My Changed Life (Thread)

I was born to well educated professional parents (a lawyer and an engineer). They sent me to good schools and helped me to do well. Having done well in school, I got into a good college where I did well. That got me a good job where I became a CPA.

It gave me plenty of opportunities including the chance to transition into trading. Good luck and some skill pushed me into larger roles. I worked 12 hour days and got paid very well. I had all the trappings. I was a success by most traditional measures.

Then, in 2009, I had a severe auto accident that left me without the use of both legs, one arm and both hands. Surprisingly, that wasn’t the biggest change. The biggest change was that it left me unable to work. All of a sudden I had time, tons of it, on my hand.

Did you know there was a life outside news feeds, broker boxes, pricing models, option greeks, clients, budgets, daily PLs and risk reports? Who knew? And the discovery was nothing short of eye popping.

The change wasn’t easy, but once I embraced it, I found a world I wouldn’t give up for all the success I had.

Around a decade later I moved from Westport, CT to Victoria, BC.

I went from being soaked in every minutia of political and economic news to being surrounded by green culture, where the focus is on natural beauty and the pursuit of passions.

The change wasn’t easy (yes, really), but once I embraced it, I found a world I wouldn’t give up for for all the trappings of success that I had.

My point: change isn’t easy and it may not even be by choice, but if you embrace it, you can discover a new, exciting world that you didn’t even know existed.

Before I get blasted for being out of touch with reality, let me admit that I realize that I’ve been very lucky. As my boss used to say, “better lucky than smart”!