Page 18 - THE MARKET WHISPERER

THE MARKET WHISPERER 15

Foreword

The Crash

In my thirty-sixth year, I became a penniless father of three little girls,
the youngest of whom was three months old. The business I’d nurtured
for thirteen years had just slipped between my fingers. Identifying the
brewing problems before I did, my business partner had embezzled the
last few thousands of dollars left in our bank accounts. Our employees
jumped ship. I was saddled with a debt of some half-million dollars to
banks and suppliers. What did I have in abundance? Tears.

To fall so low is a situation I’d wish upon no one. Money pressures, I
quickly discovered, cause psycho-emotional pressures: depression that
manifests in loss of appetite, lack of motivation to work, and a growing
inability to sleep. I had no clue how to cope with these problems. All the
business management literature I’d been exposed to dealt with “how to
succeed” and “how to earn millions.” But when did you ever see a book
of tips for those owing millions? No doubt this is because “losers” aren’t
expected to write books and are not assumed to have interesting life
stories. And who would want to read a loser’s story, anyhow…

Fascinatingly, all the business consultants who’d earned income from
me over the years evaporated as soon as the fountains of money dried
up. I’d hoped that at least the police would help in retrieving the funds
my partner had stolen; I hoped in vain. With very apparent indifference,
they completed the complaint forms, had me sign a declaration, and
sent me away to fend for myself. Three years later, when I decided to
lodge a complaint against the police department’s handling of my file,
an investigator called me in and threatened that if I didn’t withdraw my
objections, I’d be charged with submitting a false claim. Clearly, all the
taxes I’d paid over the years were also of no avail in protecting me.

The downward spiral continued. Initially, banks sent me politely-
worded payment demands. Next, lawyers sent somewhat less polite letters.