Open?
P.S. This post is not targetted at any friend or any other senior financial services director that has MBA and/or PhD. It's just something I have in mind and wanted to blog it out generally in reference to certain people that fit the criteria.
First thing first, I must say that I have this very huge and lucky opportunity to meet a very big shot guy in the financial industry. At first, he seems nice. NONO! Doesn't mean he's not nice later. Just that the first impression of him gives me a good feeling. He's cool, open to conversation, straight forward, easy to get-along with and enjoy his work. That's something everyone would respect. Afterall, respect is to be earned. Say, he worked hard in his career to earn the respect.
The point of the whole meeting is not to have dinner and get him or my friend to pay for my drinks. It's to let me know more about financial planning and how his company can help me grow my surplus savings into a big pool of wealth through investments. Actually, I'm also not very sure about how the company is doing it because the bush is too big. Need some time to beat around it. In fact, he's trying to set my mood and thinking into "saving plans" and trying to understand how much I earn, spend and save a month; am I owing a debt life, a spend-what-I-earn life or thrifty life.
I think (maybe my thinking doesn't relates to his), I answered his questions and give my utmost attention to him. Whenever he or his female colleague is giving the talk, I'm thinking and processing all the words. Or do I look I'm daydreaming?
However, this is not how I should behave! Or at least this is not what he wants. I should act like a "potential" client asking relevant questions like "how much can I save", "how can you help me", "what is the long term benefits" or even "when can I start saving with your company". Hey come on! Must I really ask these kind of questions to show my "eager-ness"?
But hey, this man is interesting (did I mention he's interesting earlier). He told me that as long as you have enough money to spend and have no relationship problem, you are a happy person. Of course, he self-proclaimed that he's a happy person because he has no relationship problem and he has the spending power to afford a pond as big as a 3-room flat for his favourite fishes and having an income of $50K a month. Should I envy and go "wa...." because my poor cat is living in a 4-room flat with human warmness and my income is less than 1% of his? Oh well, that makes him a happy person.
OH NOW I KNOW THE WORD! ENTHUSIASM! Throughout the conversation, I think I lacked of this key factor. So he abruptly ended the whole meeting saying that I'm not open to his concept and saving plans (did he even mention of any plans). He even commented that I wasted his one hour of time talking to me. Which is why I said he's nice in the first place because he didn't forget helping his female colleague to reprimand me of wasting the one hour. Gentleman! Seriously, I can't change the way he thinks and the way I do things. If he can't accept it, too bad. Too bad, my potential to be his client is not potential enough.
Despite that, I think the the one hour conversation with him is an interesting and meaningful one. I learnt a few things but I don't know how to spell out my feelings.
I drew a graph on his paper (which of course he thinks I'm drawing nonsense). The graph goes like this:
I remember I read about an article on a recent finding that, from 0 to 20 years old, you are a happy person, this explains the steady rise in the x-axis. From 20 to 50 years old, your happiness decreases at the point where you are the most un-happy at 40 years old. After 50 years old, you start to enjoy life, that's the time where you start to feel happy and continue to feel happy until you die.
If that professional financial planner is a "happy" person (or so he claim), why did he just walk away unhappily with an unhappy mood? That's not a "happy" person should be doing! Is he lying to me about his "happiness"? Well, I can't judge about that because I'm not him. Maybe he's really happy doing such thing.
Yes, I'm partially at fault but sorry I can't change. Not all clients are the same right? Maybe some people just can't accept the way I am. It's my way. I think I'm okay so I'm not changing. I'm just very sorry that you find it hard to accept.
That female colleague of his' is actually my friend. To sum up, I would like to apologize for making the meeting ended up so abruptly and embarassingly (is there such a word). I don't know if I'm wasting your time or not but at least let me feel bad for spoiling the show.
Don't worry, I'm not angry with you (hope you are not angry with me too), anyone or anything. We are still friends! Wish you all the best in your career! Afterall, how can there be another friend as joyful as Joy?
First thing first, I must say that I have this very huge and lucky opportunity to meet a very big shot guy in the financial industry. At first, he seems nice. NONO! Doesn't mean he's not nice later. Just that the first impression of him gives me a good feeling. He's cool, open to conversation, straight forward, easy to get-along with and enjoy his work. That's something everyone would respect. Afterall, respect is to be earned. Say, he worked hard in his career to earn the respect.
The point of the whole meeting is not to have dinner and get him or my friend to pay for my drinks. It's to let me know more about financial planning and how his company can help me grow my surplus savings into a big pool of wealth through investments. Actually, I'm also not very sure about how the company is doing it because the bush is too big. Need some time to beat around it. In fact, he's trying to set my mood and thinking into "saving plans" and trying to understand how much I earn, spend and save a month; am I owing a debt life, a spend-what-I-earn life or thrifty life.
I think (maybe my thinking doesn't relates to his), I answered his questions and give my utmost attention to him. Whenever he or his female colleague is giving the talk, I'm thinking and processing all the words. Or do I look I'm daydreaming?
However, this is not how I should behave! Or at least this is not what he wants. I should act like a "potential" client asking relevant questions like "how much can I save", "how can you help me", "what is the long term benefits" or even "when can I start saving with your company". Hey come on! Must I really ask these kind of questions to show my "eager-ness"?
But hey, this man is interesting (did I mention he's interesting earlier). He told me that as long as you have enough money to spend and have no relationship problem, you are a happy person. Of course, he self-proclaimed that he's a happy person because he has no relationship problem and he has the spending power to afford a pond as big as a 3-room flat for his favourite fishes and having an income of $50K a month. Should I envy and go "wa...." because my poor cat is living in a 4-room flat with human warmness and my income is less than 1% of his? Oh well, that makes him a happy person.
OH NOW I KNOW THE WORD! ENTHUSIASM! Throughout the conversation, I think I lacked of this key factor. So he abruptly ended the whole meeting saying that I'm not open to his concept and saving plans (did he even mention of any plans). He even commented that I wasted his one hour of time talking to me. Which is why I said he's nice in the first place because he didn't forget helping his female colleague to reprimand me of wasting the one hour. Gentleman! Seriously, I can't change the way he thinks and the way I do things. If he can't accept it, too bad. Too bad, my potential to be his client is not potential enough.
Despite that, I think the the one hour conversation with him is an interesting and meaningful one. I learnt a few things but I don't know how to spell out my feelings.
I drew a graph on his paper (which of course he thinks I'm drawing nonsense). The graph goes like this:
I remember I read about an article on a recent finding that, from 0 to 20 years old, you are a happy person, this explains the steady rise in the x-axis. From 20 to 50 years old, your happiness decreases at the point where you are the most un-happy at 40 years old. After 50 years old, you start to enjoy life, that's the time where you start to feel happy and continue to feel happy until you die.
If that professional financial planner is a "happy" person (or so he claim), why did he just walk away unhappily with an unhappy mood? That's not a "happy" person should be doing! Is he lying to me about his "happiness"? Well, I can't judge about that because I'm not him. Maybe he's really happy doing such thing.
Yes, I'm partially at fault but sorry I can't change. Not all clients are the same right? Maybe some people just can't accept the way I am. It's my way. I think I'm okay so I'm not changing. I'm just very sorry that you find it hard to accept.
That female colleague of his' is actually my friend. To sum up, I would like to apologize for making the meeting ended up so abruptly and embarassingly (is there such a word). I don't know if I'm wasting your time or not but at least let me feel bad for spoiling the show.
Don't worry, I'm not angry with you (hope you are not angry with me too), anyone or anything. We are still friends! Wish you all the best in your career! Afterall, how can there be another friend as joyful as Joy?
