Monica, 68, knew that artistic success doesn’t come easy. In addition to raw talent and grit, it takes the right resources at the right time: inspiring professors, dedicated practice space, and state-of-the-art (pardon the pun) facilities.
Read MoreAs someone with Russian heritage, I’ve never been partial to summer, beach days, or beachy books. I’m a fall girl: Days shorten, winds chill, and I joyfully anticipate the invigorating cold and snow.
Read MoreHumans are subject to an insidious push and pull between comfort and discomfort. Like any species with the evolutionary persistence to survive for millions of years, we’ve survived largely by our ability to identify and avoid threats — toothsome predators in days long past, nebulous anxieties of moneylessness and failure today.
Read MoreDue to the highly sensitive nature of my work, I cannot share details that haven’t been anonymized and veiled. So, I wrote a short story. It’s a work of realistic fiction, much like the numerous historical fiction books I consume.
Read MoreIn order to wrap our minds around a client’s purpose, wealth advisors must go below the surface, beyond the realm of technical issues such as alpha, beta, and standard deviations, into what matters most: the land of emotional intelligence — EQ.
Read MoreI lay in a rescue toboggan — the emergency-red sled ski patrols use to transport injured skiers to safety — whizzing down a run ironically called Twister, pelted on all sides by cold, biting February snow, peering into a chasm of questions.
Read MoreIn this article, Andrea and Randy review some of the most common — and destructive — messages in our respective fields and put forth some tips on how to take back control.
Read MoreIf you’d seen me at six, in tears at the base of the rope-tow line, my parents ski-footed and taking the slow ride up to the top of Butternut Basin, you’d never think that protestful, bratty little girl would turn into a passionate skier.
Read MoreMy love of reading was built on a foundation of fiction. I have vivid memories of reading under a tree in Westchester with one of our family’s many dogs, devouring Gone with the Wind. This love would extend through my travels of early adulthood — to the otherworldly classics of French and Russian literature.
Read MoreMy father named our family’s first dog — a medium-sized, regal brown poodle — Cato. During Cato’s long life, many assumed the name “Cato” came from the Green Hornet’s sidekick, similarly named “Kato.” However, my father, never a TV watcher, insisted that he’d named the dog for some long-dead Ancient Roman senator.
Read MoreCruising down the FDR Drive, I felt ten pounds lighter. That unmistakable feeling hovered: The ceaseless churn, the infinitude of events and minds and souls, the millions of stories flaring up and dying away under lights that never burned out.
Read MoreI heard my father’s message of resilience throughout my childhood. It, and other better-known variations of the sentiment — ”The only way out is through” (a Robert Frost paraphrase), “If you’re going through hell, keep going” (Winston Churchill) — turned grit into my north star.
Read MoreI’ve been in wealth management since 1998. Before that, I practiced corporate tax law at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, & Garrison and worked as an investment banker at JP Morgan. I’ve seen the topic of financial security from many angles: the legal, the numerical, and most recently, the psychological and emotional.
Read MoreNo one experiences higher highs or lower lows than entrepreneurs. Google “entrepreneurial mindset” and you’ll find that the five key characteristics of successful entrepreneurs are: a positive attitude, creativity, persuasive communication, intrinsic motivation, and tenacity.
Read MoreIn the depths of winter, with lakes frozen and boats shrink-wrapped, I ask myself why I love to sail. My attempt to answer that question follows. Spoiler alert — it’s not about the warm weather, and it’s not about sailing’s similarities to the high seas of investing.
Read MoreA lot of money-oriented people don’t see the point in writing. A lot of corporate communications are filled with typos, dry language, and other missed opportunities to generate meaning. I went away from the literary arts for a long time, focusing on my career. But I came back when I desperately needed answers. I’m never leaving again.
Read MoreMay, 2020. COVID-19 decimates our country; sirens screech night and day in New York City; thousands of Americans die daily; hospitals are overrun with the sick and dying; unemployment levels reach the highest rate in my lifetime. In the midst of all of it, I decide to resign from corporate America. My mom, who, in her ninth decade, still guides me twice daily, asks, “Who leaves a great job in the middle of a global pandemic?”
“Well mom,” I say, “I do.”
Read MoreGrit, Grace, Growth, and Gratitude — if you’ve come this far, you’ve seen these words repeated all over my site. You might be asking yourself: Why? Why those four Gr-words? Are they not just four more nice-sounding business words?
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