Our Founder Michael Winkelman
My mission is to be the possibility of Love Celebration, Personal Responsibility, and Social Justice. I do this by Educating, Advocating, and Living in a way that reflects this.
I am a fortunate man and was raised to uphold my religion’s edict of Tikkun Olam, a sense of purpose each of us has, and the opportunity to rise to the occasion. Tikkun Olam often means to Repair and Uplift the world. In Jewish teachings, any activity that improves the world, bringing it closer to the harmonious state for which it was created.
My mission is to be the possibility of Love Celebration, Personal Responsibility, and Social Justice. I do this by Educating, Advocating, and Living in a way that reflects this.
My Father was a Doctor and my Mother a mental health Therapist. Being of service remains a family tradition. For the first 13 years of my professional life, I was a mental health counselor and youth advocate for homeless young adults and substance abusing teens in the Los Angeles area. I combined my Undergraduate degree of Mass Communications and Sociology with my Masters in Psychology Studies to be a man of service.
I feel honored and privileged to be sitting knee to knee with people in crisis, addressing serious and often traumatic issues. Listening to the deeper needs, fears, and aches, while also addressing the pressing matters of daily life. No matter the past issues, there are matters at hand and actions needed for improving a situation. I loved what I did with a passion. Unfortunately, that was also a career path that had me making a very low income that could not sustain itself. Being freshly married I became a salesman in the world of marketing and mass communications, eventually building my own home-based business. That was lost in the Malibu/Topanga wild fires. I lost my home, my business and contacts, had a chronically ill wife, and found out that I did not have the home owner’s insurance I was supposed to have. I learned that I was tricked in a Scam, purchased phony ‘group fire insurance policy’ and had no coverage what so ever. I found myself and my wife, homeless and unemployed in one dark fiery night. It became crystal clear that integrity and good Insurance coverage mattered. Says So and Does So need to go together. I took this to heart.
I needed to start over and became a Life Insurance Agent. For the past 25+ years I have helped young Families with Life Insurance; Mature Adults prepare for and invest for a reliable Retirement Income; and focused on Seniors as a Medicare Specialist, wise Wealth Transfer and a Long-Term Care Strategist. I have been so fortunate to have sat at over 2000 kitchen tables and heard just about every story and situation possible, both the good and the bad.
We are well suited to address sometimes scary topics like: Health, Wealth, Death, and Taxes.
Currently I am working towards earning my Retirement Income Certified Planner RCIP designation from The American College of Financial Services.
As stated above, my personal mission is that every blessed day, I co-create a world of Love Celebration, Personal Responsibility, and Social Justice… in that order. Every aspect of what we do at Income Financial Advisors is rooted in these three pillars.
Love Celebration takes in the love we may have for our Spouse and Partner, our Love of our Children, Our Extended Family, Friends, Charity and Causes that touch your heart. Our team and our ideal clients want to do right by their Family and Beloveds, to take care of each other, and have, with a joyous heart, their best interests at heart. This also includes planning to care for ourselves in our Autumn and Winter years of Life. We craft our intellect and skill set to best serve love and compassion.
“What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?” Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Personal Responsibility: Our Actions and Inactions have impact and matter. We know that when we drive, we need to put on our seatbelt first, then make sure that those in our care, do the same. This we hope is common sense responsibility. I have found inspiration in the Serenity Prayer, which says: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Reinhold Niebuhr.
There are some things we have little to no control over, and there are other areas we can and must be more proactive about. We have a responsibility to be wise with our resources, to provide for those we care about, to keep certain promises, to put plans in place that improve our situation instead of just leaving things up to chance or making loved ones (or strangers) carry our burden and lack of planning. There is an Arabic proverb I carry in my heart that says “Trust in G*d, and tie up your camels”. What we do not control, we do not control. What is in your control (tying up your camels) is your personal responsibility. This is an area we can offer guidance when it is needed most.
To that purpose We are a team of specialists who assists Families and Individuals better prepare for the years ahead, so they can move forward with more elegance, ease, and grace.
Social Justice: A portion of all commissions earned goes to charities that represent our values.
We provide Multi-Generational Responsible Family Life Planning, both for ADULT CHILDREN of Aging Parents and for those AGING PARENTS, to create clarity and ease when having often difficult conversations. Our ideal Clients are those who chose to LEAVE a LEGACY of LOVE and not a MESS.
“I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to my fellow-creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” – William Penn