This post originally appeared on my LinkedIn feed.
I recently had the privilege of joining Monsoon Pabrai to give an online talk to Millennium Mams. It’s in organization that is based in India – dedicated to empowering women through financial literacy.
We touched on many valuable topics: with a Mexican wife, I feel like I’m quite familiar with the subtle and not-so-subtle ways that men can quietly undermine women. So I was delighted to be able to share what wisdom I could – something that was made a lot easier by having Monsoon with me – as she created a wonderful bridge between Indian women and .. well, me: not an India woman.
Mon
soon and I originally met through Mohnish Pabrai who is, of course her dad: we were going to have our famous charity lunch the next day with Warren Buffett – and so the night before, I met with Mohnish, Monsoon and her sister. We went to Cafe Lalo’s on the Upper West Side. After that, I took them all for a tour of New York City in my convertible sports car.
Monsoon is now a successful investor in her own right, and so, in addition to sharing what wisdom I could share, it felt great to be able to listen to Monsoon as well. She has learned an enormous amount from her father – but has developed her own style of investing – honed at Dalton Investments in Los Angeles, and in Mumbai.
Perhaps most valuable from my perspective was when I talked to the group about the the inner voice: The one that often says, “you’re useless, you can’t do this”. I regularly have imposter syndrome – and more often than I like, I’ll realize that I’ve messed up badly in one way or another. As with any noble pursuit – we will inevitably have moments when we feel like we’re the dumbest person in the world – who got it all wrong. I certainly do. But I’ve learned that it’s part of life. Part of the human condition. We think that when we get successful, those feelings will go away. But they never do.
What I explained to the group is that it’s in these moments that the real challenges begin. That’s when the rubber hits the road. Many people will give up in those moments. But if we can just carry on. Put one foot in front of the other – we will be amazed at what we can achieve.
I wanted to thank the women of Millennium Mams for giving me and Monsoon Pabrai the opportunity to give the talk – and what’s better – the opportunity to learn WITH them. Thanks especially to Garima and to Meghna Bajoria for organizing the talk – and enormous respect to Sir Bishnu Dhanuka – you should be very proud of this group.
Lastly, I’m also grateful to the women in my life who have taught me a little bit about courage, grit and determination to succeed and exceed – despite the odds – including: Amanda Pullinger, Danielle Town, Beile Grünbaum, Signe Lønholdt, Gillian Zoe Segal, Mariana Baldé, Mariya Keung, Jennifer Davis, Orly Hindi, Erika Perez, Dania Duncan Moreno. Katharine Sephton, and Sherry Coutu CBE are just a few. Some of you should certainly also consider giving a talk to Millennium Mams
