Are We There Yet? vol. 234
The other day, while walking the dog, my son asked about the best piece of advice I had ever been given. I think he expected me to think about it for a while and get back to him, but a thought immediately popped into my mind.
Earlier in my career, I was at a conference for our international network, and I asked a similar question of my friend and mentor, Tom Marino. At the time, Tom was the CEO of the accounting firm, JH Cohn, which under his leadership, later merged with the accounting firm Reznick to form CohnReznick, which presently has over 4,800 employees and over 30 offices nationwide.
When I asked him for his best advice, he looked at me and said, “You can’t recover from indecision.” If you make a bad decision, you can recover and change. If you can’t make a decision, you’re paralyzed and most likely, passing up opportunities. I’ve come to appreciate that piece of advice many times over the years as I was challenged with making big decisions.
I paired that advice with a process of asking myself if I have all of the information I need to make whatever decision I’m considering, and whether waiting would bring me any additional insight. If the answer to those questions is “no,” I’m ready to make my decision, and if it turns out that I find it was the wrong decision, I know that I can recover.
Take care and stay safe.
BOOK:
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
Creation Lake is a novel about a secret agent, a thirty-four-year-old American woman of ruthless tactics, bold opinions, and clean beauty, who is sent to do dirty work in France.
“Sadie Smith” is how the narrator introduces herself to her lover, to the rural commune of French subversives on whom she is keeping tabs, and to the reader.
Sadie has met her love, Lucien, a young and well-born Parisian, by “cold bump”—making him believe the encounter was accidental. Like everyone Sadie targets, Lucien is useful to her and used by her. Sadie operates by strategy and dissimulation, based on what her “contacts”—shadowy figures in business and government—instruct. First, these contacts want her to incite provocation. Then they want more.
In this region of centuries-old farms and ancient caves, Sadie becomes entranced by a mysterious figure named Bruno Lacombe, a mentor to the young activists who communicates only by email. Bruno believes that the path to emancipation from what ails modern life is not revolt, but a return to the ancient past.
Just as Sadie is certain she’s the seductress and puppet master of those she surveils, Bruno Lacombe is seducing her with his ingenious counter-histories, his artful laments, his own tragic story.
Learn more about Bob Len here.
About Wolf Group Capital Advisors
At Wolf Group Capital Advisors, a comprehensive wealth management firm and Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, nothing is more important than the fiduciary responsibility we have in managing your wealth. Taking the utmost care, we focus on providing advice tailored to your specific circumstances. With more than two decades advising U.S. expatriates and non-US citizens employed by international organizations, we are qualified in investment strategies addressing global issues. Empathy and curiosity—combined with our experience in life planning and investment management—enable you to explore a wider set of possibilities that can lead to a fulfilling life you’ve worked hard to attain.