Mr. Earl Crawley of Baltimore

I heard of Mr. Crawley’s enviable achievement on "MoneyTrack," a personal finance program on television. His story confirms my humble belief that good guys do not finish last on Wall Street.

Mr. Crawley was born with dyslexia to a poor family. He works as a parking lot attendant in a financial district in the City of Baltimore for years. With less than $20,000 income per year, he has put his three children through private school. He owns his own house with no debts. In addition, by being disciplined, patient, and a good listener, he has accumulated an investment portfolio in excess of a half of a million dollars.

At first, he put his meager savings in government savings bonds. Then he systematically bought mutual funds and blue chip stocks. A firm believer of compound interest, he reinvested his dividends. Mr. Crawley learned the art of investing by asking his parking lot patrons who happened to be professionals in money matters.

And the most enviable thing about Mr. Crawley is that he is sharing his savvy knowledge in investing and saving with others. He is not only gifting shares to his church, he also has formed an investment club in the church. So the other members of the congregation can also enjoy the fruits of being disciplined, patient, and a good listener.

Thank you, Mr. Crawley! - Ayee

Professionalism

Since I was in the neighborhood of a popular noodle house the other day, I decided to get some things special for lunch. I ordered a dish of stewed chicken feet in black bean and garlic sauce and a couple of Chinese donuts. These are the dishes that I would not prepare at home, hence become special ones to me. But when I was ready to enjoy my treats, I was totally disappointed at what I got. It seemed to me my favorite restaurant for extra profits had changed its recipes at the expense of good taste and sound business practice.

Even though there is no obvious connection between Chinese foods and professionalism. My disappointment over my special lunch, despite a trivial one, made me wonder. I wonder if we can still expect the honest and consistent services that we used to get when dealing with commercial and professional establishments.

I think if we are in the business providing goods and services to others, the onus is on us to follow the codes of ethics of our respective trade closely. So the goods we sold meet their intended usage and the quality of the goods sold is the same as advertised. Furthermore, the services we rendered to others are as good as agreed by either a hand shake or binding legal documents.

I guess I will not be getting my special treats from that noodle house any more. - Ayee