The Red Bandanna: A life. A choice. A Legacy. by Tom Rinaldi
(New York: Penguin, 2016), 211
A book about Welles Crowther, who sacrificed his life saving others in the South Tower on 9/11.
- "He had every opportunity to leave and he didn't. He stayed and he put others first and that's something you either have or you don't. He had it, and he used it." (181)
- Life on Wall Street (84):
In the financial capital of the planet, working in finance meant a special place on earth, and held the rewards to prove it. Sandler O'Neill was a burgeoning force, and didn't attract or indulge the pale or hesitant. Its culture celebrated competition in every way, against rival firms and within its walls. The firm was filled with athletes, some not as accomplished as Welles and others more so—all of whom had grown up as inherent strivers, and winners.
There was also a natural and useful selfishness cultivated to drive the firm forward, a tapping of the capitalist vein, but, hopefully, not the whole of its heart. The principals of the firm wanted all there to master the work, but also to enjoy and appreciate it. The hours were too long, the demands too great, the expectations too high, for anyone to fake his way through. There had to be a large, if not total, but-in to thrive.
Anyone giving less would've been perceived as lacking, when pitted against his colleagues, and was unlikely to last. The hedging would be obvious.