I’ve been most recently inspired by a book called “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Victor Frankl.  In the book Mr. Frankl describes his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp through a philosophical and psychological lens.  Throughout the book, Frankl quotes Nietzsche.  One quote in particular that he repeats is, “He who has a WHY to live can bear almost any HOW.” This statement truly brought to my attention the essential value of finding meaning in ones life, no matter what the circumstances. 

My friends Bill Laggner and Kevin Duffy own a Hedge Fund called Bearing Asset Management.  Why did they name their fund Bearing? No, it has nothing to do with the markets. It has to do with the fact that people today are losing their bearings.  I agree with this sentiment and so did Victor Frankl. 

I am not a perfect person, and by no means do I have my one purpose in life completely discovered.  However,  by simply acknowledging that I have this purpose as we all do leads me to believe that a better life is possible for us all.  It is with this spirit of giving that I am starting my quote and comment of the week.  I hope my weekly dose of inspiration causes you to think and inspires you to see that every moment of your life has meaning and purpose no matter what!  Please write me back with any comments you have. If you would like to forward this e-mail please do so. If you don’t want to receive my emails just let me know

Sincerely,

Adam Unger

First Installment

“There are no unrealistic goals, just unrealistic timelines”

I found this quote to be of particular interest because i believe it to be mostly true.  Yes, there are some unrealistic goals ( At 5’9” I will never be the center for the New York Knicks).  However, most things in life are well within our reach it. It is truly a matter of how much we are willing to sacrifice for them, and for HOW LONG. Most importantly, what this quote made me think about was that each of us in life has a finite amount of time to achieve anything.   It is with this knowledge that we must make choices in life.  We have to decide how long the achievement of a goal is going to take, and what we will have to give up during that period of time in order to achieve it.  Time has to be wisely spent, and before setting a goal one must ascertain how much time they are willing to expend in order to achieve it. In addition, what are you willing to sacrifice? My friend and Metropolitan Opera singer Michael Fabiano once asked me, “ Adam what are your wants and what are your MUSTS?”  What must you have in life in order to be able to look back at the end and say that you lived a life of meaning that was in congruence with your values. It is my opinion that humans are able to sacrifice wants, but be careful if you have to sacrifice a must. For example, if you want to be a famous philosopher but you must have money and personal independence you may not be willing to commit much time into your philosophical pursuits.  However, if philosophy is your MUST and other things are just wants you may be willing to sacrifice them and you may be on your way to establishing a realistic goal towards the attainment of your objective.  It is for this reason that one must know where their priorities lie.  When you know that, you are way ahead of the game. You may come to a point where your goal is taking too much time to achieve and you are sacrificing other things that you must have in order to achieve it. If this is the case, it may be time to re-evaluate your goals. Another point to consider is that  of patience. Work towards your goals and be patient. Time has a way of solving our problems for us if we will only commit to continuing to fight the good fight.  So pick your objective that you must have, give yourself a realistic timeline, and commit to its achievement.  As i know personally, easier said than done. All my best everyone!

Sincerely,

Adam