“Son, when you need courage, put it in your hand, hold it, feel it. The power will grow in you” That’s what my uncle taught me when I was a little boy. It always worked when I passed the spooky ghost house, chased by terrible dogs, or kissed my little girlfriend.

Being a financial consultant, I always faced many difficulties, people blame me, stood me up, and hung up my phone. But just by doing so, I could always regain the courage to continue.

In year 2006, I met Frank. He was the top sales in my company. When he showed up, he always drew people’s attention. He wore expensive Armani suit, he drove expensive BMW car. Even his girlfriend was expensive. I went to Frank for his secrets.

“Oscar, what are the top 3 things you need to be a financial consultant?”

“I believe they are honesty, good service, and professional skills”

“Wrong answers! They are smoking, drinking, and bluffing. – They are what we called Communication Skills”. If you want to succeed, you need to change, Oscar. You need to change.

I took Frank’s advice, in a short time, I became the top sales in my company. I also earned a nice girlfriend. “Wow, making money became so… easy. Bluffing is much better than the communication skills I learned in TM.

With more and more time on social and bluffing skills, I started to lose the sense on economy. I didn’t notice the economic trend had changed. Finally, I made a wrong decision, a decision that put all my clients’ money in high risk, including uncle David’s.

In a blink of an eye, everything was gone. All my investment suddenly disappeared, as well as all my clients’ money. At that time, answering phones became my nightmare.

Oscar, are you kidding me?

Oscar, I want my money back.

Oscar, go to hell.

My clients yelled at me. I yelled at my girlfriend. And my girlfriend yelled at my dog.

One day I came home, the house was pitch-dark. There was no sign of my girlfriend. She left … with my dog. I set in the living room, looking at the empty table, wondering why I hurt the people who loved me. That year, I lost my money, my girlfriend, and the trust from all my friends. I locked myself in, stayed at my small, messy room, and indulged in my own misery. But what I was afraid the most was to face uncle David.

One day someone knocked at my door. It was uncle David. I saw the disappointment in his eyes. I said to him “Uncle, I am sorry. I let you down. I lost all your money. I …I got nothing left! Nothing left. Son, what I cared is not the money I lost. It’s the courage you lost. Are you sure you have nothing left? You still have the courage if you want to.

My uncle’s words reminded me the most precious gift he gave me. I decided to face all my clients one by one, asking for their forgiveness. Did I succeed? None of them were happy to see me, including my girlfriend. I held my hand tightly until I felt the pain. I knew this time I needed more courage to face the mistake I made.

To start over, I went to graduate school for advanced knowledge. I focused more on economic research. No matter how my clients blamed me, I always summon up the courage and face them.

With all my efforts, last year I went to see uncle David. “Uncle, this time I didn’t let you down. You profit is double. My courage is unbeatable.