I was not so committed to financial success that I was willing to abandon my principles and priorities. One of the most visible examples of this is our decision to close on Sunday.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Our decision to close on Sunday was our way of honoring God and of directing our attention to things that mattered more than our business.
So many financial dreams are thwarted by the failure to act upon good intentions.
The goal of Sunday is to leave my home as little as possible.
On Sunday, I think the most important thing for me is to just turn my brain off. The idea of not trying is the key, because that's where you're relaxed enough to let your brain make new connections.
We need to accept that we won't always make the right decisions, that we'll screw up royally sometimes - understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it's part of success.
I kept trying, proposing, pushing... If you want to succeed, you cannot leave work half done, and unfortunately, many things were left half done. The choice was made not to launch a second wave of economic reforms that I was proposing.
I confess that as a young boy, Sunday was not my favorite day. Grandfather shut down the action. We didn't have any transportation. We couldn't drive the car. He wouldn't even let us start the motor. We couldn't ride the horses, or the steers, or the sheep.
When I left Merrill Lynch, one of the things that upset me the most wasn't losing my job. It was not being able to see those people the following day. It was almost like divorcing 40 people.
I don't give up on commitments until what I've been asked to do is clearly finished.
Successful people understand the value of time. Once they commit to doing something, they would never cancel.