When I think of the Fashion Industry, wisdom is not what first comes to mind. I think of beauty, trends, and heels so high you can’t walk in them. From a more behavioral aspect, I think of how the industry can play havoc with one’s self-esteem, and our pocket books.
However, I came across an article in the New York Times today: “Rules of Style, Collected Wisdom from this Year’s Crop of Fashion-Industry Graduation Speakers”. Two successful fashion mentors had words of wisdom one can apply to managing our finances.
Tory Burch at Babson College
“We may live in an age of instant messaging, instant gratification and Instagram, but there is no way to short-circuit the path to success. It takes commitment, tenacity and lots of patience. There are many things you can do overnight — you can write a paper, you can put the finishing touches on a fashion show — but there’s no such thing as an overnight success.”
If we apply this to the seemingly infinite task of saving money, it is equally valid. We all hear the stories of people who win the lottery, or become millionaires in Silicon Valley start ups. The former are few, and the latter spend hours, days…nights hoping that what they have to offer will be valuable. It is a high risk proposition that many of us would be hesitant to enter. Hence the pay off – and definitely not an overnight success.
Steven Kolb, C.E.O. of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, at Kendall College of Art and Design
“No one is perfect in life. I will encourage graduates to remember that as they enter the workforce. Learning from a mistake is just one step away from getting it right the next time.”
Steven Kolb’s comment offers a more gentle application in our ongoing journey to save money. It says to me that sometimes we’ll give in to temptation beyond our budget, and uh well, be human. We need to be kind to ourselves and acknowledge we’ll be smarter next time. As long as giving into temptation doesn’t occur every day, or even every week, we’re hopefully on a good path.
The full article can be found here: http://nyti.ms/1pLTOaz.
Carrie Rattle is a Principal at BehavioralCents.com, a web site for women focused on the psychology of money behaviors. She has worked in the financial services industry for 20+ years and hopes to inspire women to better prepare themselves for financial independence. Comments welcome at carrierattle@behavioralcents.com.
Carrie Rattle is a Principal at BehavioralCents.com, a website for women focused on mind and money behaviors. She has worked in the financial services industry for 20+ years and hopes to inspire women to better prepare themselves for financial independence.