The Story: If you’ve seen the movie, “The Big Short” that’s me (Brad Pitt – I wish, or maybe a hybrid of Pitt and Steve Carol.) Point is, I was at the epicenter of the collapse, feet on the ground, in Manhattan, on Wall Street – the day it all went down.
Mass chaos doesn’t do justice to describing the “Eye Wall” (pun intended) of this killer economic hurricane. It was sharknato.
My story is rich with fear and greed, corporate corruption, big time attorneys, Wall Street, Main Street, from the highs of Heaven to the lows of Hades.
After pouring my young heart and soul into helping people, to the best of my ability, I realized the corruptness of mega-corporations. Understanding the only true purpose of a corporation, by definition is to build shareholder wealth. “At all cost” should be copied and pasted into Webster’s or Wikipedia (wait, I can do this myself.) Short term visionaries are responsible for ‘making the quarter’ and without regard to anything else, a plan is put in place to do just this. During the financial Sharknado of 2008, this left individuals, families and even the null soul of corporations devastated, it changed the people we are.
This leads me to allow anger and pain between me and the corporation. “Let it pass through.” I tell myself, it’s a mute point, null because the corporation does not care, it does not know how to feel – a corporation is an entity. It also helped me realize shrinking my circles was a good thing. The “Circle of Trust”, like Robert De Niro so eloquently described in the movie, “Meet the Parents” was immediately roped, with barbed wire, electric fences and super k-9’s named Cujo.
Some hid under their desk, whilst the storm passed and a few years later, peeked around to assess the damage. What they saw were clients crushed because half their life-saving disappeared. Retirement dreams shattered, homes up for sale, relationships severed, nervous breakdowns and even suicide was the aftermath. An economic storm that left a wake of broken people, confused, lost and knowing not, what to do next.
The Reality: Fortunately, we the people will win the war, but the toll of battles fought, between Daniel (Main Street) and Goliath (Wall Street), left our spirits broken, our minds and body tired and our bank account empty. No one ever really wins a war.
No one ever really wins a war.
The Outcome: The crucial blow, taking up to 5 years, or longer regain composure, left us alone and somewhat scared.
So, it’s time to evaluate the man in the mirror. If you don’t like what you see, make a decision to change life’s intention, from “More, Bigger, Faster” to “Leaving a legacy of positive impact, on others and the world.”
Re-organize life, a continuing process, and live simply. Create a workable plan to do more of what you love, improving quality of life, and work towards your legacy. Continue to “Fill the bucket” with dreams. Surround yourself with good people. Once this is done, there is no mountain too great to climb.
The journey starts not with having new vistas, but with having new eyes. ~Marcel Proust
Charles Kochel founded Yield Wealth Management, helping people align their financial resources with what matters most to them. Yield Wealth is the first benefit corporation in Arkansas.
Charles also serves a non-profit, helping people of all ages reach their full potential. If you’d like to learn more about Yield Wealth, and how you might benefit from ‘mindful wealth management’ visit our website, http://www.yieldwealth.com.
Contact: charles@yieldwealth.com
No Harm 