Executive TLDR
Success in Primerica can provide real financial stability during life’s toughest moments.
Ryan Elliott built the business from age 18 and became financially independent early.
After losing his wife unexpectedly, he did not work for three months yet still earned $67,000.
Team leadership and residual income allowed him time to grieve without financial pressure.
Most people return to work quickly after tragedy due to financial necessity.
Primerica offers not just income, but flexibility, ownership, and support.
Long-term success requires consistency, goals, discipline, and faith.
The true value of the opportunity shows during life’s hardest challenges.
Video Summary
Ryan Elliott delivers an emotional and powerful message about the deeper impact of building a business with Primerica. He begins by sharing his journey, joining the company at 18 years old with no experience and achieving significant success by age 21. He built the business through different life stages—single, married, and later as a father—eventually becoming a Regional Vice President. However, his message shifts from ambition and growth to resilience and preparation when life takes an unexpected turn.
In late December, his wife experienced back pain that quickly escalated into devastating medical news. On January 16, doctors informed them she had only three months to live. Instead of three months, he had just 50 days. During that time, financial concerns were never the focus. They spent between $25,000 and $50,000 seeking treatment options, without hesitation. The ability to act immediately without worrying about income or job security came from years of building his Primerica business.
For the first three months of the year, Ryan did not work at all, yet the business generated $67,000 in income—approximately $22,000 per month. Because of a strong team and leadership support, including figures like Steve Rizza, the business continued operating. Field training appointments, conference calls, and client servicing were handled seamlessly. In a traditional job, he believes he would have been terminated. In Primerica, ownership and residual income provided flexibility and stability.
Ryan reflects on how many people in his grief support group had to return to work within weeks after losing loved ones, often under financial strain. That reality reinforces his conviction about the opportunity Primerica provides. While critics may misunderstand the company, he emphasizes that its true value appears during crisis—not just in good times, but when life is most difficult.
He closes by challenging the audience to think beyond immediate earnings. The effort, consistency, and relationships built within Primerica create long-term security. Success requires hard work, clear goals, discipline, and faith. But when tragedy strikes—as it eventually does for everyone—the business can provide time, flexibility, and peace of mind. For Ryan, Primerica proved to be far more than money; it became a foundation that carried him and his children through unimaginable loss.
FAQs
How long had Ryan been in Primerica before his wife passed?
He joined at 18 and had been building the business for nearly three decades.
How much did he earn while not working for three months?
Approximately $67,000 total, averaging about $22,000 per month.
Why does he emphasize ownership over employment?
Ownership provided flexibility and protection that a traditional job likely would not have offered.
What lesson does he want others to understand?
Build the business seriously now so it supports you during both good times and crises.
What drives him now compared to earlier in his career?
Helping others build financial security so they are prepared for life’s unexpected challenges.
Glossary
Primerica – A financial services company focused on helping middle-income families with life insurance, investments, and financial education.
Regional Vice President (RVP) – A leadership level within Primerica that includes team-building and leveraged income.
Residual Income – Ongoing income generated from a built organization rather than only personal production.
Financial Independence – Having sufficient income and flexibility to cover expenses without reliance on a traditional employer.
Ownership Mindset – Operating as a business owner with long-term vision rather than as an employee trading time for money.
Transcript:
How’s everyone doing? Very excited. Excited to be here. My team, they did a great job. They made these awesome shirts. Great color. It’s Tia’s favorite color. With this team tia on the sleeve, it was just absolutely awesome. Thank you for that. This is like a bittersweet moment for me, being up here on stage. It’s really something that normally I’m up here and talking about Primerica. I’m fired up. I’m excited. I’m just, you know, focused on the future. I still am. I’m still fired up and excited. It’s just definitely a different thing going on here. So what I’m going to talk to you about today, we talk a lot about the journey. We talk about goals and dreams and passion, and those are all my really go topics. But I wanted to talk a little about the destination a little bit today because when Joe Enser first came into this business, when I first met Joe Enter, he always talked about the difference between a challenge and a problem.
And a challenge is anything you can write a check for, right? Something that’s $10,000, you write a check for it, you can make the challenge go away. A problem is something you can’t just write a check for. And really, that’s what I experienced this year. Just to give you a little background, I’ll do that in a second. But I want to ask two questions. First off, if you’re brand new here and you’re sitting here thinking, can I make a living in Primerica? I could absolutely, 100% guarantee you that you could succeed here. You can make a living here. You can do amazing things with this company. Just to give you a little background, I joined the company when I was 18 years old. No financial services experience. By the time I was 21, I got the ring. I built this business initially while I was single, so I know how to do it while I was single.
I then went on and got married. I had two kids. My wife only worked 5 hours, 6 hours a week. Never used her money. She worked for the church. She always used to give more than she took. So I built it. We promoted a regional vice president, got an extra diamond while were married. And then now I’m on this new journey, this new chapter in my life where I’m doing this business once again. But now as a widower, and you don’t expect that at 46 years old to lose your wife at 43. You just don’t expect it. So what I wanted to talk about is what happens, think about, and this is why I’m so fired up. And it might not come across that way, but I’m so fired up about our business because in reality, it’s our business and the time and energy invested in our business that allowed me to do the things that I needed to do when I needed to do them right.
I did not work the first three months of this year at all. And I barely have worked since then. Like, I started working maybe a little. In June, our team will tell you, I’m on a conference call. Not on a conference call. At a meeting, not at a meeting. It’s really something that our business has really positioned us to really thrive during this time. So all of us are going to experience something. We’re all going to go through something, whether it’s us personally, physically, or we’re going to go through it with somebody in our family. But are you going to be prepared? If I was working for a job, I would have been fired. Hands down, would have been fired, but not here. So just to give you a little know, in January, Tia, my wife, was totally fine. In November, we did a two week trip to Disney.
It was one of the best trips I ever had in Disney with her and the family. We’ve done that a lot, and this one was unbelievable. At the end of November, went away for a week in Thanksgiving. Christmas came and was okay. In the end of December, she hurt her back. Totally fine, healthy. Hurt her back. Went to the hospital. They said, oh, it’s back pain. Wait a week, and we’ll see if it’s better. Came back a week later, they said, there’s something not right. So we got more tests. January 16, we sat down with the doctor, and they said, we got some bad news. You got three months to live. Go write your letters sitting in a doctor’s office and having a doctor say that to you. You have three months to live. You start to look at life a little differently. Right. Everything just changes.
It’s just absolutely. I can’t even explain what that was like. And the thing that was so far from my mind at that moment was my business, right. What I was going to do financially. And let me tell you another thing. They said, there’s things you could do that are going to cost money that insurance didn’t cover. And we didn’t worry about that. That month of January, we spent between 25 and $50,000 cash trying to fix this and trying to make that three months, three to five years. Now, what ended up happening is that was January 16. I didn’t even get the three months. I would have liked the three months. I got 50 days. That’s how long it was from start to finish, right. Died holding my hands. Horrible, horrible experience. And I just want to take a moment, and we couldn’t have done this, couldn’t have survived this.
And there’s so many people to thank. But I just want to thank Allison Bell for all that she did during that time, but especially Steve RZA. The man was just a rock. Every day. Every day, he was there and there, all the way to the second to last day that she passed away, he was there in the hospital. Funny story, I won’t tell it now, but how he got in the hospital, it was just crazy. But he was there every step of the way. I had many conversations with Keith Oto. I was thinking about selling my business. I was thinking about getting a designated regional vice president and talking about what I needed to do. Keith was there calling me every single day. As you know, Steve just stepped up and said, don’t worry about any of that. I’ll just do it all for no money, nothing.
I’ll just take care of everything. I’ll do conference calls. I’ll take your people out on field training appointments. I’ll handle client issues. Whatever it was, he was there and handled every single step of it. And I appreciate that, Steve. Thank you. So now here we are, right? I’m doing this business. I got two kids, a 14 year old son, a 16 year old daughter who’s got a boyfriend. Now I can’t even stomach it. I’m like, Tia, man, I’m pissed right? When you leave me with this. I mean, come on. It’s horrible. So difficult. But let me tell you, Amade, you thank the Lord. Even in the midst of all this trials and turbulations, all of this crazy stuff, I’ve seen the Lord’s hand in my life and working in my life. It’s just been amazing how he’s been there through this, in spite of what happened.
But it’s difficult. It’s hard to stay focused sometimes. It’s hard to get excited. But what drives me today is different than what drove me early on in the business. What drives me today is to be able to give other people an opportunity to be able to live what I lived during the time. We’re all going to go through tough times. We’re all going to experience grief and challenges. But will they have the same opportunity? Are they going to be worrying about money? Are they going to be worrying about their job? Are they going to worry about what’s going to happen if something happens to their loved one and they have to go to work? I’m on a grief group with eight other people. I’m the oldest one, right, and the only male. It’s crazy to see how many people had to go back to work after two weeks, three weeks, they’re going back to work.
They’re struggling for money, they’re hurting. That blows my mind, right? But our company has given us that chance. Now, just to give you some numbers, january and February and March, I did not work. Company paid us $67,000, an average of $22,000 per month, and I didn’t work. Not a single day. Right? That’s because we got a great team, great support, right? It’s just absolutely amazing. But that’s the opportunity. So we talk about money and we talk about finances, and we talk about all of these different things that are truly important, but really the opportunity that you have. Like when people oh, Primerica. I heard of that. Right? Oh, that’s a pyramid. Or I did that. I tried that. They just don’t get it. They don’t understand. So what I challenge you to do is understand truly what you have here, what this can do for you, what this opportunity can do for you in that difficult moment, at that difficult time.
Now, what is it going to take? It’s going to take you staying focused and being consistent. It’s going to take hard work. There were a lot of times we didn’t want to work. And you know what happens when you work, when you don’t want to work? That’s the time that you really start to develop and build a business. You have to have goals, right? Have goals, have dreams, have a passion, have a game plan to get you to achieve those goals. But I’m telling you this at the end of the day, when it’s really difficult and you’re going through those really challenging times, it’s going to be the effort and energy and the friendships that you’ve built here in this company that are going to help you get you through and your relationship with God. Because it absolutely is what it takes. So I challenge you.
I challenge you as you go out. And you’re building a business and you’re getting rejection and people are giving you a hard time, and maybe things don’t go the way you want them to go all the time. Just think about what it’s going to be like. Not only the good times, but think about how this business is going to help you, get you through some of the tough times. So thank you so much and have a great rest of the school.
