I never had a salaried position during my 40+ years in the investment industry, other than my brief stint as a trainee. Consequently, entreprenuership became a part of me out of necessity.  My early life was filled with a fear of speaking in public. I was very uncomfortable in front of people that I didn't know. What caused the change?

I desperately needed confidence. How do you gain confidence when you have a fear in front of people? The answer is KNOWLEDGE. A client of mine, that was a public company, invited me to Savannah, Georgia to make a presentation to their Board of Directors. The thought of standing in front of some of the smartest people in the country was frightening. But then I said to myself, "these are very smart people but I know more about what we'll be talking about then any of them". Knowledge is power and knowledge gave me the opportunity to overcome my fear. Out of knowledge is born CONFIDENCE. Once you have knowledge and confidence you begin your journey of INNOVATION, There is no limit to your innovation as long as you have HIGH EXPECTATIONS. With these high expectations you now blast open your career as a VISIONARY.

I have had many successful ventures in my business career. I have also had more than my share of unsuccessful ventures. If you have high expectations and you are a visionary, you will have your ups and downs. You will obtain knowledge from both. More importanly, you will obtain confidence from the successful ventures which will ultimately lead to success financially.

More than 30 years ago I worked at a well known investment banking company. I was compensated by the business I generated. There was no salary. Our company purchased a casino in Atlantic City, NJ. The casino was structured into a limited partnership and was offered as an investment to qualified investors (minimum limits on salary or net worth). We were told that the only way it could be sold to investors successfully was to be presented to clients that we knew well, because of it's complexity. I didn't believe that and I set out to prove that it could be sold to any qualified investor, even on the first presentation. I purchased a plane ticket to Philadelphia and rented a car to drive to Atlantic City. I knocked on doors of CPA firms and doors of wealthy residents of Atlantic City. I sold more than anyone else in the company and made more than $100,000 that month (inflation adjusted nearly $300,000 today). I had KNOWLEDGE, CONFIDENCE and HIGH EXPECTATIONS. I also proved to myself that I was a VISIONARY.