Hedge-fund billionaire Tom Steyer breaks the fat-cat stereotype. He lobbies not for laws that will make the already-rich greatly richer. He doesn’t purchase politicos who will sit up, beg, and roll over for any legislation that places corporate profits over people’s welfare. As the largest single donor in the 2016 election, Mr. Steyer put $86 million of his personal monies in support of progressive and pro-environment legislators. His NextGen Climate organization has invested over $170 million advocating for policies that will fight disastrous climate change and develop renewable energy.
In an article in April 2017’s Wired Magazine, the interviewer asked how Steyer was faring after his apparent defeat with an anti-environment Congress and administration elected, and the EPA and Clean Power Plan being rapidly gutted. I absolutely loved his response, and I recommend it to you all:
“…my parents raised me to pull my socks up when times get tough. So I really never had the luxury of feeling bad, because right after the election I felt we needed to figure this thing out…”
Tom Steyer is saying not “Oh, Damn.” but “What’s next?” In high school and college I was a fairly good wrestler. When I threw a moved it usually worked, and if it failed, I’d try the same move again – and again, each time with more grit. Because I was strong, this brutish approach earned me a nice line of victories. But let me tell you about those opponents who beat me. These guys came at me with the Steyer approach. They would throw one move, and when it failed to materialize, they would throw another entirely different one. Then, before I had time to react, they’d switch to another – and another. These champs didn’t sit and ponder their move’s failure. They swiftly assessed that it wasn’t working, and they kept pulling new tricks and efforts out of their arsenal. Sooner or later, against this approach, I found myself all wrapped up.
The odds are excellent that whatever your current venture, it is not working as well for you as you’d like. And you really have not got the luxury of feeling bad about it. So what new trick have you got that will make it work? What’s the next move you’re working on? And the next?
Wishing You Every Success,
– Bart Jackson