Life Lessons from Wall Street
By Barbara Wulf
While filling up my car at a gas station recently, a homeless
man approached me and asked if I had a cigarette. I said,
“No, I don’t smoke.” He smiled and said,
“That’s good.”
The brief encounter made me reflect on the uncertain times we
have experienced in the financial world and the existence of
homelessness. Funny how the two worlds of investment banking
(Wall Street) and homelessness (living on the street) are
surprisingly juxtaposed for a time, like an eclipse. For both
worlds, there is a sense of uncertainty. Questions like how
did this predicament occur, what’s next, who can help, when
will business/life be back to normal and for some, what happened to
my job have surfaced.
Times like this can even make an optimist feel fearful and
uncertain. One can begin to lose faith and wonder, is the
glass half-full or half-empty. What’s
Next? It’s a question that many from Wall Street to Main
Street are asking. It’s a simple question with no simple
answer.
Negative words have been circulating about our financial
predicament. Words with the letter “C” have been
swirling around with hurricane-like force. Words like Crisis,
Chaos, Collapse, Crash and Catastrophe. What? No
Chocolate? Hardly, who can afford dessert? What about
positive words like Comfort…no yet. Confidence, I hope
so. Calm… there’s a word worth visiting.
Despite the uncertain financial times swirling around us, we
can choose to be in the eye of the storm, the place of calm and
collect. Remaining in the eye for 24-7 is probably not
possible, but visiting the eye can be a place where we exercise
courage and confidence. Visiting the eye is not about denial,
ignorance or defiance. The eye can provide a place to reclaim
our present and future, breathe, review our life goals, examine our
decision-making and strategize. The eye provides a place where
the head and heart connect. The eye is where we pick up the
pieces, mend or strengthen our “I” and get
recentered.
Most of us become irrational in our decision-making when we
stay in the swirl of fear and desperation. Remember the eye of
the storm to:
§Get back to basics.
§Hold to your core values.
§Keep life simple.
§Let go of that which does not serve you,
lessen the load.
Choose your perspective and don’t get lost in the swirl
of uncertainty that affects your life, your career, your finances
and your relationships.
