When the stock market crashed in 1987, Anil Jethmal was a
stockbroker trainee at Lehman Brothers in New York City. He recounts in The Winner’s Circle 2: How Ten Stockbrokers Became the Best In the Business, “I’ll never forget that day. Pandemonium broke loose and the entire office
was in a frenzy. Normally cool brokers
were screaming…..one broker even had a nervous breakdown”.
Anil went home shaken.
He was unsure whether this was the right career path for him. He turned to his father for some sage
advice. It was this advice, even 30
years later, that Anil Jethmal credits for his success today. His father told him not to make any rash
decisions while his mind was in a frenzy.
All decisions, particularly in the fast paced world of stock market investing,
need to be made with a sense of calm, focus, patience and perspective. He spoke of how Christians and Catholics
remind themselves that “this too shall pass”.
Of Indian heritage, Anil’s father talked about the benefits and
techniques of meditation. Being in a
state of mental crisis, Anil was willing to try it.
Over the years, Anil Jethmal found that the benefits of
meditation are exactly what the greatest investors preach as necessary tools in
order to succeed. Ray Dalio, whose entire
17 billion dollar fortune was made in stocks, credits meditation for his success. Recently, he emphatically stated, “more
than anything in my life (meditation) was the biggest ingredient for whatever success I’ve
had.” Billionaire stock investor, Paul Tudor Jones, is also an avid
meditator. Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, Pixar and Next, credits meditation with helping his creativity and focus.
To this day, Anil uses meditation, not as an emergency tool
during times of crisis, but as a daily ritual.
Besides making him a better investor, it connects him to his father and
to his heritage.
