Learning to Find Connections in the Face of Rejection
Words by Jireh Quines
“I am really inspired to be able to help people, which may take time. But all things that are worth having takes time.”
Micah Lonbeck
“Autism”- what thoughts do you ponder on whenever you see or hear this word?
Maybe this word sparked a certain type of curiosity that makes you want to dive deeper and do your research…or maybe you just thought about someone dear to you who have been diagnosed with it. Either way, it is the inevitable to have questions regarding the matter - questions like, what is it?, how does it happen?, or when in life does it occur?
Most of us may have heard or been aware of Autism being diagnosed during an individual’s early childhood years- or at least this is the common perspective. However, this was not the case for Micah Lonbeck, a Greatway Financial Advisor, who was diagnosed in his later years (age 40) with Aspergers Syndrome. Despite the definite life altering diagnosis, he says “it was a certain amount of relief to find out and understand why things were different and it's good to know that I wasn’t just crazy.” On the other hand, he also admits that it was still a challenge having to navigate through the changes that occurred in his life and even the personal relationships he had. “It was devastating to have to restructure how I viewed different interactions,” he says. Micah may have not expected the change in his relationship status and career path, but this only triggered his desire to work through the circumstance and find his purpose.
Micah has quite an interesting professional history that showed his creativity in finding means to create income. He went to school in the US to become an electrician and also has many different experiences doing businesses in various industries like construction and farming. At one time, his primary source of income was taking care of a chicken barn. This creativity of his was an important factor during the pandemic where he began his unanticipated journey of joining Greatway. Micah originally got his Full Life License with another MGA, and as he was going through training for his license, he mentions, “I began formulating something similar to IRP (Insured Retirement Plan) in my mind and I was glad to hear Greatway offered this and that was when everything came together for me. I was also inspired to have this plan set up for my daughters while they are still young because I believe that it will make life easier for them.”
“One of my goals is to help create a path within Greatway for more people on the spectrum, because people on the spectrum need a way to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. It might be more of an investment, but people with ASD are driven to be proficient in their area of expertise.” - Micah Lonbeck
Admit it or not, it is easy to think of the limitations Autism could bring and associate it to what is seen to be negative, but don’t be fooled! - Micah saw it as an advantage. “Yes, it is challenging at first because I get bogged down by the details and due to my struggle to pick up on social cues, it is hard for me to be spontaneous with my emotions and connect with clients, which most would see as disingenuous. But I would say that being diagnosed with Aspergers allows me to focus exactly on a certain interest I have and the concept of IRP is one of them,” Micah says. With his ability to retain 100% of the information, Micah did a deep dive and currently understands the IRP plan down to the last detail. Since he is geared towards the analytical side, instead of the emotional, he found connection with clients who are focused on the same aspects of the plan, where they are more interested with the facts, numbers, and how realistic the results could be for their goals.
Getting to know Micah a bit more, he shared that his one specific passion would be reading books, particularly exploring Jewish teachings. On top of that, he finds inspiration in many things, including movies. “I resonate quite a bit with the character Matthew from the movie called ‘The Chosen’ where the actor actually has Aspergers in real life and it is suspected that Matthew from the bible may have displayed signs of Aspergers as well,” Micah says. If there was one advice he would like to share to someone who has been recently diagnosed with Autism, he would say “It is important to recognize what it means to have Aspergers but it is also important not to use it as a crutch (an excuse or to rely on) because there is always an opportunity.”
Yes, everything shared above must be so inspiring but here’s the mind-blowing part- believe it or not, most people that meet Micah do not notice any signs of Autism. Why is this? Micah shared that he worked hard on gaining the ability to modulate his voice that allows him to sound like everyone else or what everyone sees as normal. To tie it all together, what most would see as weakness, Micah saw as an open opportunity. He is inspired to help people and strives to bring the value IRP has to offer and although it takes time, he believes it is worth it.
Don’t forget to leave a comment / review below!