HIV disability program for 38 of the association’s 60 schools. That connection led to qualifying for MDRT in 1993, eight years after entering the profession. However, the day he qualified is one he will never forget.

Nichols took that afternoon to celebrate by waterskiing with friends, but he wound up fighting for his life after a tangled rope pulled him to the bottom of the lake where he hit his head. He was diagnosed as a C5, C6 quadriplegic and required six years to rehabilitate and recover.

During his absence, the medical schools participating in his HIV disability program began dropping out until only one of the original 38 remained.

“That’s how fragile our business can be,” Nichols said. “If they think you’re gone, they’ll find someone else.”

Fortunately, his own disability policy provided the money to hire a rehabilitation team to help him through his extensive recovery. Without the insurance benefits, Nichols says he would not be where he is today. Armed with greater perspective about the impact of disability coverage, he felt ready to become a business owner and formed Disability Resource Group in 1999. He lived minimally during those startup days and focused all his efforts on calling and seeing people. “Starting over energized me even more,” he said. “I saw the challenge as an opportunity to grow personally and professionally.”

Over time, he excelled in joint work and fostered long-term relationships with other specialists who could leverage his disability insurance expertise. When one large client he’d worked with for 10 years asked him to evaluate a benefit program they offered top executives, he worked extensively on the analysis and determined the client shouldn’t make any changes. Nichols earned no money from the project, but his eagerness to serve enhanced the client relationship. Later, Nichols advised that the marketplace had changed, and those benefits needed to be enhanced. The client agreed.

“Being politely persistent pays off,” Nichols said, “as long as it’s in service to and a benefit for the client.”

The process of rebuilding his life after the accident went far beyond restoring his physical abilities.

“It gave me a deeper appreciation of life, of purpose, of service, of the domino impact of our actions,” he said. “Making a difference is a high priority. So, if you feel a sense of urgency out of me, it’s because I know how valuable time is.”

Maybe it was the gym teacher/baseball coach who taught him to never, ever give up. Whatever it was, it instilled persistence, positivity and possibility that created a successful company, which grew to a team of 20, and led him to qualify for MDRT eight years after his accident and qualify for Top of the Table 18 years in a row.

Getting involved

Nichols’ MDRT volunteerism started with being part of PGA Traffic Sessions at the 2005 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He was asked to direct members to the conference from what felt like three miles away from the convention center.

“The reality was,” Nichols says, with his unmistakable humility, “MDRT members helped me find my way.”

Beyond the personal relationships and professional lessons, he served in several roles within the Membership Division, as Chair of the Member Resources Regulation and Compliance Task Force and had many speaking opportunities. He was involved with the MDRT Foundation for 10 years and, inspired by a similar event at his high school, helped build the MDRT Gives Day global fundraiser. Serving as the Foundation’s President in 2022 elevated his understanding about the difference the organization makes globally, and the fulfillment of serving others. Within the industry, Nichols also served as 2013–2014 president of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.

“As different as we all are in our unique journeys, we are all pretty much the same,” said Nichols, who also contributes to multiple organizations supporting people recovering from spinal cord injuries. “We all have heart, we all aspire for connection, we all want to be included, and we all want to make a difference.”

Leadership initiatives

As for making a difference as MDRT President, Nichols issues a disclaimer harkening back to that Saturday’s lesson: MDRT is about the we, not the me.

Then he highlights these initiatives for the next year:

• Leverage AI to bring the collective knowledge of MDRT instantaneously to members through what Nichols likened to an MDRT-branded version of ChatGPT. “That means receiving helpful tips from MDRT’s vast knowledge anytime, anywhere, any place that you want.”
• Advance MDRT’s digital transformation by enhancing the personalized member experience on mdrt.org. Building on the foundation already in place by prioritizing the rollout of a fully customized homepage for each member, ensure intuitive access to relevant resources, modernize the member directory and provide clear guidance on leveraging the MDRT brand.
• Strengthen and expand the impact of the Membership Communications Committee (MCC) by focusing on deepening the alignment between local MCCs and the global organization, while investing in leadership development and support to ensure these member-led communities thrive and deliver consistent, high-quality regional experiences.
• Continue to refine MDRT’s in-person meeting offerings, from our four major annual events to our MCC-hosted global MDRT Days. Improvements will include refining the value proposition, format and content to ensure relevance in an ever-changing marketplace. “Depth of engagement gives us the ROI on our membership,” Nichols said. “MDRT is always invested in creating these opportunities.”

Nichols often reiterates that he is one piece of the mission to benefit members. He adds that, similar to his own success, the Executive Committee reaches conclusions through detours and adaptations as well as from the contributions of many individuals who have come before them.

If other process-oriented colleagues had been in the room he painted all those years ago, Nichols says with a chuckle, the ceiling paint would have gotten on the ceiling, and the wall paint would have been on the wall.

“Because as diverse individuals, we get a better result, which makes a bigger impact,” he said, “Now, let’s go make a difference in the world, together! #MDRTMade.”