American corporations soon realized that this new self was not a threat but their greatest opportunity. It was in their interest to encourage people to feel they were unique individuals, and then exploit and market ways to express that individuality. To do this they turned to techniques developed by Freudian psychoanalysts to read and understand the inner desires of the new self. The final episode of this four-part series then dives into how politicians on the left, in both Britain and ... Continue Reading
Updating Aristotle’s “Components of Wealth”
Throughout this book, I cite research to support the recommendations I make for defining your own personal Gyroscope. Some of this material is from contemporary sources. Yet, for many of the over-arching concepts and themes, I draw from the ancient world. When financial services professionals first enter treatment, we start with a review of some key themes, including virtue, character, greed, obsession, and other classically based time-proven behavioral standards. For these exploratory ... Continue Reading
The Psychology of Commerce
Consider the following statement: “The national budget must be balanced. The public debt must be reduced; the arrogance of the authorities must be moderated and controlled. Payments to foreign governments must be reduced, if the nation doesn't want to go bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.” Can you hazard a guess on when this warning was uttered and who made these dire predictions? These statements were actually made more than 2,000 years ago ... Continue Reading
Money Can Buy You Unhappiness
Twenty years ago, I was working with a very clever, but ruthless and self-absorbed financial analyst. He was a young man in his late 30s who had just been offered an $11 million deal with a major Wall Street firm. My patient was a specialist in an ascending industry sector that was sizzling. He had many contacts in the field and he had grown up in a “financial family;" a distant cousin was a frequent commentator on a weekly business radio program and his siblings (a sister and two brothers) all ... Continue Reading
Stop Repressing Virtue
What is your interpretation of morality? What is the essence of dignity? What does it mean to be virtuous? You see, deep inside your mind, you already know your true path to wellness. This blog is a vehicle that can only be powered by the self: self-awareness, self-discipline, and self-control. Based on more than 25 years of treating professionals in the financial services industry, and studying wall street psychology I know that repression of virtue is at the root of many ... Continue Reading
The Power of TAO
The value of this blog does not lay solely in the specificity of its recommendations. Instead, the deeper value lies in providing a framework that enables the FP to envision a path to self-fulfillment. Basically, while the end results should be similar, some strategies may not work as well as others for certain people. That is why I encourage all my patients to explore different teachings and programs. Knowledge can be power from many sources. One of the beauties of life is that we can keep ... Continue Reading