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Throughout the eighties, I spent a decade at a Wall Street bank in a selection of diverse positions, most of which I viewed as nothing much more than a series of jobs to pay the bills. Yes, that's how I viewed my purpose on this planet at 1 time. It took a significant awakening in the late 80's to snap out of this sleepy way of life.
Towards the finish of ten years at this bank, I was itching to make an additional alter and move on for the reason that I knew I was capable of doing a lot more than what I was performing at the time. I had no thought what I would do but I put myself in an open frame of mind and ready to seize an opportunity when it came my way. There is a saying that when you are ready, it will come.
I didn't have to wait lengthy. The timing was ideal.
A person I knew who happened to be vice president at Merrill Lynch told me they had been searching for new stockbroker trainees. After telling me about career opportunities at the enterprise, he asked if I would be interested in going to work for them as a future stockbroker. I instantly stated I would. ("Program to say yes to opportunities!")
An appointment was set for an interview with the branch vice president at the Fifth Avenue location (New York City) exactly where they had an opening. It was scheduled on a cold, blustery day in February 1992.
I'll by no means forget walking into his workplace. It looked like a Ritz Carlton penthouse suite complete with plush carpeting, high-priced oil paintings, a king-sized maghoney desk and a complete living room set along with countless of sales awards. I didn't see a marbled bathroom in there but wouldn't have been surprised if there was 1! The spot was a statement of tremendous wealth and success.
The vice president was a young, successful sales manager who was dressed to the nines for good results. I liked him the moment we met. He had an air of confidence that was refreshing. The man was articulate and laughed easily. But despite his friendly manner, I was intimidated. The lofty atmosphere was not something I was used to. My time at the bank was rather drab in comparison.
We talked for a grand total of twenty minutes soon after which he requested that I make an appointment with twelve of his stockbrokers, all of whom had offices of their own. That meant they had been bringing in a wholesome six or seven figures a year. The vice president also told me to write up a marketing and advertising proposal on how I would develop my clientele if he were to hire me. He shook my hand firmly and wished me luck.
The extra I thought about a new career as a stockbroker, the alot more passionate I became. Thoughts like "monetary freedom," "act as your own boss," "earn what you put into it" got me excited.
I really should mention that shortly soon after my introductory interview, I was struck down with a nasty cold that threatened to put me out of commission. Nevertheless, for the reason that I had an overwhelming sense of passion about making this career alter and trusted that life was about to get better and much better, I forced myself to make those 12 appointments and went by way of with it.
What followed was an unbelievable series of even more obstacles during the interviews. Not only was I feeling crappy at the beginning, but each and every and every single 1 of the interviewers said that being a stockbroker was "highly tough." They invariably told me that 80 percent of newcomers failed inside their very first year and that there was a lot of rejection to content with. Some even had the gall to tell me I was much better off in my nine-to-five job at the bank!
My stomach tightened with each and every passing interview but my overriding faith additional than produced up for it. I refused to let their comments derail me. By no means before was I so determined to succeed with the job at hand!
By the time I went back to the branch manager two months later for the final interview, I was exhausted. But I walked into his workplace with my head up high and proudly handed him my marketing and advertising proposal that I worked so hard to put together.
His reaction to the proposal was disappointing. He hardly looked at it, tossing it aside. The vice president's face was frowning likely simply because he had other items on his mind.
He absentmindedly picked up a paper clip and started to fumble with it, not saying something for the longest time. The silence was literally deafening. It was obvious that the vice president was struggling mightily with a choice. Even though the 12 interviews went well, he seemed unsure that I had what it took to be productive.
Suddenly, without warning, I was seized with an overpowering sense that this was "my moment." My skin felt prickly, a sure sign that my inner voice was telling me to do something.
It was now or by no means.
I instantly knew what I had to do. Did I have the guts to do it?
My heart yammered like crazy over what I was about to do.
Pointing my shaky finger at him, I mustered the courage to speak up and forever changed the course of my life: "Sir, if you don't hire me, you'll never know what I can do for this firm."
Then I did the hardest thing I ever had to do. I shut my mouth and waited.
The moment I spoke, it was as if every little thing was slow motion like in the movies. He stopped fumbling with the paperclip, looked at me with those piercing eyes and then shocked me with a smile - his very first considering that walking in that morning. Then he threw the badly deformed paperclip into the wastepaper basket with a resounding clunk. Two points for him.
Taking a deep breath, he stated, "Okay, you got the job."
Enormously relieved, I was halfway out of my chair and was about to shake his hand but before I had a chance, the young vice president thrust his finger in the air and stated, "on one condition."
Slowly sinking back into my chair I mentioned, "What's that?"
"You should resign from your job at the bank efficient two weeks from nowadays, come to us and we'll train you for 3 months on a smaller salary. Then you'll have to take the securities examination. It is 250 questions lengthy." he said.
Lowering his voice slightly, he warned, "Mr. Hopson, if you fail by 1 point, You are OUT!" He created a bigger than life gesture with his thumb like an empire calling an OUT in a baseball game.
Despite this shocking statement, it took all of two seconds to reply. "Ok, I'll take it."
I'll by no means forget the look on my boss's face at the bank the next morning when I handed in my resignation. He raised his bushy eyebrows and sarcastically said, "What's this?" Wall Street was undergoing a key shake-up at the time. The marketplace had bottomed out and interest rates were soaring. On the surface, it appeared it was not the "ideal" time to make such a drastic career move but I did it anyway.
Two weeks later, I cut the cord at the bank and left. For the duration of the following three months of training at Merrill Lynch, I studied for the exam, acted as a "gofer" (for the established brokers) and kept my nose to the grindstone, performing the top I could.
Finally, it came time to take the securities exam in April of 1992. Taking the elevator up to the 4th floor of a wonderful gleaming glass building downtown, I followed signs to the testing room. After showing identification and signing in, I took a seat in the waiting area. From exactly where I sat, I could see rows of computers and uncomfortable looking chairs by means of a window that served as a wall between the reception location and the testing room. There had been a handful of other applicants in the waiting room with me. It reminded me of an open casting call in Hollywood. They all appeared like nervous out of work actors, biting their fingernails and shifting their feet. I did my most effective to ignore them.
The exam proctor led us to our assigned computers, gave us suitable directions and then told us to begin.
Two and a half hours later, I pressed the enter button on the keyboard. A colorful pop-up window came up, asking if I was carried out and regardless of whether I wanted to evaluation my answers. No sense in second guessing myself so I clicked "Finish."
A flashing message followed with: "Please wait although your scores are being tabulated."
My mind right away flashed back to the day of the final interview with the vice president's ominous warning, "If you fail by one point, you are out!"
I swallowed tricky and waited and waited. Following what seemed like hours, this showed up on the screen:
"Congratulations, you passed with a score of 83! Go to the front desk and retrieve a printout of your test results. Thank you and have a superior day!"
From that point on, I never looked back. In my very first year as a rookie stockbroker, I earned a paltry $16,000 - people today on welfare was likely making additional than me! Four years later, I was bringing in $300,000. Even CNN came to interview me.
If I hadn't acted on my intuition and boldly told the vice president, Sir, if you don't hire me, you'll by no means know what I can do for this firm, I may possibly still be tolling away at the bank, desperately waiting for retirement to arrive. Who knows?
Food for thought: When you scrounge up the courage to be brave, you obtain out what you are really capable of performing, garnering handsome rewards in the method.