I don't think money can be understood through a lens limited to economics. And most books about money tell you the history of money, the instrument. But money is also an idea, one that we exchange to survive. Kabir Sehgal More Quotes by Kabir Sehgal More Quotes From Kabir Sehgal We don't invest in financial literacy in a meaningful way. We should be teaching elementary school children how to balance a checkbook, how to do basic accounting, why it's important to pay your bills on time. First, education. Begin the learning process as early as possible, in elementary school. Second, encourage and support entrepreneurism. Third, policy. I know it's a priority of the US Treasury to augment financial inclusion and increase financial literacy. Kabir Sehgal teaching meaningful children When you go to a Japense wedding, make sure that you tie the ribbon on the present tightly because if you don't, you may imply that you don't think the marriage will last. Kabir Sehgal ties may thinking We need to have financial literacy in America, not just complaining about obstructionism. We need solutions. And I think the solutions are using high finance to make capitalism work for people around the world. Kabir Sehgal america people thinking I think the money for the solutions for global poverty is on Wall Street. Wall Street allocates capital. And we need to get capital to the ideas that are successful, whether it's microfinance, whether it's through financial literacy programs, Wall Street can be the engine that makes capital get to the people who need it. Kabir Sehgal wall successful thinking The challenge of our generation, whether it's young lawyers, young investment bankers, is to make capitalism work for people not just around the corner, but for people all around the world. Kabir Sehgal our-generation challenges people It's a Wonderful Life. This film illustrates that if you treat your customers with respect, they will recognize you and even help when you're most in need. Kabir Sehgal wonderful helping needs It's ok to say I don't know. Realizing this earlier in my career would have put me more at ease. Kabir Sehgal realizing careers ease Albert Murray's The Omni-Americans is the most valuable non-business book because it discusses how you have to draw upon everyone's creativity. America is a mash-up of cultures and traditions, and great businesses know how to tap the strengths of all their employees, whatever their background may be. Kabir Sehgal mash-up creativity book In essence, money gives us the calories we need to survive. Over time, we became aware that exchange and cooperation increase our chances for survival. Eventually we create tools to facilitate trade. One of these tools is called money. Kabir Sehgal survival essence giving All organisms rely on exchange. They form symbiotic partnerships in order to obtain the energy that they need to survive. Energy is the currency of nature. Kabir Sehgal energy order needs We are privileged that the dollar is the "currency of last resort" and the most important currency in the world. Global commodities are priced in dollars. Central banks in other countries hold great quantities of dollars. The dollar was the safe harbor, the port in the storm during the credit crisis. Kabir Sehgal storm important country Money is really like blood. You need it to live but it isn't the point of life. Kabir Sehgal blood needs Money numbs your senses. People who touched paper money and then placed their hands in hot burning water didn't feel as much pain as those who hadn't touched money. Kabir Sehgal pain hands people For the last several decades, there was a prevailing belief among traditional economists that the markets were rational and self-correcting. Alan Greenspan advocated this view. But the 2008 financial crisis showed that this view is incorrect, and Greenspan eventually admitted as much. Kabir Sehgal lasts self views All decisions originate in the brain. So if we can better understand what's happening in the brain when we make investment decisions, maybe one day we'll be able to make more accurate financial forecasts - for a stock or even the entire market. Kabir Sehgal one-day decision brain In some cultures, when you give someone a gift, it's expected that they will pass it on. This seems like a peculiar practice in the West, but in many other societies, a gift has a spirit. If you try to possess the gift, you remove its spirit as a gift. Kabir Sehgal practice trying giving People have tried to control other people by trapping them with debt. A loan can become a harmful and dangerous weapon. Kabir Sehgal debt weapons people Money is becoming increasingly plastic and digital. If there is a major disaster, let's say an asteroid strike, we'll go back to trading meats and furs. We won't need an abstraction, a dollar bill, but real tangible goods to survive. Kabir Sehgal asteroids digital real The New Testament states that man cannot serve two masters. He must choose one -God, and not the other - money. For what man chooses will reveal his heart. Kabir Sehgal heart men two On a biological level, the brain registers money as something valuable - even a dollar bill which has no intrinsic value, it's just paper. Kabir Sehgal dollar-bills dollars brain
