A Pep Talk from Gordon Gekko: Use It When You Are Down

We all have good days and we all have bad days. When I look back at my life, the highs are really high and the lows are really low. Just like startups. 2024 was shaping up to be a pretty crap year. Family issues, a massive tax bill, business issues and thus cash flow issues. And then to add insult to injury also got scammed by ID harvesters (and believe you me when I find them, there WILL be payback). 
And all within a few weeks. It felt like blow after blow after blow. Plus it’s spring break/Ramadan so no one is around and you can’t do anything yet. You feel like the whole world is against you. 

So what do I do? Besides going to the gym to work out my rage and frustration? I go listen to Gordon Gekko in “Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps”. In a famous scene where he makes his comeback, he gives advice to a friend/colleague: 

“Hey hey, stay positive, pal. Most people they lose, they whine and they quit.  But you gotta be there for the turns. Everybody’s got good luck, everybody’s got bad luck. Don’t run, when you lose. Don’t whine when it hurts. It’s like the first grade Jerry, nobody likes a crybaby.” (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO3Rd6U4CjE)

After listening to this, I remember that it’s a long game. I remember all the crap I went through to get here. I remember 2001 and 2020 and how I got through those hellish years and came through. I go to church and I also meditate to calm my mind. I do my gratitude exercise and thank God for my health, my books and all the experience I’ve had over the past decades. 

I take responsibility, accept reality and adapt. Then I come up with a game plan and do what I do best: Take massive action, attack and conquer. If you are in this situation in life, I suggest you do the same. It bloody works.