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It hit my inbox.\u00a0 Delta boasting that I could be seated in a Virgin lounge (their partner) 10 minutes after drop off at Heathrow airport in London.\u00a0 Something about a private entrance and private security and clear directions to this private drop off.\u00a0 10 minutes through security as an american in Europe?\u00a0 Was this possible?<\/p>\n
I asked my London Black Cab driver if had ever heard of this private entrance.\u00a0 This twenty year livery veteran hadn’t, but he was up for the exploration to find it with me.\u00a0 And we did.<\/p>\n
He pressed the intercom outside the private entrance, gave them my name, and presto a gate was lifted into this Neverland.\u00a0 Up a ramp we went, turned a corner, and there it was.<\/p>\n
Four Virgin\/Delta agents greeted me as we settled at the private driveway.\u00a0 I had my boarding pass in hand in three minutes.\u00a0 I was whisked to the private security corridor.\u00a0 I was, indeed, in the Virgin lounge in ten minutes.<\/p>\n
And then things got even better.\u00a0 It was the finals of Wimbledon and I hoped to catch some of the match before takeoff.\u00a0 Tucked into a far corner of the lounge, I spotted a viewing area.\u00a0 Well not just any viewing area.\u00a0 TVs arranged side-by-side and above-and-below filled a wall providing a look of a 100 foot screen.\u00a0 Vacant reclining chairs met my eyes for my deposit and I plopped down into the comfort.<\/p>\n
But then there was more.<\/p>\n
Of course a lounge attendant promptly greeted me with queries of my drink choice and handed me a menu of food to be enjoyed.\u00a0 All of this was for free.<\/p>\n
For a kid who grew up in a small town on Long Island, never dreamed of living in NYC, nor traveling internationally on business, let alone with service like this, this was decadence.\u00a0 I smile extra wide and long thinking of my mother, who has passed, who would have beamed hearing me recount such an experience.\u00a0 She was a great appreciator of luxury.<\/p>\n
And then there was yesterday.<\/p>\n
I had a presentation in Chicago and two days full of meetings with new and pro traders.\u00a0 My 4:10 LGA flight to ORD left the gate on time and then sat.\u00a0 We sat and sat and sat as severe weather hit the area.\u00a0 All flights were grounded throughout NYC.\u00a0 Two hours in, the complaining began from passengers.\u00a0 “Why not take us back to the gate and let us off,” pleaded one frustrated traveler.\u00a0 Condensation from the onboard AC dropped on my head and glasses repeatedly, like a pesky insect you cannot rid.\u00a0 The seats, even upfront, were not of the comfort of business class to London and this started to nag at this person’s back of three herniated disks.\u00a0 It was clear we were just gonna sit until our passenger’s rights kicked in and the plane returned to the gate.\u00a0 And there was gonna be no way for me to make it to Chicago for my 9AM presentation the next day.<\/p>\n
I am gonna keep putting myself in positions to grow, meet traders, share what the market has taught me, and experience new experiences.\u00a0 My last visit to Chicago was bountiful.\u00a0 One of 16 meetings over two days brought breakfast with our now top developing trader.\u00a0 I met someone who was not going to apply to our firm, nor would I have met, if not for this trip.\u00a0 I still remember the 8 hour car ride in a hail storm to meet our most recent Green Shirt trader.\u00a0 I remember that doubting AirTran flight, with seats literally held together with masking tape, to Indianapolis to meet a now trader I coach- who makes me better.\u00a0 I have two books full of experiences like this (and maybe another?).<\/p>\n
It’s one day at a time to make the firm better.\u00a0 It’s one trip at a time.\u00a0 One email at a time.\u00a0 One phone call at a time.\u00a0 One chat at a time.\u00a0 One video at a time.\u00a0 One blog post at a time.\u00a0 One internal meeting at a time.\u00a0 One mentoring session at a time.\u00a0 One read review at a time.\u00a0 One meetup at a time.\u00a0 One office chat at at time.\u00a0 One trade at a time.<\/p>\n
And in time, we will be better.\u00a0 I will be better.\u00a0 I will have experienced experiences in the course of a trader’s trading journey.<\/p>\n
*no relevant positions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"