Giving Thanks to Those Who've Helped Me Build My Career!

We all learn a lot from others, and it's good to "give props".

Thanks to Soy Chu and Jeff Benjamin for giving me my first career-oriented job at New Year Tech.  I didn't know what I wanted to do or how to do anything in particular then, but they let me grow into some things and taught me a lot.  And Soy, the owner, kept me on even during the hard times.

Thanks to Rich Kotite and Todd Stayin for getting me into the corporate telecom world at Winstar.  That was a great ride and I learned a ton.  Todd got me in the door and took me under his wing when Rich hired me, and Rich made sure I had what I needed to learn the business and make contributions right off the bat.  And there is where I met Joe Thompson.  JT set me straight ("you're good, and we promoted you to Manager, but you gotta find something you love and do that; you like telecom okay and all, but find your passion and do it."), and that was huge.  It prompted me to consider taking a shot at what I always really wanted to do, which leads me to this...

Thanks to Bill Waggoner of Morgan Stanley in Menlo Park for giving me a shot ten years ago.

Thanks to Greg Davis of Morgan Stanley for letting me transfer my business to his MS office in Tysons Corner when I wanted to move back home; thanks, also, to Greg for helping me understand my strengths and weaknesses in various investment areas.

Thanks to Loren Evans of A.G Edwards & Sons (then Wachovia Securities, and now Wells Fargo Advisors) for opening my mind and practice to the idea of tactical adjustments within a long-term strategy (the genesis of my Flex portfolio methodology).

And thanks to Deana Arnett, Certified Financial Planner extraordinaire, for teaching me how to be a real financial advisor, not just an "asset gatherer" (can't help anyone if you don't "sell" and bring in the business, but then ya gotta make sure you're really helping people).

I have a few young go-getters who have thanked me recently for helping them get going in their careers, and that prompted me to reflect on those who've helped me.  Pay it forward, and don't forget to pay it back!