Executive TLDR
This business works 100% of the time when you work it.
Success requires consistent recruiting and daily activity.
Control your attitude — positivity fuels energy and results.
Invite relentlessly to business briefings; that’s where growth happens.
The long-term reward is freedom, impact, and generational income.
Video Summary
In this energetic and conviction-driven talk, Patrick Salerno reflects on 30 years of building inside Primerica and delivers a clear message: you can have whatever you want — if you commit to the work. Speaking from the perspective of a once-broke college student who wanted another way, he emphasizes that freedom, not just money, is the true prize. Over time, as income grows, the deeper reward becomes control over your time and life.
Patrick reinforces a foundational truth: the business works 100% of the time when you work it. He illustrates this with a simple recruiting story from a furniture store visit. Instead of brushing off a salesperson, he turned the interaction into a prospecting opportunity using a simple question: “If the money was better, would you consider doing something different?” Rather than overcomplicating the conversation, he focused on closing for a name and number. The next day, he played the company overview video, asked which path the prospect preferred, handled the close, collected identification, and submitted the application. For him, recruiting is not complicated — it’s activity.
He also highlights the excitement of legacy by sharing that his son recently passed his state exam and immediately began building a team. That momentum, he explains, represents the future of the business. Success doesn’t depend on background, education, or special talents. As taught by the late mentor Joe Anselmo, everyone walks through the door with everything they need to win — desire and the heart of a champion matter more than credentials.
Patrick then shares a powerful client story from a field training appointment years earlier. A young couple purchased term life insurance and Roth IRAs. Years later, when the wife tragically passed away, the policy’s Increasing Benefit Rider doubled the $500,000 coverage to $1 million. Delivering that check to the grieving husband reinforced why the mission matters. Beyond the emotional impact, he also points out the win-win structure of the business — helping families while building income and wealth.
He closes with two controllable variables: activity and attitude. Your activity level determines opportunity, and your attitude determines energy. Negativity drains performance; positivity fuels it. He urges attendees to leave training and immediately begin inviting for the next business briefing because that’s where growth is born. Success, he concludes, is a thinking game. Mentorship, belief, and consistent action create generational income — even beyond one’s lifetime.
The blueprint is simple: work hard, invite constantly, protect your attitude, and commit for the long haul. Freedom follows.
FAQs
What is Patrick’s core success formula?
Work consistently, maintain a strong attitude, and commit long-term.
Why does he say the business works 100% of the time?
Because results directly follow consistent recruiting and activity.
What is the key recruiting principle he demonstrates?
Close for a name and number first — don’t overcomplicate the initial conversation.
What is the Increasing Benefit Rider?
A policy feature that increases the death benefit over time, as shown in his $1 million claim story.
What are the two controllable variables in success?
Activity and attitude.
Why are business briefings critical?
They are the primary growth engine for recruiting and team expansion.
What motivates long-term commitment?
Freedom — the ability to control time, income, and lifestyle.
Does background or education determine success?
No. Desire and commitment are the deciding factors.
What role does positivity play?
It preserves energy and improves performance.
What is the ultimate reward of staying in the business long term?
Generational income and impact that continues beyond your lifetime.
Glossary
Business Briefing
A presentation meeting designed to introduce prospects to the business opportunity.
Financial House Presentation
A structured overview explaining the company model and income paths.
IBA Independent Business Application
The enrollment form submitted to start a new representative.
Increasing Benefit Rider IBR
A policy feature that increases life insurance coverage over time.
Term Life Insurance
Affordable life insurance providing coverage for a specific period.
Roth IRA
A retirement account funded with after-tax dollars allowing tax-free qualified withdrawals.
Activity Level
The measurable effort put into prospecting, presenting, and recruiting.
Attitude Control
The conscious choice to maintain a positive and productive mindset.
Transcript:
How we doing out there? Who knows what they want out of this thing, right? I’ve been having that song blasted in my car the last couple of days, thinking about what I wanted to say today. And I got to tell you, 30 years in the making, you can have whatever you want. You really can have whatever you want if you commit to what you heard today. But some of you guys, I’m looking around, some of you guys are getting tired, right? Right? Little sleepy. Maybe the lunch made you tired. Success takes work, right, guys? But it’s going to be worth it is what I’m going to let you know. So we’ve been in this business 30 years. Thank you to Joe and Denise Cardino. Give it up for them one more time. I remember way back when being a broke college student, wishing there was another way.
Who knows what I’m talking about, right? Who wants to fire their boss? Who wants to get up every day when they want to get up and not worry about what paul, you just said get up. Get up, right? Think about that. A lot of you guys really want this business, but a few of you are going to pop their head up and explode after this. And I’m excited about that. Guys, we’re on a major move right now. And the longer you’re here, you find out that the thing that you really want the most is freedom, right? When you make the money you need to make, you start getting you some of your things, the thing you want is no one to control you. Who would agree with that, right, guys? So a couple of things that I want to go over with you guys, this business works 100% of the time when you work it, right?
And listen, I had to throw some proof in that in the last couple of days, because how many people ever go shopping for maybe a new piece of furniture or a car or TV? Who does stuff like that? Who loves their mother? The hands work still. You guys up? All right, good. Well, my wife decided it was time to get a new couch. You notice how I phrased that we don’t really need a new couch, but she thinks we need a new couch. So we’re going around, we’re looking at different stores, and I met a gentleman, his name was Met. Exactly. I never met anybody named Deo. His wife’s Naido. No, it’s bad joke. Bad joke. So we meet this guy, right? And he comes out and he goes, can I help you? What do most of you say when a salesperson comes up to you and says, can I help you?
No, I’m okay. Right? You go, Listen, that’s a recruiting opportunity right there. So the guy comes out, and if you ever go furniture shopping, they follow you. They chase you around. You know what I’m talking about? They hunt you down in the store. So this guy’s following us around. My wife is telling him what we’re looking for. And I said to him, how long have you been doing this? And he goes, about three years. I said, how do you like it? And he goes, It’s okay. I said, did you ever think about doing something different if the money was better? Now, that’s the solerno phrase that pays. You can write that one down. And he said yes. And all I want to do on my initial contact is close with a name and a number, not tell the whole Primerica story. Right, guys? Listen, everybody’s got places to go and people to see.
So do I. And it was funny, too. This is a funny part of the story. I had my dog with me in the store. I have a dog that’s registered as a service animal, kinda. And Co is in the store, in the furniture store. She wanted to go up on all the couches, right? And the guy looks at me and he goes, don’t worry. He goes, there’s protection if it gets cut from animal nail or anything. And I said, I don’t have a pet. What makes you think that? So that’s a joke for later. You guys could get that. But it was pretty funny. He was giving me pet protection on my furniture. So what did I do? I got the name and the number, and yesterday I met with him and he came out to the farmingdale office. And what did I do? I sat in the farmingdale office and I did the most masterful presentation that you can ever see.
And some of you guys might be able to do it as good as me. I was able to press a triangle that says play on the video. Who knows what I’m talking about? And I sat there with enthusiasm as he watched the video, the financial house video, the recruiting one, right at the end of the video, it shows how many paths, all right? The ones that are using it are kind of getting this. He immediately said so I said to him, which path would you choose? And he said, the third one, for sure. I said great. I said, what would stop you from getting started right now? He goes nothing. I said great. I need two forms of ID, a major credit card and a driver’s license. And we submitted the IBA, and he was here today, and that’s a recruit that’s called the work.
All right, guys. That’s the work, right? So we’re jacked up about what’s happening in this business right now. Another real exciting part about this business is my son Nick just passed the state exam, and it’s a big deal. Nick not only passed the state exam, but he brought his best buddy down who passed the state exam, and he brought down three people. And Justin’s here for the whole day, too. So my son’s got a team of five people, and he’s brand new in Primerica. That’s what we’re excited about, the future of Primerica. That is huge stuff. So this business works 100% of the time. When you work it, everyone can do this. One thing that sticks in my mind from the late, great Joenser is you walked through the front door with everything that you need to win with this business. No special talents or abilities.
It’s not about the college you went to or didn’t go to. It’s not about where you grew up or maybe the wrong side of the tracks. It’s about your desire to be somebody. It’s about the heart of a champion that gets you where you need to go in a Primerica business. Because, listen, being an entrepreneur, right, having freedom and responsibility, that’s not always easy to make that choice, guys. When it’s sunny, sometimes I’ll hop on the boat instead of going to the office, you know what I’m saying? So we all struggle with doing what we need to do when we need to go do it. People need what we do in a big way, guys. And the longer we’re here, all of the examples have come forward that really make it shining examples of why we’re at the right place with the right company. And I remember I was on a field training appointment about ten years ago, and I was training a new guy, and went to go see his friend, and they were young, the couple was young, and we wound up they were just getting married.
We wound up doing some term life insurance and two Roth IRAs, right? Very, very average. Ten years later, the wife died of cancer while before ten years prior. She was preferred plus, right? I remember going to his house, and it was a $500,000 death benefit on the policy. And him, in his mind, he’s a police officer in Nassau County. In his mind, he goes, you know, I’m going to get another 500, but I don’t know how I’m going to make all this work. Well, the good part about a Primerica policy is it had something called an IBR Increasing Benefit Rider. It created a policy that was no longer $500,000 death benefit. It was $1 million, guys. I had a $1 million check in my car. How cool is that? So I went to his house and he’s like, pat, well, I don’t even know how we’re going to do it.
I’m taking a little bit of leave right now, but my head’s in a million different directions right now. And I put that on the table, and he goes, what’s that? And I said, it’s a million dollars. I said, this plus the other stuff you have, you’re good for the rest of your life, buddy. You’re all set. You’re going to be able to be here and be able to stay with the kids and focus on what’s most important. You could laugh for that. That’s a big deal. It’s a huge deal. Even more huge. He took that million dollars, he threw it into a Bright House account. We made 30 G’s on that one on the way home. That was pretty fun, too. The money’s not too bad either. We love helping people, but there’s a bunch in it for us, too, right? Win win, right? Pretty good.
You control your activity and your attitude. One thing I noticed is that it’s more fun to have a positive attitude than a negative attitude. Who would agree with that? Guys, when you have a negative attitude, do you realize that you’re wearing down on your own energy? Right. Being positive just makes every single thing better. Right? That is a choice to do that. That’s not how we grew up. We didn’t learn that from my parents. Right. Although my mom was always positive. Right. But your activity, that’s up to you, too. And sometimes you guys neglect that part a little bit too much. Like, for example, you’re going to have a night this week when we’re all going to go back out to training and there’s going to be masterful training going on. But the most important meeting that’s going to go on is the business briefing.
That’s where the work comes into play today. When this ends today, you need to begin to invite people for Wednesday or Tuesday or whatever your op night is in your local office. So it’s loaded. That’s why we invested today, guys. That’s what this time is about. Right now you’re sharpening your axe so you can make that happen and we’re going to end with this. Success is all about the way you think and you totally control the way you think, right? We were mentored by a guy, man, he was bigger than life. Joe Answer’s name was mentioned probably a dozen times today and he’s been dead 15 years. Think about how crazy that is. His family, he left them making a little over a million bucks. Now they’re making $3 million. What a business, right? You make more money gone when you’re here. It’s incredible. So, folks, it’s all up to you.
I wanted to give big ups to my incredible partner. We would not be here today if it wasn’t for the great help of partnership of Maurice Solerno. Thanks, everybody. We’ll see you off the top. Thanks, guys.
