11. Sign of the Times

In late 2000, Jim asked if I would join him at TheStreet.com conference, followed by dinner with Gene Hackman. I jumped at the opportunity to meet and dine with one of my favorite actors, and told Jim I would go if I didn’t have to speak at the conference. Writing was one thing, but speaking in front of thousands of people wasn’t something I was interested in. He gave me his word that I would remain in the periphery, and I happily tagged along.

The grand ballroom at the Marriott World Trade Center was standing room only—I had never seen anything like it. Investors swarmed Jim during the cocktail hour asking for stock picks and market advice. I stuffed my nametag in my pocket and tried to remain invisible.

Jim gave the keynote ...

Get The Other Side of Wall Street: In Business It Pays to Be an Animal, In Life It Pays to Be Yourself now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.