Category Archives: Uncategorized

If there is one thing I learned having spent some thirty years as a bond trader it is that mistakes and problems cannot be ignored for long, they must be addressed.  And for bond traders it is literally impossible to live through very many market cycles without experiencing at least some trades that turn sour, positions that sink underwater becoming losses.  But it is not the loss positions that get traders in trouble; rather it is the failure to address them.  That’s not as easy as it may sound, by the way, especially when positions sink rapidly from bad to worse, to even worse than you can imagine causing tension filled days and sleepless nights.  It happens, I’ve been there. 

It may be overly simplistic to say this but I suspect this may be exactly what occurred leading up to the great financial meltdown in 2008 and the collapse of some of the great Wall Street investment firms.  The collective brilliant minds who were leading these prestigious investment institutions became so overwhelmed by the enormity of the problems tangled up in those complex derivative transactions that they waited much too long to address them, thus the disastrous outcomes we all witnessed. 

What does it mean when we say there is an elephant in the room?  It simply means there is a problem or issue looming so large it is impossible not to recognize it, yet so daunting we pretend it is not there – deny its existence.  Either that or we “hope” it will simply go away, which rarely happens.  Or we cover it up, hide it, disguise it – anything but address it.  And that’s what gets us into trouble. 

Just as bond traders are bound to have trades that turn sour, we all experience an elephant in the room from time to time.  It comes in the form of disease or addiction, marital or family issues, business and job situations, it happens within our homes, workplaces, and volunteer organizations.  But it is not the elephant in the room that gets us in trouble; it is our failure to address it.  I know; I’ve been there.

When people ask me if I am retired, I have to admit I am sometimes tempted to answer not just “no” but – if you’ll pardon the expression – “hell no!!”  Though it is true I retired early from my former corporate career several years ago, it has never even occurred to me to quit working, earning a living, or being otherwise as productive as I am able – not ever.  And I have no problem expressing that to people in no uncertain terms.    

Unfortunately I’m afraid we may be at risk of squandering one of our greatest natural resources, and I’m not talking about the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, or the chronic wastefulness of our world’s precious natural commodities – although these are undeniably serious matters to be addressed both short term and long term.  No, I’m referring to the estimated 77 million people in our society popularly labeled as “baby boomers” representing nearly 29% of the American population, of which I am one. 

According to media resources 88.8 percent of baby boomers have completed high school and 28.5 percent hold bachelor’s degrees or higher, the highest education level of any previous generation.  Combined with the wisdom obtained through years of life experiences, good health and a substantially extended life expectancy makes this generation one of society’s greatest natural resources, although one with a limited shelf life.  Why should this great resource be squandered by allowing ourselves – or society allowing us – to simply sit in rocking chairs drawing pensions and social security?  Seems like a waste, doesn’t it? 

So, fellow boomers, may I suggest when people ask if we are planning to retire we should resoundingly respond not just “no” but “hell no!!” – if you’ll pardon the expression. We have too much to contribute toward the greater good; for we are after all one of the world’s greatest natural resources.  Let’s not squander it.

When Paula D’Arcy lost her husband and young daughter in a drunk-driving accident back in 1975, as you can imagine, she thought her life was over.  Only in her twenties at the time she was a young wife and mother and pregnant with another child.  “I was young, my arms filled with dreams,” she writes in her book, A New Set of Eyes, “my heart innocent and trusting.  Then the reality that I alone had survived.  Their lives were over.  And my heart’s vigil as that knowing cut through me, appearing to be powerful and consuming.” 

Life is filled with uncertainties, is it not?  Paula had no idea the tragic fate awaiting her on that day many years ago, any more than you and I can predict what awaits us tomorrow or the next day, good or bad.  Wake up on any given day and the headlines will be filled with events that too often catch us off guard; for despite our best efforts at creating stability and predictability life is at best, as it always has been, a topsy-turvy experience.  So how do we maintain our sanity in such an uncertain world?  What is there to cling to, what and who can we depend on? 

For Paula D’Arcy the answer eventually became clear when she began to realize that the only real certainty that exists is God, but not just in some sort of intellectual belief of simply knowing about God, but in actually “knowing” Him. 

Oswald Chambers writes, “We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God. If we are only certain in our beliefs,” he explains, “we get dignified and severe and have the ban of finality about our views; but when we are rightly related to God, life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy.” 

Knowing “about” God has certainly influenced my own belief “in” God,  yet I have to say that the deepening of my faith – to actually “know” God – has had little to do with any sort of philosophical, intellectual, or religious belief system.  Rather I, like Paula D’Arcy and Oswald Chambers, through the years have come to know God by experiencing Him, and through that experience realizing He is the only certainty that actually exists – and the only certainty any of us ever really needs. 

“I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness.”  – Mother Teresa 

My father-in-law was such an avid golfer who spent so much time on the golf course that golf became almost synonymous with his identity.  But as much as he was connected with the game of golf itself he was equally notorious for the rather colorful language he so often used while playing it.  His golf game and his golf language sort of went hand in hand. 

One particularly amusing story occurred several years ago when an unsuspecting stranger was assigned to my father-in-law’s foursome in a tournament.  Thinking his profanities were directed at him – or anyone who happened to be within hearing distance – after the first few holes the poor guy was about to walk off the course having had enough of being offended.  Then my father-in-law missed a put.  “Ah, hit the *#!$%#@*# ball in the hole, you idiot!!” he blurted out at himself.  Then the man realized my father-in-law’s profanities were not intended for him.  Instead his criticisms were toward himself. 

Now my father-in-law was an accomplished golfer and a student of the game from every aspect.  Yet as far as I know throughout his seventy of so years of playing he won very few tournaments.  But then winning was never his goal in the first place; rather for him it was all about the personal challenge of striving for excellence at his own game.  Golf, you see, was more than a hobby for him, it was a calling, a way of life.  It was how he connected with people – and how others connected with him.  And as the unsuspecting stranger eventually learned, in spite of his notorious self-effacing outbursts my father-in-law was always a gentleman toward his fellow players. 

For my father-in-law golf was all about striving for excellence, not attaining success.  It was about faithfulness to his calling, not winning tournaments and trophies.  That is why he was so hard on himself, why he is remembered as much by his colorful language as his love for the game – why so many of his missed puts were followed by his famous outburst, “Ah, hit the *#$%#@*# ball in the hole, you idiot!!”  Even God must have been amused – who cares much more about faithfulness than success.

(from the archives) 

Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) spent 2,338 days (nearly six and a half years) in British jails.  Far from considering it punishment, however, Gandhi chose to use his imprisonment as an extended time for reflection and writing.  The result was that no human in recent history had greater influence on our world through a course of non-violence – having led a fifth of the world’s population to independence – than Mohandas Gandhi. 

“Next to life itself,” says Stephen Covey, “the power to choose is your greatest gift.”  Every human being, regardless of circumstances, is granted the gift to choose.  Most readers of this message chose what to wear today from a wide array of garments hanging in the closet, and chose from a variety of foods in the pantry what to eat for breakfast.  We may take this somewhat for granted, but most of us are probably grateful for these choices.  Choice, however, is not limited to the privileged Western middle-class.  Consider the opposite extreme.  Those for instance, who suffered the atrocities, abuse, disease and starvation of the concentration camps either chose to share and help their fellow prisoners, or they chose to focus on self survival.  Though difficult to imagine, the gift of choice, limited though it may have been, still existed within those horrendous conditions. 

Covey, in his definition, uses the word “power”, for we are indeed empowered by the gift of choice.  Covey goes on to say the following:  “This power and freedom stand in stark contrast to the mind-set of victim-ism and culture of blame so prevalent in society today. . . . . Your power to choose the direction of your life allows you to reinvent yourself, to change your future, and to powerfully influence the rest of creation.  It is the one gift that enables all the gifts to be used; it is the one gift that enables us to elevate our life to higher and higher levels.” 

Gandhi changed the world, and freed twenty percent of humanity through non-violent actions.  He became an agent of change because of his power to choose.  The choices we make produce the results in our lives.  The mechanism for making choices, however, originates in a deeper place.  It is the power to choose.