Clarity is an interesting word. It means the quality of being easy to see or the sharpness of an image. In the business world, both concepts may be difficult to decipher. I find perception of one's self to be vulnerable to the outside opinions of others. The problem is most people internalize their own failures and project their feelings of jealousy through hate or disbelief. "Every time someone rises up in this world, there's always some ******* trying to bring him down." -Jordan Belfort (The Wolf of Wall Street)
The world today is very serious and can be extremely cruel. It is important to have a good sense of humor to get through difficult times. I consider myself a playful person who is often sarcastic and laughs at most things. Just because I happen to be funny, does not mean that I can not conquer my goals and be successful... Yes, I am aware that the name of my blog is pretentious. Yes, I know that some phrases I use such as "old sport" is silly and it is supposed to be. Yes, the Wolf of Crestwood is meant to be amusing but it is still awesome either way! Yes, talking about money is tacky but we all do it... The key is to not take yourself too seriously. People have many sides to them and it may be hard too see someone's true talents just by having a light conversation with them or by judging what kind of car they drive.
A friend of mine recently appeared on a reality television show where he was portrayed as a snooty rich man. When I finally asked him about said portrayal, he said that he hated it and that his words were taken the wrong way. I have noticed that this happens quite a bit when talks of money, religion, or politics arise. Take the boxer Floyd Mayweather for example... He flaunts his money and that kind of attention causes ill feelings from many people. I however, enjoy his money persona. I do not take it seriously as it is a performance for the world's stage. Now allow me to clarify something, I am not saying that it is just a show. Floyd has real money and does actually live a certain way. I do bet that there are days when he is not showing off his money and simply sits at home on the couch watching funny videos and eating cereal. Does that make him fake? Does he HAVE TO be Money Mayweather 24 hours a day? The answer is no... Each person has a many characteristics of themselves. He is allowed to be silly and loving with his kids and serious when he enters the ring!
What is my point? Clearly the public only gets to see a fraction of someone's life and the assumptions fly uncontrollably. There are days where I wear a power suit to an important business meeting and there are days where I wear sweats to visit my niece and nephews. At night I can playfully joke around like a teenager and in the morning build a 1.5 million dollar mansion. (Insert my Bruce Wayne smirk here)
Some people find it interesting that amongst my many careers, I teach theology during the day. They think the guy who talks money and watches Scarface every month can not also be about theology. The real interesting part comes when their facial expression changes after I flex my knowledge in the subject area.
There is a scene from the film American Gangster where Frank Lucas is trying to find out who shot at him. Dominic Cattano says, "Success. It's got enemies. You can be successful and have enemies or you can be unsuccessful and have friends."
That is a very powerful line that I am reminded of everyday at one of my jobs. With that said, I believe that being kind, being honest, and being a good person will shine through any situation to the right people. I have a talent of making situations more special. The way I see it is, you can have a simple birthday cake or you can have an entire birthday party. A nice car to me symbolizes the party! A big house to me symbolizes fun! I am just trying to make my time here as much fun and special as possible. Success is not saying that you are better than someone else, it can be as simple as a kid who liked rap videos and gangster movies and wanted to prove to his pop that he could make it!
As long as you be yourself and be every funny, serious, rich, silly, professional version of yourself, it does not matter what others think of you.
"The Wolf does not concern himself with the opinions of sheep!"
